Tippett, the younger brother of Sydney’s Kurt, previously spent time on Brisbane’s list from 2007 to 2009 and Gold Coast in 2011.
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After he was delisted by Gold Coast, Tippett returned to West Adelaide in the SANFL and spent the last two seasons impressing senior coach Andy Collins.
Collins labelled Tippett ‘the best key defender, particularly the best full-back, outside the AFL.’
"He hasn't been beaten by anyone at state level for a couple of years now.
"He's tall, strong and athletic and I think he could do a great job on many of the key forwards in the AFL, particularly the low-post key forwards.
"I think he would step up to League footy straight away in a really good team."
Tippett recently had ‘phenomenal’ test results at a South Australian test screening. His time of eight seconds for the agility course would have placed him second at the Draft Combine and his 20 metre sprint time inside the top 10.
North Melbourne recruiting manager Bryce Lewis on Tippett
"We had Luke Delaney go out, so we wanted to get a key back to replace him if we could.
"Joel has spent time on rookie lists at two other clubs, but he was a late starter to football, and he had injuries in his time at both Brisbane and Gold Coast. He's been really consistent since moving across to West Adelaide, playing 41 games in the last two years, as that last line defender with the capability of playing on the power forwards."
