When Paul Curtis played his 50th game last season, he had his young son Elijah in his arms to run through North Melbourne's banner at Marvel Stadium. 

When the Roos had their pre-season team photo day earlier this year, two-year-old Elijah was there with his dad, wearing a mini long-sleeved No.25 blue and white jumper. 

But Curtis wasn't always as comfortable with his fatherhood mixing with his football. It was not until Elijah was nearly six months old, midway through the talented half-forward's second year at Arden Street, that Curtis was ready to tell the Kangaroos he had a son. 

"A lot of the boys thought I was joking. I'd tell them out on the track and they'd ask me for birth certificates and photos. And even when I showed them photos, they'd still think it was my brother's kid," Curtis told AFL.com.au.

"We did a lot of setting up the camera and having the boys walk in and be like, 'Whose baby is this?'. He was months old and they were like, 'How have I not known him this long?!'"

Curtis was coming to the end of his debut year in the AFL in 2022 when his former partner Michaela rang to tell him she was pregnant. She had only started to show late in her pregnancy and they were no longer together, so the news came as a shock to the then-teenager. 

"We had been together for about five years, but hadn't spoken for a little bit by then when she let me know," he said. "It was definitely a big surprise."

After letting his family know, Curtis decided to keep his private news to himself. He wasn't sure how it would be perceived within the club or what impact it could have on his young career. Mainly, he needed time to get his head around the significant change coming his way.

"I'm a pretty insular person. I just didn't feel the need to tell everyone. It is a really special thing, but there was maybe the thought that I wasn't trying to have one and people are super proud to try and proud when they do have one. I, of course, am as well. It was just how I handled it," he said.

Just before Elijah was born, Curtis travelled to Europe with some teammates at the end of 2022 and on one night of the trip informed them of his impending fatherhood, but wanted them to keep it under wraps.

Elijah was born in January 2023, and as Curtis went about solidifying his spot in the Roos' attack that year, he was also a new father at home, unbeknownst to most at North. After several months, he let his close mates know, then development coach Tom Lynch, who had also had kids at an earlier age during his career at Adelaide. With every conversation, Curtis found himself wanting to share more.

"Telling people was the hardest thing for me. Once I told everyone, it was a weight off my shoulders. 'Clarko' (coach Alastair Clarkson) actually guessed it to be fair. I pulled him aside for a chat and I was like, 'Oh Clarko, I've got something to tell ya, it's pretty exciting for me' and he's like, 'You've got a baby!' And I said 'Yeah!'" Curtis said.

"Everyone was saying, 'Why didn't you just tell us in the first place? We don't care.' My teammates love him like I do, they're always asking when he's around and want to come over.

"I feel like 90 per cent of the things I thought (would happen) didn't actually happen. I was worried about their thoughts of me, like if it was a negative, or if it changed their minds of me. But really the main thing was me trying to come to terms with what's happening in my life. I was still 19 turning 20." 

Curtis, known as 'PC' at North, is now 22. But he feels a lot more mature than that as he co-parents Elijah with Michaela. 

The pair share custody and arrange his time around his football commitments at North. If he plays on a weekend, he will try to have Elijah on a Sunday night and Monday and several times a week, and in pre-season will drop him at daycare twice a week.

Curtis lives in a share house with four other young Roos – Cooper Harvey, Miller Bergman, Josh Goater and Robbie Hansen jnr. He worries sometimes when Elijah is crying at night that his son is keeping his teammates up ahead of an early start the next day (they always tell him they can't hear him), but his teammates love having a toddler around, and occasionally are enlisted to look after him for moments if Curtis has to duck out. 

"He's growing up very quick and he's very, very smart. I didn't know how much babies pay attention to you. We all chip around in the house off the carpet with the golf clubs, and I bought him a little golf set so he's already hitting the ball," said Curtis, who has Elijah's name tattooed on his hand and also on his chest.

"He's a right-hander sadly. I was training him to be a left-hander by putting everything in his left hand, but he has gone right. He's amazing and he's starting to talk now. I'm enjoying fatherhood and everything that comes with it." 

Curtis hasn't been doing it alone. Since opening up at North, the club's welfare team have been willing to help, with player development manager Corey Maynard particularly important. Curtis' parents regularly take Elijah for visits, while Michaela and Curtis have maintained a good relationship.

Curtis' current girlfriend, Kelera, has also been heavily involved after what Curtis feared would be another hard conversation during Elijah's early days.

"I said to her ... 'I've got a baby' and she was exceptional. She was actually quite happy because she loves kids and wants a lot of kids as well," he said.

Kelera even works at Elijah's daycare and has often helped in bringing him home at the end of the day, with the all-hands-on-deck approach giving Curtis time to focus on making his football career count, too.

After kicking 30 goals last year, he wants to lift his tally in 2025. He also wants to evolve his game; he has dropped his 2km time trial down to 6:30 minutes and closely studied the likes of Tyson Stengle and Toby Greene for their ability to move up the ground while still being a threat inside 50, which he was last week with three goals against the Western Bulldogs.

Throughout Curtis' journey, Clarkson has been a big supporter. 

"I had the yips last year. I had about 60 shots at goal and kicked half of them, which is not the worst. But I'd come in on my day off with (Clarkson) and we'd have 50 shots at goal – just me and him," Curtis said.

"After about three weeks, other boys started rocking up and seeing me and 'Clarko' in at the club on our days off and started joining in. My goalkicking got better after that and I am more confident in front of goals.

"He thinks I could be an All-Australian one year and 'Clarko' is not one to just pump up your tyres. Obviously what he says doesn't just happen, but my goal is to kick 40 this year."

He will have Elijah in mind with each one. Having landed a longer contract through to the end of 2028, the 60-gamer knows having success as a player now extends further than just himself.

"I want to give Elijah the best life I can and support him as a co-parent and support Michaela as well. It is quite hard for her as well ... I'm a big part of her life, so just being able to support those two and give him the best shot at life. I just want to always be there for him," he said.

He is already looking forward to when Elijah is old enough to start joining the Roos' father-son clinics, and of course perfecting his own fend-off like his dad.

"I think about that all the time. You see 'Boomer' (Brent Harvey) and 'Coop' (son Cooper Harvey) and 'Arch' (Jackson Archer and father Glenn) as well, and how special it is to them growing up with their dad playing and they come in for the Roos clinics and father-son things," Curtis said.

"It is really special and I hope he can look up to me one day."

Curtis, whose mother is from Tonga and represented her country in the Commonwealth Games for netball, will line up for the Roos in the first match of the Cultural Heritage Series against Melbourne on Sunday afternoon at Marvel Stadium.