We all know the nicknames ‘Schimma’, ‘Arch’, ‘Stevo’ and ‘Boomer’ - they are all instantly recognisable and belong to some of the true greats of our club. 

But there are some others that are not so famous yet held in as high a regard among those who have long called North their team.

‘Macca’, ‘Skull’ and ‘Aub’ – three club stalwarts more commonly known as Ron McIntosh, Jack Castle and Aubrey Devlyn - each bestowed the honour of Life Membership.

Sadly, we lost Aub last week when he died peacefully at the age of 89. With his passing, the club lost an enduring connection which began in the late 1960’s, when Macca started as an Under 19s trainer, Skull as a senior’s trainer, and Aub as property steward in 1979. 

We lost Macca and Skull in the mid-2000s, but Aub was heavily involved until 2018, aged 87 pumping up the footballs with his trusty pressure gauge that he used with precision. 

There is not one past player or staff member that has been at the club in the past 50-plus years that wouldn’t smile and feel love and warmth when either of these three names were mentioned.

Denis Pagan has always maintained the greatest strength of any organisation is its people, and these three epitomised North as much as anyone.

They were involved when we celebrated our four premierships. Skull tended to players as a trainer in 1975 & 1977 and strapped ankles in 1996 & 1999. Aub, handed out playing gear and sat on the bench in 1996 & 1999. Macca cheered from the boundary and led the club song after the 1996 & 1999 premierships.

When we lost Macca, the club arranged and funded his funeral and held it under a marquee on the Arden Street Oval. It had never been done before, and not since.

When Skull died his urn was carried out to the middle of the ground and passed around to staff and players who were given the honour of sprinkling his ashes over different parts of the oval. 

There are thousands of stories that could be shared about these three, and a lot would involve the social side of being involved with a football club. They would each hold court in the old Northerners room in the old grandstand after training and regale everyone that would join them over a beer or two. 

After the grandstand was deemed a health hazard, the trio decided to move into the old opposition coaches’ room downstairs. This became known as the “Milk Bar” and came with a fridge, pie warmer, kettle, stools and table, and some old photos Skull put up on the walls. To this day, one of my fondest memories is seeing Macca with his trusty old “Gladstone Bag” leaving the old change-rooms and walking to convene with his mates for a beer after training. 

When the grandstand was eventually demolished, they had to find another meeting place. The “Milk Bar” was relocated to a small storeroom at the back of the ground floor of the old social club building. It didn’t take them long to get a posse together to have a “cleaning bee” and remove all the dust and cobwebs and things that had been stored away and long forgotten for more than a decade. 

The players’ room was relocated to the social club as well, which happened to be just near the site of the new “Milk Bar”. The players would pop in often and listen to all the stories and share a laugh.

I have no doubt there would have been so many past players and officials, as well as supporters, that watched the livestream of Aub’s funeral. His family shared wonderful stories of how much the club meant to him, and it was befitting a North jumper and his favourite NMFC cap adorned his coffin. 

As he was being escorted out at the end of the service to his favourite tune, “Join in the Chorus”, you couldn’t help but imagine Macca looking down from above and waving his arms in his familiar way encouraging everyone to sing along for his old mate.

When it’s possible the North family will come together to pay tribute to such a wonderful man, as we did for Macca and Skull.

In this era of full-time professional footy, with so much pressure on high-performance and running these elite facilities, it’s easy to forget people like Aub, Macca and Skull are the ones that make clubs so special; the volunteers that give their all not for money, but just to see the club succeed and prosper. 

I for one will never forget the days when I would walk into the old change-rooms and see Aub, Macca and Skull doing what they loved the most – it’s when I knew all was right with the world.

While these three never donned the royal blue and white stripes in the heat of battle, they had just as much of an impact in moulding the fabric and culture of our club and will forever be known as “true Shinboners”.