He’s only in his third year but already, Cameron Delaney is one of the most popular players at North Melbourne.

A unique character, the 20-year old likes the lighter side of life and it’s not too often you don’t see him smiling or laughing with his teammates.

However, when it comes to training at altitude in Utah, he can knuckle down as hard as anyone and there’s one particular advantage he has over everyone else.

When it comes to the long hikes, Delaney is in his element and displays and ability to charge up steep mountainsides like no other. So much so, he’s been dubbed ‘The Mountain Goat’ to go with his other moniker ‘Leggy’.

“On the hikes, I’ve tended to get a bit carried away out in front leading the pack…I used to turn around and be a good thirty metres ahead and realise I was talking to myself,” Delaney explained.

“I just hike away and don’t even realise that I’m way ahead of the group. The boys are always coming up with stupid nicknames and it was the ‘Mountain Goat’ at first and now it’s been cut down to ‘The Goat’.

“They get me to make a few goat noises now and then which gives a few boys a few laughs…they get a bit of a kick out of it so I don’t mind it.”

Delaney believes his longer strides are the key to him being an efficient climber.

“I’m always complaining that I’m too skinny, but for once, those nice long skinny legs have come in handy.”

Jokes aside, the young defender says he’s determined to add weight to his light frame in order to be a more consistent member of the Roos’ side.

“I still need to keep chucking on the kilos and just keep impressing the coaches over here and then when we get back home. When the practice matches start, I really have to put some good performances in to get an early gig and then hold my spot.

“I’m still hovering around the 90 kilo mark and for my position, I need to be another five or so kilos at least so they’ve got me on all the protein and the non-stop eating diet while I’m here so hopefully I can chuck on lots more kilos which would be nice.”

After committing to the club for a further three years, Delaney was confronted with the possibility of seeing his older brother Luke depart North with several rival clubs interested during the recent trade period.

“We spoke about it a little bit and at the end of the day, it’s a job and you need to look out for yourself. But it turned out that North rate him pretty highly and we’re keen to keep him and he was really happy to stay which was great,” the younger Delaney explained.

“Most brothers are pretty close, but being at the same club and living with him…it comes easy with us. It’s not a pain in the arse to be around each other all the time.”

In fact the brothers are inseparable.

“We might get sick of each other at times, because we know what buttons to push…but we also know when to back off and leave each other alone.

“I’m pretty happy to have my brother here, we’re pretty good competitors and I always like beating him as well.”

The junior sibling couldn’t help but throw a few barbs his older brother’s way, revealing one particular weakness to kangaroos.com.au.

“His short fuse... If you can work him up, hook him in and get under his skin really good then he’s got no hope. Then you just start laughing and he realises that you were having him on…it could be the smallest thing and he’ll fly off the handle…you can get him every time really.

“Luke’s known as the one in the family with no patience whereas I’m a bit more calm and collected. I know when to step away, especially when he starts piping up, I just walk away where he’ll just keep coming.

“If it wasn’t for me there’s be a lot more arguments between us I reckon,” he joked.