North Melbourne FC (AFL)

North Melbourne is an existing club that plays in the Australian Football League, and has previously played in the Victorian FL and the Victorian FA. The club was formed in 1869 and has won ten premierships.
== Formation ==
The club's formation in 1869 is believed to be from the St Marys Church of England Cricket Club in order to provide a fitness regime during the winter months. The exact date of formation is not known.
== Early years ==
Regarded as a junior club, North Melbourne played it's first few years spasmodically until 1874 when it was promoted in rank to a senior club playing against the likes of Carlton, Melbourne, Albert Park and St Kilda. In 1876 though the club went into recess with players playing for Albert Park. The club renamed itself Hotham before the 1877 season.
== VFA ==
Hotham was one of the five founding members of the Victorian Football Association and finished third in the first season in 1877. In the early years it was a middle of the road side finishing fourth in 1878 before getting it's first wooden spoon in 1879. They finished fifth, sixth, fifth and sixth over the next four seasons - the last of which also being a wooden spoon for the second time. In 1884 Hotham rose to third in the rankings, in what would be it's highest point prior to the VFL breakaway. As the VFA expanded Hotham dropped to seventh in 1885, ninth in 1886 and tenth in 1887.
In 1888 the name of the area was changed from Hotham to North Melbourne and the club followed suit. The club had already adopted royal blue and white as it's colours and moved to it's home at Arden Street. North finished seventh, sixth and fifth over the next three years before dropping to eighth, then eleventh and finally their third wooden spoon in 1893. They jumped back to sixth in 1894 and repeated the effort in 1896 after eighth place in 1895.
== 20th century (1897-1907) ==
North were left behind in the VFL breakaway and finished second in 1897, 1898 and 1899. But the new century brought a slide down to sixth in 1900. They got back to third in 1901 and 1902. The VFA adopted the Argus finals system in 1903, and North finished second again. This time they had to chance to rectify that and defeated West Melbourne in their semi final. They had to play Footscray in the final after Footscray had beaten the minor premiers Richmond in the other semi final and North won to face the challenge from Richmond. And North won to secure their first premiership.
In 1904 North Melbourne won their second flag in a row, when Richmond forfeited the grand final due to a controversy in the semi final that North won. Richmond were exercising the right to challenge again but wouldn't under the appointed umpire. In 1905 North won the minor premeirship and won their semi final. However they lost both the final and then the grand final to Richmond. In 1906 North Melbourne finished third but lost the semi final to minor premiers and eventual premiers West Melbourne. In 1907 North had their worst season since 1893 dropping to ninth winning only two games with only Preston worse off.
== To World War 1 (1908-1915) ==
Before the 1908 season, North Melbourne and West Melbourne attempted a merger in order to be approved for admission to the VFL. They missed out to Richmond and University and the VFA suspended them for disloyalty. The club reformed and applied for re-admission which was approved on the proviso that no one on the club committee was part of either the previous club or West Melbourne. This was agreed to and the club continued on, finishing ninth again. In 1909 the club started battling back rising to seventh position, but in 1910 North were back on top winning the minor premiership. They lost the semi final to Brunswick but had the right to challenge and won the grand final for their third flag. In 1911 they finished second only to lose their semi to Brunswick to end their season.
In 1912 North Melbourne finished second again and had to face Brunswick again. This final series was exhausting for North as they drew their semi, and then two weeks later in the replay they played another draw. It was third time lucky for North winning by 15 points, but they couldn't stay with the Essendon A side in the final and lost by just 4 points. In 1913 North again finished second and again faced Brunswick in the semi final, but this time they won first time to go to the final against minor premiers Footscray, only to lose in a heart stopper by 1 point. In 1914 though North Melbourne won the minor premiership and defeated Essendon A in their semi final before winning their fourth flag avenging their loss the previous year against Footscray. In 1915 they repeated the dose with a semi win over Williamstown and what had to be a satisfying win over Brunswick in the final for their second flag in a row.
== Post War (1916-1924) ==
The VFA went into recess for two years due to World War 1 and upon it's return in 1918 North Melbourne picked up where it left off winning the minor premiership and then defeating Brunswick in their semi final before destroying Prahran in the final for it's third flag in a row. In 1919 North again won the minor premiership, this time without losing a game. But Brunswick caused a boilover in the semi final, forcing North to challenge the winner of the final. That was Footscray, who denied North Melbourne a record equalling fourth flag in a row by 22 points.
In 1920 some controversy struck when North's semi final against Footscray - who won the minor premiership - was postponed due to heavy rain. The semi final ended up unfinished as a mark had been paid just on the final bell within scoring range for North Melbourne with Footscray just five points up. But many people in the crowd ran onto the ground thinking Footscray had won and the ground could not be cleared. The VFA decided to replay the game and Footscray won the replay by 4 points.
1921 was another controversial season for North. They didn't complete the season after giving notice of a merger with Essendon due to Essendon's mooted move from the East Melbourne Cricket Ground to Arden Street, and chose to disband immediately in anticipation of it. But Essendon changed their mind and moved to Windy Hill instead. The VFA - like 1908 - were not happy with North Melbourne and again would only re-admit them if the previous committee was not involved. This was again agreed to. In 1922 the club returned with a bang making the finals and winning their semi final over minor premiers Footscray. But in the final they were beaten by Port Melbourne who would go on to win the premiership. In 1923 North slipped to sixth and in 1924 finished fifth in what would be their last season in the VFA.
== To World War 2 (1925-1942) ==
North Melbourne, along with Footscray and Hawthorn were admitted to the VFL after the VFA had admitted Coburg voiding a previous agreement in the VFL's view. North's admission was subject to the state government approving the loss of the inner city venue from the VFA - their only one. It was approved. It would take many years for the club to get out of the bottom three although the first season in 1925 was promising starting with a first up victory over Geelong followed during the season by wins over South Melbourne and Melbourne finishing tenth ahead of both other debut teams. But that was followed by six years in the bottom two with four wooden spoons including two winless seasons although one of the two did have a draw with Hawthorn.
In 1932 the club got out of the bottom three finishing eighth with a repeat in 1933. But in 1934 North were back on the bottom and had another winless season. Another wooden spoon followed in 1935 with just the one win over Footscray. In 1936 North Melbourne rose a place to eleventh but were back in the basement again in 1937. In 1938 the club managed to climb up to ninth, repeating the finish in 1939 as World War 2 began. In 1940 North dropped back to last yet again before another ninth place finish in 1941 and 1942.
== Post War (1943-1959) ==
In 1943 North Melbourne finished ninth yet again, but in 1944 the signs were much better with their best season yet finishing sixth. That beared fruit in 1945 when the Shinboners made the VFL finals for the first time, finishing third. Unfortunately the first final did not go well for them as Carlton eliminated them. North slipped to ninth in 1946 and then tenth in 1947 followed by eighth in 1948.
However the Shinboners had a strong season in 1949, finishing on top of the ladder. But North made an embarrassing exit, losing both finals to Carlton and Essendon. They were back in 1950 finishing second but another straight sets exit beckoned when the Bombers resisted a strong effort by 3 points. However this time the Shinboners bounced back to win their first final over Geelong to enter their first VFL grand final. Essendon however were too strong.
North Melbourne slipped back to ninth in 1951 and finished seventh in 1952 and 1953. The club adopted the Kangaroos nickname in 1954 and they were back in the finals finishing third but they were eliminated by Melbourne and a big slide to eleventh followed in 1955 and the wooden spoon in 1956. In 1957 North rose to eighth before making the finals again in 1958 finishing fourth. They defeated Fitzroy in the first semi final for only ther second finals win and faced Collingwood in the preliminary final having beaten the Magpies twice during the home and away season. But Collingwood ended their season. A slip to sixth followed in 1959.
== 1960's ==
The new decade brought more struggles for the Kangaroos, starting with finishing eleventh in 1960. This was followed in 1961 by the wooden spoon, and eleventh again in 1962. In 1963 North got out of the bottom two and finished seventh, followed by an eighth place finish in 1964. In 1965 despite finishing ninth, North Melbourne only avoided the wooden spoon by a game. It was in this season that they would play their home games at Coburg City Oval in a move that would prove unpopular and did not go beyond the one year.
Another rise to seventh followed in 1966 but they couldn't get past that point finishing eighth in 1967. A drop back to the wooden spoon followed in 1968, and rise back to eighth finished the decade. North Melbourne, going into the 1970's, were the only team in the VFL yet to win a VFL premiership.
== 1970's ==
The Kangaroos returned to the bottom of the ladder in 1970, but 1971 started in promising fashion with a first round win over reigning premiers Carlton. However North couldn't maintain it and finished ninth that year. In 1972 the club dropped back to the wooden spoon again with only one win.
Then things changed. It started with the appointment of Ron Barassi as coach. North Melbourne rose to sixth in 1973 as a result - their highest position since 1959 and included a huge win over minor premiers Collingwood (one of only three losses the Magpies suffered during the home and away season). In 1974 the Kangaroos made the finals for the first time since 1958 finishing second. They won the qualifying final against Hawthorn but were beaten by Richmond in the second semi final. North rebounded to win the preliminary final again over Hawthorn, but the Tigers were too good in the grand final.
In 1975 North Melbourne finished third and again won the qualifying final, this time over Carlton. Hawthorn though won the second semi final sending the Kangaroos to the preliminary final again. Richmond were their opponents and North defeated them to enter their second grand final in a row. And this time they would not be denied as they increased their lead at every change, finishing it off with a seven goal last quarter. The Kangaroos won their first ever VFL premiership and broke a drought dating back to 1918 in the VFA.
In 1976 North again finished third but this time were beaten by Hawthorn and had to contest the first semi final against Geelong. They won and faced minor premiers Carlton in the preliminary final scoring a one point win to enter their third grand final in a row. But Hawthorn were too good in the big one. In 1977 the Kangaroos again finished third and Hawthorn repeated their qualifying final victory. But they got through to the grand final again by defeating Richmond and then thrashing Hawthorn to face Collingwood in their fourth grand final in a row. Trailing at three quarter time, North fought back to lead only for the Magpies to level the scores and draw the game. The Kangaroos though were too good in the replay and won their second VFL premiership.
In 1978 North Melbourne managed to win the minor premiership on percentage for the direct route to the second semi final. They were beaten by Hawthorn in the second semi final but they bounced back over Collingwood in the preliminary final for their fifth grand final in a row. Hawthorn though would repeat their 1976 victory. In 1979 the club finished second and defeated an inaccurate Collingwood in the qualifying final. Carlton though would defeat them in the second semi final, and then Collingwood would end their season in the preliminary final stopping North's grand final run.
== 1980's ==
In 1980 the Kangaroos finished fourth and were eliminated by Collingwood before slipping to eighth in 1981 and miss the finals for the first time since 1973. North came back to finish fifth in 1982 and they won the elimination final over Essendon, only to run into Hawthorn in the first semi final. In 1983 though North Melbourne got back to the top of the ladder, only to go out in straight sets courtesy of Hawthorn and Essendon.
In 1984 the Kangaroos had their worst season since 1972, finishing eleventh and only avoiding the wooden spoon by percentage. But in 1985 they were back finishing fifth and a win in the elimination final over Carlton. Footscray though ended their season in the first semi final. A slide to seventh followed in 1986 although they only missed the finals on percentage. In 1987 North finished fourth, but ran into Melbourne in the elimination final.
A drop to eleventh in a 14 team competition followed in 1988 before finishing ninth in 1989.
== 1990's ==
The new decade began with a name change from the VFL to the AFL and the Kangaroos finished sixth two games outside the five. In 1991 they finished eighth before a drop to twelfth in 1992. But in 1993 the club returned to the finals finishing third, only to be eliminated in the first week in the final six by West Coast.
In 1994 North Melbourne finished third again and this time in the new final eight they faced Hawthorn in the first week. The game finished in a draw, but the AFL had introduced extra time to replace replays and North got away in the extra period to win. they got the week off due to other results before facing Geelong in the preliminiary final. It was looking like extra time again, until a post siren goal ended the season for the Kangaroos in one of the great finals in VFL/AFL history.
In 1995 North Melbourne finished sixth but they upended Richmond in the first week of the finals in an upset. They followed that with a good win over West Coast to enter the elimination final - only to run into dominant minor premiers Carlton. But in 1996 the Kangaroos finished second and got the week off after easily dealing with Geelong. North met Brisbane in the preliminary final and won by 37 points to enter their first grand final since 1978. They played Sydney and won to nail their first flag since 1977.
In 1997 the Kangaroos dropped to seventh, but they upset Geelong in the first week. They then defeated West Coast in the semi final, but ran into St Kilda in the preliminary final and were beaten. In 1998 North Melbourne finished on top of the ladder and the win over Essendon gave them the week off. A five goal win over Melbourne in the preliminary final put them into their second grand final in three years against Adelaide. But the conversion of the Kangaroos was terrible and the Crows won the flag.
In a controversial move, the club dropped the name North Melbourne in 1999 (a situation that this Fandom does not recognise) and played four home games in Sydney. On the field it seemed to work as they finished second. A win over Port Adelaide gave the Kangaroos the week off and they took out Brisbane in the preliminary final to enter their third grand final in four years and their second in a row. Conversion was much better this time and they won the flag over Carlton by 35 points.
== 2000's ==
Into the new millenium, North persisted in Sydney with three home games there and the club finished fourth in 2000. The Kangaroos copped a 20 goal hiding from top side Essendon but did well to rebound and defeat Hawthorn in the semi final by 10 points. But Melbourne ended the season for the Roos in the preliminary final. In 2001 North tried out Canberra after one more home game in Sydney, playing three games at Manuka Oval. They finished thirteenth in their worst season since the 1980's.
The Kangaroos bounced back to seventh in 2002 on the back of one game in Sydney and three in Canberra again. But Melbourne eliminated them in the first week. In 2003 North Melbourne finally abandoned Sydney and only played two games in Canberra while finishing tenth. It was tenth again in 2004 with three games at Manuka Oval.
In 2005 with three more games in Canberra, North made the finals again finishing fifth. The elimination final though was a disaster with a big loss to Port Adelaide. A crash to fourteenth followed in 2006 with another three games at Manuka Oval. In 2007 the Kangaroos tried out Carrara and played three games there, and a rebound to fourth also came about. North were thrashed in the qualifying final by Geelong but they bounced back to defeat Hawthorn in the semi final. However Port Adelaide ended their season in convincing fashion. But the Carrara games were part of an AFL attempt to get the club to relocate there.
That led in 2008 to the club restoring it's North Melbourne name. Three games were still played at Carrara and North finished seventh and were beaten in the qualifying final by Sydney. It would be in 2009 that for the first time since 1998 all on North Melbourne's home games would be in Melbourne. The club finished thirteenth that season.
== 2010's ==
The new decade began with a ninth place finish in 2010, missing the finals by percentage only. In 2011 the club also finished ninth but in 2012 North managed to make the finals finishing eighth. However the season ended at the hands of West Coast with a 96 point thrashing. In 2013 the Kangaroos finished tenth as they started being nomadic again playing two games at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. This would continue for the rest of the decade.
In 2014 North Melbourne made the finals again finishing sixth, and defeated Essendon in the elimination final by two goals. A one goal win over Geelong in the semi final led to the preliminary final, but the Kangaroos were smashed by Sydney by 71 points to end the season.
In 2015 in the final round, North asked for permission from the AFL to rest players with their finals place secure. This would lead to the AFL introducing a bye leading into the finals the next year. From eighth, the Kangaroos won the elimination final again, this time over Richmond by 17 points. They then upended Sydney by 26 points in the semi final to avenge the previous year's defeat, but West Coast would end their season in the preliminary final comfortably.
Another eighth place finish in 2016 gave North Melbourne another elimination final, but a 62 point hiding at the hands of Adelaide ended that. North slipped to fifteenth in 2017, but they rose back to ninth in 2018 - only to slip again to twelfth in 2019.
== 2020 ==
A two point win over St Kilda in the opening round was a promising sign, but the COVID-19 pandemic intervened and the newly structured season seemed to hurt the Kangaroos. They started on the return with a win over reigning runners up West Sydney and were second on the ladder. But then the bottom fell out and six losses on the trot had North seventeenth. A big victory over the winless Adelaide restored some pride, but more losses had them back in seventeenth. When the Crows suddenly struck some form and won three games on the trot the Kangaroos were in danger of falling to the wooden spoon. But Adelaide had eventual premiers Richmond in the final round and North had West Coast. All the Kangaroos had to do was maintain their percentage advantage if Adelaide lost and they did, and North Melbourne finished seventeenth.
== 2021 ==
North's start to the 2021 season was disasterous. Eight straight losses including a horrific 128 point extermination by the Western Bulldogs had the Kangaroos rooted on the bottom of the ladder. A 7 point win over the similarly struggling Hawthorn stopped that but it was followed by two more losses going into the bye. After the bye they managed a draw with West Sydney, and then two weeks later their second win for the season came at the expense of Gold Coast. Another two weeks later came a win over West Coast and then their fourth and best win of the season over Carlton by 39 points. This would have North Melbourne only behind Hawthorn on percentage and a chance of getting off the bottom rung. But the Kangaroos failed to win another game and would win the wooden spoon for the first time since 1972.
== 2022 ==
Victory over West Coast in round two of the new season augured better for North Melbourne but then disaster hit again as the losses again piled up. They managed to stay off the bottom of the ladder as the Eagles were going just as badly, until round 15 when West Coast won and the Kangaroos were back in the basement. Their second win of the season didn't get them out of there as it was a narrow four point victory over Richmond and they stayed there behind the Eagles on percentage to win their second wooden spoon in a row.
== 2023 ==
Two wins to open the season had North Melbourne in the top eight to start the season, but it all went downhill from there. It was the same as 2022. They stayed off the bottom of the ladder thanks to the Eagles also going badly again, even when West Coast got a win over the Kangaroos in round 20 as their percentage was lower. In round 23 West Coast won to put North on the bottom of the ladder, but in a great result in the circumstances the Kangaroos managed to defeat Gold Coast by 35 points in their best win for the year to avoid a third wooden spoon in a row.
== Reserves ==
North Melbourne were a part of the VFL Reserves competition from it's admission to the VFL in 1925. During this time the Kangaroos won seven premierships - in 1947, 1957, 1967, 1978, 1979, 1995 and 1996. In 2000 with the demise of the reserves competition, the club entered into an arrangement with the Ovens and Murray Football League calling the team the Murray Kangaroos and sharing it's home games between Coburg City Oval and Lavington Oval. This would only last for three years before and alignment was started with Port Melbourne. This would also only last for three years.
In 2006 North entered into a two team arrangement sharing players with North Ballarat and Tasmania. The share with Tasmania switched to Werribee in 2008 and the entire arrangement would continue until 2015. During this period North Ballarat won three flags. In 2016 North Melbourne aligned exclusively with Werribee before going it alone from 2018.
Category:Australian FL clubs