Collingwood midfield recruit Levi Greenwood felt the situation at North Melbourne became too twisted up and he needed to make a clean AFL break.
Despite enjoying a breakout season with the Kangaroos last season, the 26-year-old said he never felt secure in the senior team.
Greenwood looms as an important addition to the Magpies midfield, especially following Dayne Beams' defection to Brisbane.
He is set to play in Thursday night's opening NAB Challenge game against Hawthorn at Launceston's Aurora Stadium.
"I knew I was good enough for the AFL level," he said.
"I just always thought when I was playing under Brad (North coach Brad Scott), there was always only going to be a couple of games and I might have been in a bit of trouble in the team.
"A few things might have been twisted up there, but fine."
Greewnwood was then asked to explain what he meant by "twisted up".
"When I had a conversation with Brad, I told him the way I felt was I was only ever a couple of games out of getting dropped," he said.
"That's just the way I felt."
He admits the round-nine match against North on May 31 will be a big day for him.
"Hopefully I will have a couple of good games under my belt by then ... it will be a nervous buildup," Greenwood said at Monday's media conference to launch the NAB Challenge.
"I am looking forward to that one actually, getting it out of the way."
Greenwood played 22 senior games last year and finished third in North's best and fairest voting.
But Collingwood's contract offer was an offer too good to refuse.
"That was half the reason I left, because I thought there was more opportunity at Collingwood and a bit more opportunity in the middle there," he said.
"North, they went pretty deep ... and I was probably the one always sitting on the edge a little bit."
Greenwood added he is still adapting to how his team-mates play.
"I was still trying to feel out and see what everyone was going to do," he said of last Thursday's intraclub game.
"It was a bit unpredictable for me, but in the next few weeks I should be able to get a bit more of a read on how the game is going to play out."
Share
