just you wait and see.
Even an amateur AFL fan can sing you the first verse of the North Melbourne theme song. A fresh face, dazed eyed debutant might even know the second stanza. As gatorade is being poured all over them (as per tradition) they sneak back into the winners circle to belt out “hearts to hearts and hands to hands, beneath the blue and white we stand”.
But it is the diehards and Kane Garner’s of the world who know the alternative ending. Whilst it is agreeable that “North Melbourne is the team that plays to win for you and me” is a very respectable stance to take, in another version of the theme song there is a better opportunity left on the table.
A dream one might say. An incredibly tantalizing one. Never did it seem so far away from this dream, when the North fans took a collective intake of breath watching Jenna Bruton being carried off the field in the 2023 AFLW Grand Final at Ikon Park. The silence was audible and though we couldn’t know for sure in the moment, the preliminary final hero wobbled her way to the bench putting a line through a key midfield rotation. Was this the reason we lost? Did we run out of gas tickets? Did we not take our opportunities? Had the luck run out? Do you need to lose one to win one?
All worthy questions but I fear I have pressed the fast forward button and to understand the answers we have to use The Kate Shierlaw Time Machine to slingshot us all the way back to 2009.
Long Before AFLW Came To Be..
There was this little old league called the Victorian Women’s Football League. Credited with career origins of footy royalty, the likes of Debbie Lee, Daisy Pearce, Chloe Molloy and Jasmine Garner used to run around small, muddy suburban football ovals. They would travel all the way from Peanut Farm Reserve (yes, that is the real name) in St Kilda, to the rolling hills of War Memorial Park in Diamond Creek and back again to the inner city skyscrapers surrounding Melbourne University. Clambering up and down highways on a Sunday afternoon to play the sport they loved so dearly.
North Melbourne seized on the geographical opportunity to work alongside the Melbourne University Women’s Football Club. Colloquially known as ‘The Mugars’. A team so brave, pure and honest in its approach to winning it decided to turn its own acronym into a catch cry of sort - Mug em’. The Shinboners and The Mugars. The beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Now, who better to represent this team ethos than a young Emma Kearney? The girl born and bred in Hamilton, was renown throughout the VWFL for being the captain and the face of the Mugars. Ruthless and uncompromising. A good sledger too. The list was stacked too. With Ellie Blackburn, Monique Conti, Maddi Presparkis, Kaitlin Ashmore and Alicia Eva to name a few.
Working diligently behind the scenes, Laura Kane a former Mugar herself, the Melbourne University Women’s and North Melbourne Football clubs worked in tandem, sharing resources and training facilities. It is important to note here a couple of key sets of facts. Kane herself was knocked back from joining a women’s team in high school for lack of competition. Kane, president of the MUWFC in 2014, approached Sonja Hood to join the operations team at North Melbourne with the aim to unite the two in a more holistic way.
Kane spent from 2017 to 2019 putting together the application to grant the licence for the North Melbourne Women’s Football team. During that time, for unknown reasons that still frustrate the author, the club was knocked back from becoming an inaugural AFLW team. While the author is still having some opinions, it is worth adding that whilst this statement may seem like hyperbole to the audience it is indeed true. That North Melbourne Tasmania Women’s Football team does not exist without the incredible hard work and persistence of Laura Kane. We are indebted to her.
It’s Not So Much That They Poached Them, as Much as They Just Came Home.
When Scott Gowan’s announced the jaw dropping signings of premiership winning captain, Emma Kearney and Brisbane’s classy winger Kaitlin Ashmore few made the very clear connection. Scott was not going through the backyard laundry, the players were simply coming home. “It was quite an easy decision and I feel like Arden St is sort of my home and I’m really excited to be here,” Kearney was quoted at the time of signing. A home they had known since their formative years of playing football. It made sense.
Then, Scott did the unthinkable. He pillaged and plundered his way through lists. Using his former assistant coaching role at Carlton women’s to snare Hardiman and Gillespie-Jones. Having coffee and croissants at Auction Rooms on Errol Street to persuade the Collingwood forwards Jasmine Garner and Jess Duffin. Then adding just some small name players you might not have heard before -Jenna Bruton, Emma King and Tahlia Randall too boot.
Scott was ruthless. Like Kane, he was on a mission. Perhaps these are the origins of the popular murmurs and rumours that suggested North used fancy Mazda cars to persuade its star signings. None of these have been proven to be true, so Libby Birch who is now wearing the blue and white stripes - you might have to walk that one back.
Alas, with full steam ahead and knowing he was about to draft All-Australian Ash Ridell in a year's time, Gowan’s short and quick plan to win an flag for Arden Street came to a screeching halt when a little thing called the global pandemic entered the field of play.
Whilst we can never know the true result of that season, sitting on top of the conference table with five wins and a great percentage, Gowan’s and fellow North supporters can only project what would have happened in 2020. The bitterness may never go away until we reach the promised land.
Cruel to be Kind
If you, like me, sat in the scorching sun at Victoria Park and watched Collingwood run over the top of North in the last quarter of the qualifying final despite being two goals up at three quarter time, then welcome to this small therapy session. It was brutal. The author does not want to admit the amount of tears shed but will leave you to fill in the gaps.
For context, it is 2021. Three years into the three year plan. Things needed to change and this time, the coach could not axed. His head guillotined the previous year. For reasons that are still a little murky to the general public. Out with the old and in with the new. Darren Crocker slid into the driver's seat and to borrow some famous quotes centred around Leon Cameron during his time at the Giants. Now, he invariably was “driving a Ferrari”. Perhaps one that was on the wrong type of gas though.
The exit door at Arden street was shown to a few. Some big names too. Crocker and the list management team had their hands full. It should be noted here that coaching at the elite level is like the marines - ‘The Few. The Proud’
They cut the excess. Much like Kangaroo Court, it was Kearney Law. The failure to meet the club's values and training standards would not be accepted. Over this period, many heads were left scratching as they watched the likes of Bateman, Ashmore and Abbatangelo who were dual leading goal kickers for the club mind you, were shown the door.
As the saying goes, with one door closing on a player's time at the club, the draft itself creates many more.
A Diamond in the Rough
Ash many things. An overlooked player in two drafts. A former Diamond Creek reserves player - only momentarily though. A rough as guts player, a primary school teacher local to where she grew up, a three times All-Australian and a North Melbourne Best and Fairest. Some could even say, a diamond in the rough.
She is a resounding reminder to any recruiter worth their salt, that you need to look beyond the stats and see the athlete for the greater contributor they can be to a club.
Riddell fits North like a glove to a hand. Like a white stripe to a blue stripe. Like the Roo Shop to my credit card. Some destinies are written in the stars and the star combination of Jasmine Garner and Ash Riddell in that midfield has left opposition in shock and awe. So much so, one could suggest they steal votes off each other and they may never be acknowledged with the top individual award in the game purely to each other's brilliance.
The Kids are Alright
Of course, it takes teamwork to make the dream work. Hence, the draft. You take the strong nucleus of Kearney, Garner, Bruton, Riddell, Emma King, Randall and you build a team around them. A team that can win a flag.
What we didn’t know then that we know now, was that North Melbourne Women’s are seriously good at drafting. Seriously good.
Sarah Wright, Jasmine Ferguson and Nicole Bresnehan make up the current backline with the stingiest defensive unit in the history of AFLW. Drafted at #32, pick #51 and #63 respectfully, you have to wonder how clubs let these athletes slide so far down.
A reason why I will always fight people (mostly on Twitter) about our Tasmanian partnership comes down to one name and one name only. Mia King. Sorry, Flash but you already get to be in the best backline ever.
It’s hard to believe how a player with so much value can still be that underrated. If not for our Tasmanian academies, there is absolutely no way that this inside midfielder slides to pick #49. She is a bargain. Her tackle pressure and work rate is second to none.
If you like science, my next metaphor will be enjoyable. It is by pure osmosis that this team sits undefeated on top of the ladder. The club has added a youth layer to the nucleus of stars. Headlining the act is the dashing wing contingent of Taylah Gatt, Amy Smith and Tess Craven. Who has been shifted down back seamlessly into the boots of Kearney’s run and carry role. So much so, a genuine question has been asked - how does the skipper get back in the starting line up? Such is the quality of kids coming through the ranks, Ruby Tripodi is rubbing shoulders each week and holding her own with the likes of Garner, Riddell and King. The club is slowly increasing her midfield minutes, understanding the best type of development comes through training and playing with the absolute best.
Alice O’Loughlin and Bella Eddey have elevated their games this season, proving why they were snapped up so early in their 2020 draft class . Classy one touch players with great goal sense, their stats sheets can be deceiving. They are the types of players that are more interested in applying pressure in tackling or goal assisting than playing for tricks. Although, tricks they do have. A whole bag of them, ready to be called upon when Randall and Shierlaw crash packs to bring the ball to ground. That’s where they spin their magic.
If you put a potato in water it swells up over time. If you put the joey’s in with kangaroos your going to get a very talented group of young athletes vying for the ultimate success.
The Four Leaf Clover
As a North supporter, there are some key ingredients you need to have to support the club. Hope that despite all the red time goals or massive deficits at three quarter time, the team will prevail . Faith - because you need something to cling onto when watching a 4.40pm game at Marvel Stadium. Love - an undying and unconditional love that sees you behave irrationally all weekend long based on an arbitrary team kicking a ball through sticks. The last is the rarest of them all. Above all you need… Vikki Wall. You need Erika O’Shea. You need Niamh Martin, and you temporarily needed Aileen Gilroy. The four leaf clover. The good luck you need to win a flag.
The Irish have brought so much to this country; religion, art, literature and Ned Kelly to name a few. None so important than the group of Gaelic women who have graced us on these shores with some of the greatest run down tackles the AFLW has ever seen.
A combative group that doesn't shy away from the contest. O’Shea has put together her natural pace and her ability to break lines in to become a league best damaging half back. Not only can’t they catch her, they’ll most likely confuse her for her twin in Taylah Gatt.
Martin has gone from strength to strength, fairly new to the game she has proved to be a quick learner. Working in tandem with the small forwards, she is agile and shows promising signs of being able to place herself in good positions to win the ball.
Cult hero ‘Brikki Wall’ may be the missing piece to this potential premiership winning team. This is the personal belief of the author. The internationally recognised rugby star came back to Arden Street this year and has already created a revered video that is a compilation of her best tackles in 2024 yet.
It remains to be seen how this season plans to unfold but it’s always good to have the luck of the Irish on your side, literally and metaphorically speaking.
Finals, Fortunes and Beating the Big Three
It is one thing to sit in the top four of the ladder and another to belong there. Knowing that your brand and style are equal to those around you.
For a long time, since inauguration to the 2023 finals series North Melbourne Women’s sat with this burning question - is our best, good enough to beat the best? In short, the answer to this was a resounding no. On the basis that they had not beaten Brisbane Lions, Adelaide Crows and cross town rivals Melbourne Demons.
This very quickly flipped in the space of four weeks. November 12th that year goes down in folklore in the very short but robust history of the women’s club. It’s the one where we not only destroy the Dees but we take the last remnants of their slow beating heart and stomp on it.
If this is coming off too graphic, you’ll have to forgive me. It’s only that I have watched that club pip us at every post possible known to man so it feels emphatically good to be on the winning side.
The ruthless roos took the culmination of the best part of five years of imposter syndrome and blew the opposition off the park. Kate Hore’s Demon’s were genuinely lucky to even score. It felt like when the younger sibling finally swings back and boy does she connect.
Garner was sublime, as were the old guard in Kearney, Riddell and Randall. Tahlia kicked three herself. It was the way in which the team combined. From Wright down back, to Lulu Pullar widening the wings, Bella Eddey feeding the handball chains and looping them over to O’Loughlin. The drought was broken. In its place, a tidal wave of both joy and relief. The club recorded a season high with 100 tackles laid and cemented itself as a real contender.
Next on the hit list. Adelaide, in a preliminary final. It came down to the wire, it was only when Emma King laid a brutal tackle on Sarah Allen in the forward fifty that you could feel the weight lift off North fans. Even now, rewatching the last two minutes knowing full well the result is incredibly difficult. There is no champion data for belief and therefore it’s a powerful force that can’t be measured. It’s something that every North player out there had in spades. I’ll still tell anyone that listens about Jenna Bruton’s third quarter heroics of 13 disposals and four inside 50s. An icon of Ikon Park.
Beating Brisbane came later than we thought. It was not meant to be in the Grand Final. A devastating burning ache sat in the pits of their stomachs all summer long. Driving a long and excruciating pre-season. To come so close to having a hand on the cup at three quarter time and then not to kick a single point in the last term. That pain doesn’t go away. So you either let it eat you or use it.
Use it, they did. The most impressive win against the Big Three came round one, 2024 up in enemy territory. Despite the sweltering heat, North took last year's loss quite personally and they let their football do the talking. If you ever need to be cheered up, I highly recommend finding the six goal third term on YouTube. Starts with a classic Garner goal and ends with Vikki Wall special.
Due to this belief, energy and (because I am a millennial I will use the word) vibes, this current outfit has gone undefeated for season 2024. Albeit a scare in round two resulting in a draw to Geelong. It’s a testament to the greater community too, the North Melbourne team and staff behind the players.
Old Heads and New Hearts
It is both a mystery and a blessing that Kate Shierlaw found her way to Arden Street. Whoever is silly enough to delist a star key forward should spend an eternity in football purgatory licking their wounds and watching Sheirlaw’s famous mark and goal in the 2023 Grand Final - on loop.
Their loss is our gain. Has there ever been a more impactful veteran in the AFLW? Shierlaw has the benefits of a half forward connecting the transition play from defensive fifty and also the strength and craft of a mature key forward who is able to use her body to out muscle and find space that leads to score involvements. Her leadership in directing the young small forwards brigade is invaluable. Shierlaw expresses pure gratitude for the game, which is driven from her time at the Mugars, opportunities at two previous clubs to now mentoring young full time athletes. She really is, the whole package.
Good things do come in small and tall packages at Arden Street. So it would be remiss of me not to mention the rucks in Kim Rennie and Emma King. A towering duo that combines to share the duties around the ground, palming off silver service to the likes of Riddell, Garner and King bursting forward. North stocks are already stacked to the brim with talent. That King can go forward and clunk goals whilst Rennie can roleplay as a fourth midfielder at times, only serves to remind opposition teams just how versatile this list is.
A list so enviable, arch nemesis Libby Birch thought worthy of jumping ship. Birch, an ardent defender, has spent her career both at the Western Bulldogs (with captain Kearney) and cross-town rivals, Melbourne Demons. North fans were perplexed and varied in their responses to this trade news. As per usual, the skipper knows best. Birch has slotted into the North backline so well it’s hard to believe she isn’t an inaugural player for the club.
Birch’s hard work and persistence on the training track caught the attention of her fellow backline players. Sarah Wright stating that in a podcast with Hashtag Kangaroos that “[Birch’s] continual want to get better and improve as a player has lifted the defensive unit to new heights this season”. Birch and Shierlaw are only 26 and 35 years old respectively, however their older football heads and renewed spirit for the game have been priceless pieces of the jigsaw in building towards a North flag.
We are Simply Running out of Superlatives…
Are there any adjectives left in the thesaurus to describe Jasmine Garner? If so, please send a direct email to the author. It’s hard to say who has a bigger presence at the North Melbourne Football Club. Jasmine or Kane Garner?
We certainly know who has the loudest voice. Kane’s booming “Kanga, Kanga, Kanga” is a regular feature to any Arden Street home match or away game for that matter. Not only does he fulfil the boots of number one fan, he seemingly does it all. From waterboy, club photographer and official hype man, similar to his sister, it begs the question: is there anything he can’t do?
We are forever indebted to the Garner family and I include Jenna Bruton in this group. The sheer delight football fans get from watching Jammin’ roll around the ground, with class and composure as Kane sings her praises is an unmatchable pure high. A tight knit trio, often featuring in each other's social media stories and photos, they serve as a beautiful reminder of how important community is. That sport is a better off place for this sense of deepened belonging.
Garner may well play her entire career without the top nod of an illusive AFLW Best and Fairest award. Which would be a personal tragedy to this author and the larger North Melbourne fanbase. But if her media interviews are anything to go by, she cares not.
A team player through and through. She holds herself in rare grace, leading from the front. Honoured with captaining the club for the first time this year, she has taken her game to the next level. Garner is a contested ball beast, winning her own ball and with an above league average of 14.3 per game. The second string to her bow is her ability to stop the time and space continuum. Despite recording her lowest time on ground for North, Garner averages 1.1 goals this 2024 season and sits at 4.6 for score involvements.
The Legacy
The fairytale ending is this. North Melbourne win their inaugural premiership trophy. Ikon park is splattered in the famous blue and white from the confetti cans. Kearney lifts up the cup with Crocker. Britt Gibson, Jessica Trend, Grace Campbell and Ellie Gavalas are smiling in the crowd. The players stream to the stage, bouncing with joy. The fans erupt in more cheers and continue to sing the song, over and over again. Hugs and tears are plenty. The coveted cup is transported back to the Arden Street rooms in the trusty hands of the premiership winning backline - Wrighty and Ferg. They gather. Hearts to hearts. Hands to hands. Jasmine, Kane and Jenna the formidable trio begin to belt out the lyrics. The players, staff and coaches get to the last line of the song. North Melbourne will be premiers, just you wait and see*
*And even if this dream does not come to be, this has been the most enjoyable season of football to be a part of. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to support this team. Go Roos!
Terrific read!
This is so, so good. A real pleasure to read.