Emotional Hartung gets moving at Kangaroos
Dec 4, 2017 - 6:02 AM Born-again Kangaroo Billy Hartung has pledged to not waste his second chance in the AFL after being delisted by Hawthorn.After four seasons with the Hawks, Hartung was cut and endured the agony of not knowing whether his AFL days were done.
That was until last fortnight, when North Melbourne took the 22-year-old with the second-last pick of the national draft to the midfielder's surprise.
"I was out in the city with a few friends for dinner and I was checking on the phone. It got to pick 60-plus and I thought I wouldn't watch it anymore," he said.
"Then I got a few texts.
"To finally get my name called out again was pretty exciting."
Hartung's delisting was made more surprising by the fact that Alastair Clarkson chose to give the runner 18 games in a rebuilding season for the Hawks.
In his last three matches as Hawthorn chased an unlikely finals place, Hartung averaged 27 possessions.
The AFL website reported Hartung won an endurance running test at North Melbourne's pre-season training on Monday, underlining his value to an AFL club.
Questions remain over other parts of his game, but Hartung is determined to improve under the tutelage of new boss Brad Scott.
"The last couple of months have been pretty hard, not knowing where I was going to be," Hartung said.
"It's pretty hard being delisted only four years into your career.
"I was talking to the club for the last two or three weeks before I got drafted and we had some pretty honest chats.
"I've been really happy with the chats we've had which is why I'm so looking forward to being here.
"I feel like there's a lot of opportunity here. It's a pretty young and exciting list and I'm really excited about the future."
Source: AAP
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