Few footballers have the capacity to polarise opinion as sharply as Brendan Fevola. When I was appointed coach of Carlton there was no shortage of people wanting to share with me their misgivings about Brendan. Looking back, I’m glad I reserved my judgement and waited to form my own opinions...

When crisis collides with opportunity there will always be a benefactor. Such was the case for me when a coaching vacancy arose at North Melbourne on the eve of the 1993 season. Now Brett Ratten finds himself in a similar position after the Carlton board formally endorsed his appointment as senior coach earlier this week...

Call me biased, but I can’t think of a player who epitomises everything that is great about Australian Football more than Glenn Archer. Embodying the spirit of that wonderfully unique institution that is the North Melbourne Football Club, Glenn’s mantra has always been that the team comes first...

The isolation of coaching an AFL team is never more pronounced than when things aren’t going to plan. As we know, coaches face intense scrutiny from supporters, the media, club directors, corporate sponsors and sometimes, elements of the playing group. It is therefore inevitable that at some stage the coach is going to be confronted with one of more of these groups demanding that he be replaced...

The best team of the year doesn’t win the grand final. The best team on the day does. It’s a football truism I know only too well. In 1998 North Melbourne won 11 consecutive games on the way to the last Saturday in September. We then produced our worst second half of football for the year, on the very day it mattered most. As far as winning premierships is concerned, it all gets down to those last two-and-a-half hours of the season...