North Fitzroy Kangaroos Football Club

The merger was arranged in May 1996 to avert the imminent financial collapse of Fitzroy, but was abandoned within two months of its announcement following clashes of interest from multiple parties.

Along with stadium issues, and despite winning the 1978 Night Series Tournament and long-time captain Kevin Murray winning the 1969 Brownlow Medal whilst playing for the club, financial difficulties began threatening the club's long term viability further.

Regardless of the club becoming competitive again in the early 1980s with the recruiting of key individual players, in which Fitzroy lost the 1986 preliminary final to the eventual premiers in Hawthorn, the same year would the club's first official financial loss, in posting a AUD250,000 deficit at the season's conclusion.

The secretive nature of the merger negotiations, and lack of consultation with members, also drove much of the anger from fans.

Following the failure to merge with Footscray, Fitzroy later held merger discussion in the early 1990s with the Richmond, Hawthorn, and St Kilda football clubs, all of which failed.