The 90s were better in every way

[SweetLeftFoot]

Its obvious that the 90s were a GOLDEN AGE for North footy.

But now as 2009 meanders on to a fairly shitty conclusion to what has been a shitty decade, its obvious that the 90s were a better decade full stop.

So let's get in our time machine and head back to The Good Old Days.

I'll start.

Remember how in the 90s, we played 7 or 8 Friday night home games at the G every year? And how we'd win them all.

And after the game, if you headed into the city to get a tram or train home, the place would be pretty much deserted, because we'd yet to have the bright idea of building hundreds of clubs to cater for drunken idiots all over the joint?

And if your train/tram was partuicularly swift, sometimes you'd get home to catch the last ten or fifteen minutes of the delayed replay on Channel 7?

Them's were the days.

 

[Event Horizon]

I was single and enjoyed every bit of it. The footy was great. Not just on the scoreboard but especially the hardness with which we played the game. And I didn't have a huge home loan to worry about and could enjoy sleeping in on the weekends...

 

[Jonnoo]

I used to walk to the games with a strut in the 90s. That strut has gone.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

I was single and enjoyed every bit of it. The footy was great. Not just on the scoreboard but especially the hardness with which we played the game. And I didn't have a huge home loan to worry about and could enjoy sleeping in on the weekends...

Yep. Beer was cheaper, the music was better.

 

[Jay-Z]

I used to read the teamsheet and see W. Carey at CHF and J. Longmire at FF

 

[mb0y]

Come now, chicks nowadays are hotter and wear more revealing clothes Theres always going to be positives and negatives! I prefer my skirts short and my football hard! But damn do I miss watching Carey crush 3 opponents in a huge pack mark. Huge contested pack marks have gone out of the game shame.

 

[Jay-Z]

Come now, chicks nowadays are hotter and wear more revealing clothes Theres always going to be positives and negatives! I prefer my skirts short and my football hard! But damn do I miss watching Carey crush 3 opponents in a huge pack mark. Huge contested pack marks have gone out of the game shame.

Yeah the pack marks were pretty special but really the best thing about the Duck was that if we went 3-4 goals down and looked in a bit of trouble, he would usually stand up and kick 3 goals by himself in a 5-10 minute burst. Now if we go down by 3-4 goals after half time it's like the whole team gives up.

 

[Zondor]

They sure were.

Pity that Time Machines dont exist. Surely someone from the future would have visited us by now if they did exist.

Anyways great memories of the 90's.

I say that 93 really kicked it off. After Dangles took over as coach we really came of age as a football team. Carey being made Captain. Taking the competition by storm. McAdam on Fire. Longmire kicking bag fulls. And to think back then Larkin and German were still playing in the seniors.

Big games in 93 against Collingwood at Vic Park (North Melbourne Chant in the Outer just Fantastic), Essendon on the Friday night at the G (Roberts you beauty and Carey Again) and the thumping we gave the Swans when John Hutton was playing full back and didn't what the hell was going on.

And then after a few years of being a good side without winning the big one, Bang 96 Premiership. The Gold Cup Baby. What a day.

The decade finishing off nicely with the 99 Premiership.

Great Years Indeed. Great Players as well with a great Coach at the helm.

Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.
La la la la...
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days

 

[Twinkletoes]

The footy back then was THE best, and far from the chess style of today, with players now guarding space etc.

I loved trouping into The G on a Friday after work, loading up on beers throughout the night, firing up a Winnie Blue for each goal we kicked (in tandem with a few non North supporting mates who came to every one of our Friday night games as well), leading to my looking like a pan pipes player after a quarter of North domination. We did all that sitting in our seats in the Southern Stand!

After belting out the song at the end we'd all make the journey on foot to Bobby McGees, which by then was packed solid with drunken secretaries!

Ahhhhhhh the memories!

 

[Event Horizon]

Didn't Hutton play FF for the Bears?

 

[giantroo]

And of course we didn't have to worry about these stupid franchises that are coming in!!

People didn't worry about money, it was all about Footy!!!

 

[Long Live the King]

Yeah....Pagan being interviewed recalling that he looked down at Carey and thought "Geez Wayne we need something special"...that was 3 qtr time in the game against essendon at the G when Carey ...ripped jumper and all decided it was time to put on a show.....thanks for coming.....

and Mcavaney calling the King against the tigers..."Hes a Collossus"......

wouldnt you kill to have the old No 18 running around out there.......

 

[jacko57]

I loved :

* the fact that we could be confident of beating anyone, at any venue in Victoria or interstate
* the fact that North were renowned as the hardest-tackling team in the comp, and blokes like Stevo, Schwass, Archer, Rock, Ross Smith & co led the way with an absolutely fanatical, reckless attack on the footy
* the fact that we were never out of the contest
* the fact that we knew we were going to play finals and be a contender
* the fact that, if we picked up a player from another club (Scott, Roberts, Ischenko, Bell, McCartney, Blakey, Pike, Abraham) the odds were they would be a much better footballer in the blue & white stripes

 

[Long Live the King]

lets hope its a cyclical thing...i used to go to arden street and watch blight/schimma/greig etc etc ....there were champions on every line....

they were great days also for the club....a time when players wanted to come to North because it was the innovative club....a club full of champions.....the 90's were the same.....

maybe our time will come again........

 

[giantroo]

lets hope its a cyclical thing...i used to go to arden street and watch blight/schimma/greig etc etc ....there were champions on every line....

they were great days also for the club....a time when players wanted to come to North because it was the innovative club....a club full of champions.....the 90's were the same.....

maybe our time will come again........

It won't be this decade, that's for sure. It'll happen after 2011.

History will repeat. 75,77,96,99,2010s+

 

[NMFC ALWAYS]

Watching North in the 90's made me into the loud mouth that i am today .

Especially between 93 - 99 when i was ages 18 - 24 and couldn't handle my grog and didn't care

Carey not only lifted his teammates , he brought out the animal in me and my boyz at the footy

Just isn't the same anymore , but those days will return .....I hope

 

[Jumping Roo]

I loved it when we finally turned the tables on Hawthorn and won about 10 games in a row against them from ~1994 to 2000. Always went to the matches with a bunch of Hawthorn mates who were used to their team dominating the competition. Each and every time we beat them with Carey and Longmire going nuts was pure bliss!

 

[NMFC ALWAYS]

I loved it when we finally turned the tables on Hawthorn and won about 10 games in a row against them from ~1994 to 2000. Always went to the matches with a bunch of Hawthorn mates who were used to their team dominating the competition. Each and every time we beat them with Carey and Longmire going nuts was pure bliss!

I thought i was a sinner because i had one Hawthorn mate , but you had a bunch of them .....Jeeeeeezzzzzzzuuuuuzzzzz

 

[Paddy_Mac]

Footy was just better all-round. The spectacle, the atmosphere, the players, the telecast. It also helped that we were always winning.

 

[chubbspeterson]

Would have to agree, was a young kid those days, but loved everytime the boys stepped out to play, you always had that feeling if they were 4 or 5 goals behind they could peg it back in the last quarter.
The Finals and the Hawthorn games out at Waverley park were electric, dunstall vs carey, the atmosphere was unreal.
Shame nowadays, the one on one contests are gone, hope it goes back to that. I still can't get over how some players can't kick on both feet these days, skills should be first priority imo.

I think we'll be alright in a few years, you can't expect to have an instant-fix forward line after shagga and thommo leaving, but with games under their belts I can see potential in Josh Smith, Wundke, Warren and Tarrant. The positive thing is there's guys competing for spots now, and if they don't perform they're out, with guys like Harro, Ross etc waiting in the wings. Just be patient.

 

[Zvim]

I loved :

* the fact that we could be confident of beating anyone, at any venue in Victoria or interstate
* the fact that North were renowned as the hardest-tackling team in the comp, and blokes like Stevo, Schwass, Archer, Rock, Ross Smith & co led the way with an absolutely fanatical, reckless attack on the footy
* the fact that we were never out of the contest
* the fact that we knew we were going to play finals and be a contender
* the fact that, if we picked up a player from another club (Scott, Roberts, Ischenko, Bell, McCartney, Blakey, Pike, Abraham) the odds were they would be a much better footballer in the blue & white stripes

We just had a very good attacking midfield, even in 1997 in our hangover year after Carey did his shoulder and missed rounds 2 to 12, we won 7 of the 11 games he missed and we absolutely smashed some opposition, just through the force of will from the midfield.

I remember round 5, 1997, No Carey and Richmond thought they were going to roll us. 21.15 vs 7.4, smash! Stevo, Bell, Scott, Schwass, Allison, Rock, Simpson and King ran amok. Harvey was just a noob hanging in the pocket. Archer, Blakey and Pike were massive in defence.

Those were the days... 9.4 disposals per scoring shot, last week we needed 19.7 disposals per scoring shot. Amazing the difference when you use the corridor, got some guys in the middle that run, can hit targets and run in numbers, run for eachother.

 

[NICK_ROOBOY83]

No doubt the footy was great in the 90's.

Not sure when we will get back to that sort of success but i hope it's soon.

 

[Daveo Plonk]

I reckon Geelong, Sydney and Brisbane fans would say the Naughties are better.

Mind you, they'd be wrong!

Corza smashing the ball forward from the centre bounce, roving his own pill and kicking a goal on the run in the '99 Granny. The last great moment of the 90s.

 

[Jumping Roo]

That centennial night match against Collingwood in the mid nineties where they switched off the lights at the G and had fireworks before the game. Carey was out and Mckernan took over and kick 5 or so to get us over the line. Brilliant.

 

[Devil Fish]

I was single and enjoyed every bit of it. The footy was great. Not just on the scoreboard but especially the hardness with which we played the game. And I didn't have a huge home loan to worry about and could enjoy sleeping in on the weekends...

Fair point. I was in my 20's & single also & thoroughly enjoyed the '90's & in particular, the deeds of The Colossus. How good would it be to have a time machine & get zapped back to 1993 to do it all again?