Mason Wood is excited to finally be in a position to put his hand up for Round 1 selection.

Wood, in his sixth season, has never played in North’s season-opener and would love nothing more than to be selected for Saturday’s clash with Gold Coast.

“I’ve just got to get picked first, and if I do, I’d be super-pumped to be out there,” he told North Media.

“I guess I’ve gotten this far, and I have gotten this far in years gone past in regards to getting selected for Round 1, so it’s a good feeling and I’m ready to go.”

The forward played in North VFL’s practice match against Williamstown on Saturday, and feels in tip-top shape despite a mildly interrupted pre-season because of a fractured thumb.

“It was just another chance to get out there, have a nice hit-out and get a few of the cobwebs out because I had a little bit of timeout with a broken thumb,” Wood said.

“It’s a good warm-up ahead of Gold Coast up in Cairns, so hopefully I get picked.”

Despite featuring in quite a tall forward line on the weekend, Wood put a strong focus on the defensive side of his game, an area which all the North players have concentrated on in recent weeks. 

“The focus was just getting all the defensive stuff right, helping the younger guys along the way, transitioning hard and everything else will hopefully come once I’m out there,” he said.

“It’s just about all the stuff we do when we don’t have the ball in our hands.

“There’s been a big emphasis on that recently.”

Wood will look to partner with the likes of Ben Brown and Jarrad Waite this weekend, with the Round 1 side set to be named on Thursday evening.