North Melbourne has traded defender Luke Delaney to St Kilda for pick 77 in the upcoming National Draft.

“It’s disappointing to lose Luke, but he expressed a desire to seek opportunities elsewhere,” North’s General Manager of List and Player Personnel Cameron Joyce said.

“We had offered him a new contract, but he opted to move clubs and we wish him well for the future.”

Delaney explained his tough decision to NMFC.com.au.

“It's a tough thing to even contemplate.  I didn’t want to leave North and the hardest thing will be to leave all my friends and everyone at the club.  North gave me the opportunity to play AFL and ideally, I would have loved to have stayed,” he said.

“At the age I’m at, I just needed to consider my options and find a club that would be able to provide more opportunity.  North is blessed with some great key defenders and they are in front of me at the minute.  It’s a really hard team to break into which I completely understand but I can’t afford to wait any longer.”

For more quotes, click here.