‘Get excited’; that’s the message from Jy Simpkin to North Melbourne fans.

The star midfielder says new coach David Noble had already had a big impact on the training track, and taken charge of a group with plenty to prove.

“’Nobes’ has been really good,” Simpkin said on SEN.

“North fans can be really excited about the game-plan he’s going to bring to the club this year.

“We’ve been training a fair bit with our ball movement. It’s going to be a lot of fun, exciting and attacking for a young group.”

Simpkin has been a standout in pre-season training, gaining considerable bulk, but he’s not the only one impressing.

“Jaidyn Stephenson and Aidan Corr have come in and not taken a step backwards,” he said of North’s new recruits.  

“They’ve straight away been out of their shell and stepping up and talking when they need to, which is really pleasing.”

Stephenson could be primed for time in the midfield and in attack, while Jack Ziebell is in line for a new role – in defence.

“It was funny, the other day we were playing a bit of match simulation and you had Ben Cunnington versus Jack Ziebell out of full-forward and full-back, which was a sight for a lot of people,” Simpkin joked.

The return of Cunnington set to bolster an on-ball group also featuring Luke Davies-Uniacke, Jed Anderson and the number 12 himself.

“His back’s been really good. He’s been training and hasn’t missed a session yet,” Simpkin said of Cunnington.

“He’s looking to get back to his best footy, so I can’t wait to get back out on the field with him again. We missed him last year, so it will be good to have him back.”