The ruckman is one of a number of stars the Kangaroos are looking to lock away sooner rather than later.
“We are a fair way down the track with Todd’s management. We’ve had a number of discussions with his management,” he told NMFC.com.au on Friday.
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Goldstein though is just one of a number of important signings the Roos will be looking to secure.
“If you can hold your group together for 120-150-180 games, the nucleus of your team, I think that indicates you are going to be successful.
“I think the list is in a good position. I think we are a club that I think is still trending upwards in terms of the potential to perform,” he added.
“Our age profile’s good. We are now getting a number of guys who are pushing past the 20-30 games and pushing into the 50-60 game category. They’ve got two or three pre-seasons under their belt. They know what’s expected in what is required to play AFL footy and what is required to play footy consistently.
“The depth of our list is good. The experience of our list is starting to get us into a position where it will no doubt translate into performance in games.”
Walsh, who re-joined the club in October after a seven-year stint at Collingwood, has been impressed by the players’ approach during pre-season.
“The first thing that does strike you when you arrive is how hard the players work. I’d had some experience with a previous club with Arizona trips, and to see how hard our North Melbourne players were working in Utah fills you with confidence.
“The training load in Utah was extreme I thought, but it will obviously hold us in good stead.”
A new role brings new challenges, but Walsh is confident North has the right foundations in place.
“The thing that impressed me when I arrived was the number of really skilled people within the footy department; our conditioning department, our high performance team led by Steve Saunders, the coaching panel that Brad Scott’s put together.
“In terms of first impressions they were the things that struck me, that we had a high number of quality people in the football department.”
The arrivals of Leigh Tudor, Gavin Brown and Ben Dyer has rejuvenated North’s coaching brigade.
“Those three acquisitions are outstanding for the group.
“Leigh’s been with a couple of organisations that have experienced success. Gavin is arguably one of Collingwood’s greatest ever players. He spent a lot of time coaching under Mick Malthouse both at Collingwood and Carlton, coached his own team in the VFL. To add those two guys has given our coaching stocks a great boost.
“Ben Dyer comes with a reputation as being one of the very good development coaches out of Western Australia. In the short time he’s been with us, his ability to teach and coach has really come to the fore.”
Walsh says spirits are high amongst the football department, with competitive action less than a month away.
“There can be some flat spots in training just before Christmas and just after Christmas because games seem so far away.
“We’re within touching distance now of games. Feb. 15 our first game against Carlton in Ballarat is not that far away, so the excitement is certainly tangible in terms of guys wanting to make their mark and wanting to be included in that first team.”
2014 will be a chance for North to rebound from the disappointment of last season, but Walsh isn’t taking notice of criticism from afar.
“A close loss has nothing to do with the next week, let alone the next season. I’m sure we’ve got principles applied to our preparation. Our coaching panel is top quality.”
Another talking point of the off-season; the AFL’s cap on rotations. But it’s a change that won’t phase the Kangaroos.
“It doesn’t matter if there are 120 or 120,000. Clubs will adapt to it,” Walsh said.
“I know that the rule-makers will have reasons for bringing all sorts of things… the laws of the game, that’s part of their charter.
“Coaches are pretty good at adapting and we’ll find a way to make it work for us.”
