North Melbourne’s second-to-fourth year players returned to training on Monday morning, with little time to settle in.

After warming up, a two-kilometre time trial was first on the agenda.

Coming off a career-best year, Jy Simpkin looks set for another big pre-season, winning comfortably.

New recruit Lachie Young made a strong first impression after crossing from the Bulldogs, finishing second.

Luke Davies-Uniacke, Bailey Scott and Curtis Taylor rounded out the top five. 

Under the watchful eye of new coach David Noble, the players then moved into some full-ground drills, before breaking into positional groups.

Many players met their respective line coaches for the first time, with John Blakey, Heath Younie and Jordan Russell joining in the off-season as assistant coaches.

It wasn’t all about the youth though, with experienced players in Jack Ziebell, Robbie Tarrant and Luke McDonald also taking part in the session. 

The group is set to be bolstered with some new names following the draft on Wednesday, while the rest of the group will join in early January.