"I’m absolutely stoked, I really have no words to find about how excited I am to pull on the jumper this weekend." 

It's been a long road back to football for Daria Bannister, but that makes her North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos' debut all the more satisfying. 

The midfielder ruptured her ACL in Round 1 of 2018, playing for the Western Bulldogs.

"I just cannot wait to get out there … it’s been a really long time," Bannister told North Media. 

"It’s obviously been a pretty long process, 12 months from my first game is pretty long and it’s probably more mental than physical if anything. 

"While it’s been a slow but testing process but, it’s got me this far and I’m finally making my debut again.

"There was a slight thought that maybe I had to wait until the next season [to play] just to get my body really right, but I was always going to push for sooner and I’m all ready to go, which is really good."

Shinboner #26 will run out alongside another new face, Taylor Mesiti.

Having played for the St Kilda Sharks and the Casey Demons, her speed and strength will be a valuable addition to the Roos' line-up.

"Taylor’s a strong bodied really quick athlete, I think you’ll find she’ll love the big open spaces at Marvel Stadium,” North AFLW coach Scott Gowans said.

“She has a really good lead, is able to spoil and very strong in the contest.”

Gowans said having 27 different faces represent the royal blue and white in the first six rounds is testament to what the club is building.

"That’s part of the resilience we speak about all the time," he said. 

"We’re able to try different players and be confident they know our system and come in and at least have an impact so it’s really exciting to showcase them to our Victorian base. 

“It’s good to be up near the top but still using a good portion of our list to play. I think that sets us up well for the future.”

North takes on Collingwood this Saturday in an AFLW double-header at Marvel Stadium, with the first bounce at 4.40pm AEDT.