John Longmire and Alastair Clarkson played 293 games between them for the Kangaroos and became friends during their time at the club. The unlikely pairing started in one of the most infamous games in AFL history.
"They met on the plane on the way to London - to play in the Battle of Britain," former North recruiter Greg Miller told The Age's Peter Hanlon.
It was Clarkson who indirectly provided Longmire with his first look at some full-on football. With the current Hawthorn coach in the middle of the fracas, Longmire was caught in the middle in his very first match in a North Melbourne jumper.
"They run out there and Johnny's got a look at Al in full flight, and he's wondering, 'What the hell's this AFL footy about?" Miller laughed.
Despite Clarkson and Longmire having very different personas, they have maintained their friendship for more than two decades even if no-one expected Longmire to end up as a coach.
Premiership coach Denis Pagan said Longmire was "very serious, very driven, a genuine person who you could trust with your life...I didn't necessarily see him as a tormented soul."
Miller's thought process was along the same lines, evidenced by a conversation he had with Longmire when he was near the end of the road.
When Longmire asked Miller whether his future was in football or administration, Miller responded with 'Administration buddy, you'll be far better at that. Coaching's a cut-throat game, you won't last five minutes.'
On the other hand, Ron Joseph captured the sentiments of many describing Clarkson when he said, "With Alastair, you could always tell he was going to make a career out of football."
Speaking on SEN with Mark Fine, current North assistant coach Brett Allison said if he had to pick between the two during their playing days, Clarkson would have been the choice to become a coach.
"I would have thought 'Horse' would have been back out on the farm in Corowa by now"
The North Melbourne connection doesn't end with the two head coaches. Leigh Tudor and John Blakey are assistants at Sydney, while former captain Adam Simpson is in his third year as the midfield coach at Hawthorn.
