Throughout the year, NMFC.com.au has featured classic games, throwbacks to talked-about moments and forgotten great plays.

The man behind the access to some rare but memorable matches, Ange Cristoforo can lay claim to having the biggest collection of North Melbourne games in the country.

"I've got about 2,500 titles - roughly half of which are North games. I've got just about every Kangaroos' game from the late 1970's through to present," he told NMFC.com.au.

In fact, just three games have eluded Cristoforo in his bid for the ultimate collection. They are Round 1, 1982 against Richmond, Round 18, 1989 against Brisbane and Round 22, 1992 against Sydney.

Videos like North's first ever game at Etihad Stadium and a classic WACA shootout against the Eagles came from Cristoforo's personal collection.

It all started very early for the lifelong North fan, way back in the day when the Betamax was still in regular use.

"When Mum brought a video home for the first time I would have been about 10 or 11. I used to play junior football on Saturday and Sunday mornings and then in the afternoon we'd set the tape and watch them later on down the track.

"My grandparents taped games because my grandfather worked night-shifts. He'd record the games, wake up and watch them. Then I would come along and watch them myself.

"My grandmother never got rid of the tapes. So when I was on school holidays or sick I would go over there and constantly watch the tapes. When they passed away I took possession of the tapes and I still have them now."

As the VHS took over as the preferred recording method, it would have far-reaching consequences, even to this day.

"The toughest games to obtain from the home and away seasons were from the early 80's," Cristoforo explained.

"Back then they (Channel 7) only broadcast two games a round. Anything between 1980 and 1985 (is tough to obtain) because it was the Beta/VHS crossover and the games were so hard to get.

"For starters, you had to find someone who had recorded the game. People with Beta's were told, 'it's the end of Beta, they're useless so throw them out.'

Despite North hovering around finals contention for much of the first half of the 1980's, powerhouses like Essendon and Hawthorn would take the majority of the broadcast time.

This point is where Cristoforo's collection of non-North Melbourne games helps; trading comes in to play.

"There's a group Australia-wide of about 20 people. It's a solid group that collects other teams than their own as well. There's no exchange of money - it's just a swap of footage for footage, hour for hour.

"So hypothetically if I give a Hawthorn supporter a game he's after, he'll be able to give me a North game that I wouldn't have had until then."

With such an extensive collection, Cristoforo has also been able to help past players out with their requests.

"Kym Hodgeman, best and fairest winner for North, contacted me for vision to show his daughters. He was in the position of telling them that he played football and his kids didn't believe him. I put together about a dozen games that he played well in and gave him some vision he could show his family.

"Mark Arceri also actually helped me. He had every North game from the 1986 season, coming from a former company named ProFootball.

"It turned out he won an award during the year and his prize was every North game from the season. Unfortunately he wanted the tapes back when I was done with them!"

The oldest game in his collection is the 1949 preliminary final, a silent film which was North Melbourne's first ever appearance that deep in a finals series. He also boasts the 1950 Grand Final, which is a narrated Waterford Production.

Cristoforo has also been a statistician at the club for the last decade.

NMFC.com.au will be featuring historic games during the week starting December 16. Stay tuned for videos on the website and on the club's official YouTube channel.