When Corey Wagner heard North Melbourne call his name, he still couldn’t be sure if Arden St would be his final destination.

A product of the Brisbane Lions Academy, once the Roos named him with Pick 43 in the NAB Draft, the Lions had the opportunity to match the pick and take Wagner through the AFL’s new bidding system.

“We didn’t know what was going on (and) for about five minutes I was clueless,” Wagner told NMFC.com.au.

But Wagner couldn’t be happier to have landed at the Roos.

“It was the thing we wanted (to move from Brisbane),” the youngster said.

“The better option (was) to come down to Melbourne and get started, so it’s the right thing.”

Wagner said he was thrilled to be joining the Roos with the club in a strong position both on and off the field.

“It’s been awesome, the club’s great. It’s moving up, could even win a Premiership this year. It’s a great club to come to and it’s going to develop me really well.”

Wagner has joined North's younger brigade in Utah, and admitted the long flight and high altitude had certainly been difficult to get used to.

“I’ve never been overseas,” he said.

“It’s freezing up here, you can hardly breathe. The first session we did I got two breaths in and I was starting to struggle, but it’s been a good experience. I’m loving it, all the boys have got around me really well.”

The Queenslander is far more used to the sun than the snow and said surfing was something that occupied most of his time outside of football.

“I love the surf, it’s all I do on my weekends up in Brisbane. I’d love to go to Bells (Beach) and try some of the waves down there.”

But for now, the focus is well and truly on proving himself to his new teammates and his pre-season goals.

“(To) get a bit more kilos on me, I’m only light,” he said.

“(I want) to do whatever I can to get the team as high as I can, even if that’s a Premiership this year.

“My personal goal would be to try and get a game this year.”