Key Roos not going anywhere

NORTH Melbourne leaders Shaun Higgins and Robbie Tarrant are sticking solid.

The duo has put pen to paper on contract extensions that will see them at Arden St until the end of 2020 and 2021 respectively.

The Kangaroos also yesterday added two years to the contract of No. 4 draft pick Luke Davies-Uniacke, extending his time at Arden St until at least the end of the 2021 season.

“Speaking for myself and probably ‘Taz’ as well, we wouldn’t have signed on or committed long-term if we didn’t see the hope and know that the guys we’ve got at the moment are the foundation for a very successful side,” Higgins said.

“I think we’ve shown glimpses of that over the last 12-24 months, and hopefully we can make that progression a lot quicker by having some stability through the senior guys. We’ve got guys at the latter end of their careers in the leadership group and we’ve got a really healthy core group of young guys.”

And they don’t want to be the only ones, backing chairman Ben Buckley’s declaration that the Kangaroos will be an aggressive mover in the free agency and trade areas this year.

Higgins said any player coming to the club could be confident they would be joining an outfit that is on the rise, and said “top-end talent” would be warmly welcomed.

“Any free agents could be comfortable that they’re coming into an environment where the age demographic is pretty good,” he said.

“We would love some top-end talent coming to the footy club, but having said that, if it doesn’t eventuate we’re more than happy with the list we’ve got at the moment.”

Higgins has played 54 games for North Melbourne since moving from the Bulldogs at the end of 2014.