North Melbourne ruckman Tristan Xerri will remain at Arden Street for a further three seasons after he signed a contract extension with the Roos on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old has continued to prove himself to North's selection panel, at times putting himself ahead of Richmond recruit Callum Coleman-Jones to earn senior opportunities.
A lifelong Shinboner, Xerri expressed his gratitude at being able to play for the Roos and signalled his high hopes for the club's young list.
"I grew up a North supporter and I've spent five years here already. It's a great place, a great club and a great culture," Xerri said to North media.
"The group here at North is a really young group and in another three years who knows where we'll be.
"I'm really excited and thankful for the opportunity."
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Xerri acknowledged the Roos' underperformance thus far in 2022 but is hopeful the playing group can start hitting some form in the second half of the season.
"It hasn't been the start of the season we would have liked, as a collective just to play our brand, we've probably gone away from that a bit in the past couple of months," he said.
"So if we can start playing the footy we know we can [that] we've shown in patches that would be huge.
"Individually [I want to] nail my role each week to help the team and learn from some of the best rucks in the game."
A foot injury suffered during the Roos' Round 5 loss to Geelong kept the Western Jets product out of action for a few weeks, however, the ruck-forward returned to senior action in Round 10 against the Demons and hasn't missed a beat since.
Xerri will continue to compete with the likes of Coleman-Jones and veteran Todd Goldstein for ruck opportunities in the senior team, with his improved tap-work and marking around the ground holding him in good stead.
