North Melbourne has locked in its side for its Round 1 clash with the GWS Giants on Saturday afternoon, with five new players set to become Shinboners.

Free agent recruit Toby Pink's long-awaited AFL debut was confirmed earlier on Thursday.

Fellow recruits Dylan Stephens and Zac Fisher will pull on the blue and white stripes for the first time after crossing from Sydney and Carlton respectively during the trade period.

ROUND 1 MATCH PREVIEW
Roos face firing Giants in season opener

As revealed on Tuesday, highly touted 2023 draftees Colby McKercher (pick No.2) and Zane Duursma (pick No.4) will also make their first AFL appearances.

03:41

'Your hard work has paid off': Colby, Zane deliver the news to their parents

Colby's parents Darren and Nicole, and Zane's parents Susie and Dean find out that their sons are debuting on Saturday

Charlie Lazzaro, Tom Powell, Liam Shiels, Jaidyn Stephenson, and Eddie Ford have been named on the interchange bench for Saturday's game. One of the five will be named as the substitute an hour before the first bounce.

With Jy Simpkin in concussion protocol and Luke McDonald still working his way back from a hamstring injury, sharpshooting forward Nick Larkey will take the reins as standalone captain for the club's season opener.

Miller Bergman, Bigoa Nyuon, and Robert Hansen jnr are the three emergencies.

Bouncedown at ENGIE Stadium is at 4.35pm.

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What you need to know for R1