Nick Dal Santo believes North Melbourne key defender Robbie Tarrant is among the most underappreciated in the competition.
The 30-year-old has consistently been one of the best performers of the last few years, but has consistently missed out on All-Australian selection.
Tarrant was drafted by the Roos in 2007, but wouldn’t find his feet until the 2015 season, dealing with injuries and struggling to lock down his best spot on the field.
From that point on, he has played at least 21 games every season and become one of the most consistent defenders in the AFL.
“I think he is one of the most underrated players in the competition. That is how good he is,” Dal Santo told SEN Breakfast.
“He is a superstar, a brilliant teammate, as reliable as the day is long and one hell of a good defender.
“It’s as simple as that. He’s strong, fast, competitive.
“He can take talls and smalls on an I love Robbie Tarrant for the player that he is now because he started as a forward.”
It’s a changing of the guard down back for the Roos following the retirement of Scott Thompson and Dal Santo isn’t sure if they’ve got a ready-made replacement.
“Outside of Tarrant, they have got some young players coming through and I think there’s other players that need to step up,” he said.
“Getting Majak (Daw) back would be great. We saw what he did a couple of years ago and the steps he took in terms of becoming that roll-off defender.
“From where Majak has come from, for him to be given the responsibility and the liberty of choosing when to go one on one and when to roll off and support in the air like the really good defenders do, it’s brilliant.
“I’m not quite sure (who fills Scott Thompson’s shoes). Sam Durdin is someone they’re trying to grow and he needs to physically get a bit bigger and probably a bit more consistent and stronger in his games week to week.
“There’s space there for someone to step up and fill that void.”