My opinion of Waitey was pretty high at that stage but there were two very different recollections I had of him; one was a highlight and the other, not so high. In my mind, Waitey was as potent as any forward in the game when he was "on". I cast my mind back to round 11, 2013 when we were on the Gold Coast. It was Friday night and we were playing the Suns the next day. I was in my hotel room watching the Blues take on the Bombers and Waitey was unstoppable booting seven goals and ripping down an incredible 14 marks.

The other memory was earlier that year, he'd been rubbed out for headbutting Melbourne's Tom McDonald and Carlton took the unusual step of fining him as well. It was clear to me that Waitey was an unbelievable asset up forward, but his passion and competitiveness would often land him in hot water. The positives far outweighed any negatives in my mind.

Joycey wanted my opinion on us picking up Waite and I told him I was all for it. The potential to have a key forward of his ability roaming around in front of goals excited me. I knew we could really test opposition defenders if we worked together in the royal blue and white. I also felt the North culture could help Waitey iron out his occasional disciplinary lapses and backed our medical team to get his body in top shape – something he'd also struggled with during his time with the Blues.

In Waitey's second game as a Kangaroo, I had a front-row seat to an incredible performance. Like that game against the Bombers in 2013, he put on a show with seven goals and 12 marks to go along with 22 touches against the Lions at Etihad. I booted two goals in that game but was very much the support act, which suited me just fine.

Brad Scott had worked closely with Waitey throughout the pre-season and tried to redefine his role as a forward and improve his all-round game. What impressed me the most was Waitey's willingness to learn and adapt after 14 years in the AFL system. His coachability was first class and he accepted the challenge to change the way he played head-on. Brad wanted him to retain his attacking style, but encouraged him to add a more defensive element to his armoury. Tackling and pressure were the areas he'd be judged on at North, not so much his goals and marks.