IN-DEMAND North Melbourne defender Robbie Tarrant has rejected a potentially lucrative free agency move to a rival club by re-signing with the Kangaroos for four more years. 

Tarrant, 26, was reportedly the target of several clubs seeking a key backman but he opted instead to remain with North. 

Tarrant has played just 55 games since being selected at No.15 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, but 2015 has been clearly his best season. 

The 196cm, 97kg backman has managed 16 games of North's 18 games this season and bolstered his footballing CV with strong performances on Travis Cloke, Jarryd Roughead and Tom Hawkins. 

"It's really exciting, the club's done so much for me in the past and I obviously have a lot of mates here so I was pumped to just get the contract done," Tarrant told the club's website.

"I'm looking forward to what's ahead and hopefully we can keep this winning streak going and head into a finals series with a lot of confidence."

AFL.com.au reported in early June that at least two rivals clubs had signalled they were prepared to offer Tarrant a new deal worth up to $400,000 a season.

Some list managers suggested could command offers of up to $500,000 a year, depending on competition for his signature. 

But the potential lure of big dollars paled in comparison to repaying the faith that North Melbourne had shown in him through four shoulder reconstructions and a persistent leg issue that had restricted him to just one game in 2014.  

"North Melbourne is where I want to play my footy and the club has been so amazing to me over the journey," Tarrant explained.

"It's probably not all about what the club has done for me, it's also that I can really see it's a good fit for the future."