Mason Wood is thankful for North Melbourne’s leap of faith in him
REBECCA WILLIAMS, Herald Sun
December 3, 2016 4:00pm
FORWARD Mason Wood says he is determined to repay North Melbourne’s long-term investment in him as he steps up his comeback from knee surgery.
The exciting young goalkicker this year signed four-year deal — tying him to North until the end of the 2020 season — after just 16 games.
But his 2016 campaign was cut short after eight matches when he damaged his medial ligament in North’s Round 16 loss to West Coast.
Now well advanced in his recovery, Wood, 23, is focused on stepping up his game next year and delivering a return for the Kangaroos.
“I guess it is surprising to say that after 16 games that it warrants four years, but that was something me and my manager really pushed for,’’ Wood said.
“So it was amazing to get the backing of the club at the same time to say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to put our faith in you for the next four years’, so hopefully I can repay that faith.
Mason Wood is training freely after recovering from knee surgery. Picture: Michael Klein
“Looking forward, it gives me four years to really dig in and create that spot in the forward line with a few of the other boys ... hopefully it’s longer than four years, but I’ve got four years under my belt.
“With the deal, it’s just expectations on myself more than anything. You have high expectations on yourself and it’s going to set you up for as good as performance as possible.
“I’m ready and raring to go in year one.’’
Wood and North’s first to fourth-year players this week returned from a high-altitude training camp in Utah and he said he felt as fitter than ever at the start of a pre-season.
It has been a trouble-free recovery from what was described as a “freak tackle incident’’.
“I have been itching to get back forever,” he said.
“I had a really good off-season and all that stuff. I guess I was sort of refreshed and ready to go by the end of the season after missing 10 or something weeks before the season was out, so I was ready to go.
“There have been no hiccups so it feels really, really good. Taping is probably the only difference that there’s going to be for the next couple of months.
“I haven’t noticed it at training. It hasn’t held me back and it’s not going to.’’
Following the departure of Drew Petrie, a long-term key-position fixture in North’s forward line, the 192cm Wood sees more opportunity to make his mark.
He said his running capacity and ability to play either tall or small were strengths on which he wanted to capitalise.
“It’s going to be really interesting coming into the NAB Cup to see how they want to structure the forward line,’’ Wood said.
“But the way I see it is there are a lot of blokes going for a few positions, which is the same as every other year, so you have got to make sure you are at the top of that list and be ready to be picked.
“I guess I am a little bit different to the other forwards that we have got here ... let’s say my running capacity is as good as anyone at the club and I can play a little bit taller or smaller and really just mix up that dynamic whatever way they want to go with that forward line.
“So it will be a few things that I need to work on — contested marking and that kind of thing — to make sure that I can play that taller role as well. But I guess having that ability to go either way is hopefully something that Scotty (coach Brad Scott) holds in high esteem because I think that’s my point of difference.’’