The 27-year-old was a runaway winner in the two-kilometre event at Lakeside Stadium, with rookie Tim McGenniss next in line.
A red-hot favourite going in to the time trial, Gibson says the work he’s done in the off-season paid dividends.
“The nature of footy these days is you can’t slack off too much,” he told NMFC.com.au.
“We’ve had a good break, but (will) train pretty hard so we are really excited and ready to go next year.”
PRESS PLAY above to watch vision from the time trial | YouTube
Ryan Bastinac, Shaun Atley and Jamie Macmillan rounded out the top five, while father-son draftee Luke McDonald finished in an impressive seventh place.
Only the first to fourth year players were required to attend, but that didn’t stop veteran Drew Petrie from getting a head-start on his preparations.
“I’m yet to miss a pre-season… this is my 14th, so I reckon if you can have a good four month pre-season then it will really hold you in good stead going into the home and away season.”
Following the time trial, the players returned for a skills session at Aegis Park. In the scorching sun, it was a tough initiation for North's up-and-comers.
Related: Time trial photos | Day one training photos
