It was the second of only three player headcounts in League history.

With finals on the line in the penultimate round of the 1958 season, rivals North Melbourne and Essendon faced off in a crucial clash. The Bombers held fourth spot, with the Roos in close pursuit, sitting fifth.

Essendon's spiritual home Windy Hill was the backdrop, but it was the Kangaroos who looked set to secure a top-four berth, holding a 28-point lead in the final quarter.

But as time ticked away in the fourth quarter, disorder was sparked on the sideline.

"The umpire said, 'Get up the other end of the ground we're calling for a count, you've got 19 men on the field'," North Melbourne Legend and player at the time John Dugdale recalled, during a recent visit to Arden St.

Playing the 57th match of his storied 248-game as a Kangaroo, Dugdale was down in the forward line where he and teammate Peter Schofield had already booted four majors each to put their side up 11.14 (80) to 7.10 (52).

"I was playing full-forward at the time, and I didn't know what was going on," Dugdale said.

North Melbourne big man Bryan Martyn – father of club great Mick Martyn – had suffered a heavy landing in midfield and while receiving treatment, first-year Roo from Bendigo John Waddington headed out onto the field.

The Bombers bench, stirred, were under the impression that the Kangaroos were now fielding 19 men.

Identifying a chance to undo all of North Melbourne's good work, Essendon captain Jack Clarke was told to call for a headcount, which he proceeded to do in front of a 27,000-plus crowd.

An infringement would've seen the Kangaroos' score totally erased and left them 52 points down with next to no shot at booking a finals berth.

"They lined us all up and the umpire counted, and we only had 18 men on the ground, so we kept playing," Dugdale said.

"If we had had 19 men on the ground, we would have lost the score and lost the game and that would have curtailed our chances of making the top four.

"We had to win that game and then beat Collingwood the next week to stay in [the race for] finals.

"So, it turned out that Essendon made a blue when they called the headcount because there was never 19 men on the ground."

It was soon realised that injured Kangaroos vice-captain Albert Mantello had left the field, and that the 20-year-old Waddington had legally replaced him.

North Melbourne went on to beat the Bombers, beat the Pies in the following round and play finals but were ultimately knocked out of flag contention by Collingwood in the preliminary final.

Dugdale went onto earn National All-Australian honours that year, claim the Syd Barker Medal in 1968, captain the Roos for three seasons and lead the club's goalkicking seven times before retiring in 1970.

A testament to his playing days and his contributions as chairman of selectors under Ron Barassi, Dugdale earned Legendary Hall of Fame status at North Melbourne in 2003 as well as a spot in the Team of the Century.

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