As a decade concludes there is always a new candidate for the greatest team of all time.
As is the case, the latest team is always the forerunner for the title of being the best.
But while we recall the achievements of the latest team, we forget the accomplishments of the teams from yesteryear.
In the AFL there is always the argument of who is the best team of all time.
But after 120 years of VFL/AFL football how can we possibly have a clear winner in the discussion of the greatest team in history?
How can anyone compare to the modern Richmond team to 'The Machine' that was the Collingwood team that won four flags between 1927-1930 when modern footballers are fully professional athletes who spend their lives focussed on fitness and have facilities that are second to none?
An easier way to determine football's greatest teams is by splitting the VFL and AFL era’s.
This two-part series will look at the teams that dominated the VFL era (1896-1989) and then the AFL era (1990–present). This series will not determine who is the best team in each era, instead, it will reflect on the feats of the teams and provide the reader insight into what these teams achieved in their heyday.
4. North Melbourne 1974-1978
For the first 40 years of their existence in the VFL, North Melbourne failed to win a premiership. Awarded a VFL licence after 29 years of applying, the Kangaroos entered the VFL along with Hawthorn and Footscray in 1925. While Footscray and Hawthorn won their first premierships in 1954 and 1961, North had to wait 50 years to taste success.
The turnaround began when Allen Aylett was appointed president in 1971. A forward thinker, Aylett set his sights on making North the best team in the league.
To do this, Aylett got together numerous powerbrokers to attain the litter of money to entice the best players in the VFL and around Australia.
The VFL had just established the 10-year rule, which allowed players who had served 10 years at a club the chance to move to any team of their choice.
North took advantage of this rule by recruiting Essendon captain, Barry Davis, Geelong superstar Doug Wade, John Rantall (South Melbourne) and Barry Cable (Perth).
The biggest acquisition, however, was the appointment of Ron Barassi as coach. After a year away from the game, Aylett was able to entice Barassi to return to the coaching arena for the 1973 season.
With the likes of Malcolm Blight, David Dench and dual Brownlow medallist Keith Gregg playing alongside the new recruits, North’s fortunes began to turn and the club made the Grand final in Barassi’s second season at the helm.
North was no match for a strong Richmond side in the 1974 Grand Final, but their luck was about to change a year later when they beat Hawthorn by 55-points to win their first premiership.
Hawthorn revenged their Grand Final defeat a year later, but the Kangaroos again tasted premiership success in 1977 against Collingwood.
After the first Grand Final ended as a draw, an easy week of training gave North players enough recovery to run away with victory in the replay.
North would again make the Grand Final in 1978 but were no match for Hawthorn.
North played in five consecutive Grand Finals between 1974 to 1978, winning two and losing three. Had they won one or two more flags their success would be even sweeter. But there is no denying that they were a force during a period when the football landscape was changing.
