Selected with the 37th pick in 2006, it’s fair to say the selection of Todd Goldstein was a steal by North Melbourne, and the 250-game veteran says the club’s recruiters have got it right again with the selection of Will Phillips.

“I feel incredibly sorry for any recruiter or list manager doing the draft. It’s very hard to predict out of 18-year-old kids who’s going to be the better player in ten or 15 years-time,” Goldstein told Sportsday WA.

“From what I’ve seen from Will so far, he has the potential to be a future leader of the footy club … I think he’s starting to find his feet a little bit.

“He missed a lot of footy last year like a lot of players did … [but] he moves well and he’s a good kick … I’ve been very, very impressed with the type of kid Will is, and hopefully the type of player he can become.”

With the likes of David Noble, Jordan Russell, John Blakey, Heath Younie and Anthony Rocca all joining the coaching staff heading into the 2021 season, the changes at the club were not just limited to the playing list.

That coupled with the new game plan and the blooding of so many young players has contributed to North’s rocky start to the season, but things will only get better according to Goldstein.

“I think on the weekend we had something like 13 players who have played less than 34 games, so it’s a very young side,” he said.

“The beauty of that though is we’re getting games into these young kids and quite a few of them are showing they have a lot of potential which is very pleasing, and should give all our supporters hope for the future.

“We’ve got something like 10 or 12 new coaches, and 13 new players, so it’s just trying to make sure everyone understands expectations and the game plan. With a shortened pre-season it was probably the perfect storm to take a little bit of time [to gel].”

The new ‘statue’ man on the mark rule created a storm of controversy during pre-season, but after five rounds players seem to be getting used to the change.

Goldstein says while he was wary and unsure of the rule change at first, it’s easy to see the positive aspects of its implementation.

“It’s definitely sped up the game that’s for sure, and made it a lot harder to defend,” he said.

“I was probably a big question mark when it first came in, I wasn’t sure how it was going to work … [but] I can see its opening that game up and allowing that short kick to move play and move defenders.

“As much as I don’t like too many rule changes … I think this one has been a bit of a positive so far just in terms of speeding the game up and opening it up a little bit more.”