North Melbourne stars Shaun Higgins and Robbie Tarrant have signed contract extensions that will see them remain at Arden Street for the foreseeable future.
The pair were both contracted until the end of the 2019 season already, with Higgins extending until the end of 2020, with Tarrant adding another year and extending until the end of 2021.
"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 told nmfc.com.au.
"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.
"Any free agents could be comfortable that they're coming into an environment where the age demographic is pretty good.
"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."
The pair now join fellow leadership group members Jack Ziebell, Jamie Macmillan and coach Brad Scott in being contracted until at least the end of the season in 2020.
"Stability is very important. It means we can just go to work and put things in place that make us climb up the ladder," Tarrant told the club's website.
"Our role is to develop our younger guys and get them playing as well as possible. We've got great confidence in our list, and it's good to know we'll get the opportunity to continue teaching the younger boys the ropes over the next few years and hopefully follow through with some success."
