For Jarrad Waite and his North teammates, tomorrow’s JLT Community Series match against Melbourne marks the beginning of what will be an exciting season for the club.

Waite is set to feature in tomorrow’s series-opener, and is looking forward to running out alongside Ben Jacobs, who has overcome his troublesome foot issues.

Jacobs hasn’t featured on the AFL stage since Round 8 in 2016, and has left a large hole in North’s midfield.

“Ben’s obviously been through a lot with his foot, and hopefully he’s overcome that now,” Waite told SEN.

“I’ve been impressed by the way he’s handled himself off the track and the way he attacked his rehab.

“I don’t think I ever saw him with his head down once, he continually got in there and did his three or four bikes for the day.

“He’s vital to our team, and when we beat Richmond in that 2015 final, he was probably one of the main reasons that happened.” 

After playing some of his best football as a tagger, it’s yet to be seen whether Jacobs will play a similar role upon his return.

Waite is confident his teammate can add to his strengths and contribute to the team beyond playing a shut-down role.

“I think there still is room for that run-with role in the game, but I think he’s really worked on his ability to get the ball and using it going forward,” Waite said.

“Most players can’t be a one dimensional player anymore, you have to add a few strings to your bow.

“He’s really quick off the mark so we think we can utilise him going forward, as well as using him as a shutdown player.”

Saturday afternoon will be the first time North plays the traditional format against an opposition side in 2018, and Waite is confident the Roos will get a strong start.  

“We know what our best footy can be, and we showed parts of that last year,” he added.

“We’re just focused on ourselves, and we’ll let our footy do the talking.

“You can hear all that chatter all you want, it just depends on whether you want to listen to it.

“We know what we’ve been doing and how we’re going, but we’re just really looking forward to this JLT hit-out tomorrow, and then the season proper.

“Hopefully people do think we’ll finish down the bottom, because we expect to get a few scalps.”