North Adelaide has signed former Hawthorn and North Melbourne onballer Billy Hartung
Billy Hartung played 76 AFL games with Hawthorn and North Melbourne and the competitive onballer has opted for a change of scenery in the SANFL.
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Former Hawthorn and North Melbourne midfielder Billy Hartung has signed with North Adelaide in a significant boost for the Roosters.
Hartung, 24, played 63 games for the Hawks from 2014-17 and made 13 appearances for the Kangaroos in 2018, before being surprisingly delisted after just one season at Arden Street.
The recruitment of Hartung follows the decision of Andrew Moore to return to the Roosters and their signatures help offset the loss of captain Max Thring and gun onballer Aidan Tropiano.
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Thring cited injury problems as the reason for his retirement from the SANFL, while Tropiano has returned to Western Australia after two years with the Roosters.
The Roosters have also regained Cameron Hewett from Port Adelaide and Kym LeBois from Carlton.
Hartung has played suburban football in Melbourne this year and Roosters football manager Darryl Wintle said the club first spoke with him in June. His friendship with former Hawks teammate Ryan Burton, a North Adelaide product, and Roosters forward Keenan Ramsey had a role in the tremendous signing.
“We are excited to get Billy on board,” Wintle said. “We first spoke to him in June and have kept in contact, he showed interest right from the start.
“We put a few things in place and he is looking for a change of scenery. An area (former coach) Josh (Carr) at the time was looking to consolidate was run and speed through the midfield and Billy was a high priority.
“Trop has been fantastic and Max was extremely valuable for us, especially with what he brought on game day. We are lucky to have found two quality replacements, although they play different styles.
“Billy and Andrew are quality players who will bring a lot to the club and the SANFL competition.”