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
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