LEIGH Tudor has joined North Melbourne as a senior assistant coach, after missing out on the interim coaching role at Essendon.
 
Tudor had signed a three-year deal with the Kangaroos, pending the outcome of his bid for the vacant Bombers' job.
 
The 44-year-old will be responsible for the Roos' midfield, where he will work closely with fellow senior assistant coach and former North Melbourne teammate Darren Crocker.
 
Tudor was most recently an assistant coach with the Sydney Swans, after stints in the coaching box with St Kilda and Geelong.
 
Jon Haines, North Melbourne's general manager of football operations, said the Roos are delighted to have secured the much sought-after Tudor.

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“(We) know he will add a high-level of experience, leadership and expertise to our side next season and beyond,” he said in a club press release.

“We see this as a valuable addition and critical for the club.”
 
As a player, Tudor progressed through the ranks at North Melbourne from the under-19s, when he played under Denis Pagan, to playing eight senior games from 1989-92.
 
A small forward, he made a further 60 appearances for Geelong from 1993-96, playing seven finals, including two losing grand finals.
 
He also helped to break Kangaroo hearts. In the dying seconds of the 1994 preliminary final, it was Tudor's centering kick from the boundary that set up Gary Ablett's 'Hand of God' mark and after-the-siren goal that sent the Cats into the grand final at North Melbourne's expense.
 
Tudor is excited to return to his old club.
 
“I really loved the years at Sydney but it was time to come home for family reasons and I’m thrilled to be coming back to where it all started,” Tudor said.
 
“I respect the way North has gone about it over the past few seasons and they’re clearly on the rise, so I can’t think of a better place to be.”
 
Roos CEO Carl Dilena said on Wednesday that Tudor would help the Roos improve their defensive skills, an area the club chief admitted had let the club down this year.
 
"Leigh has a fantastic grounding in defensive team structures… That was a primary focus: getting in a senior assistant with those sorts of skills, who could really fix some of our deficiencies from this year," Dilena said.
 
Tudor is on holidays and will begin his new role in early November.
 
In other changes to the Roos coaching panel, Crocker will be in charge of stoppages and the opposition, Shane Watson has become the forward coach and Josh Drummond will take control of the backline.
 

NAME Leigh Tudor
AGE 44
RECRUITED FROM Doutta Stars (Vic)
AFL CAREER 68 games (North Melbourne 8, Geelong 60), 59 goals (NM 6, Geel 53) from 1989-96
HONOURS Grand finals 1994, 1995
COACHING CAREER Geelong VFL coach 2005-08, runner-up in 2006, premiers in 2007; St Kilda assistant coach 2009-10; Sydney Swans assistant coach 2011-13.