Robbie Tarrant Biography

Callum Coleman-Jones is a Kangaroo after a deal is struck between North Melbourne and Richmond that also sees Robbie Tarrant become a Tiger.

North Melbourne handed over a future-second round pick, pick No.40 this year and veteran Tarrant in exchange for Coleman-Jones, picks No.42, 47 and a future-fourth round pick.

Robbie Tarrant informs the Roos that he wishes to leave the club in search of a premiership at Richmond.

The Tigers have offered the 32-year-old a two-year deal to join them as an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

North Melbourne coach David Noble expects veteran Robbie Tarrant to retire a one-club player despite expected interest in the key defender from premiership contenders.

"I couldn't see Robbie playing for another club, let's be honest," Noble said.

"We've enjoyed Robbie being back, he's a key part of our leadership group."

Robbie Tarrant will miss the first half of the season after undergoing surgery to remove a small mass on his kidney. The Kangaroos have confirmed that the surgery was successful, with the lump still being investigated by medical specialists.

"This is something I've been aware of and had elected to address now rather than wait for the end of the season to have it removed," Tarrant said.

Jack Ziebell will lead a new-look Kangaroos leadership group in his fifth year as captain for the North Melbourne Football Club.

Luke McDonald and Jy Simpkin have been elected as co vice-captains, while Robbie Tarrant, Ben Cunnington, and Kayne Turner, round out the group.

Robbie Tarrant undergoes a painful procedure to repair a foot injury.

Tarrant is battling Morton's neuroma, a condition that causes pain to the ball of your foot, and underwent a procedure that involved a guided needle being injected into the sore area.

He is expected to resume running duties next week, though the surgery is likely to rule him out of the club's opening Marsh Community Series clash against the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium in 10 days' time.

Jack Ziebell will lead North Melbourne as captain again in 2020, with a leadership group that has doubled in size.

Ben Cunnington, Trent Dumont, Jasper Pittard and youngster Jy Simpkin have been promoted to the eight-man contingent ahead of Rhyce Shaw's first full season in charge.

Jamie Macmillan has retained his place, while Shaun Higgins has been elevated to vice-captain alongside 2019 deputy Robbie Tarrant.

"I reckon it's a really really good group in terms of its diversity," Roos coach Rhyce Shaw said.

"We've got guys that have been there for a period of time and a great crop of first-timers in Trent, Jy, Ben and Jasper who have all put in some real work to better themselves as players, teammates and people."

Ben Cunnington caps a career-best season with his second Syd Barker Medal as the Kangaroos' club champion for 2019.

Cunnington polled 242 votes and held out fast-finishing defender Robbie Tarrant (227) and Todd Goldstein and Trent Dumont (both 192).

There was significant emotion attached to Brad Scott's exit from Arden Street, particularly for Robbie Tarrant, who played his first 136 AFL games under the now-former coach of the Kangaroos.

"Playing under him for close to 10 years, you build that relationship," Tarrant said.

"I was obviously, along with all the other senior players, really close with Brad and he's done a lot for me over my career."

Robbie Tarrant will have surgery on his right shoulder to repair a damaged AC joint sustained during an intraclub match.

"All we can do now is ensure that he's fit and firing in time for the start of the season," North football manager Cameron Joyce said.

"He'll be operated on tomorrow and he'll waste no time with his recovery and rehabilitation."

Shaun Higgins claims his second Syd Barker Medal as North Melbourne's best and fairest for 2018.

Higgins polled 240 votes to edge Ben Cunnington by three votes, while Robbie Tarrant finished third on 218.

Robbie Tarrant is hospitalised after suffering a knock to his kidney in North Melbourne's pre-season 70-point loss to Richmond, but the Kangaroos' vice-captain is expected to be fit for round one.

"He suffered a low-grade bruising of his kidney," North football manager Cameron Joyce said.

"We've got a four-day mini-break leading into this weekend so he'll spend some time with his feet up and just rest."

Shaun Higgins signs a contract extension with North Melbourne to remain at the club until the end of 2020.

He joins fellow club leader Robbie Tarrant who also signed a contract extension to remain until the end of 2021.

"We wouldn't have signed on or committed long-term if we didn't see the hope and know that the guys we've got at the moment are the foundation for a very successful side," Higgins said.

Like Higgins, Tarrant believes this stability at the top of the club will be a considerable asset as the club continues its list makeover.

"We've got great confidence in our list, and it's good to know we'll get the opportunity to continue teaching the younger boys the ropes over the next few years and hopefully follow through with some success," Tarrant said.

Ben Brown, Robbie Tarrant, Jack Gunston, Neville Jetta, Luke Shuey and Kade Simpson are new additions to the squad who will represent Australia in the International Rules Series.

Robbie Tarrant will enjoy a milestone a decade in the making when he runs out for game 100 this week.

Taken by the Kangaroos as a first-round pick in 2007, Tarrant was more often in rehabilitation than at training in his first few seasons.

"We could see the talent and knew what he could become but more important was the character of the guy," North Melbourne coaching director Darren Crocker said.

"He was probably at the crossroads ... just because they're a good bloke you can't keep them around if they're not getting on the park.

"Had he been a rat or a skunky sort of bloke who didn't fit into the culture of the footy club, we wouldn't have persevered.

"Off field, he's grown into a leader and teammates want to follow him. The injuries have enabled him to build a resilience."

Robbie Tarrant caps off a career-best 2016 season with his maiden North Melbourne best and fairest award, winning the club's Syd Barker Medal count narrowly from vice-captain Jack Ziebell.

Tarrant polled 263 votes to pip Ziebell by six votes, while hard-running midfielder Sam Gibson finished third on 234 votes.

Robbie Tarrant has rejected a potentially lucrative free agency move to a rival club by re-signing with the Kangaroos for four more years.

"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 said.

"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."

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott says the club is not concerned that free agent Robbie Tarrant remains unsigned and believes the key defender wants to remain at Arden Street beyond 2015.

"Robbie's a really valuable member of our club. He knows that and he's really keen to stay with us," Scott said.

"It's just a matter of those guys nutting out a deal."

Rival clubs are circling North Melbourne free agent Robbie Tarrant after the former forward's strong start to 2015 in defence.

Most clubs have been watching closely as Tarrant has held his own this year against elite power forwards such as Tom Hawkins, Jarryd Roughead and Travis Cloke.

Robbie Tarrant is unlikely to play again this season with the North Melbourne key forward set to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a stress fracture in his tibia.

"I'm shattered and frustrated to be missing the rest of the year already, but as a group we've come to the conclusion that going in for surgery now is the best option to take with regards to my long-term prospects," Tarrant said.

"I think in my current situation, it's really a matter of having to absorb some short-term pain in order to achieve long-term gain.

"If I go in now and pull the pin on this year and get everything right, then I'll be in the best position to have a good crack at next year and beyond. That's what I need to focus on."

Robbie Tarrant could be out for the season after the forward pulled out of North's round 14 team last Saturday due to soreness in the lower leg that has this year limited him to one VFL game and one AFL game.

North football director Geoff Walsh told the club's website on Monday that Tarrant was considering a range of treatment options after consulting a specialist.

"It's a unique set of circumstances and we'll take the next few days to decide on what the best path forward for him is," Walsh said.

"We have a number of things to consider and the decision will ultimately be Robbie's to make."

Robbie Tarrant will play his first game for 2014 against Adelaide after recovering from a leg injury and spending a week in the VFL.

"For the last five or six weeks I've done a really solid training program and played in the VFL last week and physically I felt really good out there…[it was] probably the best I've pulled up all year," Tarrant said.

"I'm raring to go, I wouldn't play if I couldn't play 100 per cent."

North Melbourne is hopeful Robbie Tarrant can return from a lingering lower leg injury before the first half of the season is over.

"We've just given him four or five days away to mentally freshen him up and give him a chance to regroup because he's obviously been pretty frustrated, as we have been too," North football director Geoff Walsh said.

"We're just hoping that he gets a bit of a mental freshen up more than anything. He was back yesterday so he'll step up his training now.

"But it has lingered on with some shin, hip sort of things, so hopefully he's over the hump there and can start to get some real traction in his training."

Robbie Tarrant suffers a recurrence of the lower leg injury that sidelined him for nine games last year.

North football director Geoff Walsh said that Tarrant had been diagnosed with a tibial stress reaction that would sideline him for the first few rounds of the season.

"Unfortunately, we know from what we experienced with Robbie last year that we're dealing with a similar situation," Walsh said.

"However, it's nowhere near as severe this time around and thankfully our medical team has identified the symptoms early, allowing us to take a very proactive approach with his training and treatment."

Robbie Tarrant and Scott McMahon both sign two-year deals North Melbourne.

"I wouldn't leave because North is pretty much my family. The club has treated me and my wife Des so well over the years," McMahon said.

"They've been really good to me over a number of years on the field and off the field. I was never not going to stay. As soon as they put something to Paul (Connors), my manager, I was happy to sign it," Tarrant said.

Drew Petrie hopes to form a good chemistry with fellow forwards Lachie Hansen and Robbie Tarrant but says it's up to him to make it work.

"Spreading the load and responsibility is really good, but personally I feel more responsibility in this side, not necessarily to get a kick myself, but more so to help the team," Petrie said.

"I understand that it's going to take 18 players to win a game of footy and it's going to take the three of us forwards to really work well to win a game.

"But I just take a lot of that responsibility and out of the three of us I feel more responsible for how we go than the other two guys."

Robbie Tarrant says he is under pressure to keep his spot with the emergence of young forwards in Aaron Black, Majak Daw and Tom Curran.

"I feel a lot of pressure to keep lifting my game," Tarrant said.

"Blacky's had a really good pre-season, he's really taken his fitness base to a new level, and Majak has improved so much over the last few seasons.

"Tommy Curran has been able to get out on the track now too. Unfortunately for him last year he only played a couple games of VFL before he hurt his foot.

"If there was no pressure you might rest on your laurels a little bit, but it's really good at the minute because you know full well you have to continue to work on your game and improve."

Robbie Tarrant seems to have finally thrown the injury curse that plagued him for much of his first three seasons at Arden Street.

"The body feels as good as it can at the minute. I just can't wait for the games to start really," Tarrant said.

"I had significant surgery two years ago to my left shoulder but it feels really good and I haven't had any dramas with it since. I also had minor hip surgery at the end of last season and my hips are feeling really good now too."

Robbie Tarrant makes his AFL debut for North Melbourne at the SCG with 10 disposals (6 kicks and 4 handballs), 3 marks and 2 tackles in a 30-point loss to Sydney.

North Melbourne assistant coach Darren Crocker says Robbie Tarrant may get more opportunities playing in defence this year.

"We just wanted to give another string to Robbie's bow," Crocker said.

"He's played as a forward predominantly throughout his juniors. Having missed a fair bit of footy, we just felt that giving him a run across half-back may open up the door for him."

Robert Tarrant believes his shoulder problems are behind him after a positive prognosis from the surgeon.

"When I did my shoulder the last time, I was sceptical whether I was actually going to get another contract," Tarrant said.

"But to get two years was a massive show of faith. The club has done absolutely everything it can for me, and, hopefully, now I can begin to repay them."

Robbie Tarrant has re-injured his shoulder playing in the VFL and will undergo scans.

"He just fell on the shoulder out at Casey Fields, but until then he had been playing really well," North Melbourne chief of football Donald McDonald said.

"But that's how the game goes sometimes."

Young North Melbourne key forward Robert Tarrant remains in doubt for the start of the season after another shoulder mishap.

Kangaroos draftee Robert Tarrant says he will keep out of the off-field troubles for which his older brother Chris has become infamous for.

"I've learnt a lot about what we should and shouldn't do as AFL footballers," Tarrant said.

"He's done a few silly things that he probably regrets and I've learnt a lot from those things and I probably won't go down the same track as him."

Tarrant who was snapped up with the Kangaroos' first pick at no. 15 in the 2007 national draft was high on the club's radar.

"I think the Bulldogs and the Tigers were pretty keen at 18 and 19, so we thought we'd better make a move here," Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley said.