How does a member of the Under-19 Australian basketball squad find his way onto an AFL list and then go on to play 200 senior games?

The answer; through a positive mindset and a willingness to work hard. 

It's exactly what enabled Todd Goldstein to forge a remarkable career, and he's far from finished according those who know him best.

After returning from a basketball trip to the United States with the Australian team in 2006, North’s then-recruiting manager Neville Stibbard identified the potential in 18-year-old Goldstein, and suggested he pursue Australian Rules.

“I first spotted him out at Trinity Grammar,” Stibbard told North Media on the eve of Goldstein's 200th game.

“He’d just gotten back from playing basketball and Trinity needed a ruckman to play in its AGS [Association of Grammar Schools] side, so he did, and I alerted the Oakleigh Chargers about him.”

After just three games for Oakleigh in the TAC Cup, Goldstein was invited to participate in the Draft Combine, where his now trademark athleticism was on full display.

Despite carrying a few extra kilos, nothing would stop Stibbard from drafting Goldstein with pick 37 in the 2006 National Draft.

“We could see if we could get him fit, he could cover the ground really well, and that was a punt we had to take,” Stibbard said.

“I didn’t think it was a big risk because I knew he was good enough.

“Dean (Laidley) said to me, ‘If you think he’s going to be that good, take him’, so we took him.

“A couple of clubs said to me after the draft, ‘We didn’t even have him on our list, and you’ve taken him at pick 37’.

“I remember three clubs saying it and I thought, ‘Jesus, what have I done’.”

After the show of faith from Stibbard and North, Goldstein did everything in his power to improve his fitness and skills.

“We briefed Dean that he needed to get his body right because he had a fair bit of puppy fat on him, and we knew he was going to take a bit of time to get fit,” Stibbard added.

“Dean was on-board with that.

“The coaches worked with him, and to his credit, he did the work.

“He worked on his kicking, he worked on his diet and worked on his fitness levels, so all credit has got to go to Todd.”

When Goldstein arrived at Arden St at the end of 2006, he was quickly working alongside fourth-year ruckman Hamish McIntosh.

“The big fella has come a long way, that’s for sure,” McIntosh told North Media.

“I remember when he first got to the club, big Goldy had to learn everything about football. I don’t think he could even kick at that time.

“He was very raw, and he really developed in his first couple of years. He got fitter and picked up the game incredibly quickly.”

Goldstein fast became a part of North’s ruck group according to McIntosh.

“I remember at the time, the ruck group was incredibly tight with myself, David Hale, Goldy and we had Corey McKernan as our ruck coach at the time,” McIntosh said.

“We all had a really big input into getting everyone better, and I think Goldy was the one that was always going to be a work-in-progress because he was just so raw.

“I think he took a bit out of everyone’s game and you see how he plays now, he’s an elite runner, gets plenty of ball around the ground and his tap work is great.”

In just a couple of years, Goldstein had the ruck-craft under control, and became genuine competition for McIntosh.

“We tried to teach him along the way and assist him so he would get better, but then by the end of it, he was usually tearing me a new one,” McIntosh said jokingly.

“I tried to hang on for dear life, but I could see the big fella was going to be an elite player, and I guess at training it was always a fierce, healthy rivalry because we were fighting for the same spot.”

McIntosh battled countless injuries throughout his career, but a setback for him, became an opportunity for Goldstein.

“The times I did go out of the side was when Goldy really shined as a football player,” he said.

“He actually enjoyed and thrived on the challenge of rucking 95 per cent of the game, and especially through those years when he was All-Australian, his strength was just wearing a ruckman down and running over them in the fourth quarter, which is due to his fitness and his ruck-craft.

“It showed his true strength as a ruckman and is what made him an elite player in the competition.”

Former North ruck coach Alex Ishchenko joined the club in 2010, and witnessed Goldstein thrive in the absence of McIntosh.

“We tried playing both him and Hamish at one stage and whilst I think they could have played together, at the end of the day, Hamish was his senior and a very skilful player, but he didn’t have Goldy’s resilience," Ishchenko said.

“Goldy could run all day. You could put him in a game, and he would endure the four quarters.”

Ishchenko spent a total of seven seasons working closely with Goldstein, and says teaching the now 29-year-old was a breeze.

“He was pretty easy to manage, and his greatest asset is his aerobic capacity,” he said.

“With his basketball background he is really good below his knees. It was nothing more than just nurturing him. He was always very receptive. There were never any problems getting him to do what he had to do.

“He was always keen to learn and have a crack at different things.”

Goldstein’s 2015 season is arguably one of the most dominant from a ruckman in the game’s history.

At 201 centimetres tall, Goldstein won 1,058 hitouts across the year, and broke the record of most hitouts in a match against GWS in Round 11 with 80.

In the wake that mammoth season, Ishchenko set an almighty challenge for Goldstein.

“I remember after Goldy’s All-Australian year, the next pre-season we rolled-up, I asked him if he knew who Simon Madden was.

“He knew of him, but wasn’t really sure of his record and I said, ‘Well, go and have a look at his record, because that is what you could be’.

“Simon Madden played 378 games and kicked 575 goals as a ruckman, he was just phenomenal.

“I think the true test for Goldy now is actually chasing that. If I had his ability I wouldn’t be content with 200, I’d be wanting to get to 300, and that’s really what he’s got to do. I think he can get there because he’s a good athlete, but he’ll have to continue to adapt his game, and if he really wanted to, he could do it.”

Even in 2018, Stibbard enjoys watching Goldstein in action, and still sees parts of that 18-year-old in his game today.

“When I watch him today, I still see a lot of the raw stuff in him,” Stibbard said.

“He’s definitely picked-up the more refined aspects of the game, which he didn’t really have then.”

Looking back almost 12 years, Stibbard would never have expected Goldstein to be playing his 200th game.

“I didn’t think he’d get to 200 games, but then again, I didn’t think Boomer would get to 400.”

“When you draft someone you hope they can play 100 games for your footy club. Anybody who plays one game of AFL football has done well these days, because it’s so hard to play it, but it’s an enormous effort to get to 200, no doubt.”

McIntosh agreed.

“To play 200 games is an amazing effort, I definitely wouldn’t have picked that at the start, but he’s gotten there through hard work and determination,” he added.

“Very, very few people play 200 games in the AFL, and if you saw the big fella rock-up on his first day, Goldy would have been paying about 90-1 to actually get there.

“To now be one of the elite ruckman in the comp, what he’s done is an amazing achievement.”