Click HERE to view the Drew Petrie Contract Announcement
MOMENTUM at North Melbourne continues with confirmation that key position player Drew Petrie will remain at the club until at least the end of 2011.
Petrie's outstanding form has matched that of his side in recent weeks, with North fifth on the ladder after four consecutive wins.
The club will look to make it five when it meets the Western Bulldogs on Sunday and will carry some added motivation for Petrie's 150th appearance.
North Melbourne chief executive Eugene Arocca was thrilled to announce the 25-year-old's commitment from Arden Street on Tuesday.
"It was a high priority for me when I came into the administration earlier in the year to make sure that someone of Drew's calibre, his character and his qualities both on and off the field was a priority re-signing," he said.
"Personally, and on behalf of the club, we couldn't be more thrilled to announce that he's signed on for three years."
And Petrie is equally happy to continue his career with the Kangaroos.
"At least I know I've got a job for the next three years," he joked. "I was very happy when the club started talks, it wasn't that long ago really, and it's all happened fairly quickly so I'm very excited about it all.
"There was never any chance of [me] leaving this great club ... with the people that have played at the club before, like Arch (Glenn Archer) and Stevo (Anthony Stevens), the list could go on.
"Those guys have really made the club what it is today and now it's up to us to carry that baton."
Selected by North Melbourne at No. 23 in the 2000 draft, Petrie made his debut in 2001.
His strength of character was obvious from the outset, and Petrie acknowledged the traits that North Melbourne seeks to maintain in its steps towards the future.
"If you're not that sort of person when you come into the place, you'll leave the place being a good person," he said. "It's almost a pre-requisite of being here.
"It's a place for good people and the more good people you can have at a footy club, the better the performances will be I reckon."
"If you respect your fellow teammates and the people who you work for, it gives a pretty good foundation," Arocca added. "All I can hope for, as an administrator of this club, is that we embody respect and make that sure blokes like Drew Petrie stay at the club and carry on that respect."
Chief of football Donald McDonald also welcomed the news that has followed the June re-signing of ruckman Hamish McIntosh, defenders Michael Firrito and Daniel Pratt, midfielder Brady Rawlings and forward Corey Jones.
"Good clubs have stability and if you talk about the Shinboner of the Century being Glenn Archer, and the qualities that Arch had, I think that Drew learnt off a good role model," he said.
"He's not the same bloke as Arch, he's his own bloke, but he's had a real positive influence around the place."
McDonald also indicated the club was determined to secure Daniel Wells' signature in the near future.
"There's no doubt that we're 100-mile-an hour to have Daniel Wells at the footy club for the next three or four years, play his whole career out with us," he said.
"It takes time, there's no rush. We'll just keep working our way through. Young Gavin Urquhart's another one, Matty Campbell, Lindsay Thomas – there's a fair few blokes there that we want to really lock away.
"But you can't do them all in the one week."
