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IF HIS first time trial is anything to go by, North Melbourne key position player Drew Petrie is set for a big summer.

Commencing pre-season training on Monday with veteran teammate Brent Harvey, Petrie completed the 3.2km circuit in 11min 39sec – nine seconds adrift of the personal best he registered just before Christmas last year.

Seniority coupled with International Rules commitments meant he and Harvey had an extra fortnight off, however, Petrie admits that – 10 weeks after North's last game – he was keen to hit the track again.

"I was looking forward to getting back with the boys and in the group," he said.

"It's a lot easier when you've got a bunch of blokes to train with as opposed to doing some fitness stuff on your own."

A simple philosophy but a proven one, Petrie believes a full pre-season goes a long way towards a good year on the field and attributes his landmark 2008 to the toil of November to February.

Playing each of the Roos' 23 matches, the 26-year-old finished runner-up in the Syd Barker Medal count, made himself available to represent Australia – which he says he'd do again in a heartbeat – and got through with a clean bill of health.

"I don't want to jinx myself, but I've never had to go under the knife in eight years," he said. "Hopefully there's not one big one waiting around the corner for me.

"This time of year's important to strengthen your muscles as much as you can and [not] put yourself in that situation, especially with soft-tissue injuries. I think if you get one, you're prone to get another one and another one.

"Brent Harvey's the perfect example and Adam Simpson as well. They've played so many games in so many years because they've hardened their bodies up this time of year.

"There are plenty of other guys … but I think if you don't have a good seven weeks pre-Christmas and then another good seven weeks after Christmas to really harden your body, then you struggle to maintain a healthy body throughout the year."

Simpson underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the season, his first operation in 15 years, and Petrie considers his own run of luck has come from habits created early in his career.

"It's entrenched in you fairly early ... that you want to do every single session all year and, if you can do that, then you'll probably keep your body in good shape," he said.

"I guess you've just got to be careful not to do too much. With the International Rules this year, it was great the club gave us guys another two weeks off just to freshen our heads up a little bit."

And though he carried the ruck for the last third of the season, Petrie is open-minded about the role he'll play in 2009 should Hamish McIntosh and Todd Goldstein assume those duties.

"I've thought of asking the coaches where they see me playing next season [but] I'm not going to ask them until at least after Christmas," he said.

"I just want to train and get fit and not worry about that. Not that it's a worry, but it's just one less thing to think about."