A North Melbourne premiership is driving Todd Goldstein to be better, faster and stronger, despite entering his 13th season.

The 31-year-old recently knocked back overtures from Geelong during the Free Agency period, to re-commit to the Kangaroos; a club he holds dear.

“I love this footy club, I have grown up here and it has taught me a lot. And I am really excited about where we are headed,” he said.

“(Being a one-club player) is great, it’s something I always looked at when I got here.

“People like Glenn Archer and Adam Simpson; they are the guys who showed me the North way and it’s something I want to pass down to future generations … if you can stay at your club and you have been there for 10 years-plus, like I have, you want to win a premiership at that club.”

Like many North players before him, Goldstein turn his back on a more lucrative, longer-term deal to stay at Arden St.

“I was comfortable that three or four years wasn’t a big deal for me, but I knew I had lots of footy left in me,” he said.

“If I can have three years here and play well and then get another one or two, who knows?

“It’s nice to know me and my family can play for the next three years.”

Goldstein is showing no signs of slowing down; on day one of the pre-season, he was one of the last men standing in the Yo-Yo test alongside Shaun Atley.

His fitness holding him in good stead as he narrows in on 300 games, which is just 66 games away.

“It is something I hadn’t thought about until I got into the 200s and then I thought, ‘Maybe it is a thing’,” he said.

“It would be a massive honour to get there and join the list of 300-gamers at this club.

“Arch and Simmo, Drewie (Drew Petrie), Shimma (Wayne Schimmelbusch). But in the end I want a premiership. It’s not necessarily 300 games, it’s a premiership first.”

The father of three recently married his partner, Felicity Harrison, and couldn’t be happier.

“It was just a nice little (ceremony) in Studley Park. We wanted to go on a honeymoon so the best way to do that is get married and we organised it in a month,” he told the Herald Sun.

“It was very relaxed and very small. It was nice to get away and do nothing on an island after a long stressful year, we had a bit going on away from footy.

“I am in a really good place. It was a big reason for me wanting to stay at the club.

“I am in a good place because of the people surrounding me and there is no reason to change that.

“I have the support here and at home, I am enjoying footy and home and it makes a difference.”

Goldstein had many dark days in 2017 and battled with his mental health, but says has invested in the mental wellbeing of its players.

“That is the important thing, that we are starting to see that improvement (as a league),” he said.

“All the clubs are getting psychologists in once or twice or three times a week.

“The AFLPA have people we can go and see or we can go and see people eternally.

“It is one of those things, it’s a cultural thing, we all need to embrace that we don’t have to be macho, we can show our vulnerabilities.

“I saw a counsellor for a number of years away from footy and that was really helpful to deal with what was going on and that’s why I am someone who likes to talk about it when I can because the more I can show and people can show people.”