Meeting 40 new colleagues is no easy feat - just ask Paul Ahern.

The North Melbourne midfielder is well and truly settled in at Arden Street now, but back in 2016 it was no doubt intimidating walking into a new club.

For Ahern, getting to know his teammates was key; that task made a little easier heading to Utah in his first pre-season. 

“I think just understanding everyone’s backgrounds, everyone’s going to be different,” the 23-year-old told True North. 

“Being able to bond and learn about each other’s past and how they grew up, I think that’s one of the biggest things.”

One of the first teammates Ahern was able to bond with was Kayne Turner. 

“I think we first met in Utah on that first trip over there, so I think an environment like that made it a lot easier to build relationships (for Ahern),” Turner said.

“Obviously a few [players] coming in from a new club, it wouldn’t have been as hard as if you had to walk into 45 new blokes.

“I think there was only 15 or 20 of us over there [Utah], so it gave us a really good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and speak to some guys you wouldn’t probably normally speak to as much.”

Turner said being in a scenario with unfamiliar faces is perfect to push people out of their comfort zones. 

“When you get thrown in those different situations, I think you get to take the most of them and really get to know someone,” he said.

“It might start at the smallest thing and we’re (Ahern and Turner) both interested in American sport like the basketball and NFL over there, so I think once you find that common ground, it just rolls on.”

Ahern echoed those thoughts. 

“I think the good thing is, obviously everyone has their different backgrounds, but we’re all here together and we’re all trying to achieve the same thing, which is obviously winning a premiership,” he said. 

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