VFL REIGNING premier North Ballarat has signed Redan star Isaac Smith.The 21-year-old will play out the year with the Selkirk Roosters.He will make his first appearance for Ballarat in the reserves against Coburg Tigers on Sunday.Smith has had an an outstanding year in the Ballarat Football League.As well as being a stand-out with Redan and BFL representative team, he has been selected in the Victorian squad for the Australian Country championships in Canberra later this month.Smith had his first taste of North Ballarat training last night - joining a recovery session.The Roosters have had their sights on Smith since last year.North Ballarat invited the University of Ballarat student to pre-season training, but the 190cm-tall Smith chose to stick with Redan.Roosters football manager Marg Richards said they had made another approach ahead of the June 30 deadline for VFL list changes with long-term injuries mounting.Head coach Gerard FitzGerald said Smith was recommended by Redan as a person and player.He congratulated Redan for actively supporting and promoting Smith to give the VFL a try.North Ballarat has lost four players from its 50-strong list for the season - Liam Hoy (shoulder), Alec Wiltshire (knee), Ben Birthisel (hip) and Ben Peters (hamstring) - as well as North Melbourne's Aaron Black.Redan coach Brendan Peace said Smith's rapid development had come under notice."It's not necessarily about strengthening the Roosters' list. It's about giving him a chance," Peace said."It's not ideal to lose one of your better players midway during a season, but we're probably lucky we have a pretty good spread in the forward line."He has the attributes to go to the next level. He has height, endurance and pace, and he's been our leading goalkicker this year."Redan chairman Andrew Madden said there was talk that a few AFL clubs had shown interest in Smith."If this is the best way for Isaac to get a spot on an AFL list then all the very best of luck for him," he said.