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From the Vault: AFL Round 8

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Roar Guru
4th May, 2020
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This weekend, we revisit no less than four finals matches, including two drought-breaking efforts by the Sydney Swans and North Melbourne, a preliminary final thriller from last September and the great shootout of 1993.

To the current state of affairs first, and momentum is starting to grow towards a return to competition, with AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan flagging that games could restart as early as next month, with a target date of October 31 set for the grand final.

That means the grand final could be held just three days before the Melbourne Cup, and three weeks after the annual Bathurst 1000, all of which could be held behind closed doors if an effective vaccine cannot be developed by then.

While it remains a possibility that fans may be locked out of matches for the foreseeable future, the Northern Territory has put its hand up to host matches with crowds, citing the fact it hasn’t had any new COVID-19 cases in nearly a month.

In the meantime, sit back and relax while we continue to go down memory lane between our would-be Round 8 opponents.

Round 9, 2005: Richmond 12.15 (87) defeated Brisbane Lions 12.11 (83) at the Gabba
When Richmond travelled north to face the Brisbane Lions in May 2005, the fortunes of both clubs were contrastingly different to what they are now.

Back then, the Lions were at the peak of their powers, having reached four consecutive grand finals of which they won three (2001-03), while the Tigers had just claimed the wooden spoon and appointed Terry Wallace to oversee its rebuild.

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Going into this particular match, the Tigers hadn’t won at the Gabba since 2000, and that was its only win in the sunshine capital since 1996.

The drought looked like continuing when the Lions kicked six goals to four in the first quarter, which lasted nearly 35 minutes, to lead by twelve points at the first change.

But the Tigers managed to keep pace with the hosts for the remainder of the match, cutting the margin down to two points at halftime and then drawing the third quarter to still be two points down at three-quarter-time.

If the visitors were to pull off a miracle, then they would have needed someone to step up to the plate.

That someone was Nathan Brown, who had been in impressive form for the Tigers nearing the halfway point of the season.

He would kick two of their three goals of the final quarter to inspire the side to a famous four point victory, which would keep them in third place on the ladder at the end of Round 9. By that point, he trailed only Fraser Gehrig on the Coleman Medal leaderboard having kicked 32 goals for the season.

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But little did he and the club know that all that hard work they put in the first nine rounds of the season would come severely undone the following Friday night against Melbourne at the Telstra Dome….

2006 Qualifying Final: Adelaide Crows 10.16 (76) defeated Fremantle 7.4 (46) at AAMI Stadium
If Fremantle had not been successful in their appeal regarding the result of their Round 5 match against St Kilda, then instead of having to face the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium, they would have stayed home for what would’ve been a historic Western Derby qualifying final against the West Coast Eagles.

Instead, they finished third at the end of what was their most successful season to that point in club history with a 15-7 record, which included winning their final nine games of the season after a Round 13 loss to Sydney at the SCG.

They were assigned to face the second-placed Crows at their AAMI Stadium fortress, where the Crows had lost only three games for the season, of which one was against the Dockers in Round 19.

Therefore, Chris Connolly’s side had every reason to be confident that it could repeat the dose on Neil Craig’s side, which had finished in the top two for the second consecutive year.

The Dockers made a fast start to the match, kicking four goals to the Crows’ one to lead by 17 points at quarter-time.

However, the Crows, whose captain Mark Ricciuto was sidelined due to a diagnosis of parvovirus, would start working their way back into the contest, kicking the first two goals of the second quarter to draw to within a point, before Jeff Farmer goalled for the Dockers to see them lead by a straight kick at halftime.

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A dour third quarter would only see four goals kicked, two to each side, as the Dockers went into the last change of ends up by just four points.

But the Crows would clean up in the final quarter, kicking 5.4 (34) to no score to win by 30 points and thus progress directly to the preliminary final, where their premiership dream would later be crushed by the West Coast Eagles.

The Crows and Dockers would again meet in a final six years later, in the 2012 second semi-final, with the men from West Lakes again victorious.

Round 15, 2015: Western Bulldogs 14.11 (95) defeated Gold Coast Suns 11.7 (73) at Cazaly’s Stadium
After Richmond pulled out of its contract to host the Gold Coast Suns in Cairns in 2013, the Western Bulldogs happily took up the offer to host the men from the holiday strip in far north Queensland starting in 2014.

You could understand why the Tigers wanted out: they’d lost two of three matches against the Suns in the tropics, including the famous match in 2012 where Karmichael Hunt kicked a goal after the final siren to sink the Tigers’ hearts and end a twelve-month long winning drought for the Suns.

The Bulldogs won on their first attempt in 2014, winning by 28 points the week after Suns captain Gary Ablett Jr had suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, but in 2015 they would be made hard to work for victory.

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A strong first quarter from the Suns, who had won only two matches for the season up to that point, saw them kick five goals to one to lead by 26 points at quarter-time.

They would maintain that lead through a dour second quarter, in which only three goals were kicked, two of them to the Bulldogs who reduced the halftime margin to 18 points.

The Suns, coached by ex-Bulldogs mentor Rodney Eade, then extended their lead to as much as 37 points and they were well and truly on their way to a third win of the season.

However, after four consecutive missed shots at goal, the Bulldogs would peg one back through Luke Dahlhaus to go into three-quarter-time 26 points in arrears. By that point, they’d only managed four goals for the match.

Then, whatever first-year Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said to his troops seemed to have an effect as they would kick ten goals to two in the final quarter to record a 22-point victory, completing a 59-point turnaround from halfway through the third quarter.

They had trailed by 15 points halfway through the quarter, but then scored the final 37 points of the match to escape the tropics with the victory.

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Luke Beveridge

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge (Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Round 6, 1993: Essendon 23.18 (156) defeated Geelong Cats 19.18 (132) at the MCG
It remains one of the most entertaining shootouts in AFL history, when Essendon and the Geelong Cats went face to face at the MCG on a Saturday afternoon in 1993.

At one end of the ground was the man dubbed God, Gary Ablett Sr, and down the other was Paul Salmon, nicknamed Fish.

Both men had kicked more goals than any of their other teammates, with Ablett Sr having booted 611 career majors and Salmon 411 up to those points in their respective careers.

What unfolded was a shootout for the ages, with Salmon booting 10.6 (66) and Ablett Sr 14.7 (91), as Essendon won by 24 points – 23.18 (156) to 19.18 (132).

The margins at quarter, half and three-quarter-time had only been less than a kick, before the Bombers kicked away in the final quarter kicking six goals to three.

Collectively, Salmon and Ablett Sr scored a combined total of 24.13 (157), which has been a team’s final score as recently as 2013 – when the Geelong Cats and Fremantle both scored that amount against the GWS Giants in rounds 11 and 20 respectively.

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The two men earned five Brownlow Medal votes (Ablett Sr three, Salmon two) for their efforts, with Joe Misiti scoring the other vote. Ablett Sr’s individual effort of 14.7 (91) is a record individual haul for a player in a losing cause.

Also that same day, Adrian McAdam and John Longmire each kicked ten and nine goals respectively in North Melbourne’s 124-point win over the Sydney Swans at Princes Park, with McAdam also booting 10.6 (66) and Longmire 9.4 (58).

In a twist of fate, Longmire would end up joining the Sydney Swans coaching panel in 2002 before assuming the top job at the end of the 2010 season when Paul Roos stepped down; he would follow in Roos’ footsteps in winning a premiership as coach of the club in 2012.

Collectively, Ablett Sr, Salmon, McAdam and Longmire would kick 41.23 (269) on May 1, 1993 – a day that will probably go down as the highest-scoring day in AFL football ever and is unlikely to ever be broken.

2005 grand final: Sydney Swans 8.10 (58) defeated West Coast Eagles 7.12 (54) at the MCG
It remains one of the most memorable grand finals of the 21st century.

Going into the 2005 grand final, nearly the whole of Australia, with the exception of Western Australia, jumped on the Sydney Swans bandwagon as they sought to break the AFL’s longest premiership drought – 72 years.

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They had overcome a poor first half of the year, during which then-AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou infamously labelled them “ugly ducklings” and declared the Swans couldn’t win the flag with the style of football they were playing.

A disastrous loss to St Kilda in Round 10 proved to be the turning point, as the Swans lost only two more matches (both by single figure margins) and then exacted revenge on the Saints in the preliminary final to book its first grand final berth since 1996.

But there was one final hurdle for the Swans to overcome – and that was to get their captain Barry Hall to avoid suspension at the judiciary after he’d been booked for striking Matt Maguire in the preliminary final.

The Swans’ legal team successfully argued that the strike occurred “in play” rather than “behind play”, despite it occurring 50 metres off the ball. Therefore, his striking charge was downgraded, freeing him to play in the biggest match of the year.

In the grand final, they came up against the West Coast Eagles, who were appearing in their first grand final since 1994 and had a midfield that was the envy of the competition – featuring the likes of Chris Judd, Ben Cousins, Andrew Embley and Daniel Kerr.

Both teams went into the match as equal favourites in what was the first of two consecutive east versus west grand final showdowns.

Mark Nicoski, who had made his AFL debut the previous year, slotted the first goal of the decider, but it wouldn’t take long for the Swans to hit back, with Darren Jolly receiving a free kick inside forward 50 and truly converting for their first.

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Dean Cox then kicked the Eagles’ second goal, before back-to-back majors from Adam Schneider and Barry Hall saw the Swans lead by two points at the first change.

Paul Roos’ side would then kick the only three goals of the second quarter to lead by 20 points at halftime, but the premiership was not beyond doubt just yet.

The Eagles hit back after halftime, producing a three-goal-to-nil quarter of their own to cut the deficit to just two points at three-quarter-time.

The final quarter started disastrously for the Swans when Luke Ablett turned the ball over in defence, with his kick finding then-recently minted Brownlow Medallist Ben Cousins, who would kick truly to put his side in front for the first time since the first quarter.

A goal to Adam Hunter two minutes later put the Eagles ten points up, and the Swans’ dream was starting to turn into a nightmare.

However, Barry Hall would later kick his second goal to draw the Swans back to within four points, and then ten minutes later, some clever roving from Amon Buchanan saw him boot the game’s final major to put his side back in front.

From there it was a fight to the finish, with the Eagles desperately throwing whatever they could at the Swans in the dying minutes. A kick forward by Drew Banfield found the goalsquare, but Tadhg Kennelly would rush the ball to safety, enabling the Swans to retain possession.

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After the Swans booted it out of defence, Dean Cox marked on the wing, and blasted the Eagles forward in the hope that they could conjure the premiership-winning goal.

Then, in what will forever go down as one of the greatest grand final moments in recent history, Leo Barry leapt above all to take a pack mark right at the death, and the final siren sounded merely seconds later to end the contest, and the Swans’ 72-year premiership drought.

Network Ten commentator Stephen Quartermain then uttered out these famous words: “Leo Barry you star! [siren sounds] The longest premiership drought in football history is over! For the first time in 72 years, the Swans are champions of the AFL”.

The Swans’ final score of 8.10 (58) was also the same score they had managed in the aforementioned Round 10 match against the Saints, after which Robert Walls was scathing in his criticism of Paul Roos’ coaching.

For the Eagles, defeat was a bitter pill to taste after a season of consistency, however Chris Judd would win the Norm Smith Medal as best-on-ground; to date it remains the most recent time a player from the losing side has won the award on grand final day.

The Swans’ premiership win completed the AFL’s successful expansion outside of Victoria, with teams in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and now Sydney having won flags.

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The Swans and Eagles would again meet in the 2006 decider, and the Eagles would gain revenge for the previous year’s defeat to the Swans, winning by a solitary point – 12.13 (85) to 12.12 (84).

2019 preliminary final: GWS Giants 8.8 (56) defeated Collingwood 7.10 (52) at the MCG
Going into preliminary final weekend, the wide expectation was that Richmond and Collingwood would face off in a grand final for the first time since 1980.

After Richmond had held up its end of the bargain by beating the Geelong Cats the previous night, it was all up to the Pies to ensure the dream grand final match-up would eventuate when they came up against a GWS Giants side well short on troops.

Unsurprisingly, Nathan Buckley’s side started hot favourites against a side that was missing midfielder Stephen Coniglio, while they also had Toby Greene (suspension) and Lachie Whitfield (appendix removal) ripped from their side during the week.

The Giants had also come off a bruising three-point win over the Brisbane Lions in the semi-final at the Gabba, and were playing away from home for the second consecutive week.

After a close first half in which the margin was no greater than nine points, the Giants broke the game wide open in the third quarter, kicking five goals to nil in the third quarter to lead by 26 points at the final change of ends.

And when Jeremy Cameron booted his third goal four minutes into the final quarter (and then followed it up with a miss two minutes later), the Giants led by 33 points and were well and truly on its way to the grand final.

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Jeremy Cameron

Jeremy Cameron of the Giants celebrates kicking a goal over Scott Pendlebury of the Magpies. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

But the Pies, who to that point of the match had only kicked three goals (and none after halftime), would kick-start their comeback, with Jaidyn Stephenson booting their first goal of the final quarter.

Controversy followed over a minute later when Josh Thomas was awarded his goal, despite replays suggesting it had been touched off the hand of Giants defender (and ex-Pie) Lachie Keeffe.

A goal to Chris Mayne and a second from Thomas saw the deficit reduced to six points, but in the end the Pies would pay the price for underestimating the Giants and having an eye on a date with Richmond in the decider, leaving their comeback too late and falling short by four points.

On the flipside, the Giants were finally able to advance to their first grand final in their eighth year in the competition, but would end up on the wrong end of a Richmond masterclass in the big dance, losing by 89 points.

Round 22, 2019: Carlton 11.12 (78) defeated St Kilda 10.8 (68) at the MCG
In the week leading up to the Carlton vs St Kilda match at the MCG, the Blues wasted no time in locking down David Teague as its permanent coach after he impressed in his capacity as caretaker coach following the post-Round 11 sacking of Brendon Bolton.

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In nine matches at the helm, he had overseen five victories, including, among others, one against eventual finalists the Brisbane Lions and another against the Sydney Swans at the SCG, where they hadn’t won since 2011.

It was clear that the Blues had finally started to enjoy playing football once again and Teague was rewarded with the full-time gig.

His first match as full-time coach was against St Kilda, who were being coached by ex-Blues mentor Brett Ratten after he was elevated to the Saints’ top job after Alan Richardson had resigned the previous month.

It also doubled as the 100th AFL match for co-captain Patrick Cripps, who along with Sam Docherty assumed the shared captaincy after Marc Murphy had stepped down.

For a while it looked like Teague’s first match as full-time coach of the Blues would end disastrously when they trailed by 24 points halfway through the second quarter, at which point Nick Hind and Tim Membrey each kicked two majors for the Saints.

But the Blues would force their way back into the match, kicking the next three goals before Ben Long goalled for the Saints to see his side up by 11 points at halftime.

After a series of near misses, goals to Mitch McGovern and Marc Murphy would see the Blues take the lead by three points, but it would be short lived as Jack Newnes kicked the Saints’ only goal for the quarter to see the visitors lead by four points at the last change of ends.

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A strong final quarter would see the Blues kick four goals to two to register their seventh victory of the season, ensuring the perfect result for David Teague and Patrick Cripps, and putting an end a magnificent week for the club’s long-suffering fans.

Round 15, 2009: Melbourne 15.11 (101) defeated Port Adelaide 13.12 (90) at the MCG
While season 2009 may have been a miserable one for the Melbourne Football Club, there was one heart-warming moment for the fans to enjoy halfway through what was a painfully cold winter.

A week after beating the West Coast Eagles at home, many questioned whether the Dees could make it two in a row, with the news still fresh that club president Jim Stynes had been hospitalised after being diagnosed with cancer.

While the match was delayed on television around Australia due to V8 Supercars coverage (which the Seven Network also had the rights to at the time), a special feed was given to Stynes allowing him to watch the match live while in his hospital bed.

The match saw first-year forward Liam Jurrah kick four goals for the match, and three in the first quarter, while Ricky Pettered chipped in with four majors of his own as the Dees recorded what was just their third win for the season.

They led by 19 points at three-quarter-time, but had to withstand a furious Port Adelaide comeback in the final quarter, halfway through which the margin was just seven points.

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However, Petterd’s fourth goal allowed the Dees to hang on for a well-deserved victory, as well as back-to-back wins for the first time since 2007.

As memorable as it was for the fans, the postscript to this match proved controversial as it emerged that club officials organised a meeting that was dubbed “the vault” following the victory over the Power – in which they discussed the benefits of tanking for draft picks.

Ultimately, the Dees finished last on the ladder with four victories, and secured access to the top two picks for the upcoming draft, which they would use on Tom Scully and Jack Trengove, who are both no longer at the club.

1975 VFL grand final: North Melbourne 19.8 (122) defeated Hawthorn 9.13 (67) at the MCG
Half a century after entering the VFL competition, North Melbourne finally got its time under the sun when they became the last of the 12 VFL clubs to win the premiership.

The Roos had come agonisingly close twice before, losing to Essendon and Richmond in the 1950 and 1974 grand finals respectively, and when they met Hawthorn in the 1975 decider, they were determined not to make it third time unlucky.

They had endured a poor start to the season, being 3-6 after nine rounds, but would win eleven of their next thirteen games of the regular season to finish third on the ladder, behind minor premiers Hawthorn and second-placed Carlton.

The Roos then defeated the Blues in the qualifying final before being beaten by the Hawks in the semi-final, so while the Hawks advanced to the grand final by virtue of that victory, the Roos had to play again the following week, facing Richmond in the preliminary final.

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They would exact revenge on the Tigers (who’d won the previous year’s flag at their expense) with a 17-point win to book a rematch against the Hawks, who were to be without their captain Peter Crimmins due to a cancer diagnosis.

Desperate to finally break their premiership curse, the Roos, coached by Ron Barassi, led from start to finish and had the premiership wrapped up by halftime, at which point they had kicked nine goals to the Hawks’ five.

It was then Hawthorn coach John Kennedy Sr famously sprayed his players to the words of: “At least DO SOMETHING! DO! Don’t think, don’t hope, do! At least you can come off and say ‘I did this, I shepherded, I played on. At least I did something”.

Despite Kennedy’s spray, the Roos went on to kick another nine goals in the second half to claim their first flag in emphatic style, the final margin of 55 points being the biggest in a grand final for 18 years.

Arnold Briedis was the star for the Roos, kicking five majors, while Brent Crosswell, John Rantall, Keith Greig, John Burns, David Dench, Mick Nolan, Sam Kekovich and Doug Wade were among their best players.

The absence of Crimmins for the Hawks, as well as a disastrous second game from Michael Cooke (who never played a senior game thereafter), were contributing factors in the Hawks’ defeat. Peter Knights was their best player on what was a dirty day for the club.

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The two teams would meet again in the 1976 and 1978 deciders, with Hawthorn victorious on both occasions.

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