They were a game behind Essendon, with the Brisbane Lions, Western Bulldogs, West Coast, Carlton, Port Adelaide and Sydney making up the final eight.

This, however, was all they had to show for their efforts, as Glenn Archer, Byron Pickett and Mick Martyn stood up to nearly everything Carlton threw at them inside North's defensive zone.

Carlton fought back in the second quarter to regain the lead by 8 points with goals to Fraser Brown, Scott Camporeale and Matthew Lappin, and it looked like the Blues had the momentum until the Kangaroos ruckman Corey McKernan booted two inspirational goals, the first from 65 metres out and the second from a tight angle just a minute later.

The Kangaroos extended their lead in the third quarter when Winston Abraham kicked an easy goal before Carlton midfielder Justin Murphy injured his knee.

But winners on the day were hard to find for Carlton, who in the eyes of many had already played their 'grand final' the week before, and as such performed admirably.

The Kangaroos would struggle with consistency (not helped by the abrupt 2002 departure of captain Wayne Carey), playing finals in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2008 within the next decade.

After reaching the semi-final in 2001, Carlton would swiftly fall to the bottom of the ladder in 2002, claiming their first wooden spoon in their history, and the last of all the Victorian teams to do so.

They would be found guilty of breaching their salary cap, which saw them stripped them of early draft picks for two years, hindering their short-term rebuild, fined $930,000 and club president John Elliott removed from his position.

For the season's minor premiers, Essendon, it was a bitter pill to swallow that they were unable to compete in this grand final.

Coach Kevin Sheedy forced the Essendon playing group to attend the match as spectators to ponder “what might have been”.