North draftee Mitch Hibberd says earning respect of his teammates will be key, as he looks to make his mark early.

Hibberd, who is with his fellow draftees at the Roos pre-season training camp in Utah, said he was focused on repaying the faith in the club that drafted him with pick 33.

“(My aim is) to put on some weight and build a body and earn the respect of my teammates, but definitely I’ll be aiming for a senior game as everyone should be,” Hibberd told NMFC.com.au

“We are not here to make up the numbers. I’m obviously putting my best foot forward this pre-season to get a game in Round 1.”

It’s been a whirlwind introduction to life as a senior footy player for the draftees, with the group heading to America only 72 hours after hearing their named called in the NAB AFL Draft.

But Hibberd has loved every minute of it.

“It’s been awesome. It’s good to be over here, it’s all happened pretty quick. You get drafted on a Tuesday and fly out on a Thursday.”

A North fan all his life, Hibberd's named being read out was somewhat of a dream come true. 

“It’s all a bit of a blur to be honest, I can’t remember a lot of it,” he said of the draft.

“We were sitting there with the family, it became North’s pick, I guess my name got read out and I kind of remember the first name, everyone sort of jumped up and screamed and that sort of thing. But from then on, it was a bit of a blur. I have to watch the draft again at some point.”

Hibberd described himself as a “tall midfielder or rebounding half back that likes to use his foot skills and take a grab” as well as trying to emulate some of the game’s elite.

“I try and model my game on Marcus Bontempelli and Nat Fyfe,” he said.

While a senior debut was the obvious goal, the Tasmanian said he hoped to one day play in his home state in front of his family and friends.

“I’d absolutely love to play at Bellerive in front of the Tassie crowd, but there’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge before that happens.

“Being a North fan and coming to North is a bit surreal. I guess it helps knowing everyone’s face and names. It’s a bit weird training with your heroes, but it’s sort of starting to sink in now.

“My favourite player from North has always been Daniel Wells. I look forward to meeting him, and I’ll probably cop a bit of stick for that.”

While Hibberd’s time in Utah hasn’t been long, he said it had already proved to be very valuable.

“I think it’s been fantastic to come away the young fellas and a couple of the older guys and build those relationships and meet the coaches and get to know them,” he said.

“I think it’s been really good for us to get to know everyone and it will help our transition next week when we head back to Melbourne.”