NEWCOMER: Socceroo Jade North trains wuith Brisbane Roar at Ballymore. Picture: Adam Armstrong Source: The Courier-Mail
SOCCEROOS defender Jade North trained with his new Roar teammates for the first time today but Brisbane mainstay Erik Paartalu was nowhere to be seen.
Paartalu, who has started in 85 consecutive A-League and AFC Champions League for the Roar since joining the club in 2010, has been told to train with the club's youth team until his likely move to China.
It probably means that the ironman midfielder has played his last A-League match for the club.
North, 31, is set to make his Roar debut on Sunday when struggling Brisbane host Western Sydney Wanderers at Suncorp Stadium.
"I'm looking forward to getting back on the pitch and getting back to where it all started," said former Newcastle Jets skipper North, who started his top-flight career as a teenager with the Brisbane Strikers in the old National Soccer League.
"I'm over the moon to be back in Brisbane."
North has played for a host of Australian and overseas outfits, with his most recent club being Japanese outfit Consadole Sapporo.
North hopes to make a telling contribution against the Wanderers, but having not played for several weeks, his priority will be to regain his fitness.
"I'm come out of the J-League season, I've been on holidays, so I need to do whatever I can, as fast as I can to get myself fit," he said.
"I'm always ready to get back on the park, but physically . . . you can't be silly about and try to come back when you're not 100 per cent fit condition-wise.
"That's how you can get injured also. That's why I'll be working hard . . . and making sure that I'll be 100 per cent as soon as possible."
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