David Dench says the arrival of Ron Barassi at North Melbourne changed ‘the whole attitude of the club’.

Speaking on RSN Racing & Sport on Friday, Dench shared his memories of the club’s first premiership.

"It goes back to ’72 even, the year I was captain. We won one game and we all thought we’d won a premiership,” he said.

"The powers that be weren’t going to accept that; Allen Aylett, Ron Joseph, Albert Mantello and the other guys on the committee started the ball rolling.”

After a year out of coaching, Barassi was lured to Arden Street.

"Barass’ came over in ’73 and the whole attitude of the club changed," Dench revealed.

"He came to the club with that aura about him. He didn’t accept defeat, he wanted success."

PRESS PLAY above to watch the 1975 players talk about Barassi | YouTube

With Barassi’s arrival also came that of Barry Davis (Essendon), Doug Wade (Geelong) and John Rantall (South Melbourne) under the 10-year rule.

"You go back to the influx of those experienced players and it all just started to snowball that we weren’t going to accept it (defeat).

"We hadn’t won a flag and that’s where everyone was heading."

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Dench said he and his teammates respected Barassi enormously.

"What he did when he came into the club was just take us all back to basics like teaching kids to play football for the first time … how to kick properly, how to pick the ball up, how to mark, and then from there it just sort of grew with the experience of the players that came into the club.

"He could tear strips off you, then half an hour later you’d be having a beer with him.

"But the moment he sort of raised his voice or said something, you know he meant business."

North’s first taste of premiership success came in 1975, with Barassi at the helm.

Two years later, Dench held up the premiership cup after the club’s second Grand Final win.

"That whole playing group in the seniors, we were a very, very close club, and that’s what even today is so great about North Melbourne; everyone’s close, they look after you and you’re just one unit."