Arriving at Utah University, the mood changes as the adrenaline begins to kick in. The footballs are brought out and to a man, spirits lift. This is what they are here for.
After a two-hour training session, a punishing conditioning session follows on a nearby sporting field.
It's hard work, but through it comes a common goal; the desire to improve.
"Towards the end I was starting to struggle a lot and had a couple of dry-retches in the last max-effort," Brad McKenzie told NMFC.com.au.
"But we know we get that much fitter from these camps so that's why we keep pushing. Just coming here for three weeks, it's not a huge amount of time but you can definitely feel the benefits when you get back to Melbourne."
A man of few words, the classy left-footer is also using the camp to work on another side of his development.
"I've always kept myself on the outside and didn't get involved as much as I should have," he admitted.
"Just in the game-sense drills, I want to get myself more involved in the game, to start using my voice and start directing my team-mates.
"There's seven of us living in the same sort of room during the camp, so it helps a lot, just gaining that confidence amongst the guys and then taking that out onto the training track."
McKenzie and his team-mates will be joined by North's newest recruits on Tuesday (Utah time), as Trent Dumont and Ben Brown arrive in Utah.
It looms as a daunting initiation for the draftees, with the last week presenting a great share of challenges, including an endurance hike next Wednesday.
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