Carlton have picked up former North Melbourne defender Sam Durdin in Wednesday night's Mid-Season Draft, hoping to relieve some of the pressure on their undermanned defence.
Durdin, who played 22 games for the Kangaroos after his debut in 2017, has starred for Glenelg in the SANFL after being delisted by North in 2020.
The 198cm tall defender could find himself in Blues colours sooner than expected, with Carlton's backline currently missing Jacob Weitering, Oscar McDonald and Mitch McGovern.
Durdin spoke to AFL Media shortly after being taken with pick 13, saying that he was excited to join the club.
“I’m ready to go, I’m looking forward to working hard and hopefully getting an opportunity,” Durdin said.
“We’re in a great position at the moment, being a competitive side all year, hopefully I can add to that.”
"I'm very fortunate to have a second crack at it, not many guys do, but I'm very keen to get stuck into it."
Sam Durdin is hoping to make the most of his second chance , heading to @CarltonFC 👊 pic.twitter.com/XVH7qC0cYf
— AFL (@AFL) June 1, 2022
Blues Head of List Management Nick Austin spoke highly of Durdin after his selection, saying the 25-year-old's composed style in the back half was invaluable to the club.
“With Sam, we’re welcoming someone who is not only known to the AFL system, but also someone who has worked incredibly hard to get back to this level,” Austin told club media.
“His performances for Glenelg in the past 18 months have been really strong, as shown by his selection in the South Australian state side earlier this season which he unfortunately missed due to illness.
“He backs himself in the air, he’s a calming influence in defence and he makes the right decision coming out of the back half. He has barely missed a game since going back to South Australia and he’s performed to a really high standard in a quality competition.
“We’re excited to welcome Sam to our Club and have him get to work with his new teammates in the coming days.”
Carlton also selected another former AFL player on Wednesday night, taking former Bulldog Will Hayes with pick 22.
Hayes, the son of vaunted racehorse trainer David Hayes, wore the red, white and blue on 11 occasions between 2019 and 2021 and spent the opening half of this season plying his trade within the Blues' VFL side.
