On Sunday afternoon Todd Goldstein will run out for his 300th game in the blue and white stripes.

In real time it can be difficult to comprehend the significance of a player's career, their stature and their legacy. It is brought into clarity by the fact he will be just the sixth North Melbourne player to have accomplished the milestone in the club's 154-year history.

To commemorate the feat, NMFC Media has spoken with his current and former teammates, coaches and competitors to gain a better sense of the man and the player.

"He's come a long way from when he first started," Brent Harvey began.

"My first impression was like it is with most ruckmen, that 'if they're going to be our No.1 ruckman, we're struggling'."

A late convert from basketball, the 18-year-old was unfamiliar with the rigours and expectations of professional football.

After a string of late appearances, North Melbourne's leadership group, including Harvey, convened to banish Goldstein to then-reserves affiliate Werribee.

"We said 'you're not part of the AFL program for two weeks, so go away and think about your footy'," the games record-holder recollected.

"To 'Goldy's' credit, he came back a completely different person.

"When you have meetings like that you don't just dump them, you make a stance. When he came back, he just looked like he'd turned a corner.

"He was there earlier, he was doing a few extras. And it didn't take him long to become the established ruckman at our footy club."

The former Oakleigh Charger won his first cap in Round 15, 2008, and by that point in 2009 had established himself as a first-choice player for the Kangaroos.

He rucked with Hamish McIntosh that season and the next, with the more senior man once selected in the All-Australian squad.

Over the 2011 and 2012 seasons McIntosh would experience Achilles and knee injuries that limited him to just eight games, and Goldstein stepped up.

In the seasons that followed he forged an almost telekinetic connection with first-round selections Jack Ziebell and Ben Cunnington in particular.

"The three of us didn't have to look at each other or say anything and we would all know where each other was going," Ziebell recalled.

"If Goldy was getting a bit of attention we used to just say 'bring your bloke past and we'll make it hard for them'.

"You wouldn't have to say anything, he'd just look at me and give me a little nod and I'd think 'no worries, I'll just chop you out a little bit'."

The crowning moment in the early part of Goldstein's career came in a 2014 semi-final against Geelong at the MCG.

A week earlier the Kangaroos had overcome a 33-point deficit to eliminate Essendon, but the inverse was on the cards this time.

Just 23 at the time, Ziebell had booted two goals in three minutes to lift the Kangaroos to a 32-point lead with less than 15 minutes to play.

Twenty-seven of the next 28 points went to the Cats. A major would send the tie to extra-time, and all the momentum was with the Roos' opponents.

With 30 seconds to go Andrew Mackie sent a searching kick to the top of the square, and Goldstein got back in time to get his hands around it.

"People ask me about the most memorable moments of my career, and that's probably number one, really," co-captain Luke McDonald reminisced.

"I was right at the fall of the ball on Steven Motlop, so I was thinking 'if anyone's going to kick a goal here, it's Stevie…'

"I saw the ball in Goldy's hands and I was so pumped … it was a massive relief. The siren went less than a minute later, and that's a moment I'll never forget.

"It wasn't a Grand Final but it was still a final, and it was Leo Barry-esque, how he came in and duked it."

As Ziebell recalled, "he's done that probably three or four times in his career, right at the end where as a big boy he's just taken a strong mark to close it out. He's got some clutch in him.

"It's amazing to have watched him go from that young guy who's probably not that professional … to take his opportunity and just grow with confidence. 'I can do this, and I want to do this, and I'm the man. I want to dominate'.

"It was a big transformation."

The following campaign saw records tumble; Goldstein became the first player to notch 1,000 hitouts in a season, and set the all-time high in a match with 80 against Greater Western Sydney.

His first and only Syd Barker Medal beckoned, along with selection in the All-Australian team.

As North Melbourne's No.22 was piecing together his strongest season, a future Melbourne champion in Max Gawn was flourishing.

Having shaken off the injuries of his early career, Gawn finished the 2015 season with 13 games, an average of 37.3 hitouts and a goal every other game.

Just as Goldstein's career hit its apex a challenger to the throne had emerged, and fortuitously the pair were fixtured to face off just three rounds into the next season.

After half an hour in the Tasmanian capital the Kangaroos had put up 50 points, and the reigning All-Australian ruck was on his way to a bag.

Melbourne had clawed back the lead by half-time, but in the end the four points went with the Roos on the charter flight home.

Goldstein finished with 19 disposals, 38 hitouts and five goals, and the Dees big man posted 18 disposals, 63 hitouts and two goals of his own.

"It's like they shook hands at the start of the day and said I'll see you later," Ziebell laughed.

"That was one of the best games I've seen him play."

As Gawn recalled, "it was one of those classic Blundstone Arena winds."

"Goldy kicked three in the first quarter, and as a ruck I don't want to talk down his forward line play but it certainly wasn't him getting forward, it was all off the back of me!

"That was the first day I was able to take a mark on Goldy and do something the other way, but he still pantsed me."

Where Gawn felt most stretched wasn't in the contest, but in Goldstein's capacity to read the game and make critical contributions around the ground.

"When you first play someone, whatever happens those first few times can get stuck in your head," he explained.

"My worries every time I played Goldy was thinking about the five-goal game, or thinking about times where he's got out me on offensive spread.

"It's less about the ruck and more about how much he can damage you from an offensive point of view, and how quickly he made decisions.

"In terms of what he's the best at among rucks in the AFL, it's definitely his decision-making."

Champion West Coast tall Nic Naitanui echoed his sentiments.

"It's rare that you get too many guys that are pretty skilful and can go forward and kick goals on a regular basis," he reflected.

"Having someone like Dean Cox at the football club when I came through helped me prepare for Goldy.

"They're pretty similar in that they weren't just ruckmen that tapped the footy, they could actually get around the ground and accumulate a bit of the football themselves as well.

"He's someone I put a lot of time and effort into every time I played on him."

That isn't to undersell Goldstein's bread and butter, mind you.

"Not many ruckmen around the game can put it in a 360-degree range at a centre bounce," Ziebell mused.

"With Goldy, if he thinks he can get an edge over a ruckman, he's got all 360 degrees to work with. So as a midfielder, nothing's off-limits. There's nothing he can't do."

"He's got a unique ability to have an off-hand as well," Harvey agreed.

"He's a left-handed ruckman, so you think he's just going to hit it down on the right side, but Goldy has the ability to flip it both sides. When you went in there you could mix things up."

Such has been Goldstein's longevity, his partners at the coalface have gone from Ziebell, Cunnington and Andrew Swallow to Jy Simpkin, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Tom Powell.

In a game underpinned more than ever by positioning at stoppages and responses to transitions, communication is critical.

Davies-Uniacke pinpoints this as one of Goldstein's great strengths, in addition to his running power and ruck craft.

"When we get together as a group before the bounce, (what stands out) is just how much clarity he's got with us," he emphasised.

"What he wants to see from us, how the centre bounce is going to look before it even happens.

"It's good to get the ruck's point of view as well of things that work and don't work, and just how important it is to communicate with the ruck and the players around you.

"He's all class."

Despite his strength as a communicator with his comrades, Goldstein seldom confers with his opponents on the ground.

"We were rivals there for a while so we didn't talk," Gawn smiled.

"Certainly in our first few games we were … not friends, would be the best way to say it.

"We still are rivals but now we're the elder statesmen among ruckmen, so every now and then we have a little conversation and it's getting a little bit more light-hearted as we go on."

"That's one reason I like Goldy," Naitanui laughed.

"He plays hard but he's not like some of the idiots out there that would chirp the whole game, he just lets his football do the talking.

"He's always very respectful, he'll shake hands and have a chat after the game but nothing more than that. That's not to say he didn't fire up and play hard!"

His serene manner masks an inner fire, as his teammates emphasise.

While he wouldn't be sucked into verbal back-and-forths, Goldstein set out to grind his opponents into the ground.

"He's super competitive, though he doesn't show it outwardly too much," Ziebell related.

"At his best, one of the things I loved about Goldy is that he would take ruckmen on because he would play 100 per cent of the game as a ruckman, and just dominate them.

"When the other ruckman would go for a spell, he'd get the second ruckman and dominate them as well.

"He gave us supreme confidence and we probably wouldn't be half the players we were without him."

As the North Melbourne team that went to preliminary finals in 2014 and 2015 fell away, rivals pushed to secure Goldstein's signature, dangling the lure of premiership success.

Geelong, perennially in the hunt for a top-line ruck, tabled an offer in 2019, but the veteran felt he couldn't walk away from his relationships at Arden Street.

"There were always rumours about teams chasing Goldy, but I was always like 'nah, he'll never leave'," McDonald asserted.

"He's part of the fabric of the club, and he's got such a deep connection through people like (long-time property stewards) Janet and Carly Fox who have that similar lore.

"You could never see him in any other colours. He's always been steadfast that he wants to play 300 games at North Melbourne."

Having played under seven coaches (three caretakers), Goldstein has experienced his fair share of flux and turnover.

In traumatic times, it's come naturally to him to help teammates and colleagues pick up the pieces.

"We've had some horrific losses in our journey, and we've been there together through those losses which makes the wins just that little bit more special," Ziebell explained.

"It's just time that brings you all closer together. Familiarity, trust, there's that much trust between us. Especially when you get things done in big moments … it's pretty cool."

With his form holding up, and the club both brimming with talent and invigorated by the appointment of four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson, Goldstein is in no hurry to call time.

However, his final legacy piece is already in motion.

Tristan Xerri has long loomed as his successor, and the two have rucked in tandem over recent seasons, but in the opening round the younger man was preferred.

Clarkson explained to reporters that it was match-up and balance-oriented as opposed to a passing of the baton, but to punters it felt seismic.

As the first match of the season neared, the coach asked his charges to write a 'gratitude letter' to anyone in their lives they felt had helped them through a punishing summer.

In a twist of fate, Xerri chose to write to his mentor.

"That was in the week that it had all transpired! We didn't set that up deliberately for 'X' to write that letter. That was X's choice," Clarkson remembered.

"I'm sure it wasn't lost on him that 'the reason I'm here and Goldy hasn't been selected is because he's helped me get to the point where the club's selected me to carry the mantle for this week'.

"What a beautiful story … and what a great acknowledgement of the relationship those two guys have got."

When the coach first introduced the concept to the players, Xerri was instantly sure he was going to write to Goldstein.

"In the letter I actually mentioned that I was nervous going out there without him," he shared.

"In my previous 24 games, they were all with Goldy … whether I was having a good game or a bad game, he would be that level head, with feedback I could rely on.

"It was a weird feeling. I was pretty happy to be selected, but he just showed … he came in the next week, dominated and helped us get a win against Freo.

"You can't keep a champion down."

In the end, their close relationship may prolong Goldstein's capacity to compete with the emerging generation.

"We always go together in our warm-ups, we always watch vision together … he's been around a hell of a lot longer so he's got a lot more intel," Xerri explained.

"But in the past few years I've noticed with the younger ruck crop coming through, I've played juniors and VFL with a lot of them, so it's almost turning!

"I'm telling him how a particular ruck plays nowadays, rather than him telling me! It's funny that, it just shows how long he's been around."

Since he cemented his place in the team in mid-2009, Goldstein has played 20 or more games in all but two seasons – in 2017 (19), and in the COVID-shortened 2020 season (17).

It has perhaps concealed how much he's persisted through.

"He's as courageous as they come," Ziebell contended.

"His ability to push through his pain tolerance to play … in his prime he would have dealt with more injuries than anyone ever knew or he gets credit for.

"After some games when he hadn't played his best footy people were into him, but he'd have torn ligaments in his ankle. You're thinking 'how can you play?!'"

"I have so much respect for ruckmen who can play for so long," Naitanui added.

"To get that extended period out of your body when you're a combative person … no disrespect but (it would be different) if he were out on the wing not getting hit as much.

"To get banged up and get through to this point … 17 years is amazing. It's rare, but it just shows the calibre of player."

His contemporaries chalk it up to his professionalism, the very pillar that saw his future in the game on the precipice in his first season.

"He knows what's best for him and for his body," Simpkin has observed.

"It's funny, during the pre-season you know he's not going at one hundred per cent, but as soon as those games come around and the season starts he just takes it to a new level.

"His preparation is so good, and he knows how to get the best out of himself."

Not only has he has kept pace with the more complex physical and mental components of an elite athlete's preparation to play, but with the Xs and Os on the whiteboards.

Goldstein's career has unfolded amid the most rapid tactical evolution the game has seen.

Clarkson was one of the primary architects, having revolutionised how teams set up and move when out of possession over his 17 seasons with Hawthorn.

Ross Lyon (St Kilda) and Mick Malthouse (Collingwood) first put pressure on the map as an expectation, and the latter refined it into a coherent 'press'.

Later on Clarkson and Adam Simpson's meticulously organised Hawthorn and West Coast teams existed almost in a binary with the organised chaos of Damien Hardwick's Richmond.

Where other players have been swallowed up by the change, Goldstein has persisted.

Even now there are few rucks at the level who combine his capability in the ruck with his ability to get around the ground and affect the game with ball in hand.

"When he first played, it would've been the old 'ruckman playing a kick behind the play' move, and it was man v man," Clarkson recalled.

"The game has changed so much, and he's been able to evolve and still maintain his capacity to have impact on games."

In part, his coach attributes his longevity to the dexterity and poise he developed as a junior basketballer.

"For a guy of his size, his ball-handling skills are really strong," he mused.

"Over the last little while ruckmen have been used as link players through the middle of the ground … Goldy's been able to do that for North for a long period of time."

"He was the happy medium between the big rucks that just take marks … he was the one who got involved as a fourth midfielder and kicked goals," Gawn reflected.

"Now they all seem to play like Goldy was 10 years ago. He's a trailblazer in a way that certainly developed my game and helped me do that better."

As North Melbourne's group comes to grips with a new gameplan in the long-term pursuit of silverware, so too will Goldstein grow and change to suit the team's needs.

"He's going to go through another exploration phase now," Clarkson forecast.

"If he had the blinkers on with any of this, like 'I just want to keep it to the old way,' he'd probably fall out of the system.

"I just see a really balanced individual who reads the landscape … he wants to continue playing and not say 'oh it looks like my career's over', he wants to continue to thrive and be the very best he can be for as long as he can be."