DELISTED Melbourne Demon Rory Taggert has signed with South Australian National Football League side Sturt.
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Taggert, 20, hopes a stint in the SANFL will allow him to resurrect his AFL career after he was delisted by the Demons in October.
The former North Ballarat Rebel said he had been in talks with three or four teams before deciding on the Double Blues.
“I think with their list, they are best suited for me and I think they’re also my best chance to get back into the AFL system,” he said.
“It might take me a couple of years, but that’s OK.
“A fair few players have gone that way and done well.”
Taggert, who was selected by the Demons with pick 36 in the 2011 AFL draft, said his delisting came as a shock.
“It came pretty late in our season,” he said.
“I was still hopeful of being picked up in the rookie draft, but that wasn’t the case. So now I’m going in a different direction.”
Fellow former Rebel Ben Mabon, delisted from North Melbourne, has also taken his game to SANFL ranks.
The ruckman – and No.1 tap man for the Kangaroos’ Victorian Football League affiliate, North Ballarat – will suit up for Central Districts.
Taggert, from Horsham, spent last week in Adelaide training with his new team-mates.
Sturt football manager Paul Sandercock said Taggert would give the Double Blues a strong presence at stoppages.
“Rory fits that bill perfectly as he is about six-foot-one and is a really good clearance player so we are looking forward to adding him to our midfield,” he said.
Taggert had a consistent season with Melbourne’s VFL partner Casey Scorpions this year after missing most of the 2012 season with a back
injury.