Jasper Pittard opens up about what makes North Melbourne so special.
“In the upstairs area everyone says hello when you walk past and you know everyone by name. There’s no rock stars,” he told The Herald Sun.
“It’s a club that really suits my personality.
“It’s a really inclusive club and a progressive club in social matters, which is important to me.
“I’ve only been there just over a year, but I’ve really been able to be myself. That’s been really important for my overall happiness.”
Pittard had already played 123 AFL games and made an All-Australian squad before arriving at North, but admits he thought his time in the league may have been just about up.
A new club has reinvigorated his love for football.
“There’s a lot of that old footy culture still floating around the industry … that macho kind of culture,” Pittard said.
“When you’re surrounded by it in that kind of environment you feel like you have to bend that way to fit in.
“We don’t have much of that at North. Whatever floats your boat is accepted and people take a genuine interest in getting to know you.
“That can be quite difficult to do at times, especially as young men.”
Pittard's approach is simple, 'be yourself'.
“Jasper does Jasper,” teammate and barber Mason Wood said.
“His haircut is no exception. He treats his body as a blank canvas and his haircut adds to the work of art that is Jasper Pittard.”
“At one stage last year he was wearing chef pants with Crocs and a beanie. It’s like … what’s going on with this bloke?” coach Rhyce Shaw added.
“But he is who he is and I love that about him. I want our players to express who they are and he certainly does that. I love him to death.”
Pittard has made a huge impact as a Kangaroo; just one year after arriving at Arden Street, he was voted into the club's leadership group.
“He trains all the time – hardly misses a session – and he’s someone that’s always involved and always communicating,” Shaw said.
“He’s someone we’ve grown to really rely on, both during the week and in games.
“He’s a really unique individual, Jasper. He’s got a different lifestyle away from the club and he thinks about different things.
“It’s no surprise he was voted into the leadership group.”
The 29-year-old is invested in the club; he works closely with the Roos' AFLW group, and the club's community arm, The Huddle.
On the field, he's making all posts a winner too.
“I remember playing against him and he was a really dangerous asset with his left foot and ability to run and attack. To get on the end of some handball chains and really drive the ball forward,” Shaw said.
“He started to do that last year as well and got more confident in the way we were playing and the gamestyle.
“That last quarter against St Kilda in Round 1 you saw some of Jasper’s efforts to get across, help his teammates and put his body on the line.”
And while it might be a little while before North's next game, Pittard can't wait to represent the club he loves so much.
“The move (to North) has been life-changing,” he said.
“This club has meant the world to me.
“Shawry has been unbelievable, we clicked right from the word go.
“When I got traded I didn’t quite have my confidence back in terms of my footy, and he was one of the main reasons why I got back to feeling confident in what I could produce on the field.”
