Four North Melbourne players have been told their future will not be at Arden Street in a big day of list changes for David Noble's side.
Trent Dumont, Shaun Atley, Tom Campbell and Charlie Ham will all not be offered new contracts for 2022 after the club deemed them surplus to requirements.
Dumont in particular was on the hunt for a new club with North making it clear that he wasn't part of their future plans, however failed to find any suitors during the free agency period.
The 26-year-old midfielder played 113 games for the Roos in the seven years he has been at the club after being drafted at pick 30 in the 2013 national draft.
Shaun Atley has been a staple of the North Melbourne side since his debut in 2011, being deployed across a host of positions despite primarily being a defender.
His 233 matches as a 'Shinboner' saw him average 17.4 disposals, 3.5 marks and 2.1 tackles per game and rack up a tally that has seen him finish 21st for the most games played at North Melbourne.
Ruckman Tom Campbell arrived at Arden Street from the Dogs back in 2018 but failed to nail down a regular spot in the side, with the 29-year-old only playing 12 games for the Roos after being unable to displace Todd Goldstein.
Recent acquisition Charlie Ham was taken at pick 16 in the 2020 mid-season draft but did not feature at all for the Roos throughout his 18 months with the club.
North Melbourne General Manager of Football Brady Rawlings spoke of the difficulty of seeing players depart the club.
“It’s always a tough day to let players go but we wish them well as they look to gain AFL opportunities elsewhere," Rawlings said to the club website.
Rawlings spoke of the dedication of the veterans unfortunately shown the door.
“You couldn’t get a more committed and popular club man than Shaun [Atley].
“He would always put team success above his own ambitions, even though he’s been a great player for us in his own right.
“Like ‘Ats’, ‘Froggy’ (Dumont) has been a North Melbourne person through and through and he’s developed into a really dependable contributor across his 100-plus games.
“It’s just unfortunate for ‘Frog’ that he suffered a couple of calf injuries at the start of this year. It’s a credit to him that he was able to get back into the team after a long layoff and add his leadership to a pretty young group.”
With these delistings, North Melbourne are set to go all-in on youth with their 2021 draft hand looking mighty strong.
Holding Pick 1, the Roos are almost certain to poach Jason Horne-Francis from South Australia whilst their other picks of 20, 38, 69 mean that they will see four young prospects come through the door at Arden Street.
After a season 2021 full of progress despite finishing with the wooden spoon, North Melbourne are looking to take big steps next season with their crop of young talent under David Noble having had another pre-season to mature at AFL level.
Throw in the acquisition of Richmond young tall Callum Coleman-Jones and the Roos have an exciting side with the potential to rock the boat in a few years time, similar to what they did on several occasions in 2021.
