NORTH Melbourne defender Daniel Pratt believes the Kangaroos will enter season 2011 more prepared than ever before after their first taste of altitude training.

The Roos recently went to Utah for 20 days of training at elevation; a technique Collingwood has employed for the past five years.

The 27-year-old says the experience has already given the players a pre-season boost.

"North Melbourne has never been in a position to do anything like this and to be able to get away for three weeks with 40 players is a great building block," he said.

"At high altitude it was pretty tough, but the boys came back and did some running on Monday, first day back running, and they struggled with the heat because it was always under zero [degrees] in Utah.

"It's given us a good base for the season."

Pratt was in a position to watch his teammates complete most of the overseas training as he remained on restricted duties during the trip after recent hip surgery.

He said the effort level from the Roos was strong across the board.

"It's probably hard to pick an individual [who stood out]. With the young players we've got, the way they went about it, I could see the way they pride themselves was first rate," he said.

Pratt's hip surgery was completed in a bid to cure the injury problems that disrupted his season.

He recently told the club's website he was confident the operation would free up his back and hamstrings but wasn't expecting to be back in full training until after Christmas.

"I'm just taking it easy at the minute and making sure I get everything right and then hopefully I'll have an injury free year," he said.

The Kangaroos could soon become regulars in the regional town of Ballarat with a future Labor Government committed to providing funds to bring AFL games to Eureka Stadium.

Pratt said the players would welcome the opportunity to play matches just over an hour out of Melbourne.

"We've got a fantastic relationship with Ballarat. The city council up there are right behind us and we've had the three premierships with our VFL affiliate," Pratt said.

"The relationship is strong and it's only going to get stronger if we do that.

"They've got a really big football supporter base up there so it's great the club can tap into that."