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.

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.

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.