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 | PART 2: Is it all over?

Trailing by 27 points at the final break, it looked as though North's chances of winning its second flag were all but gone.

But in the remarkable last quarter, Barrassi’s coaching genius revealed itself fully. He had always encouraged his players to take risks - now he took mammoth ones himself. Stripping his backline by throwing Sutton to full-forward and Dench to centre half-forward, and relying on a last desperate appeal to his players to take any risks… anything! … he left them to try to salvage the Premiership.

Sutton goaled almost immediately. Then Baker. Briedis had great chance, but kicked a point. Then Dench stormed through an opening with the ball under his arm, and slammed through North’s third goal in seven minutes. In the crucial seven minutes, North Melbourne had reduced Collingwood’s lead from 27 points to eight points.

Briedis and Dench each kicked a point, and then Baker kicked a goal at the 14-minute mark that levelled the scores.

With the 108,000 people in the stadium suddenly erupting with excitement, and the millions watching on television forgetting about everything else in life, the struggle narrowed to the question of which team could summon the mental and physical energy to mount the final drives to victory and glory.

Collingwood kicked a point, and North replied with a point. At the 22-minute mark, Byrne kicked North to the lead by a point. Then, at the start of time-on, Baker marked and scored what everyone believed must be the winning goal.

Now, as Collingwood mounted desperate counter-attacks, the question redefined itself - could North Melbourne’s defence withstand these desperate Collingwood attacks for the remaining minutes of time on? For the supporters of both teams, the clock had now become the focal point of interest.

And somehow, from somewhere within previously untapped reserves of energy, Collingwood launched the final attacks, broke through North Melbourne’s resistance and got the ball to Peter Moore, who scored a point. Now, with only one straight kick the difference, every yard the ball moved towards either goal became critically important. Exhausted players flung themselves onto the feet of opponents trying to kick the ball forward. It became a battle street-fighting desperation, totally reliant on guts and the heart to compete. Yet finally, North’s defence cracked. Collingwood’s Bill Picken kicked high into the goalsquare and somehow- miraculously it seemed everyone watching- Collingwood’s ‘Twiggy’ Dunne got his hands to the ball in the centre of contesting pack and held the decisive mark.

From point-blank range, Dunne goaled and, for the first time in 15 minutes, the scores were level. And stayed level until the siren. For only the 2nd time in VFL history - the first being between Melbourne and Essendon in 1948- a Grand Final ended in a draw.

With the scoreboard above them reading North Melbourne 9.22 (76) to Collingwood’s 10.16 (76), many of the players of both teams lay prostrate on the MCG turf for a few moments before rising and slumping dejectedly into their dressing-rooms. Nobody - players, spectators or officials- wanted a no-decision result. On Grand Final days, everyone is geared for either total joy or total disappointment. No emotional provision is made to cope with the weird never-never land of draws.

It was onto the following week, and the Grand Final Replay to decide the 1977 premier.

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.