Jarrad Waite is set to line up for his 200th AFL game on Saturday night against his former team Carlton.

In a recent feature for the club's magazine True North, Waite opened up to Giulio Di Giorgio about his move to North Melbourne.

Jarrad Waite was a frustrated footballer in his final year at Carlton.

He had turned 31, he wasn’t getting much enjoyment out of his football and his career was slowly beginning to stagnate as a result.

Compounding matters, the Blues were languishing in the bottom eight of the ladder and Waite sought reassurance from the club about his playing future.

After 13 years and 184 games for Carlton, Waite decided to explore his unrestricted free agency rights.

“I wasn’t enjoying the club and my footy as much as I once did,” Waite told True North.

“I didn’t want to end my footy career on a negative note.”

The 32-year-old said his “extremely easy” transition to North Melbourne had reignited his passion for the game.

“I saw a really good opportunity to come to a club that is in a really good position to go somewhere and it got me excited about footy again,” he said.

But Waite acknowledged the “massive decision” he had to make in ending his strong family association with the Blues after being recruited under the father-son rule in 2001.

“I feel now that it’s been done, it’s the best thing,” he said.

“It’s the only move I should’ve done anyway.”

Waite has provided the Roos with another avenue to goal, with he and fellow talls Drew Petrie and Ben Brown complementing the likes of goalsneaks Lindsay Thomas, Shaun Higgins, Brent Harvey and Robin Nahas.

“If you’re not having your best day, one of the other boys are going to stand up and then having Lindsay, ‘Higgo’, ‘Boomer’ and Nahas that float through, it’s a pretty exciting forward line,” Waite said.

The 194cm key forward became frustrated with Carlton last year when doubts were raised about his ability to make a solid on-field contribution.

Waite sensed then Carlton coach Mick Malthouse had questioned his ability to perform and stay injury-free.

“I was always happy to go speak to him and if I didn’t agree with something, I was always happy to stand up and say something,” he said.

“He doubted whether my body was going to stand up and he didn’t instil confidence in me to go out and play.

“It was one of those clashes.”

The pair “disagreed on a few things” over their two-year affiliation and Waite believed their differing views restricted him from playing with greater freedom.

“It was okay at times but then at other times, not great,” Waite said, citing the frosty relationship he had with his former coach.

“I still felt I had some really good footy to play but certain circumstances made it impossible for me to stay.”

Waite was demoted to the VFL on two occasions last year, but that didn’t faze him and had no bearing on his decision to leave at season’s end.

“I’m not going to put myself before the team so if there are kids coming through that are better than me and they’re getting a spot over me, I won’t be complaining,” he said.

Waite said Carlton offered him a one-year deal and wouldn’t budge. He called Blues football manager Andrew McKay to organise a post-season chat and later attended a meeting at Malthouse’s East Melbourne home with his manager Alex McDonald.

“I just went to his house and at that stage, I still hadn’t made up my mind,” Waite said.

“I told them, ‘If you give me a two-year deal, I’ll stay’.”

Both parties detailed where they were positioned, with the Blues standing firm on the one-year contract they’d previously offered the big-marking forward.

“It was a conversation. I said all I wanted to say; there wasn’t any anger anywhere,” Waite said.

“I got a phone call a few days later saying, ‘We’re still not going to offer you a two-year deal’. That’s when I had to make the decision.”

With his immediate playing future at the forefront of his mind, Waite informed the club of his desire to cut ties after both camps weren’t able to reach an agreement on new contract terms.

Although Malthouse delivered a parting shot on radio after his decision to quit the Blues, Waite said he won’t be airing his dirty laundry in public but admitted finding the comments “annoying” and “factually inaccurate”.

“I haven’t spoken to Mick since, I don’t really plan on it,” he said.

“We had a meeting, sat down and had a chat and at the end of it of course we shook hands, but I never said I was going to stay.”

With the experienced campaigner now firmly entrenched at Arden Street, he said he hasn’t looked back.

“I struggled with a lot of the names at the start but I found everyone, from the players to staff, very accommodating,” Waite said.

“I’m now trying to play some really good consistent footy, win some games and hopefully over this next two-year period get the ultimate.”