North Melbourne flag greats hail AFLW success as turning point

The last players to feature in a grand final for North Melbourne say they are thrilled to see the AFLW side vie for a breakthrough flag.

Corey McKernan was a member of the last North Melbourne team to play in a grand final – in the 1999 premiership win. Picture: Matty Bouwmeester

When North Melbourne’s AFLW side breaks the club’s 24-year grand final drought on Sunday, a vocal pocket of Ikon Park will be filled with members of the Roos’ 1996 and 1999 AFL premiership sides.

They’ll be there to support former teammate Darren Crocker as he attempts to coach his side to its first flag against Brisbane, but a wider affinity also exists for the club’s most successful team in recent years.

North Melbourne figures are quick to point out what they perceive as an organisational advantage over other clubs – the Kangaroos’ men’s and women’s teams are closely linked and share a day of training each at Arden Street, while some of their rivals are known to keep the dual programs at arm’s length.

The driving force behind the connectivity between the teams is the leadership of the AFLW side.

North Melbourne AFLW coach Darren Crocker (centre) in the rooms with teammates and coach Dennis Pagan (right) during the 1996 premiership season. Picture: John Feder

Crocker played 165 games over 14 seasons for the Roos, and six years after retiring he returned to the club as an assistant coach in 2004.

Remarkably, he hasn’t left Arden Street since.

The 56-year-old took the reigns as caretaker coach of the men’s side in 2009 after Dani Laidley resigned and twice stepped up to the helm in 2015 and 2016 when Brad Scott was unwell.

Calm and empathetic, Crocker has served as the glue between the men’s and women’s teams since he took the AFLW gig over from Scott Gowans in 2020, and he has engaged past AFL players in the women’s team’s journey like no other club has been able to.

“The grand final is just another part of hopefully a great legacy he’s got at North Melbourne,” premiership teammate Corey McKernan said.

Corey McKernan (pictured) played in the 1996 premiership with Crocker as well as the club’s most recent grand final, the triumphant 1999 win over Carlton. Picture: Matty Bouwmeester

“His investment in the club has been like almost no other and he is extremely deserving of what could come his way on Sunday.”

McKernan, who says he will be watching intently from his Queensland home on Sunday, thinks the success of the women’s team will have a “flow-on effect” into the struggling men’s program, which has been moored to the bottom two ladder positions for four consecutive seasons.

“Any sort of success any football club has at any level, I’m always a fan for – it says a lot about the whole organisational culture as much as the individual team,” McKernan said.

“It’s part of a one-club mentality they’ve been growing … they’ve got a really good on and off-field program and you’d like to think it does have a flow-on effect.”

Emma Kearney (centre) has led the Roos’ AFLW team since its inception in 2019 after joining from the Western Bulldogs. Picture: Dylan Burns / Getty Images

Captain Emma Kearney is the other uniting figure, having spent an entire 12 months at Arden Street without a break after joining Alastair Clarkson’s coaching staff in November last year.

North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey, who worked closely with Kearney during the AFL season this year, said a shot at premiership success was inevitable during her time at the helm of the women’s team.

“Emma Kearney is an outstanding person, let alone footballer,” Harvey said.

“She oozes leadership, but I think her football speaks for itself – eight All-Australians wasn’t it, the other night?

“The character of the person who Emma is, absolutely I could see that we were going to be successful with her leading … Crocker as the coach, Kearney as the captain, that’s a pretty good recipe for success when you look at it from afar.

Crocker and Kearney will lead North Melbourne into its first AFLW grand final against Brisbane at Ikon Park on Sunday afternoon. Picture: Michael Willson / Getty Images

“To see them both achieving this and to have a crack at a grand final is going to be pretty special for everyone who has been involved at the club.”

Harvey, who was in the stands for the preliminary final win over Adelaide and will be at Ikon Park again along with former premiership teammates on Sunday, said he was sure current men’s players watching would be motivated by seeing their AFLW counterparts reach the pinnacle.

“For the boys to see how hard the girls have worked, how successful they’ve been, we’re all in the club together. On a Tuesday everyone shares the facility, everyone’s there all day, so they can see exactly what each other are doing,” Harvey said.

“On Sunday, if the girls get to hold the cup aloft, the boys will be very jealous.

“No matter what sport, what level you watch, when you see someone win a grand final, you put yourself in their shoes and you always wish it was you.”