The North Melbourne Kangaroos' newest recruits have been allocated their guernsey numbers. Here's who'll be wearing what next season, as they write their own chapters in the jumpers' storied histories. 

Jason Horne-Francis - 6

Number one draft pick Horne-Francis will wear the number six, having been presented his jumper by North legend and fellow South Australian Malcolm Blight on draft night.

One of just two numbers to be worn in all four of the club’s premierships, the No.6 was worn by Arnold Briedis for the 1975 flag and again in 1977, when he kicked five goals in the Grand Final replay.

Club icon Ian Fairley played 211 of his 216 games with the six on his back, including the 1996 grand final, while Shannon Grant won the 1999 Norm Smith wearing it following Fairley’s retirement.

Hugh Greenwood - 18

After arriving late to the club in the free agency period, new recruit Greenwood will wear the number 18 jumper, made most famous by Wayne Carey in the 1990s. Arguably the greatest player of all time, Carey won two premierships, both as captain, wearing the number 18, and kicked all of his 671 goals wearing it, despite playing his first four career games wearing the number 40. He would end his career as North’s all-time leading goal kicker and a member of the club’s team of the century.

Shaun Atley most recently wore the jumper, having worn it for the entirety of his 234-game North career, while Paul Feltham was the number’s guardian for the 1975 premiership.

Callum Coleman-Jones - 21

Ruck/forward prospect Coleman-Jones will don the number 21 at North, and will be hoping to build on the legacy the likes of John Byrne has left before him. A member of the 1977 premiership side, Byrne played 98 games for North Melbourne over seven years, and was threatening to become one of the all-time great half-back flankers before injuries cut his career short at the age of 26.

Corey Jones wore the number over his Kangaroos career, kicking 216 goals from 157 games, finishing 2007 as the club’s leading goalkicker with 47 goals.

Paul Curtis - 25

Curtis will carry on the legacy of the number 25, most recently vacated by the outgoing Robbie Tarrant. The 2016 Syd Barker Medalist, Tarrant played 174 games in royal blue and white, primarily as a defender after initially being drafted as a forward.

After starting his career wearing the number 49, Xavier Tanner donned the number 25 in time to play a key role in the 1977 premiership, and went on to play exactly 100 games for the club.

Luke McDonald’s father Donald McDonald also wore the number for most of his North career, wearing it for 147 of his 155 games, including the 1984 season where he finished as the club’s leading goal kicker.

Miller Bergman - 27

Boyhood North fan Bergman is taking on one of North's most historic numbers. Voted as the second best player in club history as part of the club’s 150 year celebrations, Keith Greig won back to back Brownlow Medals in No.27 in 1973 and 1974, before winning the only premiership of his career in 1975. Missing the 1977 triumph through injury, Greig reinvented himself as a half-back flanker to win the 1980 Syd Barker Medal and All-Australian selection in 1983.

Laurie Dwyer would win two Syd Barker Medals wearing the 27 in his 201 game career, earning the award in 1961 and 1967, the same years he finished as runner-up in the Brownlow Medal. Dwyer and Greig have both been inducted as legends of the club, also taking their places on either wing in the club’s team of the century.

Darren Crocker has been one of North Melbourne's greatest servants, playing the bulk of his career - including the 1996 premiership where he kicked three goals - in the number 27. He went on to become the senior assistant coach in the AFL program before taking charge of the club’s AFLW program ahead of the 2021 season.

Josh Goater - 31

Wearing the jumper made most famous by a pair of North talls, Goater will be hoping to place his name amongst two literal giants of the game.

Corey McKernan made his name as one of the greatest rucks of all-time in the North Melbourne side of the 1990s, winning two premierships in his time at the club, before returning for one final season in the number 5 after a stint at Carlton.

David Hale emerged as a genuine ruck forward wearing 31 at North in the 2000s, playing 129 games for the club as he filled the void left by the retiring McKernan.

Jackson Archer - 34

While his father, Glenn, is a huge part of why the number 11 is so highly regarded at North Melbourne, Jackson Archer will be looking to forge his own path in 34, a number synonymous with North’s defenders. 

Ross Henshaw and David King wore it in all four premierships between them, while Jamie MacMillan played 167 games wearing it over the course of the 2010’s.

Henshaw also played 167 games for the club, and while he was a mainstay of the side over one of the most successful eras in club history, winning two premierships, he held the record of most games played without polling a Brownlow vote until St Kilda’s Jason Blake broke the record in 2010.

King forged his reputation as a fearsome and versatile player, kicking 145 goals in 241 games before finishing his career playing out of the backline.

North Melbourne Kangaroos 2022 jumper numbers

1 Jack Mahony
2 Jaidyn Stephenson
3 Jed Anderson
4 Aidan Corr
5 Curtis Taylor
6 Jason Horne-Francis
7 Jack Ziebell
8 Bailey Scott
9 Luke Davies-Uniacke
10 Ben Cunnington
11 Luke McDonald
12 Jy Simpkin
13 Jared Polec
15 Atu Bosenavulagi
16 Aiden Bonar
17 Lachie Young
18 Hugh Greenwood
19 Josh Walker
20 Nick Larkey
21 Callum Coleman-Jones
22 Todd Goldstein
23 Ben McKay
24 Tom Powell
25 Paul Curtis
26 Tarryn Thomas
27 Miller Bergman
28 Kayne Turner
29 Will Phillips
30 Charlie Comben
31 Josh Goater
32 Jacob Edwards
33 Patrick Walker
34 Jackson Archer
35 Charlie Lazzaro
36 Phoenix Spicer
37 Kyron Hayden
38 Tristan Xerri
39 Flynn Perez
40 Eddie Ford
41 Matt McGuinness
43 Aaron Hall
44 Cameron Zurhaar