Toast 1993 Pretenders no more

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I was 17 years old at the time. Have lived in Australia for 3 years at that point. Been following North since 1991, but 1993 was the year that I remember as the first really enjoyable year of footy. So many great memories. After beating Brisbane in round 1 and then losing a close one to St Kilda, it was really the win at Kardinia park that suggested something special might be brewing. Remember a great win in the West, a tough win at Whittel Oval and a close loss to Hawthorn when Longmire had to play on Dunstall due to Mick Martyn's suspension. Heart breaking loss in Adelaide due to some attrocious umpiring and Tony Modra, and a great win against Essendon at the G.

Just a pity that we were completely shot before the finals, but it still rates as nearly my most enjoyable footy season.
 
So many mental hurdles jumped in 93 and 94 that put the belief in later teams that knew they were still in it 6 goals down during a 3rd quarter.
So true. We had been used to 35 point losses after being competitive for around half of many games, then, once the team began to believe what they were capable of, it seemed that the fourth quarter was almost always ours - four or five goals down was easy to knock off.

The Essendon win in 93 was huge, but the one for me was over the Hawks in 94. I think they'd beaten is about 47 times straight, getting over them at the G made me think big things were ahead.

We had overseas visitors who wanted to see an AFL game and the hawk game just happened to be it. We sat on the fence to get immersed in the action and I have to say that I made a complete idiot of myself - I couldn't talk for days due to straining my vocal chords from giving it to them and their supporters.

Also, * the baby bombers and * the 94 preliminary umps.

Even in the Pagan era, umpires were our sworn enemies. North players seemed to have a thing about abusing umps and they copped hell in return. My umpire mates (from my work and my wife's as well) used to mention how the Geesh hated North and how the treatment umps paid out was deserved. Carey especially, even though a couple of them said when they were doing goals at North games they'd have been happy to do it for free as they had the best seat in the house.
 
That Rd 10 game v Collingwood at Victoria Park probably one of the best home and away wins i have ever seen, at a ground where victories were few and far between, right up there with Blighty's after the siren torp at Princes Park.
MCADAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
That Rd 10 game v Collingwood at Victoria Park probably one of the best home and away wins i have ever seen, at a ground where victories were few and far between, right up there with Blighty's after the siren torp at Princes Park.
I listened to that game on the radio and used graph paper to maintain a live score worm as it played out, then kept it in my filing cabinet for 25 years.

Edit: The filing cabinet

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That Rd 10 game v Collingwood at Victoria Park probably one of the best home and away wins i have ever seen, at a ground where victories were few and far between, right up there with Blighty's after the siren torp at Princes Park.
An absolute favourite of mine, loved every minute. The roaring North faithful in the outer providing a sweet soundtrack to a glorious victory. Can’t imagine there have too many times when Victoria Park was rocked to its foundations by a hearty chant of North Melbourne.
 
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93 saw 3 players kick 60+. This is a pretty rare feat (without checking).

Sides would get no where near it now days you’d think.

Stats for that year:

11 players had double digits goals
That #18 took a few marks and was #3 position getter.
Stevens, Schwass were ball magnets followed by Rock, German and Roberts
McKernan played only 1 game that year.

According to this we were on top of the ladder 12 of the 22 rounds:
 
According to this we were on top of the ladder 12 of the 22 rounds:
Faded at the end.

Believe we lost to Fitzroy by point late in the season and Longmire went off early in the last round against the Dogs who proceeded to kick 10 the next quarter and we lost by 2 goals in the end.

Ended up in 3rd spot by half a game with no double chance and I think that was the year Kernahan botched and after the siren shot where the Essendon Carlton game ended in a draw.
 
That Rd 10 game v Collingwood at Victoria Park probably one of the best home and away wins i have ever seen, at a ground where victories were few and far between, right up there with Blighty's after the siren torp at Princes Park.
I wasn’t there that day unfortunately. It was huge at the time because I think it was a battle for top spot on the ladder
 

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I was still swimming

dirty mind sexo GIF
 
Lots of great memories that I won’t rehash but what I do remember is arriving at Waverley for that Final thinking yeh this is Finals after so many years of not being there. A lot like where we are atm.
93 was my first roos final. It was the last hurrah for a few. The big Russian, Marty Larkin, Peter German, all were being surpassed and Peter Mann headed off to Fremantle in the off-season after a solid 93 I think. The confidence was there after 93 and we went on to bigger and better things
 
In 1993 I was in primary school, and I decided the time had come to start following my own footy team. All my family were Geelong, Fitzroy, Dees and * supporters, so I figured I needed to choose a Victorian team too. But being a headstrong eldest sibling, I also wanted to forge my own path. So I laid out my fifty or so AFL player cards on my Nan’s spare room floor, and carefully studied them all, before deciding that North’s players looked the most bad ass and they had the best logo too. So that was that. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’d even met another Roos supporter at that point in my life.
 
Does anyone remember “the Great Leap Forward” video that was released at the end of the 1993 season?
Started off with the pre-season loss to Adelaide and Schimmas sacking and takes us through Pagans 1st year as coach.

I have the video lying around somewhere at old ladies place but I’m sure someone uploaded it to YouTube.

My highlight of the year other than Ducks last quarter against * is Doug Hawkins trying to clean up Anthony Rock and Hawkins is the one that ends up getting hurt lol
 
Does anyone remember “the Great Leap Forward” video that was released at the end of the 1993 season?
Started off with the pre-season loss to Adelaide and Schimmas sacking and takes us through Pagans 1st year as coach.

I have the video lying around somewhere at old ladies place but I’m sure someone uploaded it to YouTube.

My highlight of the year other than Ducks last quarter against * is Doug Hawkins trying to clean up Anthony Rock and Hawkins is the one that ends up getting hurt lol
Here it is!

I apologize in advance for time you will all be wasting going through this great content.
Narration is nostalgic as f***!
 
Here it is!

I apologize in advance for time you will all be wasting going through this great content.
Narration is nostalgic as f***!

I fast forwarded to 3 parts completely.by random as I have to get to work.

All 3 were McAdam slotting goals. Electric.
 
Does anyone remember “the Great Leap Forward” video that was released at the end of the 1993 season?
Started off with the pre-season loss to Adelaide and Schimmas sacking and takes us through Pagans 1st year as coach.

I have the video lying around somewhere at old ladies place but I’m sure someone uploaded it to YouTube.

My highlight of the year other than Ducks last quarter against * is Doug Hawkins trying to clean up Anthony Rock and Hawkins is the one that ends up getting hurt lol
Great choice Tazaa.

In front of the Ted Whitten stand no less.

If there was a single moment where the young blokes under Pagan suddenly believed - it was that.

We grew a leg after that.
 

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