1997 PREMIERSHIP SEASON IN REVIEW
Player of the year: Peter Bell, Martin Pike
Mark of the year : Craig Sholl V WCE
Goal of the year: Peter Bell, a great running goal from the boundry line
Best Individual performance: Wayne Carey�s 7 goals in the Qualifying final.
Biggest Win: 97 Points over Richmond
Longest Winning streak: 4 in a row rounds 16-19
Longest Lossing streak: 3 games
Rising Star: Brent Harvey
Players who played every game in 1997: Martyn, Longmire, Scott, Sholl, A.Stevens
Total home game attendance : 357,725
Membership: 17,000 approx
Leading Goal kickers: Brett Allison (43), Craig Sholl (40)
Most Possesions : Anthony Stevens 556
Players used in 97: 33
Higest ladder position: 5 (Round 12)
Lowest ladder position: 15 (Round 4)
Preseason was a disappointment for North Melbourne, not because of their form but because of the loss of young ruckman Matthew Capuano with a second knee reconstruction. It was a heavy blow for North because it meant McKernan would have to ruck alone for the entire year and his ability to go forward and kick goals would be reduced. North made it to the semi finals before losing a tight one to Geelong. North also signed up a new major sponcor in the pre-season, computer company Hypertec went bust so North struck a deal with Hewlett-Packard.
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For North Melbourne supporters 1997 was full of highs and lows. The lowest point of all had to be the first game of the season. North had unfurled its flag and five minutes later Carey went crashing down with what was to be an injury that would kept his out for most of the season. McKernan also looked to have done damage to his knee in that game as North lost to Melbourne in the upset of the year. North hit back hard against the Blues in round 2, the team came out firing reacting to criticism that it couldn�t make the finals without Carey in the side for most of the year. North were thrashed in round three by Essendon and had to play Brisbane in Brisbane the next week. This game was sure to be fiery, after all they stole our $8million. North were shocking in the first half but came storming back only to run out of petrol in the last quarter. North sat second from the bottom at 1-3 at this stage and it looked as though North could be in for a hard year.
North responded though and probably played its best game for the season the following week thrashing Richmond by 97 points at the MCG. North had found its answer to its forward line problems and it had come in the unlikely form of former Lion Anthony Mellington. Mellington had some big games early in the year but suffered a broken jaw against Footscray and never recovered his form. Mellington had been one of three Lions to join North after that club was taken over by Brisbane. The others were Martin Pike and Brett Chandler. All three made valuable contributions to North through out the season, Chandler became a quality tagger and played every game, Mellington kicked a few bags of goals, won a game single handedly against Hawthorn. The best of them all however was Martin Pike, no one wanted him at the end of last year, North took a gamble and it paid off handsomely. Apart from a little trouble in an Adelaide nightclub Pike was a star and I have award him the honour of joint North Melbourne player of the year.
North was lucky to get out of the next game out at Waverly against Hawthorn . Mellington won the game for us with a great tackle that got a holding the ball ruling, Mellington got the free and kicked a goal. North was back at 3-3 but was again made to look ordinary the next week when we lost to Collingwood by 6 goals. Next up it was the new Magpies, Port Adelaide was running hot, but North iced them off at Optus ovel winning by 28 points.
North now started to regain its composure in the next month it defeating West Coast , Fremantle and Adelaide . The Adelaide win was seen as the most important of the year, we were the first team to beat Adelaide at Football Park, we did it without Carey and McKernan. North were now 7-5 at the state of origin break. The feeling was North was back, and after the break so too would be Wayne Carey.
It didn�t turn out quite as expected though and North hit another patch of poor form, maybe the players relaxed a bit thinking Carey would come in and dominate, but there was certainly a fall away in attitude. North went down in the mud to Sydney in the Grand Final replay and them were thrashed by St Kilda at Waverly. Carey wasn�t performing his shoulder was obviously not right, he couldn�t lift his shoulder about head high and couldn�t take pack marks like he used too. North suffered a third straight loss when they went down to Geelong under lights at the G. North got a big lead early but the Cats came back and snatched the game. North were now 7-8 and a top four place looked out of the question.
North again turned the corner winning four games in a row against Melbourne, Carlton, Essendon and Brisbane. Wayne Carey was beginning to return to form in the back line while players such as David King and Peter Bell we�re staring. North Melbourne were on a roll and everyone was tipping that North wouldn�t lose another game for the year and could still finish second. This hope ended the next week however when North went down to Richmond by one point. It was a great game, North should of had it in the bag but wasted many opportunities. With the eight as close as it was this lose put North in a position of struggling to stay in the finals rather than going for a top two finish. North thrashed Hawthorn in the rain the following week but went down in a shock loss to Collingwood the week after to finish the season in 12-10 in 7th position.
North drew Geelong in its first final, the game was one of the best for North supporters to watch. Carey was back, he pulled apart Geelong single handily kicking 7 goals and having a hand in many more. The King was back and North was once again Premiership Favourite. The mood amongst North supporters had changed, a lot expected to be eliminated by Geelong but the performance of Carey left North fans believing for the first time in ages that North could win back-to-back flags. The win however was soured at the tribunal, Glen Archer got two weeks for tripping and Wayne Schwass was given 4 weeks for stomping. North had suddenly been robed of two of its star players. North drew the Eagles in their Semi final. They struggled for a half before Corey McKernan inspired a great come from behind win. The Kangas however fell at the second last herdle for the third time in four years when they lost to St Kilda in the Preliminary final. North was delt a crual hand, Archer and Schwass couldnt play, McKernan went off early, Longmire, Anderson and Freeborn were also injured. It had been a long year and a hard finals campaign. In the end North didnt have enough troops left to fight the battle.
| Name | Votes |
| Pike, Martin | 13 |
| Bell, Peter | 13 |
| King, David | 12 |
| McKernan, Corey | 12 |
| Stevens, Anthony | 9 |
| Allison, Brett | 7 |
| Archer, Glen | 6 |
| Scott, Robert | 5 |
| Rock, Anthony | 5 |
| Sholl, Craig | 5 |
| Name | Votes |
| King, David | 12 |
| McKernan, Corey | 10 |
| Wayne Schwass | 8 |
| Pike, Martin | 7 |
| Stevens, Anthony | 7 |
| Archer, Glen | 4 |
| Roberts, Mark | 3 |
| Longmire, John | 3 |
| Scott, Robert | 3 |
| Wayne Carey | 3 |
The best players for North this year were Martin Pike, Peter Bell, Anthony Stevens, Corey McKernan and David King. Pike I have already talked about has been a great player for us. Peter Bell took on a new roll of an on baller rather then a goal sneak. He reveled in his new position and became one of North�s star players and one of our most consistent midfielders. Anthony Stevens had another great year, and so too did Corey McKernan despite all his injury worries and the extra responsibilities he has had without Cappa. David King was our only representative in the All-Australian team and also played for Victoria. The return of John Longmire was also a bonus.
Wayne Schwass had a bad year, he missed the preseason and the first few rounds because of suspension and he never really got back into top gear. He was dumped to the reserves mid year for one game to try and snap him out of it and although he improved he wasnt at his normal match winning best. Wayne Carey was a big loss, he did come back but in the end he only played one really good game for the whole year, the Qualifying final against Geelong. Some North players form fell away a bit this year Glen Freeborn , Stuart Anderson and Adam Simpson all had disappointing seasons this year. They spent periods in the reserves and strugled to match the form they displayed last season. Darren Crocker again missed most of the year though injury and Dean Laidley strugled to make the senior side and finished the season in the reserves.
What did you think of 1997?? Where did we go wrong, what did we do right?? Who do you think was Norths best player? Email me at [email protected] and give me your view.
Heres one Fans view.
We didn't go wrong. Pagan went wrong. To improve in 1998, Pagan needs to get back to basics. Longmire - full forward, Carey - centre half
forward. Back these two players up with the calibre of McKernan, Sholl,Bell, Allison & Roberts/Crocker up forward, and we might be able to start kicking winning scores again, like in 96. He needs to keep the backline as stable as possible. Pick the match ups early and give the guys a chance to oppose their opposite, one on one. There wouldn't be many forwards around who will beat the likes of Martyn, Archer, Pike & King more often than not in one on one contests. Give them the chance to hold down their position, and play it to the best of their ability. The poor guys wouldn't know if they're coming or going half of the time. My last point is Why in the hell did we chase Jason McArtney? He has done XXXX in many years of AFL. He was nothing but a joke at Collingwood and even worse at the Crows. Many in the know say that if it wasn't for his father, he would never of played AFL football. If we are going to get the best out of him, keep his father's influence to a minimum.Thank you for giving me my say
Edgey...
NORTH MELBOURNES 1997 DRAW
