Ron Barrassi is the most successful coach in North Melbourne Football Club history.

The North Melbourne Football Club, also known as the Kangaroos, is an Australian Football League club based in North Melbourne, just 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Melbourne metropolitan area. The North Melbourne Football Club was formed in 1869. It was purportedly established to satisfy the needs of local cricketers who were keen to keep themselves fit and healthy over the winter months.[1] They entered the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1925 after 48 years in the Victorian Football Association (VFA).[1]

Wels Eicke became the first coach of the Kangaroos in the 1925 season, he resigned four games into the 1926 season. In terms of tenure, Denis Pagan has coached more games (240) and seasons (10) than any other coach in the club's history.[2] He coached the Kangaroos to two AFL Premierships in the 1996 season and then again in the 1999 season. In terms of successfulness, Ron Barassi has been more successful (65.91% win–loss record) than any other coach in the club's history.[2] There have been 7 coaches in the North Melbourne Football Club's history that have been inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame.[3] There have been eleven captain-coaches in Kangaroos history. First, in 1925, coach Wels Eicke become the first captain-coach in Kangaroos history. He played only 21 games for the Kangaroos and coached 20 of those games.

Key

# Number of coaches[A]
GC Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
D Draws
P Premierships
R Runners Up
W–L % Win–loss percentage
Inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Played as a captain-coach
Both captain-coach and hall of famer.

Statistics are correct to the end of round 22, 2022.

Coaches[edit]

# Name Term Home & Away Finals Overall Awards Ref
GC W L D W–L % GC W L P R GC W L D W–L %
1 Wels Eicke 1925–1926 20 5 15 0 25.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 20 5 15 0 25.00 [4]
2 Stan Thomas 1926 1[B] 0 1 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 1[B] 0 1 0 0.00 [5]
3 Gerry Donnelly 1926 14 0 13 1 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 14 0 13 1 0.00 [6]
4 Syd Barker, Sr. 1927 18 3 15 0 16.67 0 0 0 0 0.00 18 3 15 0 16.67 [7]
5 Charlie Tyson 1928–1929 23 5 18 0 21.74 0 0 0 0 0.00 23 5 18 0 21.74 [8]
6 Paddy Noonan 1929 13 1 12 0 7.69 0 0 0 0 0.00 13 1 12 0 7.69 [9]
7 Johnny Lewis 1930 18 1 17 0 5.56 0 0 0 0 0.00 18 1 17 0 5.56 [10]
8 Norm Clark 1931 10 0 10 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 10 0 10 0 0.00 [11]
9 John Pemberton 1931 8 0 8 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 8 0 8 0 0.00 [12]
10 Dick Taylor 1932–1934 42 14 27 1 34.52 0 0 0 0 0.00 42 14 27 1 34.52 [13]
11 Charlie Cameron 1932 4[C] 1 3 0 25.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 4[C] 1 3 0 25.00 [14]
12 Tom Fitzmaurice 1934–1935 16 0 16 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 8 0 8 0 0.00
13 Paddy Scanlan 1935–1937 46 8 38 0 17.39 0 0 0 0 0.00 46 8 38 0 17.39
14 Keith Forbes 1938–1939 34 11 23 0 32.35 0 0 0 0 0.00 34 11 23 0 32.35
15 Ted Cusack 1939 2[D] 1 1 0 50.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 2[D] 1 1 0 50.00
16 Len Thomas 1940 12 4 8 0 33.33 0 0 0 0 0.00 12 4 8 0 33.33
17 Jim Adamson 1940 6 0 6 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 6 0 6 0 0.00
18 Bob McCaskill 1941–1942 25 8 17 0 32.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 25 8 17 0 32.00
19 Bill Findlay 1942–1943 22 7 14 1 34.09 0 0 0 0 0.00 22 7 14 1 34.09
0 Bob McCaskill 1944–1947 77 35 42 0 45.45 1 0 1 0 0.00 78 35 43 0 44.87
20 Wally Carter 1948–1953 116 61 55 0 52.57 5 2 3 0 40.00 121 63 58 0 52.07
21 Jock McCorkell 1954–1955 37 14 22 1 39.19 1 0 1 0 0.00 38 14 23 1 36.84
22 Charlie Gaudion 1956–1957 36 11 25 0 30.56 0 0 0 0 0.00 36 11 25 0 30.56
0 Wally Carter 1958–1962 92 35 57 1 38.04 2 1 1 0 50.00 94 36 58 0 38.30
23 Alan Killigrew 1963–1966 70 27 42 1 39.29 0 0 0 0 0.00 70 27 42 1 39.29 1965 Golden Fleece Night Premiership winning coach
1966 Golden Fleece Night Premiership winning coach
1966 State Carnival Winning Coach
24 Keith McKenzie 1966–1970 82 23 58 1 28.66 0 0 0 0 0.00 82 23 58 1 28.66
25 Brian Dixon 1971–1972 44 6 37 1 14.77 0 0 0 0 0.00 44 6 37 1 14.77
26 Ron Barassi 1973–1980 198 129 66 3 65.91 23 12 11 2 52.17 221 141 77 5 63.80 1975 Premiership winning coach
1975 National Champions winning coach
1976 McClelland Trophy
1977 Premiership winning coach
1978 McClelland Trophy
1980 Escort Cup winning coach
27 Ray Jordon 1976 1[E] 1 0 0 100.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 1[E] 1 0 0 100.00
28 John Dugdale 1977 1[F] 0 1 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 1[F] 0 1 0 0.00
29 Malcolm Blight 1981 16 6 10 0 37.50 0 0 0 0 0.00 16 6 10 0 37.50
30 Barry Cable 1981–1984 76 40 36 0 52.63 4 1 3 0 25.00 80 41 39 0 51.25 McClelland Trophy 1983
31 John Kennedy, Sr. 1985–1989 113 55 55 3 50.00 3 1 2 0 33.33 116 56 57 3 48.28
32 Wayne Schimmelbusch 1990–1992 66 31 35 0 46.97 0 0 0 0 0.00 66 31 35 0 46.97
33 Denis Pagan 1993–2002 240 150 90 0 62.50 22 14 8 2 63.64 262 164 98 2 62.60 1995 Ansett Cup winning coach
1996 Premiership winning coach
1998 Ansett Cup winning coach
1998 McClelland Trophy
1999 Premiership winning coach
34 Dani Laidley 2003–2009 149 72 75 2 48.99 5 1 4 0 20.00 154 73 79 2 47.40
35 Darren Crocker 2009, 2015, 2016 15 6 8 1 35.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 10 3 6 1 35.00
36 Brad Scott 2010-2019 158 86 72 0 54.67 7 4 3 0 57.14 211 106 105 0 50.25
37 Rhyce Shaw 2019–2020 29 10 19 0 34.48 0 0 0 0 0.00 29 10 19 0 34.48
38 David Noble 2021–2022 38 5 32 1 14.47 0 0 0 0 0.00 38 5 32 1 14.47
39 Leigh Adams 2022[G] 5 1 4 0 20.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 5 1 4 0 20.00
40 Alastair Clarkson 2023 13 3 10 0 23.08 0 0 0 0 0.00 13 3 10 0 23.08
41 Brett Ratten 2023[H] 10 0 10 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 10 0 10 0 0.00

Notes[edit]

  • A A running total of the number of coaches of the Kangaroos. Thus any coach who has two separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
  • B Thomas coach the Kangaroos for a single match in 1926, while a replacement coach was found after the resignation of Wels Eicke.
  • C Cameron coach for four games as Dick Taylor out suspended for four weeks for elbowing opponent.
  • D Cusack coached final two games of season after Keith Forbes out suspended for threatening umpire.
  • E Jordan coached the Kangaroos for a single match in 1976.
  • F Dugdale coached the Kangaroos for a single match in Round 12, 1977.
  • G Adams replaced Noble as caretaker coach for the last six games of the 2022 season.
  • H Ratten coached for 10 games while Clarkson to break for mental health reasons during 2023 season.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "History Overview". Official AFL Site of the Kangaroos. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
  2. ^ a b "North Melbourne VFL/AFL Coaches Win/Loss Records". AFL Tables. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Hall of Fame". Official AFL Site of the Kangaroos. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
  4. ^ "Australian Football Wels Eicke". AustralianFootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Australian Football – Stan Thomas". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Australian Football – Gerry Donnelly". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  7. ^ "Australian Football – Syd Barker". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Australian Football – Charlie Tyson". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Australian Football – Paddy Noonan". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Australian Football – Johnny Lewis". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  11. ^ "Australian Football – Norm Clark". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Australian Football – John Pemberton". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  13. ^ "Australian Football – Dick Taylor". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Australian Football – Charlie Cameron". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
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