Zac Fisher is eyeing a more permanent role behind the ball at North Melbourne after seven seasons at the Blues without finals.
The 25-year-old officially joined the Kangaroos on Wednesday alongside pick 17, with the Roos sending back picks 21 and 25 in this year’s National Draft.
Fisher has played 107 games at IKON Park since debuting back in 2017 but found himself on the outer for much of 2023.
Getting dropped on multiple occasions, the utility revealed he was first contacted by North Melbourne earlier this year.
“A couple of months to go within the season, probably when I first got dropped actually, they reached out and that’s sort of when we got into talks and whatnot,” Fisher began on AFL Trade Radio’s Gettable.
“Obviously with the list they’ve got down there and the picks and how exciting they can be, but for me it was a little bit about opportunity. Getting dropped a few times here and there throughout the season (made it tough to stay at Carlton).”
Fisher had to watch from the sidelines as his Blues teammates broke a decade-long finals drought and went all the way to the final four of the 2023 season.
With Fisher out of Michael Voss’ best team at the pointy end of the year, he saw the writing on the wall.
“I would have loved to play finals and no finals for seven years obviously hurts,” he continued.
“Carlton made it somewhat clear that it was going to be pretty difficult for me in the years to come.
“For me, playing senior football is obviously important and going to a club that is up and coming and can do something similar to what Carlton did this year (is important).”
Fisher put up strong numbers in the final month of the home and away season, most notably gathering 32 disposals, four rebound 50s and three inside 50s in Round 21 against St Kilda.
With a full pre-season under his belt, Fisher is keen to continue his improvement behind the ball after spending most of his career playing a mix of forward and midfield.
Speaking to the pitch from Alastair Clarkson, Fisher said: “I think the versatility he really liked. The ability to play half-back if needed but also be a dangerous forward or go inside. For me personally, I’m really excited to get a pre-season at half-back to learn the craft and system behind it to make me a more reliable defender, but I still want to be able to work on the other craft so I can impact in those areas.
“I really enjoyed it (moving to half-back). I think the job was definitely made easier from the Carlton midfield's pressure… which meant there weren’t too many clean balls coming down back.
“I really enjoyed seeing the game in front of me and being able to use my strengths off half-back. I probably need to tidy up a few things on the defensive end but it’s something I’m really excited to grow.”
He also credited 2022 Kangaroos recruit Griffin Logue as an important influence on his decision.
“He was a bigger factor than what I first thought in the end,” Fisher admitted.
He joins Dylan Stephens as a new Kangaroo, while Todd Goldstein and Ben McKay have departed Arden Street.