North Melbourne have defended the recruitment of Jason Horne-Francis despite the No.1 draft pick leaving the struggling AFL club after just one season.
Horne-Francis got his wish to play with Port Adelaide after he departed the Kangaroos via a complex four-club trade on Monday.
North also gave up their No.1 pick in this year's draft, but received selections two and three in return.
Kangaroos list boss Brady Rawlings insisted the club did not see signs of potential homesickness in the teenager before they plucked Horne-Francis out of his home state of South Australia last November.
"We reflect on our decision all the time, and with all the background we did on Jason, none of this came out at all - it was actually quite the opposite," Rawlings told RSN radio on Tuesday.
"All the information in front of us was extremely positive.
"His form in the first six, seven weeks was probably better than it was in the back end of the year when he probably wasn't happy and struggling away from home.
"The pull home for Jason is extremely strong ... but we think this is a bit of a one-off case."
Despite finishing bottom of the ladder in the last two seasons, North will not have a No.1 draft pick on their list next year.
The Kangaroos would not have secured this year's likely No.1 draft pick regardless, with Will Ashcroft tied to the Brisbane Lions as a father-son selection.
"We were really keen to get two picks inside three, rather than one, so we're comfortable in what we've done," Rawlings said.
"All year we've had three players at the top of the draft we can't split.
"All coaches love the top-end talent but we really want to bring strong characters into our football club.
"We've brought in Griffin Logue and Darcy Tucker (both from Fremantle), who are definitely that."
