North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein has dropped weight to take his game to new level in 2019

North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein has dropped weight over the off-season in a bid to get the best out of his body next season, determined to help lift the Kangaroos back into the finals after missing out by one spot this year.

Goldstein is looking very fit ahead of the 2019 season. Picture: Michael Klein

A trimmed-down Todd Goldstein has dropped the kilos and tuned-up his diet in an effort to eke as much as possible out of his 201cm frame.

The North Melbourne ruck, 30, is around five kilograms lighter than his end-of-season playing weight and said his skinfolds were “the best they’ve been” upon his return to the club.

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He said he had realised that while he hoped to have another five or six seasons in him, he knew that the end could come at any time.

So something had to change.

“You don’t really want to leave any stone unturned and sit back whenever that career does end and regret that you didn’t work hard enough, especially near the end,” he said.

Todd Goldstein in action at North Melbourne preseason training. Picture: Jay Town

Goldstein has dropped some weight over the off-season. Picture: Jay Town

“The goal (this off-season) was to make sure my body composition was spot on, and that’s going to help me stay injury-free, hopefully.

“(It’s) just about making the right decisions, smart decisions. I’m probably someone that hasn’t focused massively on diet.

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“I’ve always tried to be healthy, but never really focused on what I eat and drink. That was the biggest change. My partner is a bit of a nutritionist, so she helped me stay on track and make sure I was eating the right things.

“My weight has always gone up and down, so it’s about making that level out.”

He said this preseason is not just being fuelled by the right foods, but also frustration after the Kangaroos finished the season in a heartbreaking ninth position.

Goldstein is looking very fit ahead of the 2019 season. Picture: Michael Klein

“I’ve learned now, over the many off-seasons I’ve had, that each year is different,” Goldstein said.

“Two years ago, it was all about trying to have that mental break and freshen up mentally, which I did.

“This year, I probably ended the season with a fair bit of motivation but a fair bit of frustration that we weren’t playing finals.

“Just missing out is always hard. I was pretty keen to have my couple of weeks off … and I was pretty keen to train four, five or six days a week just to keep going while I had that motivation.

“I’ll maybe have a bit of a mental break over this Christmas break now.”