Shinboner number: 801
Guernsey number: 18
Born: May 27, 1971
North Melbourne games: 244 (1989-2001)
Goals: 671
Captain: 1993-2001
North Melbourne Hall of Fame inductee: 2009

The King. The media’s nickname for Wayne Carey neatly encapsulated his standing in the game during the 1990s. The dominant key forward of his era and one of the greatest players in VFL/AFL history, Carey ruled the competition with a rare mix of athleticism, endurance, strength, courage and skill.

Although a succession of shoulder injuries restricted his ability to mark over his head, Carey made an art form of flying chest marks, often running back with the flight of the ball to outmark oncoming packs.

He was equally damaging at ground level with his keen goal sense, elite skills and ability to gather errant passes on the half volley and fire off a handball in one motion.

And no player loved a big moment more.

If a goal just had to be kicked, even one from outside 50m, Carey was your man.

“If it was a pressure-cooker situation, I wanted to be right in among the action. If we were a few points down and needed a goal to win the game, I wanted to have the ball in my hands,” Carey said.

He oozed confidence on the field and, at 192cm and 97kg, had a physical presence that ensured his teammates walked taller around him.

Known affectionately as 'Duck' around Arden Street because of his waddling gait, Carey was installed as captain by coach Denis Pagan at the age of 21. 

He led North in a club-record 184 games and was the key player in a golden run that saw the Roos play seven consecutive preliminary finals from 1994–2000 and win the 1996 and 1999 flags.

North’s game plan in this era was centred around kicking the ball in long and quickly to Carey, with Pagan devising a tactic where North cleared out its forward 50 to isolate Carey and his direct opponent. It became known as 'Pagan’s Paddock'.

Such was Carey’s importance to North, when he was injured or had a rare quiet game the Roos often struggled.

In time, 'No Carey, no North' became almost accepted football lore.

Pagan, who coached him for nine seasons, said simply: “He was the best player that I’ve seen.”

In 2008, in an official AFL publication to celebrate the game’s 150th anniversary, veteran writer and commentator Mike Sheahan labelled Carey as the game’s greatest player, ahead of Leigh Matthews, Ted Whitten, Gary Ablett snr and Jason Dunstall.

Sheahan wrote of Carey: “No player in the history of the game determined the outcome of more games than Carey. Whenever the Kangaroos were in trouble, they implemented an unofficial team rule: get the ball, roost it as far as you can in the Carey direction, and let him do the rest.

"Like the greats of all sports, he craved the chance to determine decisive moments. He was a superb kick, both for goal and in general play, and much underrated on his left side. It was as if he was born to dominate."

From 1992–2000, Carey finished outside the top three in the Roos’ best and fairest award just twice and in those seasons he was sidelined for significant stretches (1997, 11 weeks after shoulder reconstruction; 1999, five weeks with a groin injury).

The No.18’s finals record was superb. He shone brightest in 1994, with unanimous best-on-ground performances against Hawthorn (32 possessions, 10 marks and four goals) and Geelong (24, 14 and six)—all while nursing a calf strain suffered in the final home and away game of the season. Carey finished runner-up to Glenn Archer in the Norm Smith Medal voting after starring in North’s 1996 Grand Final win over the Sydney Swans. He also averaged a remarkable five goals a game in North’s six qualifying finals from 1994–99, with his best performance a seven-goal haul on a rainy night against second-placed Geelong in 1997.

Carey’s rivalry with West Coast defender Glen Jakovich was one of the most fiercely fought of the 1990s, with their duels providing an enthralling sub-plot to the clashes between that decade’s strongest two teams.

The seven-time All-Australian’s time at North ended ahead of the 2002 season. After sitting out a season, Carey returned to play 28 games with Adelaide in 2003 and 2004 but never reached the heights he had scaled with the Roos.

Few, if any, players ever have.