Fit-again Kangaroo eyes AFL season-opener

Dec 18, 2017 - 1:29 AM Injury-prone North Melbourne forward Mason Wood is doing less this pre-season in a bid to do more during the Kangaroos' 2018 premiership campaign.

As counter-intuitive as that might seem, Wood and club fitness staff have come to the conclusion that being the king of pre-season hasn't helped him fulfil his undoubted potential.

Wood has played 26 games in four years and is yet to feature in an AFL season-opener.

He hasn't yet managed to play more than 10 games in a season, with his 2017 campaign cruelled by hamstring, calf and knee injuries.

The 24-year-old estimates he has completed about 95 per cent of North's pre-season program, but it has been drummed into him that he doesn't need to win every test.

"I've always been really goal-orientated and wanted to do really well in all of the testing, but this time it's about round one and being fit for the whole year," Wood told reporters on Monday.

"If you ask any of the boys ... (I've been a) pre-season king then not made it past Christmas.

"(So) taking the foot off the gas and making sure that I do make that round-one team - making that the focus of pre-season - is all I've been trying to do to make sure I can punch out 22-plus games."

Wood is tied to the club until the end of the 2020 season having signed a four-year deal in 2016.

He understands the level of expectation that comes with such a hefty contract and is well aware he hasn't met them just yet.

"If you're not playing 20-plus games anyone should look at themselves and ask 'Why aren't I doing that?'" he said.

"Whether it was a four-year deal or one you want to be playing as many games as you can.

"And to this point I haven't so that's the goal."

Source: AAP