Kayne Turner has committed to North Melbourne for a further two-years.
The pressure-forward says he’s itching to get back on the field and mix it with North’s next generation of star players.
“It was a tough year but there were so many shining lights which will hold us in good stead for the future,” Turner told North Media.
“Luke Davies-Uniacke got more of an opportunity and really showed what he’s got. Jed Anderson, Curtis Taylor, Kyron Hayden and Jy Simpkin really took their games to another level while guys like Flynn Perez came in toward the end of the year which was so good to see … it’s going to be great for their development.
“The list we have at the moment, it’s young but has a lot of potential and I can’t wait to play with these guys coming through.”
Only 24, Turner said the youthful Kangaroos will bring an important energy to the team.
“They bring a lot of excitement,” he said.
“Their willingness to learn and want to play is beneficial to all of us, it brings that energy back around the club and they’ve been great to have.”
Turner said the rising stars are also benefitting from having some old school North Melbourne influences around the club in Brady Rawlings and soon, John Blakey.
“It will be Brady’s second year, and he’s won multiple Syd Barker medals, so to have someone like that running the footy department is huge,” Turner said.
“Everyone has really bought into what he’s brought back to the club. He’s obviously come from a bit of success at West Coast and he knows what it takes to get to the top, so having him is a really good start and it just sort of filters all the way down.
“It’s a really good group, it was a difficult year but the guys love playing for the club.
“We didn’t get to see him this year but Charlie Comben trains as hard as anyone I’ve seen, so for guys like him to come in and be like that straight away and embrace the culture is good to see and obviously we’ll keep building on that.”
After being sidelined for the season with a foot injury, Turner is eager to hit the ground running ahead of 2021.
“I spoke to Brady [Rawlings] and Shawry [Rhyce Shaw] and they put my mind at ease by saying there was no need to rush back and take any unnecessary risks with my injury,” he said.
“I was a bit stressed about it, I’m not going to lie, but for them to have that sort of confidence in me it took a lot of pressure off and allowed me focus on the rehab side of things to get my foot right, so that was nice towards the end of the year.”
