In the lead-up to the 2014 National Draft to be held on November 27, NMFC.com.au delves into the archives to feature some of the club’s more memorable selections.
It’s only fitting we start off with a club champion, Anthony Stevens.
The year is 1988, and the VFL is holding just its third draft, consisting of a Pre-Season and National Draft.
Threadbare recruiting departments made the draft somewhat of a lottery in its early days.
In 1986, Martin Leslie (selected by Brisbane with pick 1) decided to serve out a remaining two year contract with SANFL side Port Adelaide before joining the Bears, while Steven Sims (selected by St Kilda with pick 2) opted to stay in South Australia rather than join his new club.
Overall, four of the top ten selections never played a VFL game. How times have changed.
By ’88, country zoning had been removed and the chance to pick any player from any club was near.
Hawthorn had claimed the prized first pick, although not as highly sought after as it is in this day and age, after trading Paul Harding, Peter Russo and Robert Handley to St Kilda.
Alex McDonald was taken first (107 games at three clubs), Todd Breman (48 games for West Coast and Richmond) next, and Carl Dilena, a name familiar to North supporters as the club’s current CEO, pick 3 to Fitzroy.
With pick 4 North selected John McNamara from Port Fairy. A key-forward, he was drafted at just 16. After stints at Arden Street, then Geelong and Essendon, his career was over, without a senior game to his name.
“I was too big for my boots; I was getting ahead of myself,” he was to say years later.
It wasn’t a surprise back in those days though. Only eight of the first 17 picks managed 50 games, Leon Cameron (256 games) and Chris Naish (161 games) the clear stand-outs.
At selection 18, a 17-year-old from Shepparton arrived at Arden Street – his name, Anthony Stevens.
The rest is history.
Donning the number 58 guernsey in his first season, Stevens finished with 17 possessions and a game-high five tackles on debut in Round 19 of 1989.
Against Collingwood, in front of just over 21,000 fans at Waverley Park, he quickly set the tone for his career.
By 1991 he was handed the number 10 guernsey. By 1996 he had his first premiership, and by career’s end another flag (1999), two best and fairests (1997, 1999), two seasons as captain (2002, 2003), and an All-Australian guernsey (1998).
Perhaps Stevens’ greatest achievement though - being named as the ruck-rover in North’s Team of the Century.
An inspirational player, he stood up when the going got tough, no more so than playing with a broken ankle in the 1999 Grand Final.
With the 18th pick in 1988, North Melbourne struck gold. Boasting some amazing accolades, it’s fair to say Stevens was one of the few recruiting highlights of that year.
The Kangaroos took eight other players in that National Draft – they combined for 45 games. Stevens played 292.
Among those, Derek Kickett (12 games at North) went on to play a further 140 matches at Essendon and Sydney, while Brad Sholl (2 games at North) lined up 153 times for Geelong.
Stevens wasn’t the only bargain pick in 1988. The Bulldogs landed one of their all-time greats Chris Grant, remarkably at selection 105. Michael Long landed at Essendon with pick 23, Adrian Fletcher at Geelong with pick 20 and Tony Francis at Collingwood with pick 95.
The draft was still very much in the evolutionary stage, but netted North a player who will go down in history as one of its very best.
NMFC selections -1988
| Pick | Player | Recruited from | Games for North |
| 4 | John McNamara | Port Fairy, VIC | 0 |
| 18 | Anthony Stevens | Shepparton, VIC | 292 |
| 32 | Brad Sholl | Horsham, VIC | 2 |
| 46 | Simon McCarthy | Rochester, VIC | 0 |
| 60 | Derek Kickett | Central District, SA | 12 |
| 74 | Steven Hamilton | North Adelaide, SA | 6 |
| 88 | Justin Staritski | Norwood, SA | 25 |
| 92 | Steven Vizy | Queanbeyan, NSW | 0 |
| 102 | Shaun Holloway | Ballarat, VIC | 0 |
North's full draft history
