Editing North Melbourne Football Club (section)

==Club history==
{{blockquote|In two aspects North Melbourne stands second to none. One is the loyalty of its supporters. The other is the determination to carry on, despite its disadvantages. In the face of adversity, which might well have broken the spirit of most men, we find that from the earliest days there were always enthusiasts to fight for North Melbourne.|''The Australasian'', 15 June 1940.}}

===Formative years===
{{More citations needed|date=April 2024}}
The exact date of founding is not known. The club believes that there were early attempts at formation dating back as far as 1864.<ref name="year by year">[https://www.nmfc.com.au/club/history/year-by-year North Melbourne History Year by Year] (extract from From The North Story, by Gerard Dowling)</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A grass roots history of Australian rules football - : The reader is taken from the Garrison playing fields of Templemore, Tipperary, Ireland in the 1830s to Hotham (Nth Melbourne) to present day places and teams in Victoria, Northern Territory & West Australia. A football playing history spanning 1830s to 2025. |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3644996430/view |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Trove |language=en}}</ref> An 1865 newspaper article mentions a match between North Melbourne and the [[South Yarra Football Club (1858–1873)|South Yarra Football Club]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article155038250 |title=The News of the Day |newspaper=[[The Age]] |issue=3,385 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=4 September 1865 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255915212 |title=Memoranda |newspaper=[[The Telegraph, St Kilda, Prahran and South Yarra Guardian]] |volume=  |issue=188 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=9 September 1865 |access-date=15 April 2024 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Whether there was continuity between this team and today's club or not, no further mentions appear in the mainstream media until 1869.

[[File:Jameshenrygardiner.jpg|thumb|right|[[James Henry Gardiner]], regarded as a father figure of the club due to his tireless efforts to promote it in its early years.]]
Uncontentious, [[North Melbourne]] was founded in 1869 by local cricketers desiring to keep fit over the winter months, however its involvement in the season 1868/1869 implies that it had been formed at the latest the previous year.<ref name="Hotham History">{{Cite web |title=The North Melbourne Football Club, The Shinboners' |url=https://www.hothamhistory.org.au/the-north-melbourne-football-club-the-shinboners/ |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Hotham History Project |language=en-US}}</ref> 

Although the borough was originally named Hotham, the club didn't identify with that name until later and went by the "North Melbourne Football Club" name for much of its early history. One thought is that the club was connected to the St Mary's Anglican School which began in 1853,<ref>{{Cite web |title=HISTORY « St Mary's North Melbourne |url=https://www.stmarys.org.au/about-us/mission-visions/ |access-date= |language=en-AU}}</ref> and from the cricket and football field which was the corner of Queensberry and Howard Street, to which first, the St Mary's Anglican School cricket and football playing clubs formed <ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=A grass roots history of Australian rules football - : The reader is taken from the Garrison playing fields of Templemore, Tipperary, Ireland in the 1830s to Hotham (Nth Melbourne) to present day places and teams in Victoria, Northern Territory & West Australia. A football playing history spanning 1830s to 2025. |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3644996430/view |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=Trove |language=en}}</ref> whose colours – blue and white – are reflected in the club's colours today.<ref>Rickard, John, An assemblage of decent men and women : a history of the Anglican parish of St Mary's North Melbourne 1853–2000. / John Rickard St Mary's Anglican Church North Melbourne, North Melbourne, Vic. :  2008</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1940-06-22 |title=WHO’S WHO IN FOOTBALL |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/188808245?fbclid=IwY2xjawKXtrhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFCbkpoUjNrVVpJQWRQOGFiAR59semSEXZwvxxGebgOQOjj-tkAoUvaXLmyhZkS5U7Ia7dmZkXWWIwCfZyZPQ_aem_tXJPAMx7m2XSNmxy-GgpIg |access-date= |work=Sporting Globe}}</ref> 
[[File:St Mary's Anglican School Hotham Established 1853.jpg|thumb|The first football & cricket playing fields for St Mary Anglican School students, Hotham]]
The association between the St Mary's Anglican School's football and cricket teams  and the establishment of the North Melbourne football and cricket clubs playing at  Royal Park, and in their embryonic form as the Hothamites as early as 1860 is consistent with the informal gathering of Hotham's youths playing competitive sport.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The North story : the official history of the North Melbourne Football Club's first one hundred... {{!}} Catalogue {{!}} National Library of Australia |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/187166 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=catalogue.nla.gov.au |language=en}}</ref> 

Information on the club's first ever match is limited, but it is known that it took place in [[Royal Park, Melbourne|Royal Park]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1886-08-28 |title=FOOTBALL. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/221742051 |access-date=2025-05-15 |work=Weekly Times}}</ref> [[James Henry Gardiner]] is often cited as a founder of the club, though he heavily promoted it in its early years in his role in the local council there is no documented evidence of his role in its formation.<ref name="Hotham History" />

One of the earliest newspaper mentions of it was on 14 August 1869 when it was scheduled to play against Messrs. Walker, May, and Co. at [[Princes Bridge]] in what is now central Melbourne.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5819404 |title=SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 1869. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=7,232 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=14 August 1869 |access-date=15 April 2024 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The article mentions that the two teams had already played an earlier match, though it does not say when, it does name Fuhrhop as team captain, presumably [[Harry Fuhrhop]]. Fuhrhop was a Carlton United cricketer who would go on to later captain the football team between 1869 and its 1877 VFA team.

North also fielded a second-20 team that day suggesting the club was of some playing strength.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1869-08-14 |title=SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 1869. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5819404 |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=Argus}}</ref> A few weeks later, on Saturday 2nd September, North Melbourne played South Yarra for the Challenge Cup.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1865-09-04 |title=THE NEWS OF THE DAY. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/155038250 |access-date=2025-05-19 |work=Age}}</ref>

According to historian Gerard Dowling (1973), Fuhrhop was a pivotal figure in the early establishment of the club.<ref name="year by year" /> North Melbourne Football Club stalwart, Harry Fuhrop is listed regularly from 1869 representing the club as Captain and a player, and further in 1884 as a general committee member.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1884-04-04 |title=FOOTBALL. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66160068 |access-date=2025-05-19 |work=North Melbourne Advertiser}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> Other early newspaper reports include the 24th September 1870 against Carlton United at Royal Park (which the paper noted was the second meeting of the season between the two clubs)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138067129 |title=MELBOURNE v. CARLTON. |newspaper=[[The Australasian]] |volume=IX |issue=234 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 September 1870 |access-date=15 April 2024 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and 1st October 1870 against East Brunswick.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5833657 |title=MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1870. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)]] |issue=7,586 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=3 October 1870 |access-date=15 April 2024 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 

Royal Park served as the club's home ground until 1882.<ref name="Hotham History" /> 

Regular premiership matches of Australian Football commenced in Victoria in 1870. Although North Melbourne was a part of this,<ref>{{Cite web |title=FOOTBALL. - Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935) - 2 Jul 1870 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/196689304 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Trove |date=1870 |language=en}}</ref> it was classed as a "junior club". The words junior and senior at the time were not used to distinguish underage side but rather the playing quality and strength of the side. ''The Australasian'' noted them as being "one of the best of many junior clubs" <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137583335|title=FOOTBALL.|date=1873-11-01|work=Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946)|access-date=2020-04-03|page=11}}</ref> meaning it the club was considered respectable but far from being regarded a powerhouse as such it would rarely if ever compete against the more notable clubs of the time such as Melbourne, University, Carlton or Geelong and as such was not invited to compete in the [[Challenge Cup (Australian rules football)|Challenge Cup]].

The club continued to develop, graduating to senior ranks in 1874, finishing 4th. Along with the promotion, the club adopted its first uniform of blue and white horizontal stripes.<ref name="Timetoast 2019">{{cite web |title=The evolution of the football jumper - North Melbourne Football Club 1874 |website=Timetoast |date=4 May 2019 |url=https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-evolution-of-the-football-jumper-north-melbourne-football-club-1874-2015 |access-date=4 May 2019}}</ref>

In 1876, North Melbourne disbanded, and many of its player and members joined [[Albert Park Football Club (VFA)|Albert-park]],<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=North Melbourne Advertiser |location=North Melbourne, VIC |title=Football |author=Tonball |page=3 |date=26 May 1876}}</ref> giving the club such a strong North Melbourne character that many described it as "Albert-park ''cum'' North Melbourne". In 1877, the club was re-established as a stand-alone entity, under the name '''Hotham Football Club''' and moved to the Hotham Cricket Ground (now Arden Street Oval).<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Leader |location=Melbourne, VIC |title=Football Notes |author=Nomad |date=9 July 1877 |page=12}}</ref>

===Association years===
[[File:NMFCchart.png|thumb|Chart showing the progress of North Melbourne F.C. through the VFA and V/AFL]]
Football took a significant step forward in [[1877 VFA season|1877]], with the formation of the [[Victorian Football Association]] (VFA), the first properly constituted administrative body in the [[colony of Victoria]].<ref name="review13Oct">{{cite web|publisher=The Australasian|access-date=14 April 2025 |date=13 October 1877|title=The Football Season of 1877 – Part 1|last1=Pindar |first1=Peter|page=13|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143270959}}</ref> Hotham was one of five senior metropolitan clubs to compete in the [[1887 VFA season|inaugural season]].<ref name="vfa1877etg">{{cite web |title=Victorian Football Association Season 1877 |url=https://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1877.htm |publisher=Elite to Grassroots |access-date=14 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240809211103/http://www.elitetograssroots.net/vfa/1877.htm |archive-date=9 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="vfaproject1877">{{cite web |title=Game by Game for 1877 |url=https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1877.php |publisher=The VFA Project |access-date=14 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250406172942/https://www.thevfaproject.org/pages/Season/1877.php |archive-date=6 April 2025}}</ref>

In 1882, Hotham amalgamated with the Hotham Cricket Club and moved into the [[North Melbourne Recreation Reserve]] ([[Arden Street Oval]]) as part of an effort to improve the ground improvements at the Hotham Cricket Ground, which was the name of the Reserve at the time.
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:John Henry Guest 1862-1922.jpg|alt=John “Jack” Henry Guest 1862-1922 NMFC second-20 premiership coach 1886-1887 & Secretary North Melbourne Cricket Club 1882-1883. Former student St Mary's Anglican School Hotham, married Annie Caroline Allison 1968-1922 at St Mary's Anglican Church in 1885. Annie is a member of the Allison funeral family dynasty with its roots in Hotham (North Melbourne).|thumb|'''John “Jack” Henry Guest 1862-1922''']] -->
The first taste of premiership success in the VFA for the club came in [[1886 VFA season|1886]], when John Guest (1862-1922), born John Henry Guest, and known as Jack Guest, was elected as the team secretary of Hotham's second-twenty team and led it to a reserve grade premiership.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hotham Football Club |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66155876 |publisher=North Melbourne Advertiser |access-date=14 May 2025 |page=3 |date=21 May 1886}}</ref> Guest replicated this achievement the following season in 1887 helping the club win back-to-back premierships.<ref>{{cite web |title=NORTH MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66149178 |publisher=North Melbourne Advertiser |access-date=14 May 2025 |page=3 |date=31 March 1888}}</ref> He had previously been appointed secretary of the merged Hotham Cricket Club in 1882.<ref>{{cite web |title=ROSE OF HOTHAM C.C. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66159512 |publisher=North Melbourne Advertiser |access-date=14 May 2025 |page=3 |date=21 September 1883}}</ref> In 1884, his older brother William Langford Guest (1860–1922) was elected treasurer of the North Melbourne Football Club, serving as a delegate to the VFA in [[1884 VFA season|1884]].<ref>{{cite web |title=HOTHAM F.C. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66160068 |publisher=North Melbourne Advertiser |access-date=14 May 2025 |page=3 |date=4 April 1884}}</ref> Their younger brother Archie Guest (1866-1932) played a few games for North before transferring to play for rival club Williamstown from 1887-1890.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A grass roots history of Australian rules football - : The reader is taken from the Garrison playing fields of Templemore, Tipperary, Ireland in the 1830s to Hotham (Nth Melbourne) to present day places and teams in Victoria, Northern Territory & West Australia. A football playing history spanning 1830s to 2025. |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3644996526/view |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Trove |language=en}}</ref>   

In 1886, the club adopted the traditional uniform of blue and white vertical stripes at the insistence of the VFA, who wanted a visible contrast between Geelong's and Hotham's uniforms. Additionally, the club returned to its original "North Melbourne Football Club" name on 30 March 1888 after [[Town of North Melbourne|the local government area]] reverted its name to [[North Melbourne]].<ref name="namechange">{{cite web |title=NORTH MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66149178/6630421 |publisher=North Melbourne Advertiser |access-date=15 May 2025 |page=3 |date=31 March 1888 |quote=They were aware that the name of the town had been changed from Hotham to North Melbourne, and it was only right that the football club should follow suit. (Hear, hear). Perhaps someone present would move in the matter. On the motion of Mr. Sutcliffe, it was then unanimously decided that the club be henceforth known as the North Melbourne Football Club.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Northern History: When Hotham made the name change. |url=https://www.hothamhistory.org.au/northern-history-when-hotham-made-the-name-change/ |publisher=Hotham History Project |access-date=14 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523150127/https://www.hothamhistory.org.au/northern-history-when-hotham-made-the-name-change/ |archive-date=23 May 2024}}</ref>

The 1880s saw the club develop a penchant for inter-colonial travel with trips to Tasmania (1881 and 1887) and South Australia (1889). Hotham also found itself well represented at the first ever intercolonial representative game in 1879, with four players from the club gaining selection for Victoria.

===Disregarded by the VFL===
[[File:Nmfc1903.jpg|300px|thumb|[[1903 VFA season|"The Inaugurals"]]. The side that brought North premiership glory after 34 years of wait. To commemorate the achievement, club President [[George Prendergast|G/M Prendergast]] presented the 26 players and head trainer with a gold medal at the club's general meeting that year.]]
[[File:1906 Valentines Association Series North Melbourne.jpg|200px|left|thumb|A VFA cigarette card from 1906]]
The VFA grew to 13 senior clubs in the 1890s. Led by [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]] and [[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]], the largest clubs of the VFA formed their own breakaway league, the [[Victorian Football League]] (VFL), in 1896. Despite finishing 6th in 1896, North Melbourne was not invited to the breakaway competition. The main reasons for being excluded were:
* North had not won a premiership yet, and thus was not considered a powerful club
* The industrialisation of the locality had drained the club's income streams
* The club had a strong reputation for hooliganism from their fans
* There was a lot of bad blood between Collingwood and North following a torrid engagement in the previous season
* Essendon felt threatened by the proximity of North Melbourne
* A court case against the North Melbourne Cricket Club had damaged the Football Club's status

North continued on in the depleted VFA, emerging as a powerhouse, finishing 2nd in 1897, 1898 and 1899. In 1903, after 34 years of competing, the club won its first premiership, defeating Richmond in the final. The club became back to back premiers in 1904 after Richmond [[1904 VFA Grand Final|forfeited the grand final]] due to the appointment of an umpire whose performance when the two teams met earlier in the year was severely criticised by Richmond players and officials.<ref name="Atkinson">{{cite book |last=Atkinson |first=Graeme |title=3AW Book of Footy Records |year=1989 |publisher=Magistra Publishing Company Pty Ltd |location=South Melbourne |isbn=1-86321-009-1 |page=278}}.</ref>

North merged with fellow VFA football club [[West Melbourne Football Club|West Melbourne]] in 1907, which at the time had lost its home ground. The joint venture saw a chance of promotion, and the club applied for admission to the more prestigious VFL in 1908, but Richmond and University were admitted instead. North was kicked out of the VFA during the 1907/08 offseason as a result of applying to join the VFL,<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Argus |title=North Melbourne club |date=4 April 1908 |page=15 |location=Melbourne, VIC}}</ref> before the local community re-established the North Melbourne Football Club under a new committee, successfully enabling the club to play in the VFA in the 1908 season.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Argus |title=Football – the Victorian Association |date=18 April 1908 |page=6 |location=Melbourne, VIC}}</ref>

==="The Invincibles"===
The reformation of the club necessitated a massive cleanout of the team, leaving only two players remaining from the previous season. The 1910 season was marked by one of the most sensational transfers in Victorian football history, when Andy Curran masterminded the clearance of Carlton's famed "Big Four" of 'Mallee' Johnson, [[Fred Jinks]], [[Charlie Hammond]] and Frank 'Silver' Caine to North Melbourne. These signings secured the Northerners' third premiership in 1910.
[[File:SBarkerNMelb.jpg|150px|thumb|[[Syd Barker, Sr.]], club legend and star ruckman of "The Invincibles" era.]]
The 1912 finals series was one of the most amazing ever, with the semi-final having to be played three times, after North and Brunswick drew twice. North was eventually victorious and moved on to the final, but lost the game by a mere four points with the last kick of the day.

The next few years were punctuated by "The Invincibles". In the Northerners' most illustrious period ever, the club went undefeated from 1914 to 1919, collecting premierships in 1914, 1915 and 1918 – the competition was in recess in 1916 and 1917 due to [[World War I]]. As well as this, the club won the championship in both 1915 and 1918 for finishing on top of the ladder, and accounted for VFL side St Kilda comfortably. During this period the club won 58 consecutive matches including 49 successive premiership matches, a record that has remained unmatched in Association or League history since.

Despite being rejected from the VFL in both 1896 and 1907, North persisted in trying to gain admission into the League. On 30 June 1921, North told its players it would disband and try to gain entry to the VFL by the 'back-door'. Essendon League Football Club had lost its playing ground at East Melbourne and had decided to acquire the North Melbourne Recreation Reserve as a new playing ground. North accepted their proposal in the idea that the clubs would amalgamate. All of North's players were urged to join the [[Essendon Football Club|Essendon League Club]] to help facilitate the amalgamation. The amalgamation was foiled when some members of the VFA launched a successful legal challenge.<ref name="12AugustArgus">{{cite news |newspaper=The Argus |date=12 August 1921 |title=North Melbourne ground |page=6 |location=Melbourne, VIC}}</ref> As a result, the Essendon League Club moved instead to the Essendon Oval, replacing the ground's original occupants, [[Essendon Association Football Club|Essendon Association]].

North was now without a playing team and the Essendon Association Club was now without a ground, so as a matter of convenience the two clubs amalgamated so they could compete in the 1922 season. As it had after the merger with West Melbourne, North once again managed to avert its destruction. During this Period, North's main rivals were Footscray,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1937-05-15 |title=NORTH BROKE-BUT THEY WON WITH 18 AMATEURS |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/190340892?searchTerm=Great%20Football%20Dramas# |access-date=2025-05-19 |work=Sporting Globe}}</ref> meeting them in three Grand Finals.

===Entering the VFL===
[[File:Performance Chart AFL NME.svg|thumb|Chart of yearly ladder positions for North Melbourne in [[Australian Football League|VFL/AFL]]]]
[[File:Gasometer North Melbourne 1928.jpg|left|thumb|North Melbourne and Arden St Oval after admission to the VFL. c. 1928]]
After three attempts, 29 years of waiting and numerous other applications to enter the VFL, finally North was rewarded for its persistence with admittance to the League in 1925, along with Footscray and [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]]. Even then, the opportunity was almost lost as the League delegates debated into the early hours of the morning on which clubs should be invited to join the intake. It was only after much deliberation that North Melbourne's name was eventually substituted for [[Prahran FC|Prahran's]] making North "the lucky side" of the invitees that included Footscray and Hawthorn. North Melbourne was forced to change its uniform to avoid a clash when it joined the VFL.

North Melbourne struggled for most of its first twenty-five years in the [[Australian Football League|VFL]], with one of few bright notes being [[Sel Murray]] winning the [[VFL/AFL|VFL]] [[Leading Goalkicker Medal]] in 1941 with 88 goals. By the late 1940s, North Melbourne 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 Football Club|Essendon]]), but in 1950 they did reach the final, but were defeated by Essendon. It was in this year that the club adopted the "Kangaroos" mascot.<ref>Gerard Dowling, "North Melbourne Football Club", in Andrew Brown-May and [[Shurlee Swain]], ''The Encyclopedia of Melbourne'', Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2005, p.511.</ref>

In February 1965, North Melbourne [[1965 VFA season#North Melbourne's move to Coburg Oval|moved its playing and training base]] from the Arden Street Oval to [[Coburg City Oval|Coburg Oval]], signing a seven-year lease with the [[City of Coburg]]<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial |location=Melbourne, VIC |page=51 |date=30 March 1965 |title=North gets lease}}</ref> after initially negotiating long-term leases for up to 40 years.<ref name="sun3nov">{{cite news |newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial |location=Melbourne, VIC |page=34 |date=3 November 1964 |title=North can have a new oval}}</ref> The club came to an arrangement to merge with the VFA's [[Coburg Football Club]], whom it was displacing from the ground;<ref name="sun9dec">{{cite news |newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial |location=Melbourne, VIC |pages=63–64 |author=Scot Palmer |date=9 December 1964 |title=Coburg, North merger}}</ref> fourteen Coburg committeemen joined the North Melbourne committee, but the merger was never completed after Coburg established a rival committee which remained loyal to the VFA.<ref name="sun6feb">{{cite news |newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial |location=Melbourne, VIC |page=56 |date=6 February 1965 |title=Coburg to stay in Association}}</ref> The lease at Coburg lasted only eight months; the Coburg council was hesitant to build a new grandstand without the security of a long-term lease, and neither party made the returns they expected, so it was terminated by mutual agreement in September 1965 and North Melbourne returned to the Arden Street Oval.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial |location=Melbourne, VIC |page=51 |date=28 September 1965 |title=Coburg to drop stand?}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Sun News-Pictorial |location=Melbourne, VIC |page=52 |date=29 September 1965 |title=North to quit Coburg}}</ref>

On field, 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 early 1960s (and captain between 1961 and 1964), as was [[Noel Teasdale]], who lost the [[Brownlow Medal]] on a countback in 1965 (he was later awarded a retrospective medal when the counting system was amended).

===Golden era===
[[File:Malcolm Blight statue Adelaide Oval.jpg|left|thumb|225px| [[Malcolm Blight]] was one of the stars of the 1970s premiership era, and won both a [[Brownlow Medal]] and [[Coleman Medal]] while at North Melbourne.]]

In the late 1960s, under the leadership of [[Allen Aylett]], North Melbourne began its climb to supremacy. As part of a major recruitment drive North secured the services of several big-name stars, including [[Barry Davis (footballer)|Barry Davis]] from [[Essendon Football Club|Essendon]], [[Doug Wade]] from [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]], John Rantall from [[Sydney Swans|South Melbourne]], and Barry Cable from [[Perth Football Club|Perth]]. In a major coup, the great [[Ron Barassi]] was appointed coach in 1973. Barrassi reversed the club's playing fortunes, taking a struggling team that was once regarded as the traditional cellar dwellers of the competition through to a golden era of success that transformed North Melbourne into one of the powerhouses of the VFL. Barassi took North to a Grand Final (losing to [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]] by 41 points) in 1974 and brought success in his 1975 and 1977 seasons. North made five consecutive Grand Finals from 1974 to 1978<ref name="GF" />{{rp|209}} and defeated [[Norwood Football Club|Norwood]] in the 1975 national championship and thus declared [[Champions of Australia]].
{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#FFFFFF; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|-
| width=200 | ''[[1975 VFL Grand Final]]'' || ''G'' || ''B'' || ''Total''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:AFL Hawthorn Icon.jpg|16px]] Hawthorn ||  9  ||  13  ||  67
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:NMFC AFL.png|16px]] North Melbourne|| '''19''' ||'''8''' || '''122'''
|-
| Venue: [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]
|colspan="3"| Crowd: 110,551<ref name="Lovett 2010 669">{{harvnb|Lovett|2010|p=669}}</ref>
|}

In 1973 and 1974, North's wingman [[Keith Greig]] (recruited from Brunswick Football Club, Victoria) won consecutive [[Brownlow Medal]]s; forward [[Malcolm Blight]] (recruited from Woodville Football Club, South Australia) then won the award in 1978. Doug Wade (recruited from Geelong Football Club, Geelong) won the [[Coleman Medal]] in 1974 with his 103 goals for the season.
{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#FFFFFF; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|-
| width=200 | ''[[1977 VFL Grand Final]]'' || ''G'' || ''B'' || ''Total''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:NMFC AFL.png|16px]] North Melbourne|| '''21''' || '''25''' || '''151'''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:Collingwood icon.svg|16px]] Collingwood || 19 || 10 || 124
|-
| Venue: [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]
|colspan="3"| Crowd: 98,491<ref name="GF" />{{rp|670}}
|}
Barassi remained team coach until 1980, but only a Night Premiership in that year resulted in him leaving [[Arden Street Oval|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 with 16 wins and 6 losses for the season, but they failed to make the Grand Final.

===Team of the 1990s===
Despite the tough, disciplined coaching of the legendary [[John Kennedy Sr. (footballer)|John Kennedy]], the 1980s and early 1990s were mostly lean years for the Kangaroos. However, the rebuilding of the club was taking place. The Krakouer brothers (Jim and Phil) brought a spark into the side and lifted many hopes for North supporters and the excitement to the general football public.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} The innovative idea of night games was instigated by the club and meeting the challenges, the club survived. One major highlight was the recruitment of forward [[John Longmire]] in 1989, who topped the club goalkicking over five consecutive seasons (1990–1994) and won the [[Coleman medal]] in 1990 with 98 goals. At the beginning of the 1993 season, in a dramatic and controversial move,{{According to whom|date=August 2018}} the board of the club sacked coach and long-time player [[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.
[[File:Glenn archer.jpg|left|thumb|200px|1990s dual-premiership player and Norm Smith Medallist [[Glenn Archer]] was named "Shinboner of the Century" as the player who most embodies the North Melbourne spirit.]]
Pagan was instrumental in appointing young centre half-forward [[Wayne Carey]] as the club's youngest-ever captain. Carey had been recruited at the same time as Longmire, but had taken longer to develop as a player. Over the next nine seasons, Carey came to be regarded as the standout player in the league and was known as 'the King'.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://museumriverina.com.au/about-us/collections/sporting-hall-of-fame/carey,-wayne | title=Wayne Carey | date=13 November 2013 }}</ref>

{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#FFFFFF; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|-
| width=200 | ''[[1996 AFL Grand Final]]'' || ''G'' || ''B'' || ''Total''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |   [[File:NMFC AFL.png|16px]] North Melbourne || '''19''' || '''17''' || '''131'''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:AFL Sydney Icon.jpg|16px]] Sydney Swans || 13 || 10 || 88
|-
| Venue: [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]
|colspan="3"| Crowd: 93,102<ref name="GF">{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=AFL Record Season Guide |publisher=Geoff Slattery Media Group |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-9806274-5-9 |editor-last=Lovett |editor-first=Michael}}</ref>
|}
{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#FFFFFF; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|-
| width=200 | ''[[1995 Ansett Australia Cup|1995 AFL Ansett Australia Cup Final]]'' || ''G'' || ''B'' || ''Total''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:NMFC AFL.png|16px]] North Melbourne || '''14''' || '''9''' || '''93'''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:Adelaide Club symbol.svg|16px]] Adelaide || 8 || 15 || 63
|-
| Venue: [[Waverley Park]]
|colspan="3"| Crowd: 49,393
|}
North Melbourne became a powerhouse through the 1990s under Pagan and Carey, and finished in the top four, making the preliminary finals or better, in every season from 1994 until 2000. After being eliminated in the preliminary finals in 1994 and 1995, North went on to defeat the [[Sydney Swans]] in the 1996 Grand Final to take out the club's third premiership, and the gold centenary [[Australian Football League|AFL]] cup; [[Glenn Archer]] won the [[Norm Smith Medal]]. The club was again eliminated in the preliminary final in 1997. In 1998, as the club won both the pre-season [[Ansett Cup]] and topped the ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses, but went on to lose the 1998 Grand Final to [[Adelaide Crows|Adelaide]], not helped by an inaccurate goalkicking performance of 8.22 (70) to Adelaide's 15.15 (105). In 1999, the Kangaroos finished the regular season in second position on the ladder, and went on to defeat Carlton in the Grand Final, winning the club's fourth VFL/AFL premiership; former Sydney midfielder [[Shannon Grant]] taking out the Norm Smith Medal. The club was eliminated in the preliminary finals in 2000 against Melbourne.

{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#FFFFFF; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|-
| width=200 | ''[[1999 AFL Grand Final]]'' || ''G'' || ''B'' || ''Total''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:NMFC AFL.png|16px]] Kangaroos || '''19''' || '''10''' || '''124'''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:Carlton AFL icon.svg|16px]] Carlton || 12 || 17 || 89
|-
| Venue: [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]
|colspan="3"| Crowd: 94,228<ref name="GF" />{{rp|670}}
|}
{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#FFFFFF; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|-
| width=200 | ''[[1998 Ansett Australia Cup|1998 AFL Ansett Australia Cup Final]]'' || ''G'' || ''B'' || ''Total''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:NMFC AFL.png|16px]] North Melbourne || '''14''' || '''13''' || '''97'''
|-
| style="text-align:left" |  [[File:AFL St Kilda Icon.jpg|16px]] St Kilda || 12 || 11 || 83
|-
| Venue: [[Waverley Park]]
|colspan="3"| Crowd: 63,898
|}

In 1996, the club was in advanced merger talks with the financially depleted [[Fitzroy Football Club]] to create the [[North Fitzroy Kangaroos|North Fitzroy Kangaroos Football Club]];<ref>Ker, Peter., 2003. THE MERGER THAT NEVER GOT ACROSS THE LINE. ''Sunday Age'', 13 July, p. 14.<br /></ref> however, Fitzroy ultimately merged with the [[Brisbane Bears]] instead.

Seeking new markets and greater financial security in an increasingly corporatized [[Australian Football League|AFL]] environment, the title "North Melbourne" was officially dropped from the logo in 1999, during 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]]; however, the experiment was not successful, with crowds averaging only 12,000.

===21st century===
[[File:Kangaroos team huddle.jpg|thumb|A Kangaroos quarter-time team huddle at the MCG in 2006]]
North's dominance of the league did not continue into the 21st century. Its decade-long on-field potency was in decline, and questions were raised about its financial position and long-term sustainability. Furthermore, three of the people most important to the club's success in the 1990s left the club under acrimonious circumstances: CEO [[Greg Miller (Australian footballer)|Greg Miller]] left the club,{{Why|date=June 2023}} captain Wayne Carey left prior to the 2002 season following an extramarital affair with the wife of teammate and vice captain [[Anthony Stevens]], and coach [[Denis Pagan]] was lured to Carlton at the end of 2002. Pagan was replaced by 1996 premiership player [[Dani Laidley]], who had previously been an Assistant Coach at [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] from 1999 until the end of season 2002.
[[File:Saverio rocca.jpg|left|thumb|135px|Cult hero [[Sav Rocca]] led the goal kicking in the early 2000s.]] [[File:Andrew Swallon at Arden Street Oval (2012).jpg|right|thumb|175px| Three-time Syd Barker Medallist [[Andrew Swallow]] captained the club in the 2010s.]]
On a post-season holiday, several players were caught in the [[2002 Bali bombings]] terrorist attack, notably defender [[Jason McCartney (footballer)|Jason McCartney]], who suffered second-degree burns to over 50% of his body while carrying others to safety and nearly died during surgery after being flown back to Melbourne. In what is regarded as one of the most inspirational stories of Australian rules football and Australian sport in general, McCartney successfully returned to action on 6 June 2003 against [[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]] at Docklands Stadium. Playing at full-forward, he took a mark in the final quarter, scored a goal from the resulting set shot, and set up [[Leigh Harding]]'s winning goal with two minutes remaining. McCartney retired immediately after the game, citing that his recovery had left him spent, and he was chaired from the ground. McCartney wore the numbers "88" and "202" on the front of his long-sleeved {{not a typo|guernsey}} for the match, signifying the Australian and total number of victims of the Bali bombings, while many in the crowd bore signs reading "Bali 88/202".

Onfield, the club reached the elimination finals in 2002 and 2004.
After a top-4 finish and a preliminary final berth in 2007, and a first-round elimination final exit in 2008, North Melbourne dropped to 13th in 2009, and coach Dani Laidley announced her resignation, with Darren Crocker acting as caretaker coach for the rest of the season, to eventually be replaced by ex-Brisbane Lions premiership player and Collingwood assistant coach [[Brad Scott (Australian footballer)|Brad Scott]]. A$15&nbsp;million redevelopment of the Arden Street, which had started in 2006, was completed in 2009, giving the club top-class training facilities.

===Brad Scott era===
North Melbourne struggled in its first two years under [[Brad Scott (Australian footballer)|Brad Scott]], finishing 9th in both 2010 and 2011. In 2012, the club returned to the finals for the first time since 2008, finishing the season in 8th place, but would go down to the [[West Coast Eagles]] by 96 points in an elimination final. In 2012, the club began a three-year deal to play two games each year at [[Bellerive Oval]] in [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]]. The club finished 10th in 2013 in a season full of close losses. [[Nick Dal Santo]] signed with the club at the end of the 2013 season as a restricted [[free agent]].
[[File:2017 AFL Grand Final parade – Brent Harvey.jpg|left|thumb|150px|[[Brent Harvey]] broke the all-time AFL record for most career games in 2016, finishing with 432 games.]]
In 2014, North Melbourne finished 6th at the end of the home and away season and reached 40,000 members for the first time in the club's history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmfc.com.au/news/2014-07-23/40000-members |title=40,000 Members |publisher=NMFC.com.au |author=Chelsea Collins |date=23 July 2014 |access-date=14 September 2014}}</ref>
In September, North Melbourne went on to defeat Essendon by 12 points in the 2nd Elimination Final, only taking the lead in the last quarter. The following week, North Melbourne beat Geelong in the 2nd Semi-final by 6 points advancing them through to their first preliminary final since 2007. Their finals campaign came to a disappointing end at Stadium Australia when they were beaten by Sydney by 71 points. In 2015 the club made history by becoming the first team to qualify for a preliminary final from 8th spot, losing to the West Coast Eagles by 25 points after leading at half time.
In 2016, North Melbourne won its first nine matches, which is the club's best start to a season in its VFL/AFL history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/North-melbourne-moves-to-90-but-12-is-the-magic-number-for-coach-brad-scott/news-story/a6c67dd6970092e002e74c723319cb38 |title=North Melbourne moves to 9-0 but 12 is the magic number for coach Brad Scott |publisher=[[Herald Sun]] |work=Lauren Wood |date=21 May 2016 |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref> On 27 July 2016, the club announced it had surpassed 45,000 members for the first time in the club's history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nmfc.com.au/news/2016-07-27/45000-share-the-spirit |publisher=NMFC |title=45,000 Share The Spirit |date=27 July 2016 |access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> In 2016, the Kangaroos fielded what was the oldest team in AFL history. Unfortunately after the midpoint of the season they fell away and struggled against some of the worst teams in competition. In the mid season of 2019 Brad Scott made the decision to leave NMFC after 10 years at the club taking them to the finals on multiple occasions.

===Rhyce Shaw and David Noble===
[[Rhyce Shaw]] took over as caretaker coach in the interim in mid- to late [[2019 AFL season|2019]] and was later awarded the position as head coach for the following [[2020 AFL season|2020 season]]. After a disappointing 2020 season where North won only 3 games and finished second-last, Rhyce Shaw left the club in late October 2020 due to personal issues, bringing his short tenure as head coach to an end.

In 2021, former Western Bulldogs and Adelaide assistant coach and long-time football administrator [[David Noble (Australian footballer)|David Noble]] was appointed as the new senior coach on an open-ended staff contract.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-11-20|title=North Melbourne sign new coach from rival AFL club|url=https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/north-melbourne-sign-new-coach-from-rival-afl-club-c-1618063|access-date=2020-11-20|website=7NEWS.com.au|language=en}}</ref> Noble led the club to the wooden spoon in 2021 despite the team producing some encouraging results towards the end of the season and ending with four wins and a draw from the season. Noble resigned from the position in mid-2022 after pressure resulting from North's poor start to the season.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/798399/north-melbourne-kangaroos-coach-david-noble-to-step-down/amp | title=Emotional Noble departs, Roos vow to chase priority pick }}</ref>

===Alastair Clarkson era===

On 19 August 2022, North Melbourne signed [[Alastair Clarkson]] to coach the team for five seasons, starting with the 2023 season.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.afl.com.au/news/825261/the-inside-story-of-how-north-melbourne-and-sonja-hood-brought-alastair-clarkson-home | title=BARRETT: The inside story of how North brought Clarkson home | date=20 August 2022 }}</ref> 

Clarkson stepped down as the coach of North Melbourne for part of the 2023 season due to him struggling with mental health problems from the racism accusations while he was at the Hawthorn Football Club, however returned toward the end of the season.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/news-2023-north-melbourne-coach-alastair-clarkson-coaching-return-spurred-on-by-youngster-george-wardlaw-20230804-p5j6ev.html | title=AFL News 2023: Alastair Clarkson returns to North Melbourne coaching role full time, press conference | date=4 August 2023 }}</ref>