Monday morning saw North Melbourne players put to the immediate test in their return to Arden Street with a 1.8km shuttle run to kick off the new year.

Back-to-back Syd Barker medallist Jy Simpkin followed up on his early December time trial victory with another impressive run, being the first Roo to cross the line.

The midfielder, along with young defender Jackson Archer - who triumphed in the initial shuttle run for first-to-fourth-year players - went neck-and-neck for most of the time trial, but the former worked his way into the outright lead in the dying stages.

From Archer was versatile midfielder Daniel Howe in third and Luke McDonald in fourth with the pair backing up their efforts from late last year.

Bailey Scott gave a late push to claim fifth while Jaidyn Stephenson, who was another significant improver from December's trial, finished sixth.

Coming in at seventh was fresh forward line recruit Harry Sheezel. He was closely followed by veteran Kayne Turner, while pacey midfield/small forwards Jack Mahony and Blake Drury rounded out the top 10 after recording matching times.

1.8KM SHUTTLE RUN

1. Jy Simpkin
2. Jackson Archer
3. Daniel Howe
4. Luke McDonald
5. Bailey Scott
6. Jaidyn Stephenson
7. Harry Sheezel
8. Kayne Turner
9. Jack Mahony
=9. Blake Drury