Vale Ron Joseph

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Handsome.B.Wonderful

Premiership Player
Jan 13, 2006
3,578
6,512
Bigfooty
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Sadly Ron has passed away overnight.

A gigantic figure in the club’s history who led the club from cellar dwellers to a powerhouse through his passion for North Melbourne.

Brought in the likes of Barassi, Blight, Cable, Davis, Rantall, alongside Allen Aylett, Albert Mantello, Barry Cheatley, David Robb and others in the early 70’s to bring us the 1975 and 1977 Premierships.

His mark will be forever felt on this football club and the competition.

Vale Ronnie.
 
Truly saddened to hear this.

What an absolute legend and icon for North Melbourne. Without RJ I doubt we'd have landed our first premierships or still be at Arden Street, what he's done for our club can never be underestimated.

He was a true visionary for North Melbourne.

I had the chance to meet RJ several times over the years and he was always approachable, passionate and just a wonderful man.

Condolences to his family and friends and the wider North Melbourne family who he knew so well.

Vale Ron.
 

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Shattered to hear this news. Ron was a great supporter of WANM (and Rob Smith) and I have no doubt that his support, advice and guidance at the time was very significant in scuttling the Gold Coast move. Ron and Rob were the Directors who drove us to form WANM and fight and kept us up to date with what was happening behind the scenes. Thank you Ron for your long service to our great club. Your place in our history should never be under estimated over many, many years. Lets not forget how important he was bringing Ron Barassi and the ten year players to the club in the 70s - that brought us our first flags. RIP shinboner. You are one of the clubs greatest ever servants.
 
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Legendary North Melbourne powerbroker Ron Joesph dies​

One of Australian football’s most innovative and adventurous powerbrokers, legendary North Melbourne secretary Ron Joseph, has died.

Glenn McFarlane
March 22, 2023 - 9:26AM

Australian football has lost one of its most innovative and adventurous powerbrokers in former North Melbourne administrator Ron Joseph, who died on Tuesday night after battling lung cancer, aged 77.
Joseph was one of the key off-field figures behind the Kangaroos’ rise from perennial cellar dwellers to a football powerhouse in the mid to late 1970s.

He played a big role along with Dr Allen Aylett and Albert Mantello in convincing master coach Ron Barassi to join the club in 1973 as well as helping to secure champion players such as Malcolm Blight, Doug Wade, Barry Cable and the Krakouer brothers to Arden St.

Joseph famously took $10,000 in brown paper bags to the homes of Wade, Barry Davis and John Rantall in an effort to convince them to join the club during the short-lived 10-year rule. All three would go on to play a part in the club’s drought-breaking first premiership in 1975.

Joseph was also called in to help rescue the ailing Sydney Swans in 1994-95, working alongside Barassi and securing Tony Lockett’s signature to head to the Harbour City.

He was also a key player manager in the late 1990s, at one stage almost 100 players, including Shannon Grant, Leigh Colbert and Wayne Schwass, and served three years on North Melbourne’s board from 2007-2010.

More to come.
 
God, so many stories about one of the truly great Shinboners. Most probably unprintable in here.

Thank-you Ron for everything 👍

You youngsters will hear some tales in the next week or so. Us oldies grew up with this legend and your club wouldn't be here without him.

Great game Ronnie - BOG & the 3 votes.
 
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Huge loss for the club.
Passionate, larger than life. Whilst his impact on the competition was large his impact on North Melbourne was almost incalculable. Extremely approachable, comfortable with the rank and file and happy to go toe to to with the most powerful. The kind of bloke that would pull out a bit of 2x4 if necessary to protect this club.

Tough news to hear and a huge loss for our North Melbourne family. Club will need to honour him with something significant.
 

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