Round 14
North Melbourne v West Coast
4:15pm, Saturday 13th June 2026
Optus Oval, Perth
By Dan Lonergan
In what was a magnificent decade of football in the 1990s with star players everywhere including the great full forwards who kicked 100 goals a season for fun like Jason Dunstall, Tony Lockett and Gary
Ablett Snr, North Melbourne and West Coast were constants in the finals in that decade.
The Roos played in seven consecutive finals campaigns from 1993 until 1999 and then also extended their season in 2000 under the uncompromising style of coach, Denis Pagan. He took over on the eve of the season after favourite son, and one of North’s best ever players Wayne Schimmelbusch, who had been re-signed for 1993, was sacked due to a thumping in a pre season match against Adelaide.
Pagan had a wonderful record with North in the under 19s coaching them to several premierships and then in 1992 presented Essendon with a Reserves flag. When Pagan took over as coach, the Kangaroos were on their knees regarding what lay ahead that season on the field. They were predicted to finish near the bottom, but Pagan, as has been his want and reputation, improved his beloved Kangaroos straight away.
They were fortunate that a young Wayne Carey, soon to become arguably one of the best players of all time, was starting to produce that form and he also had in the senior lineup many of the players Pagan
had coached with loads of success in the under 19s, including one of the game’s toughest and hardest men, Glenn Archer, who won a Norm Smith Medal when they won the 1996 Grand Final. He also had stars Anthony Stevens and Wayne Schwass.
They spent large portions of that season on top with Carey taking his game to a very high level and Archer, Schwass and Stevens playing their roles to perfection. Experienced full back Mick Martyn was water tight, Add two new recruits, also with plenty of footy under their belts, John Blakey from Fitzroy and ex West Coast Defender, Dean (now Danni Laidley).
There was also a quick fix from Adrian McAdam, brother of Gilbert and older brother Greg who kicked a total of 25 goals in three matches, including 2 bags of 8 and one of nine. However, when North started to make their run he faded as the season progressed.
North finished third at the end of the season although their form was starting to falter, and in that terrible final six format, which only existed for three years and that was the last one, they took on reigning premiers, West Coast Eagles.
West Coast under the guidance of Mick Malthouse were the most successful club in the 90s playing finals every season including winning two flags and competing in three grand finals. Despite making the finals in 1993, West Coast were not that impressive and probably were suffering from a premiership hangover, and North were favourites to eliminate them straight away.
However, you can’t buy finals experience, with North in their first finals since 1987 and very few players from that team remaining six years later, were spooked and completely outplayed by the Eagles, who
probably played at their optimum in that game.
That was also one of many one on one battles, which was generally a highlight on it’s own in the matches between these powerhouses in the 90s between Carey and champion West Coast Centre half back Glenn Jakovich. Those tussles were legendary and if my memory serves me right, Jakovich might have just shaded Carey. When you add up all their one on one encounters, whoever won that contest played a significant role in their side winning.
The game sadly does not really have those sort of one-on-one box office duels today, with players often rotating on different opponents when playing in the back line along with the forwards. Also, these players depending on the state of the game with their height, strength and aerial prowess, that both Carey and Jakovich possessed, might go back to save the game or forward to win it.
At the height of these two players’ brilliant careers, they would play in the same positions unless one would dominate the other, which never happened. They were ding dong clashes and worth the price of attendance to solely watch them.
When we hit the 21st century, both teams played in finals, West Coast regularly from 2002 until 2007 and then six years consecutively under, ironically a North Melbourne star player from their golden 90s
era, Adam Simpson.
North had some intermittent finals appearances but were not as successful as the Eagles, who played in another four grand finals and won two flags. North appeared in three preliminary finals and lost them all and many would say they overachieved with the talent they had, which with all due respect, was inferior to those mighty 90s combinations.
After 2016, North’s last finals campaign which they limped into and were belted by Adelaide, the Roos have steadily gone backwards and West Coast, as has been stated many times, have not recovered from the Covid hubs in that shortened 2020 season.
They did battle in round 14 on the weekend for the second time this season, again at Optus Stadium in Perth where West Coast beat the Roos back in round two. As we know, even with this farce of a draw, the rules are if two sides meet twice in a season one team hosts and the returning fixture their opponents get to play at home, but these are tough times financially for some clubs and with the WA teams, the Eagles and Freo concerned about all the travelling across the country they have to do, they were hoping for less interstate games for them.
I thought the two sides from the west were being a bit greedy. I lived in Perth so I know the plane trips are long and taxing from the West to the East Coast and return, and even more so when you do them every fortnight during the season, but their predecessors did it and got on with this challenge knowing it was a national competition in a very large country.
The league though agreed to reduce the travel for West Coast and Fremantle and the carrot dangled was an excellent financial deal for a Victorian club to play 2 home games in the West, one at Bunbury two hours south of Perth (near God’s own country, Margaret River, a wine growing paradise and sublime beaches) and the other at Optus Stadium in Perth playing both the Eagles and the Dockers.
I knew the first half of this North and Eagles encounter was close, keeping an eye on scores having a cold beer with players from Red Hill and Hastings after broadcasting on the Red Hill stream in the MPFNL second division, a game which Red Hill won over a plucky young Hastings side.
Hastings of course was where one of the VFL/AFL’S greatest ever players, John Coleman, came from. Pat Foy from the Sydney Swans also played there. He played a handful of senior games and is best remembered for the player who was struck in the televised Army Reserve Reserves match back in 1985 by Collingwood’s John Bourke, a star VFA player with Preston playing in back-to-back premierships with the Bullants under the coaching of Ray Shaw before joining the Pies.
Bourke, angry he was reported remonstrated with the umpire and lost his cool, which resulted in him tripping the umpire getting reported and receiving a hefty suspension, nipping a promising career in the
bud. That match was also when, during the commentary, the colourful late footy and cricket identity, Ray Jordan (who was wicket keeper for Victoria for many years and reserve keeper to Brian Taber on the ill
fated double tour of India and South Africa in 1969/70) said, when Bourke had got out of control, ‘’get the boy off.’ The runner did that and a spectator seemed to have a crack at Bourke verbally, so he jumped the fence at the Lakeside Oval and ran after him never to be seen on a VFL field again.
I left Hastings to get back to Melbourne to go to the famous Cirque du Soleil at the Flemington Racecourse. I had never been to one of their shows before and it was amazing and mind boggling. The ability of the trapeze artists in particular to hold their balance and contort their bodies so far was out of this world.
On the way back to the big smoke I listened to the second half of the North Melbourne and West Coast clash on Triple M, with the Perth commentary team led by respected TV journalist, Lachie Reid along with former West Coast premiership player and Norm Smith medallist, Andrew Embley, the ‘’Beast’’ doing the stats, and ex champion Australian netballer and captain Caitlin Bassett on the boundary.
‘’The Beast’’ is Mark Cometti, the son of commentary legend Dennis, and the team felt North were getting away in the third term with former West Coast star Jack Darling dominating his previous club kicking four goals as he turned back the clock in a career where he has been really durable.
New captain, Nick Larkey also kicked four as the Roos in that term got on top with Harley Reid, who was brilliant in the first term with 11 disposals, being restricted allowing North’s precocious young midfield
led by Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw and Luke Davies Uniake to get on top, and in the words of Andrew Embley have West Coast in trouble and nearly down and out at three quarter time.
The Roos were being praised by ‘’Embers’’ and co for how much they had bounced back emotionally from last week’s horror show against Fremantle putting up a much better performance. “The Beast’’ on the CBUS Super Stats told us what the scoreboard indicated that the Roos were much better in that third quarter leading most of the statistics, while the Eagles had players struggling.
However, with McDonalds and Rheem Hot Water rocking Triple M footy, West Coast found their mojo in the last term headed by exciting young key position player, Jobe Shanahan, who marked everything in defence and forward as his team stormed home to eat away at the Roos’ handy advantage 0f 14 points at the last change. Shanahan kicked a blinder from the pocket but missed a pretty easy set shot, which Reid and Embley were convinced he should have kicked.
The crowd was at fever pitch and so was the excitement of the commentators, who were more excitable than they had been since I started listening to this game, but not because West Coast was coming in my opinion. Having called plenty of footy in a three year stint in the West with the ABC, it’s generally a one sided crowd and your voice rises with the roar of the crowd and sometimes you sound even monotone
unintentionally when the opposition kicks a goal as the Eagles or Dockers’ fans were quiet.
I thought Lachie and the crew called well, painting the picture of the West Coast fightback particularly when their leading forward Jake Waterman, who had been wayward this season, took a mark in the last
minute around 35 metres out directly in front to win the game. They also explained that North appeared to go into their shell and were trying to save the game. He has admitted his kicking for goal was causing, in his words, doubt in his “Noggin” (head) and considering he has kicked lots of goals before, which got him in an All Australian side, this shot seemed a soda. However he hit the post, after Lachie Reid had called his mark and buildup to the shot at goal expertly. Reid also showed his wonderful professionalism by calling it as he saw it with impartiality after he missed and kept this driver on the edge of his seat that Waterman’s miss was an opportunity lost and probably cost his team the game.
It did, as the siren sounded seconds later with the Roos winning by the barest of margins, which has been feature of the comp this year with so many games decided by less than a goal, which generally can decide a team’s fate in a season. North are six and seven as their improvement in the win loss column continues, but they still need a decent scalp.
For West Coast they are much more competitive in 2026 as well, but were given a free kick to be the visiting team at their home ground and they could not grab it.
These teams are obviously nowhere near the versions of their super teams of the 1990s, but a close game is a good game in the AFL and that’s what we got, helped by Triple M’s entertaining coverage before my first ever attendance at a circus. From one entertainment activity to another, but certainly like chalk and cheese!
NORTH MELBOURNE 2.5 5.8 9.11 10.14 (74)
WEST COAST 3.4 5.7 7.9 10.13 (73)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Darling 4, Larkey 4, Sheezel, Trembath
West Coast: Shanahan 3, Waterman 3, Baker, Cole, Hough, Reid
BEST (Dan’s best)
North Melbourne: Sheezel, Darling, Xerri, Larkey, Simpkin
West Coast: Shanahan, Kelly, Williams, Herbert, Cole
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Nil
West Coast: Davis (concussion)
Crowd: 42,409
Malarkey Votes
3 – Sheezel (North)
2 – Darling (North)
1 – Shanahan (West Coast)
Read other round 14 match reports HERE
Read more from Dan Lonergan HERE
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