In a week in which the club pays tribute to its 1977 premiership stars, it’s only fitting NMFC.com.au looks back at the amazing impact of the great coach Ron Barassi.
‘The Coach, A Season with Ron Barassi’ was penned by John Powers, who followed Barassi and the North team for the entire 1977 season, which culminated in the club’s second flag.
All the way until game day, we’ll be publishing excerpts from the book.
PART 1: The build-up
After a tough week on the training track and a carnival atmosphere around the club with big training sessions and the Grand Final parade, North's time had arrived.
On Saturday, September 24, Collingwood and North Melbourne played one of the most dramatic football matches of all time.
North Melbourne began the first quarter with a crushing speed and strength that made them look like the all-the-way winners they had been against Richmond and Hawthorn in the preceding weeks. Leading Collingwood 4.4 (28) to 1.5 (11) at quarter-time, they looked headed for certain victory. But in the second quarter they kicked a lamentable six points straight to Collingwood’s 3.3 to leave the ground only two points ahead.
In the dressing-room, Barassi roared and screamed at the ineptness of his men. “You’re all crawling back into your shells the moment you make a mistake!” he bellowed at them. “That’s not the way men with any guts play this game … I’m talking about mental guts … that’s what I’m looking for! … when you make a mistake, you fight back harder next time, you don’t put your heads down!”
In his fury, Barassi grabbed one played and slammed him bodily against the metal lockers, roaring about the player giving away unnecessary free kicks. “That is lack of mental discipline!” he roared into the player’s startled face, “and I will not put up with it!”
Still fuming, Barassi ordered his men into the coach’s room and told them bluntly: “Nobody’s running! … and I won’t hear of it that you’re tired … I will not hear of it! … I want running and attack! …You’ve just got one-half of football left to run your hearts out!”
In the third quarter, North did run, but in the total unpredictability of the glories of the game, they kicked nothing but points – five in the quarter! – while Collingwood, with its army of supporters deliriously in full cry behind them, surged forward to lead by eight points, then 14, and finally at the end of the quarter, by 27 points. The 1977 Grand Final appeared to be over.
But in the remarkable last quarter, Barassi’s coaching genius revealed itself fully…
Keep an eye on NMFC.com.au for more excerpts in the coming days.
The Coach, A Season with Ron Barassi, by John Powers, (Slattery Media Group, 2017). RRP $19.95.
Available from participating bookshops, the North Melbourne Football Club, or books.slatterymedia.com.
