North Melbourne delists Jared Polec a year before his $3.5m deal ends
Four torturous seasons for a big-money signing at North Melbourne have ended with his delisting.
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After playing less than 50 games in four seasons at North Melbourne following a big-money move from Port Adelaide, Jared Polec has been delisted for a second, and final, time
Polec crossed to the Kangaroos on a five-year deal worth a reported $3.5m after requesting a trade from Port, which was his second club after the midfielder began his career at Brisbane.
What seemed a coup for the club started well, with the left-footer playing every game in his first season at Arden Street in 2019, and he finished seventh in the best and fairest.
But things went pear-shaped for Polec, and the club, after that and a combination of injuries and poor form kept him to just 18 matches over the following two seasons.
North delisted him at the end of 2021, but Polec was redrafted onto the rookie list ahead of last season.
But a foot injury sustained in round 3 required surgery, and the injury continued to plague the 30-year-old, and he finished his season, and time with the club, after just 42 games in four seasons in blue and white
North list manager Brady Rawlings conceded things “haven’t worked out” for the club or Polec, with North ending his tenure at the club a year early.
“Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, Jared hasn’t been able to recapture the form he showed in his first year at the club,” Rawlings said.
“We made the decision to redraft Jared this time last year after he was initially delisted, but things haven’t worked out for him or the club since then.
“As a result, we’ll take four selections into the national draft and we’ll have added flexibility with our rookie list due to the two extra picks that came via the AFL’s assistance package.”
Polec will likely finish his career with 148 AFL games across 12 seasons with the three clubs.
Originally published as North Melbourne delists Jared Polec a year before his $3.5m deal ends
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