The previous year’s premiers were flat for most of 1997, their 12-10 record giving them 7th place after the home and away matches. Their main weapon Carey was injured in round one and didn’t resume until round thirteen, the goals coming from Allison (40) and Scholl (39) instead.
The senior side was harder to break into than a dunny door at a team bonding barbecue, with several players relegated to fewer than a handful of games. Not even the likes of Chris Groom, Stuart Cochrane or Evan Hewett could get much of a look in.
Unusually, one of the players from this list (courtesy of the Football Record) who did take the park at some stage during 1997 isn’t shown in the mugshots. It also appears that the table below does include the prelim final.
Winning finals against West Coast and Geelong got the Roos into the last four, but the Saints had them covered on Prelim Final night.
North rebounded somewhat the following year (at least until half-time in the Grand Final) and many of this list were still for the 1999 flag, their last appearance at the business end of the season.
This list spawned a couple of senior coaches and several current members of the footy media. One in particular was still playing until very recently. But what of the less prominent names, what can you tell us about their time before, during and after 1997?
List Management
AFL Debuts 1997: Evan Hewitt, Byron Pickett, Paul Wynd
Players Kept Under Wraps 1997: Matthew Armstrong, Matthew Capuano, Stuart Cochrane, Adam Hay, Kent Kingsley, Wade Kingsley, Luke McCormack, Sam McFarlane, Cameron Mooney
Never Heard of Him: Adam Hay
Delistings/Retirements end 1997: Matt Armstrong (ret), Dean Laidley (ret), Jason Daniltchenko, Wade Kingsley, Sam McFarlane, Paul Wynd
You can review all of the AFL 1997 lists here
About Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt
Saw my first SANFL game in 1967 - Dogs v Peckers. Have only ever seen the Dogs win 1 final in the flesh (1972 1st Semi) Mediocre forward pocket for the AUFC Blacks (1982-89) Life member - Ormond Netball Club -That's me on the right
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Gee ‘Swish’ them teams/names keep on-a-coming.
Jason Danlitchenko: was he related to Helen Demidenko ?
Kent Kingsley went to Geelong, then Richmond: Wade Kingsley ?
The two men called Matthew, Armstrong and Capuano did not play game betwen them that year. Knees?
Paul Wynd; brother of Scott ? Did he ever play senior game?
How many Stevens were related ?
Glen!
Corey McKernan doing his shoulder in the final against St, Kilda. Was that 1997? I think so.
It was a frustrating year for the Roos.
We used to call Kent Kingsley “Clark”, of course.
Did we play Port at Princes Park that year? I think we did. I have a fond memory of Arch chasing a Port player he’d never catch while yelling obscenities at him. We laughed our heads off. There were so few people at that Princes Park game that you could hear the players calling to each other.
Mark Stevens could’ve been a star, but injuries…
Kent Kingsley a Gawler boy, who went to school with my brother-in-law. There the similarities end.
Mickey Martyn always looked like an extra from a 1950’s film about teamsters.
Thanks Swish.
Played suburban footy with Daniltchenko – he took the greatest mark I’ve seen in a game I was involved in.
Craig Sholl was phenomenal that year as a forward when Carey got injured. Sholl was a bloody good player at North for a long time, at both ends of the ground. North had a hell of a team back then and. A hell of a good coach in Denis Pagan. Great memories
Thanks as always for your responses.
Glen – Wade Kingsley kicked on in the world of FM radio. He and Kent both played at Angaston.
Spot on Jackie – http://australianfootball.com/game/view/11582 13,056 in attendance
Stevens was pretty good for the Crows at either end Mickey
Presumably he wasn’t on your shoulders Litza
Yep Paubai, North was regarded by many as the Team of the Nineties
McKernan did his shoulder in the losing preliminary final v St Kilda.
On occasion, Daniltchenko looked like he might just about be able to do anything, but Pagan didn’t rate him.
Evan Hewitt: talk about a bloke who was built like Tarzan but played like Jane…
Did Kent Kingsley get thrown as steak-knives with Cam Mooney in the Leigh Colbert trade ?
Daniltchenko, yes pagan didn’t rate him. I went to a practice match in about 1994 when north played Sydney and dailtchenko had just knocked the ball back into play , instead of letting it go out, in the back pocket which gifted the swans a goal and in the huddle Pagan said to him in his matter of fact manner, quote,, You just don’t do that son, and quickly moved on to remind others of their need to get possessions