Background
This was North Melbourne's third successive Grand Final, and were the reigning premiers after having defeated Hawthorn in the 1975 VFL Grand Final.
At the conclusion of the regular home-and-away season, Hawthorn had finished second (behind Carlton) on the ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses. North Melbourne had finished third with 15 wins and 7 losses. During the season Hawthorn played North Melbourne in two home and away games, winning by 22 and 8 points respectively.
In the finals series leading up to the Grand Final, North Melbourne lost to Hawthorn by 20 points in the Qualifying Final before defeating Geelong by 33 points in the First Semi-Final. They then met Carlton in the Preliminary Final which they won by just one point to advance to the Grand Final. Hawthorn, after their win in the Qualifying Final, defeated Carlton by 17 points in the Second Semi-Final to advance to the Grand Final.
Both teams made six changes to their respective teams from the 1975 Grand Final.
Read more about this topic: 1976 VFL Grand Final
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)