Likely top-10 draft pick Marcus Bontempelli will be well gone by the time North takes its first live pick at number 30 on Thursday night, but he’ll still have significant ties to the club.

Cousins with new Roo Nick Dal Santo, Bontempelli made a name for himself at TAC Cup level for the Northern Knights, but was tagged hard by the opposition. In order deal with the problem, he turned to Dal Santo for help.

''He's always been really good like that,” Bontempelli told The Age’s Emma Quayle.

“I felt like I needed some advice or a bit of direction on how I should go about handling it, because it was new to me. I wasn't sure what to do about it and it's just lucky I was able to call Nick and talk to him and call upon him when I needed it.”

It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to imagine Dal Santo playing the same role with the likes of Ben Cunnington, Jack Ziebell, Ryan Bastinac and company over the next couple of years. With Dal Santo alongside Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells, the trio can discuss any aspect of life in the AFL, leaving the club’s youngsters in good hands.

It’s something Bontempelli already appreciates.

“I'm probably still a little kid to him, but we've had some similar experiences now and we have a bit more in common. He's a 250-game player, but I know how disciplined he's been and how much work he's had to do to get to that level and be so good at it. He's shown me what can happen if you work really hard to make sure that it happens.”