Editing North Melbourne Football Club (section)

==="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.