Athletic Kangaroos defender Flynn Perez has penned a new one-year extension to remain at Arden Street until the end of the 2022 season.

The highly-rated teenager made his AFL debut in Round 16 against Port Adelaide and played out the remainder of the season with North Melbourne after overcoming injuries.

Speaking to North Media, Perez expressed his delight to be signing on with the Kangaroos.

“It feels really good,” Perez said.

“Obviously after last year with injuries, I finally got to play towards the end of the year, so I’m really looking forward to a big pre-season and happy to put pen to paper.

FLYNN PEREZ
Defender
North Melbourne
2020 SEASON AVG
9.3
Disposals
2.3
Marks
1.3
Rebound50s

“It gives me heaps of confidence especially from where I’d come from [with injury].

“I probably didn’t think I’d be able to play those last few games, so to get some footy in towards the end of the year and play some senior footy was really good.”

Perez stated his excitement of North Melbourne's young and aspiring list ahead of the 2021 season.

“It’s really exciting, I think we’ve got the most under 22’s in the competition now so if we can keep that group together, and we’ve got some older guys that are really experienced like Robbie Tarrant and Todd Goldstein and these types … if we can keep them and continue to learn off them, I think it holds us in great stead and it’s really exciting for the club and the members.

“‘Nobes’ [David Noble] has been awesome, he’s a real calm influence and he knows his stuff. He’s been round the block and he’s pretty much done everything in footy, so his influence on the group is really exciting.”

The 19-year-old is hoping to remain readily available for selection and keep himself on the track.

“For me it’s probably just about staying on the park and staying fit, that’s probably been my biggest challenge with injuries,” he added.

“If I can stay fit and stay healthy, the rest will take care of itself and I’m just really excited about what we can do this year.”