North Melbourne Football Club

(Redirected from Kangaroos Football Club)

**North Melbourne Football Club**

Full name	North Melbourne Football Club Limited.
Nickname	Kangaroos, The Roos
Strip	Royal Blue and White vertical stripes, white shorts and royal blue socks
Founded	1869
Sport	Australian rules football
League	Australian Football League
Ground	Telstra Dome & Carrara Stadium
Club song	'Join in the Chorus'
President/Chair	Graham Duff
Coach	Dean Laidley
Captain	Adam Simpson
2006	14th of 16

The North Melbourne Football Club, known as the Kangaroos, and informally known as the Shinboners, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. It is based at the Arden Street Oval in the inner Melbourne suburb of North Melbourne, but plays its home matches at the Telstra Dome and occasionally, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. From 2007 they will play 3 home games at Carrara on the Gold Coast. The club mascot, dating from the middle of the twentieth century, is a grey or red kangaroo. The club motto is Victoria Amat Curam, latin for "Victory Demands Dedication".

Club history

Original Logo

The club was formed in 1869 believed to be an offshoot of Hotham or of the St Mary's Church of England Cricket Club and was a foundation club of the first organised Australian Rules competition, the VFA. North Melbourne began slowly, but had emerged as something of a powerhouse by the early 1900s, winning premierships in 1903, 1904 (after the game was forfeited by Richmond), 1910, 1914, 1915 and 1918.

Having failed in their bid to enter the professional and more prestigious VFL in both 1897 and 1907, they were finally invited to do so in 1925. The early inability to secure entry into the VFL was laregly due to financial weakness, a reputation for hooliganism (resulting in the 'Shinboner' tag) and similar territory to Essendon, the latter leading to deliberate obstruction by that more prestigious club. One of the last Melbourne based clubs to be admitted to the league (along with Footscray and Hawthorn) and without sustained success in its early VFL days, North Melbourne struggled to gain new supporters, as most had existing loyalties to other clubs.

NMFC 60's Logo

North Melbourne did not achieve highly in the first twenty-five years of VFL membership, but by the late 1940s had developed a strong list and significant supporter base. In 1949 North secured the VFL Minor Premiership, finishing top of the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season with 14 wins and 5 losses. They failed to make the Grand Final that year (eventually won by Essendon), but in 1950 they did reach the last Saturday in September, gallantly going down to defeat by a more efficient Essendon.The 1950s and 1960s were lean years for North Melbourne, though the club did secure two consecutive Night Premierships in 1965 and 1966. Allen Aylett was a brilliant player in the late 1950s and captain between 1961 and 1964, and the equally-brilliant Noel Teasdale only fell short of the Brownlow Medal on a countback in 1965 (he was later awarded a retrospective medal when the counting system was amended).

NMFC 70's Logo

Towards the end of the 1960s, and under the dynamic leadership of Dr. Allen Aylett, North Melbourne began its climb to supremacy. As part of a major recruitment drive, Barry Davis and Doug Wade were both brought from Essendon and Geelong respectively (though North failed to secure Carl Ditterich from St Kilda). In a major coup, the great Ron Barassi was appointed coach in 1973. His ruthless and inspiring coaching methods took North to a Grand Final (defeated by Richmond) in 1974 and brought success in his third (1975) and fifth (1977) seasons as coach. North made five consecutive Grand Finals under Barassi (1974-1978), though technically this number should be six, as the 1977 season saw two Grand Finals played between North and the Magpies, the first resulting in a draw which needed to be decided the following week (much to the chagrin of Magpie supporters). Also, in 1973 and 1974, North's superbly-talented wingman Keith Greig won consecutive Brownlow Medals. He was joined in 1978 by the mercurial forward Malcolm Blight, whose victory was known as the "worst kept secret in football".Doug Wade also secured the Coleman medal in 1974 with his 103 goals for the season.

NMFC 80's Logo

Barassi continued as coach into 1980, but only a Night Premiership in that year was to result from his last years at Arden Street. North then entered another period of decline, though Malcolm Blight kicked 103 goals to take out the Coleman medal in 1982, and another Brownlow win came through the talented Ross Glendinning in 1983. In that year, North Melbourne won a third Minor Premiership (the second had come in 1978) with 16 wins and 6 losses for the season, but failed to make the Grand Final.

The capable coaching of John Kennedy aside, the 1980s and early 1990s were lean years for the Kangaroos. One major highlight was the recruitment of the gun forward John Longmire in 1989, who topped the club goalkicking over five consecutive seasos (1990-1994) and won the Coleman medal in 1990 with 98 - infuriatingly short of the magic 'tonne' (100). At the beginning of the 1993, in a dramatic and controversial move, the board of the club sacked coach (since 1990) and long-time playing stalwart Wayne Schimmelbusch, and appointed Denis Pagan in his place. Results were immediate, as North reached the finals for the first time in nearly a decade. Pagan was also instrumental in appointing the brilliant Wayne Carey as the club's youngest-ever captain. Carey had been recruited at the same time as Longmire, but taken longer to develop as a player. Carey's leadership over the next nine seasons was inspirational, and he came to be regarded as the standout player in the league, called 'the King' by media commentators and fellow footballers alike.

NMFC 90's logo

Narrow misses in 1994 and 1995 were finally avenged in 1996 when North defeated the Sydney Swans to take out the gold centenary AFL cup. Nuggety backman Glenn Archer secured the Norm Smith Medal for a best on ground performance in that game. Expected to continue on the winning ways, a slump came in 1997 after the injury to Carey's shoulder in a first round match against the Melbourne Football Club, and a loss to St. Kilda in the Semi Final (during which key ruckman Corey McKernan dislocated his shoulder). 1998 seemed to all to be North's year, as the club won both the pre-season Ansett Cup and topped the ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses (narrowly tipping out the Western Bulldogs in the final home-and-away game of the season). However, poor kicking and a lack of discipline allowed the Adelaide Crows to steal their second premiership in as many years.

It seemed that North might have missed its chance in 1998 when the following season seemed to belong to the Essendon Football Club. However, a strong season from all of the key members of the playing group (including Carey, McKernan, Archer, Stevens) took North to a Grand Final against the Carlton Football Club, after the latter had defeated an overly cocky Essendon, who had lacked the discipline to deserve a Grand Final place.The 1999 Grand Final was won almost clinically by Carey's troops, with former Sydney midfielder Shannon Grant taking out the Norm Smith Medal.

Since its inception, the club has often had to contend with financial hardship despite its large latent supporter base. Evidence of a large base of fans was on show in Rd 22 of 1998 vs the Bulldogs where 68,050 fans flooded the MCG to cheer on the Kangaroos. The club has been subject to several merger attempts, including attempts at takeover by Essendon in the early twentieth century and an almost-completed merger with Fitzroy during the uncertain 1990s.

Seeking new markets and greater financial security in an increasingly corporatised AFL environment, the title "North Melbourne" was officially dropped from the logo in 1999, from which time the team played only as the "Kangaroos". During the successful 1999 season, North Melbourne played home games in Sydney with a view of becoming a second team in New South Wales. Perhaps partly because of North's victory over the Sydney Swans in the 1996, the experiment was not successful, with crowds averaging only 12,000. Most Sydney people had become aware of the concept of relocating Melbourne teams since the South Melbourne Football Club moved to Sydney and took many years to become accepted. The Kangaroos played several home games at Manuka Oval in Canberra over recent seasons, but from 2007 will play up to 10 home matches over three seasons at Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast where support is growing for the AFL. The club still maintains their home ground in Victoria at the iconic Arden Street Oval, North Melbourne, which from 2006 underwent the first stages of a $6 million upgrade of training and other facilities.

The 21st century

NMFC early 00's logo

Since the Kangaroos' last Grand Final Win in 1999, the club has slowly declined in strength. This was exacerbated by the revelations, emerging only a few weeks before the beginning of the 2002 season that champion captain Wayne Carey had been having an extra-marital affair (or perhaps "intra-marital") with the wife of teammate and vice-captain Anthony Stevens. Carey resigned in disgrace. However, despite the earthquake that hit Arden Street before the season began, Denis Pagan against all odds guided the Kangaroos to the 2002 finals series. Unfortunately, Melbourne proved too strong. This was also John Blakey's last game.

The resignation of Pagan at the end of the 2002 season further accelerated the process of decline, though North remained competitive, and often a significant threat to the emerging powerhouses of Port Adelaide and Brisbane. Pagan was replaced by 1996 premiership player Dean Laidley. A talented player and wily coach, Laidley had previously been an Assistant Coach at Collingwood from 1999 until the end of season 2002.

In the 2005 season, the Kangaroos fought back from a mid-season slump finishing fifth on the ladder and in doing so helped to silence all the critics who had labelled the club and new coach as 'ineffective' and 'useless'. Unfortunately, these critics returned when in the 1st Elimination Final, the Kangaroos lost by a shattering 87 points to reigning Premiers Port Adelaide.

2006 was anticipated as a major turning point for the Kangaroos. The club has been consistent in its policy of swapping early draft picks for experienced players. The perception from outsiders is that the club is now facing an aging squad, with Daniel Wells shaping as the only young prospect for the Kangaroos. However, 2006 saw good performances from many of the other youngsters on North's list, including Daniel Harris, Hamish McIntosh, Corey Jones, Drew Petrie, David Hale and Jesse Smith. In July of 2006, the Kangaroos' training ground, Arden Street suffered minor damage in a fire. Arson was believed to be the cause of the fire, and it forced the Kangaroos to train at Telstra Dome for the remainder of the 2006 AFL Season.

Apart from victories over Hawthorn and Port Adelaide early in the season, and the pleasant sensation of defeating long-time AFL superpowers-turned wooden-spoon contenders Carlton and Essendon, the 2006 season was a disappointment, aside from the slow reemergence of Nathan Thompson (formerly of Hawthorn, with a season total of 54 goals and 13 votes in the Brownlow medal count.

Membership base

In 2006, the North Melbourne Football Club had 24,700 members. A record number for the 4th year in a row.

Year	Members	Finishing position²
1998	20,196	2nd
1999	22,080	1st
2000	22,156	4th
2001	21,409	13th
2002	20,831	7th
2003	21,403	10th
2004	23,420	10th
2005	24,154	5th
2006	24,700	14th

Shinboner spirit

Main article: Shinboner spirit.

Though its origin is disputed, the 'Shinboner Spirit' came originally from butcher shops that were close to Arden Street Oval, when the North Melbourne Football Club was new. Known as the 'Shinboners' for roughly the first decades of their existence, the club adopted the "Kangaroos" nickname around the 1940s, and by the time of the first Grand Final appearance in 1950, this had become the dominant identifier of North Melbourne.

The Shinboner Spirit is a phrase attributed to the Kangaroos' ability to fight back hard with their backs against the wall. The 2005 Season was a great example of this spirit, with the Kangaroos finishing fifth after being tipped for the wooden spoon by many otherwise well-respected football writers and journalists. It was most evident in their match against the Sydney Swans in 2004, when they rallied from a 40 point deficit at three-quarter-time to record a fitting result in Glenn Archer's 250th game of AFL Football.

In 2005, to celebrate the club's 80th anniversary of senior competition and the thirtieth anniversary of the first VFL premiership, the Kangaroos held a massive "Shinboner Spirit" gala event, attended by almost the entire surviving playing list. In the awards ceremony, the key "Shinboners" of the past eighty years were acknowledged, with Glenn Archer named the "Shinboner of the Century" to almost unanimous acclaim.

History of the North Melbourne Jumper

Main article: North Melbourne Jumpers.

Current squad

As of October 31, 2006

1 Hamish McIntosh
2 Jonathan Hay
3 Brady Rawlings
4 Daniel Harris
5 Daniel McConnell
6 Shannon Grant
7 Adam Simpson (captain)
8 Daniel Wells
9 Jess Sinclair
10 Jesse Smith
11 Glenn Archer
13 David Trotter
14 Callum Urch
15 Kasey Green

16 Leigh Brown
17 Blake Grima
18 Brad Moran
19 Andrew Swallow
20 Drew Petrie
21 Corey Jones
23 Nathan Thompson
24 Michael Firrito
25 Ed Lower
28 Matt Riggio
29 Brent Harvey
30 Daniel Pratt
31 David Hale
32 Eddie Sansbury

33 Tim Hutchison
34 Ben Schwarze
36 Shannon Watt
37 Joel Perry
38 Joshua Gibson
39 Leigh Harding
40 Brent LeCras
42 Scott McMahon
44 Djaran Whyman

North Melbourne Team of the Century

North Melbourne Team of the Century
B:	Glenn Archer	David Dench	Michael Martyn
HB:	John Rantall	Ross Glendinning	Ted Jarrad
C:	Keith Grieg	Les Foote	Laurie Dwyer
HF:	Malcolm Blight	Wayne Carey	Wayne Schimmelbusch
F:	John Dougdale	Jock Spencer	Allen Aylett
Foll:	Noel Teasdale	Anthony Stevens	Barry Cable
Int:	Brent Crosswell	Barry Davis	Peter Steward
	Sam Kekovich
Coach:	Denis Pagan

Premierships (pre VFL/AFL)

1903 - North Melbourne: 7.6.48 def. Richmond: 3.9.27.
1904 - North Melbourne: Game forfeited by Richmond.
1910 - North Melbourne: 9.14.68 def. Brunswick: 5.9.39.
1914 - North Melbourne: 12.14.86 def. Footscray: 7.9.51.
1915 - North Melbourne: 11.10.76 def. Brunswick: 3.10.28.
1918 - North Melbourne: 18.13.108 def. Prahran: 3.10.28.

Premierships (VFL and AFL)

1975 - North Melbourne: 19.8.122 def. Hawthorn: 9.13.67.
1977 - North Melbourne: 21.25.151 def. Collingwood: 19.10.124.
1996 - North Melbourne: 19.17.131 def. Sydney: 13.10.88.
1999 - North Melbourne: 19.10.124 def. Carlton: 12.17.89.

Records

Games record

Wayne Schimmelbusch 306 (1973-87)

Leading goalkickers

671 Wayne Carey (1989-2001)
511 John Longmire (1988-95; 1997-99)
475 Jock Spencer (1948-57)
444 Malcolm Blight (1974-82)
411 Sel Murray (1937-44; 1948)
358 John Dugdale (1955-70)
354 Wayne Schimmelbusch (1973-87)
352 Bill Findlay (1935-45)

Individual awards

Best and Fairest

Recipients:

2006 Brady Rawlings
2005 Brent Harvey
2004 Brady Rawlings
2003 Brent Harvey
2002 Adam Simpson
2001 Shannon Grant
2000 Peter Bell
1999 Anthony Stevens
1998 Wayne Carey
1997 Anthony Stevens
1996 Wayne Carey
1995 Wayne Schwass
1994 Wayne Schwass
1993 Wayne Carey
1992 Wayne Carey
1991 Craig Sholl & Michael Martyn
1990 John Longmire
1989 Michael Martyn
1988 Matthew Larkin
1987 Matthew Larkin
1986 Jim Krakouer
1985 Matthew Larkin
1984 Kym Hodgeman
1983 Ross Glendinning
1982 Ross Glendinning
1981 David Dench
1980 Keith Greig
1979 Gary Dempsey
1978 Malcolm Blight
1977 David Dench
1976 David Dench
1975 Barry Davis
1974 John Rantall
1973 Barry Davis
1972 Ken Montgomery
1971 David Dench
1970 Barry Cable
1969 Sam Kekovich
1968 John Dugdale
1967 Laurie Dwyer
1966 Noel Teasdale
1965 Noel Teasdale
1964 Noel Teasdale
1963 Noel Teasdale
1962 Bill Serong
1961 Laurie Dwyer
1960 Allen Aylett
1959 Allen Aylett
1958 Allen Aylett
1957 Brian Martyn
1956 Jack Edwards
1955 Bob Brooker
1954 John Brady
1953 Jack O’Halloran
1952 Jock McCorkell
1951 Jock Spencer
1950 Les Foote
1949 Les Foote
1948 Dally O’Brien
1947 Keith McKenzie
1946 Don Condon
1945 Les Foote
1944 Alan Crawford
1943 Don Kemp
1942 Jack Allister
1941 George Kennedy & Bill Findlay
1940 Jim Adamson
1939 Sid Dyer
1938 Jock Cordner
1937 Wally Carter

See Syd Barker Medal

Brownlow Medal winners

Noel Teasdale (1965)
Keith Greig (1973, 1974)
Malcolm Blight (1978)
Ross Glendinning (1983)

Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

Wayne Carey (1995, 1998)
Corey McKernan (1996)

Norm Smith Medal winners

Glenn Archer (1996)
Shannon Grant (1999)

Jock McHale Medal winners

Ron Barassi (1975, 1977)
Denis Pagan (1996, 1999)

Michael Tuck Medal winners

Mick Martyn (1995)
Wayne Carey (1998)

Coleman Medal winners

Doug Wade (1972) 103 Goals
Malcolm Blight (1982) 103 Goals
John Longmire (1990) 98 Goals

Goal of the Year winners

Matthew Larkin (1988)
Daniel Wells (2004)

Mark of the Year winners

Brett Allison (1992)
Winston Abraham (1998)

Rising Star winners

Byron Pickett (1998)

Club jumpers

These are the current 2006 jumper designs. The club's current sponsors are Mazda, Primus Telecom and Reebok.

Front	Jumper and Description	Back
	Home The traditional North Melbourne jumper has blue and white vertical stripes. Blue or White Shorts.
	Away The away jumper which is also used in home games is all blue with a white kangaroo incoporated onto it. This is the most common uniform and is always used with white shorts.
	Clash The Clash jumper is rarely seen; it is an inverted version of the away jumper.