Star North Melbourne forward Shaun Higgins never doubted he would be fit to take on Adelaide in Saturday night's AFL first round clash despite his unplanned knee surgery.
The former Bulldog's pre-season campaign hit a hurdle in late February when he underwent surgery after reporting soreness in his left knee following the Kangaroos' opening NAB Challenge match against St Kilda.
"We said from the get-go that it was really minor," Higgins said.
"I probably could have played earlier than this but we wanted to make sure that I was ready to go strength-wise. That was probably the main hurdle that we had to get over.
"I always had in mind that I'd be ready to go."
North will be trying to break a run of six round-one defeats when they meet the Crows at Etihad Stadium and will also be keen to atone for last year's season-opening disaster at Adelaide Oval where they suffered a 77-point defeat.
Adelaide will play their first game under premiership season conditions since the departure of star playmaker Patrick Dangerfield.
"They're a quality side, they have been for a long period of time. You don't win a final last year on the back of just one player," Higgins said.
"Although (Dangerfield's) a significant player we still expect them to be quality opposition."
The AFL season kicked off at the MCG on Thursday night with Richmond seeing off a determined Carlton and will continue on Saturday with Melbourne hosting GWS and
Essendon taking on Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium, with Sydney's home clash against Collingwood rounding out the day's action.
While Crouch played well, he appears certain to be suspended for his high bump on Jarrad Waite.
Crouch was booked for rough conduct after Waite had his head over the ball and the Adelaide midfielder's hip caught him solidly.
Kangaroos coach Brad Scott was rapt with his team's persistence.
"It was a mature win, a win full of character, because we were challenged for large parts of the game," Scott said.
"But we found a way to hang in there and prevail in the end."
There had plenty of focus over summer on North's run of round-one losses.
This is the first time they have won the season opener under Scott.
"I thought at one stage it was worth 12 points and not four, the importance that's placed on it," he said.
"But I can tell you it feels better sitting here winning than losing - and I know what losing feels like (in) round one."
While he said no single player won the game for North, Scott acknowledged the importance of Goldstein's sterling last quarter.
"That's what good players do, don't they ... Goldy dug deep when it really mattered and that's the mark of a really good player," he said.
It was Don Pyke's official debut as Crows coach and while he said there were lots of good signs, he was frustrated.
"It's disappointing - we prepared and we planned and we came here playing to win," he said.
"We had control of the game for periods, but ultimately at the end of it we didn't take our opportunities."
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