It's been 179 days since North Melbourne's last AFL game, but after six months' wait, Round 1 is finally here.

On Monday, the Roos' players hit the track for their first training run of the week, and you could sense things were a little different at Arden Street ... it was smiles all around, as the countdown to Port Adelaide ticked over to just six days.

And the race for selection is well and truly on, with North to submit its final team on Saturday, and spots still up for grabs.

Check out the best photos from Monday's session below.