Countless opponents attempted to curtail his influence but time and time again the 26 year-old was seen hitting the contest at a rate of knots, more often than not prevailing with ball in his hands.
"It was good to finally get out there after a long, arduous pre-season and just put everything into practice," Edwards told kangaroos.com.au.
The number 27 finished the club's first competitive hit-out with four goals and created several others for his team-mates. He attributed his early form to a grueling summer.
“I've had a solid pre-season and trimmed down a bit. I felt really good out there conditioning wise, and felt like I was running alright."
In fact, Edwards has shredded four kilos from his strong frame and his performance, as well as the efforts of McKinley, Lachlan Hansen and Ben Warren provide plenty of reason for optimism in front of goals for the North faithful.
"We always knew that Benny (McKinley) could kick a few goals and he had a bit of a day out today.
"I think all of the forwards did a great job tonight. It shows with the fact there was a good mix of goals across the board."
A favourite among the Ballarat crowd, Drew Petrie also made a welcome return in attack.
"He's just a strong presence in the forward line. It' great for us being a little bit smaller than Drewie, he's a big lad. He will draw a contest every time. If he doesn't kick the goals, he creates them for the other forwards."
Next is the NAB Cup and with a solid game under his belt, Edwards is now even more eager to perform.
"It was great to play today. With a good hit-out, we'll go into next week super confident. I know I'm certainly looking forward to it, it's finally come around and it's the exciting part of the season I suppose.
