This time last year, Brent Harvey was frustrated. A six-week suspension was hanging over his head and he faced a delayed start to the season. But now, the North veteran says there’s nothing holding him back and he intends to hit the ground running come Round One.

“I’m a little bit more excited this time of year than I was last year, because six weeks last year I wasn’t playing until Round 7. Round 1, I think I’ll be there,” Harvey said at open training on Monday.

“Going forward, my pre-season was a little bit delayed and training was a little bit harder for me. I’ll be preparing like every other player come Round One this year.”

The 35-year-old participated in the full three-week Utah training program – something he hadn’t done before.

“It was good just to get away with the young boys, work really hard and come back with a great base and work hard in Melbourne.

The extra training load something he’s handled well.

“I feel fantastic. The young 18-year-old’s at the footy club keep you on your toes and they are no different this year.

“Hopefully nothing too much changes. Last year I played forward and came up onto the ball a little bit as well and relieved guys like Daniel Wells.
“The body and the mind still feel exactly the same.”

The addition of new Kangaroos in Nick Dal Santo and Robbie Nahas have also kept Harvey’s body and mind fresh.

“I think everyone knows what Nick brings. He brings a fantastic amount of leadership to our group. He’s a silky-smooth player. He’s a great on-baller, he can play inside and out. He’s been fantastic.

“Robin’s a really big surprise. He’s a very bubbly person, up and about all the time. He’s got great enthusiasm and his forward pressure really stands out at training. Himself and Lindsay Thomas will complement each other.”

North has been much hyped this pre-season, but the players are keeping a lid on things according to Harvey.

“I know there’s a lot of speculation, a lot of talk about the North Melbourne Footy Club finishing pretty high on the ladder, but we’ll you guys do that and we’ll take care of the on-game stuff.

“I think the expectations are high every year on all players, they all go in with a little bit of pressure on them wanting to perform and finishing as high as we can on the ladder.

“If we just concentrate on what we are about now, the result will take care of itself…there’s no use us speculating when there’s 17 other teams out there that think they are going to be in the top four and win the premiership.

“We’ll find out in a couple of weeks where we at. We play a good opposition in Carlton in the first NAB Cup game, so we’ll find out a little bit more in a fortnight’s time.”

Brad Scott though hasn’t articulated his plans for the practice rounds to the players as of yet.

“I’m not sure exactly how the NAB Cup is going to look for myself and a couple of older players, whether we are going to play every game or we get a rest in there as well,” Harvey commented.

The Roos will be looking for more out of their younger brigade and the signs have been positive so far.

“Ben Cunnington and Shaun Atley have taken the next step. Their training has been elite, and they are starting to recognise their position in the footy club; not just a player trying to get a game every week, but seeing things that they didn’t previously see and their leadership has been taken to the next level.

“I think that’s where we are going to get our improvement from. Those type of guys and the guys around them, the same age, the same amount of games can take this footy club hopefully to the next spot.”