Michael Firrito and Hamish McIntosh have extended their contracts to the end of 2011, while Daniel Pratt, Corey Jones and Brady Rawlings have committed to two-year deals.
The quintet is a part of the Kangaroos' core group that McDonald and senior coach Dean Laidley see can bring success in the coming years.
"I think the No. 1 indicator you want to have is performance," McDonald said. "[These boys] have shown that they've not only been good on the field but I think they're just quality blokes as well.
"The majority of them are in our leadership group ... hopefully, Hamish pushes up towards being a leader. I think his form last year indicated that he's got the capacity to be a leader for us, and Corey Jones and Brady Rawlings are already great models within the group.
"From that perspective, they go about it in the manner we want them to go about it, and I suppose the big picture is that Dean (Laidley) and I have been working pretty hard for the last 18 months now to put together a list of blokes that we feel is going to take us to our next success as a football club.
"This is just the start of it."
It also emphasises the regard in which McIntosh, in particular, is held.
The talented ruckman is nursing an injured knee that may keep him from playing again this year, however, his progress in the last 18 months has been heralded.
On the other hand, 27-year-old Jones is nearing the peak of his career and wants to remain a one-club player.
"The changes that have happened off-field with (chief executive) Eugene (Arocca) and Donald (McDonald) in his role and JB (James Brayshaw) at the top are very comforting," Jones said.
"I want to spend the rest of my playing days here, so it (the decision) was quite easy for me. It is reassuring that the direction the footy club's taking is strong and ... has a lot of merit. They're kicking goals."
Rawlings, also 27, has similar sentiments.
"I was lucky enough to get drafted here and [have] loved it ever since I've been here," he said. "Hopefully I'll see out my playing days here at North Melbourne and I think a lot of the boys are in the same boat."
Interest surrounding the future of North Melbourne's older players, including Nathan Thompson and Shannon Grant, will grow and McDonald acknowledged actions would come in time.
"Thommo and Shannon have had extensive dialogue with Dean," he said. "I think it's been pretty well documented. There's no rush to do anything there.
"I think with those boys, it's a matter of just preparing and doing their best every week and we'll see what happens at the end of the year."
