With a raft of player re-signings making headlines at North Melbourne, the spotlight has now shifted onto those coming out of contract at Aegis park and there are none bigger than vice-captain Drew Petrie, who after his 13th season in 2013, will become a free agent.

However chief of football Donald McDonald believes the superstar power forward will remain a Kangaroo for life.

“Sometimes discussions can take a while and sometimes they get done pretty quickly but we’ve only just started negotiations,” McDonald told NMFC.com.au.

“Drew is one of our most important players and is greatly respected at this club. He’s also extremely loyal and we have no doubt he’ll be with us beyond this year.”

Daniel Wells, Jack Ziebell, Shaun Atley and Jamie Macmillan recently inked new deals with the club and McDonald says the Roos are well placed for the future.

"It's something that we do pretty regularly, trying to get players a year early if we can,” he said.

“When we know these guys are committed to us, it gives us time to concentrate fully on our preparation.  Sometimes negotiations can last six, seven or eight months and traditionally we start them early because you know it could take until the end of the year before you get the deals done.”
McDonald says the players should be praised for their commitment.

"It's a good tick for the football department and the club in general that the players and their managers feel that we're on the right track and they all get looked after accordingly."

Add Todd Goldstein and Ryan Bastinac, who signed new deals late last season, and there’s a core group of players North can rely on for years to come.

"Strategically we've made a focus of bringing all these guys in together. To see all these guys commit is fantastic and I think it's testament to the relationships they've built.

"When you look at guys like Wells… he feels like we're on the right track and he doesn't even want to entertain free agency which is good.

“‘Ziebs and Atley were first round draft picks who are extremely vital to our future.  We’ve put four years of development into Jack and two into Ats and you can really build a team around those guys because they’re both leaders in their own right.”

While securing players’ signatures is vital, locking in coach Brad Scott was also crucial according to McDonald.  

“He’s had three years at the helm now and the players respond to his message really well. He’s a terrific young coach and someone we really want to build our whole football club around.”