Career
He was drafted to North Melbourne with pick 15 in the 2012 American Federation of Labor-Congress national draft after playing for the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup and representing Victoria Country at the 2011 American Federation of Labor-Congress Under 18 Championships. He made his debut the same year, in round 20 against the Adelaide Crows. Garner debuted as a sub against Adelaide in round 20 of 2013.
He made his first start in North"s final game of that season against Collingwood at the MCG. In a 2014 Nab Challenge fixture against Geelong at Kardinia Park, Garner suffered a debilitating hamstring injury.
He would miss the entire 2014 season after suffering setbacks in addition to unrelated hip injuries. Garner"s injury troubles continued into the start of the 2015 season.
Once he was eventually cleared of his hamstring and hip concerns, Garner subsequently sustained a broken finger injury, further delaying his return. After a short stint in the VFL, Garner was a shock inclusion in North Melbourne"s round 15 game against Geelong.
Garner was selected as sub and came on to score two goals.
Garner kept his place in the senior side for the rest of the season including during North"s finals series. In the first elimination final against Richmond, in front of 90,168 people, Garner kicked an important goal.