Loyalty still exists in football with Robbie Tarrant turning his back on free agency to stay with North Melbourne.
The 26-year-old was reportedly being headhunted by rival clubs desperate to secure a key-defender but has turned down perhaps more lucrative offers to sign a four-year deal with the Kangaroos.
"It's really exciting, the club's done so much for me in the past and I obviously have a lot of mates here so I was pumped to just get the contract done," Tarrant told NMFC.com.au on his way to Hobart on Friday.
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"I'm looking forward to what's ahead and hopefully we can keep this winning streak going and head into a finals series with a lot of confidence."
With contract talks protracted, there were fears Tarrant could have been lured to another club however he said it wasn't something he was keen on.
"The option (free agency) was there, but to be honest, I never really thought about leaving North," he said.
Tarrant's injury woes have been well documented with the valuable Roo managing just 55 games since being taken with pick 15 in the 2007 draft.
Despite four shoulder reconstructions and most recently, a complicated leg issue that plagued his past two seasons, North maintained its faith and kept Tarrant on the senior list.
"North Melbourne is where I want to play my footy and the club has been so amazing to me over the journey," Tarrant explained.
"It's probably not all about what the club has done for me, it's also that I can really see it's a good fit for the future."
Tarrant has been his most productive this year, only missing North's first two matches.
"It's been my most consistent in terms of games played and form as well. It gives me great confidence but I feel that I've got a lot of improvement to make," he said.
"I've played 16 games this season as a defender and that's not much in the scheme of things so I've got a lot to prove and a lot of improvement left."
With every game, Tarrant says North's back six is working better and becoming a real force for opposition forwards to contend with.
He believes his time as a goal kicker earlier in his career has also given him an advantage.
"I've watched a lot of these forwards that I'm now playing on when I was a forward, to help my game," he said.
"Working with Scott (Thompson), Lachie (Hansen) and Spud (Michael Firrito), they're great at coming across and supporting.
"Scotty in particular is someone I've worked really close with in the past few months and also in the pre-season. Hopefully we can continue to work well together and maintain a high standard down back."
