The Turvey Park junior has spent the past couple of years juggling commitments with both the Hoppers and Port Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

The defender-ruckman had been trying to link up with Collingwood's VFL team however a long-running hip complaint unfortunately ended his chances of signing with the Magpies.

"Through (North coach) Tim (Broomhead, who's a former Collingwood AFL player), I was able to get a train and trial with them and I'd love to play for Collingwood as my grandfather Peter Weidemann played there (five senior games in 1960-61)," Jackson outlined.

"I'd been dealing with a hip injury through last season and I've tried to get on top of it after the season, but the rehab has been longer than expected.

"I didn't really get to train with Collingwood and they cut me loose before Christmas as my return date was mid-February, which wouldn't have given me enough time to prove myself.

"It's a big year with work and it's a good idea to get the injury right, play locally and maybe have another crack at Collingwood when I'm fit."

The 23-year-old has been battling labral tears in the hip.

"I struggled to get my glutes going when I was running, so lost a lot of strength," he added.

Weidemann played 12 matches for North last season and nine for Port Melbourne in the VFL.

He even played two games in 24 hours, defying the modern outlook where 'less is more'.

"I was fine until about the third quarter, but then my body kind of shut down and I had to come off," he admitted.

"It probably wasn't a smart thing, I did all the right things and tried to recover, I think I did four to five ice baths between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

"I played a full game against Lavington (on the Saturday), it was hot, I was in the ruck against Tim Hanna for most of the game, I was pretty battered, I remember driving back to Melbourne when I got the phone call (to play for Port the next day) and my heart sank."

Weidemann was named in the best in half of his games at North last year and will be a pivotal figure as the club looks to maintain its resurgence.