1900
Background
Not surprisingly for a side that had only entered the competition in 1893, North struggled in the first few years. The 1899 season was their worst, although they did have some wins against the better sides and it was generally agreed that the gap between the established teams and the newer teams was lessening. It all came together in 1900, however, beginning what has been referred to as the "first golden age" for the Club.
The system used to determine the premier in 1900 was complicated by today's standards. There was a first set of 12 matches for each Club which determined their relative positions on the table. The Clubs were then divided into two sections A and B (A was the first, third and fifth teams and B was the second, fourth and sixth teams). The teams in each section played each other once and the leading teams in each section then played. If the winner was the "minor premier", this secured the premiership for that team; otherwise the winner of this second round played the minor premier for the premiership. Thus the minor premier had a kind of double chance and even the bottom side had a chance to win the premiership.
In 1900 North were on top of the table after the first set of matches with 9 wins, 2 losses and a draw. South and Norwood won sections A and B respectively and so South then played North in the final match to determine the premiership.
Premiership Team
| Forward : | W. Shaw | N. Pash | F. Dickenson |
| Half-forward : | W. Dawkins | J. Matthews | T. McNamara |
| Centre : | H. Wilmshurst | E. Mitchell | H. Pash |
| Half-back : | N Claxton | E. Jones | N. Clark |
| Back : | W. Baker | G. Carter | S. Heseltine |
| Followers : | J. Reedman | H. Mumme | W. Coates |
(Captain : E. Jones)
The Grand Final
The yell that won a premiership
Despite finishing the first part of the season as the best-performed team, North were not favoured to win the premiership. South had been the power side of the 1890's, they were the reigning premiers and they had narrowly beaten North in their section A match two weeks previously.
An excellent crowd of about 7,000 people turned up to see the match, demonstrating a marked revival in public interest in the game.
South kicked to the Northern end in the first quarter, favoured by a strong wind. It was a desperately fought struggle from the beginning, with South constantly in attack but the North defence, lead by Reedman, Jones and Shaw, resolute. Finally North went into attack and a clever piece of play from H. Pash sent the ball to McNamara who kicked the only goal for the quarter, giving North an important 4 point lead.
The second quarter was a battle of defences, with just a single point scored by each side.
South improved markedly after the interval and were well on top in the third quarter but made little inroad on North's lead.
They again took charge early in the last quarter but kicked poorly for goal to level the scores 1.2 to 0.8. It was then that the North supporters let out a wild yell of encouragement to their team, and this seemed to really inspire the players. North goaled through Shaw and then added a point, but South rallied to score their only goal of the match and bring the margin back to 1 point. North then closed the season with a rush, with goals to Matthews and then McNamara securing North's first premiership.
It was an exceedingly popular win for the young Club. The Retrospect of "The Evening Journal" was lavish in its praise :
"It was not by the assistance of the older players they did so well, although Reedman, Jones and Kay helped them wonderfully, but it was principally due to the men brought up among them that they achieved such success. No team could live alongside them in pace, but even with all their speed, they never sacrificed united play. They were clever and clean in handling the ball, and quick in passing, and while they were solid right through, they had some exceedingly brilliant men. In all departments they were strong and the dash and vigour of the whole eighteen were splendid. Now they have had their first taste of the glories of top place, North Adelaide with the splendid material they have, should be a power in the game for many years to come".
Scores
| | First | Second | Third | Final |
| North | 1.0(6) | 1.1(7) | 1.2(8) | 4.3(27) |
| South | 0.2(2) | 0.3(3) | 0.5(5) | 1.8(14) |
Goals : McNamara 2.1, Shaw 1.0, Matthews 1.0, H. Pash 0.1, rushed 0.1
Attendance : Approximately 7,000
Team Photo
Rear, L to R : R. Sanders, A Rosser, S Sharp, L. Corston, G Downs (V. P.), G Bickle (V. P.), B. G. Lamprell (Hon. Sec.), J Sando (V. P.), H. Clisby, J. Knox, J. Farrelly, H. Stokes, J. Calligan.
Second row, L to R : H. Wellington, W. Stratton, A Schoff (trainer), R. Lewis, W. Baker, J. Matthews, N. Pash, W. Dawkins, R. T. Whitfield (President), L. Cohen (Patron), T. McNamara, F. Dickenson, A. Mumme, A Brown (trainer), W. Lyons, J. Lemon.
Third row, L to R : G. Carter, W. Coates, J. Reedman (Vice Captain), E. Jones (Captain), S. Heseltine, N. Claxton, W. Shaw.
Front row, L to R : C. Young, N. Clark, E. Mitchell, F. Coffey (umpire), H. Pash, W. Wilmshurst, R. Burton.