“In 1971 Ron Barassi asked me to join him as his assistant at Carlton and I knew then what I never had. I found Barassi’s coaching the ultimate... it changed me from a fellow who was dejected and disappointed at not being successful as a coach to a winner in a club which had a tradition of success...”

These are the recollections of the former North Melbourne club champion and coach Keith McKenzie, in a speech he penned for a keynote address more than 30 years ago.

The speech was hidden amongst Keith’s papers for more than three decades. Now, in the wake of their recent rediscovery, Keith shares Barassi’s secrets for the latest in the series of “Our History” podcasts.

Keith also played in the time of John Coleman. These were the halcyon days of the VFL, when football was territorial, and people were getting on with their lives in the immediate post-World War II years.

So with Anzac Day fast approaching it’s apt that Keith, himself a returned serviceman who at 90 still marches, has the forum.

In the following podcast for carltonfc.com.au, Keith discusses;

•         serving his country and later playing for his club through the dark days of wartime and beyond;

•         the lessons learned by Barassi from his three quarter-time address in the 1969 Grand Final that served him so well at three quarter-time of the ’70 Grand Final;

•         his own quarter-time speech to the Carlton players as stand-in coach to John Nicholls in Round 14, 1975 – moments before they banged on 14.1 in the second quarter of The Battle of Windy Hill; and

•         his brief period as Carlton General Manager from 1976, and his role in the later recruitment of the likes of Ken Hunter and Val Perovic.

To listen to Keith McKenzie’s interview for “Our History”, click here.