Ron Barassi had just finished his pre-match address, and North Melbourne were heading down the race at the MCG. It was grand final day 1975 - a scene  familiar to most of the side. Fourteen of the team had been there before — 12 months earlier — as the Kangaroos were humbled by Tom Hafey's Richmond.

Captain Barry Davis called his teammates together. Utility Gary Farrant picks up the story. "Davis stopped us and said, 'listen, the 20 of us will never play in a game of football again together. Let's see if we can make it something that can bind us together for the rest of our lives'."

Ahead of the 40-year premiership reunion and celebrations on Saturday, Farrant says the sense of togetherness still resonates.

"It's strong. It's very strong. I mean it's not something you ever talk about or promote or anything. You don't have to, it's just there."

Farrant is one of 11 members of the North team that trounced Hawthorn by 55 points - taking the premiership cup to Arden Street for the first time - that will be present at Etihad Stadium on Saturday for a pre-match dinner, motorcade and guard of honour ahead of the 2015 Roos' clash with the Hawks. Six other players from the '75 list will also be present, along with the legendary Barassi, and Nettie Nolan – widow of premiership ruckman Mick.

Farrant, 68, and his younger brother Doug, were both recruited by North from the Mallee town of Cohuna, 274 kilometres north of Melbourne.

Aside from his years in the VFL, Gary has spent his adult life in Cohuna. The '75 decider - in which Farrant lined up in the forward pocket - was his final game for the club, and he wasted no time in returning home to the farm.

"We played the grand final on the Saturday, and I left Melbourne on the Tuesday," he said.

He could have easily been in Cohuna on grand final day, too. Much like Barassi is credited for kickstarting North's charge to the top, Farrant is grateful to Barassi for calling him back to the club despite having seemingly run his race in the city.

Farrant had played 86 games for the Roos, and twice been the club's leading goalkicker, before he was called into coach Brian Dixon's office midway through the 1971 season and unexpectedly given his marching orders. "I was surprised because I thought I was doing all right.

"We get on fine now, there's no problem at all."

Farrant went back to Cohuna for the second half of '71 and all of '72. But coming off a one-win wooden-spoon season, Barassi replaced Dixon for '73, and thought there was still a place for the Farrant brothers, neither of whom had played at VFL level in more than a year.

Gary knows how fortunate he was to have the master coach's backing. "I was 26 ... when you think about it from an age point of view, there were exceptions but most blokes had to work.

"I met Ron at the ground one day and we just had a talk. He said, 'I'll promise you a fair chance to get back'. I said 'that's all I need'."

Doug was traded to Perth at the end of '73, one of four players who had to be cast aside in exchange for Barry Cable. But Gary survived, albeit only just. He was recalled for the preliminary final, and along with big man Barry Goodingham, was one of two players in the premiership side who had played with the Roos as early as '67. "I think I was very fortunate when I was there, because I started playing with Noel Teasdale and John Dugdale, Laurie Dwyer, Johnny Ibrahim, Mick Dowdle ... they were just really honest, down-to-earth footballers.

"To come from that era to a new era, [Keith] Greig, [Wayne] Schimmelbusch and [Barry] Cable, and all the rest of them, [Brent] Crosswell, [John] Rantall, it was just fantastic."

Just as he remains when watching North play, Farrant was very nervous in the final minutes of his last game. He was sitting on the bench at the 22-minute mark of the final quarter when the team went seven goals up. "I thought, '22 minutes, we usually play 30, they couldn't kick seven goals in seven minutes and win the game', but I was still too frightened! But then Mick Nolan came off and said 'we've got it!' "

Farrant occasionally sees '75 teammate Frank Gumbleton and Ken Montgomery (1977 premiership player), both of whom live in Echuca, but knows this weekend is special. "I'm really looking forward to it, but I can't believe it's 40 years. That's the thing I got stuck on actually, I thought god, 40 years ago."