It was a great time, I was 10 so it really captured my imagination. I’d been hoping to come across that video somewhere. Was hoping it would’ve had a DVD release but to see the whole thing on YT was magnificent. I’m up to the mid-season game v Hawthorn out at Waverley Park.
The team was made up of 3 categories of players. The youngsters, Hird, Mercuri, Misiti, Fletcher, Olarenshaw, Wanganeen, etc, etc. The veterans from the 84-85 teams, Thompson, Salmon, Harvey, Watson. And then you had an interesting mix of players who bridged that gap between those 2 groups. Bewick, O’Donnell (he was the same age as Harvs, Fish and Bomber but was playing in the ressies in those glory years), Somerville, Grenvold, Wallis, Long, Denham, C.Daniher, etc. Some very good players missed the premiership team that played roles throughout the year. Symons, Kickett (I’m glad it seems that the animosity between himself and Sheedy has died down, at least publicly, and it was great to see him around the club at times this year because he was a star!), Alessio, Flood, A.Daniher, Ezard.
This was Kevin Sheedy at his absolute best. He inherited a very talented group of players when he took on the job that needed some toughening up and the final touches to be put onto the team, and he did that brilliantly in 84-85, but this was his rebuilding of a team that probably ran it’s course after 1991. The last hurrah of the mid-80s sides occurred between 89-91. Prelim Final 89, GF loss 90 and 91 an Elimination Final exit after an injury plagued year. 1992 the rebuild started. Watson retired at the end of 91, TD and Madden played reserves for the majority of the year. The 2s won the flag with a lot of the young boys who made the step up in 93 a part of that team, coached by Denis Pagan, who would become the North Melbourne coach in 1993. It was a stunning turnaround. Everyone is blowing their loads over Hawthorn’s “rebuild” this year, but you take a close look at that team and there’s a hell of a lot of premiership players still there, so it’s nowhere near as great an achievement as the 92-93 rebuild that Sheedy masterminded.
