Sorry. I’m mis-remembering again.
2022. It wasn’t round 1. We were down for most of the game and kicked the last 7 goals to win the game.
Agree with this. There isn’t much memorable about the game. The Jake Stringer Easter special in 2023 was more memorable, but I wouldn’t re-watch the full game. The highlights are perfectly fine.
But that’s why I liked the 2024 game a bit more. It didn’t rely on a moment. It was more of a grind against a quality team who got the jump on us and we slowly reeled them back in. It was the first time that I thought we played a modern style game that didn’t have a rock-paper-scissors affect that was susceptible to certain teams. But, obviously, we couldn’t hold on to that level of footy for too much through the season. But it’ll be the kind of game I’ll replace with highlights by the end of the decade because it can be a tad ‘boring’ to watch.
In that case, one of my favourite nights at the footy since COVID. On the way to the game, there was news coming through of last-minute injuries. I think Lord or Tom Hird were being considered as late-ins but Devon Smith played through an injury instead. My expectations were as low as they could get, but that 2nd half surge where 2MP went bananas was an incredible feeling. It was a nothing game in the grand scheme of things but the crowd was pumping as we hit the front.
Essendon were a hard read at 2-2. This included a disastrous loss to salary cap-punished Carlton and a topsy-turvy win against eventual wooden-spooner, the Western Bulldogs, the previous week.
Collingwood were a worthy Grand Finalist in 2002 and looked primed for another shot at the premiership with a 3-1 start - their only loss being a 14-point loss to Brisbane at the Gabba.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
Perhaps James Hird and Essendon’s best 4-quarter performance this side of the 2000 premiership.
Hird won the ANZAC medal with an incredible 27 disposals, 5 fantastic goals, 2 goal assists and 5 clearances.
The Bombers gave up the first 2 goals of the match before kicking 23 of the remaining 33.
Damian Cupido played one of his best games, kicking 5.2 and claiming 1 Brownlow vote ahead of the likes of Matthew Lloyd, who kicked 6 straight. Cupido’s tackle of Collingwood’s James Clement in the 1st quarter before following up to paddle the ball in front of himself and kick a goal off the ground indicated he was dialed in.
Early in the 2nd quarter, Steven McKee gifted Essendon a free kick for deliberate out-of-bounds about 35m out. Hird retrieved the football, but soon exchanged places with teammate Jordan Bannister. Bannister immediately handballed to Hird, who with a few degrees of angle to work with, immediately shot at goal and split the middle.
Lloyd looked as good as he had for 12 months, marking strongly and kicking accurately from every set shot. He had 4 goals to his name by HT.
A 3-goal burst from the Pies had brought the margin back to just a goal with 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. A Bombers attack through the corridor led to Paul Barnard bombing long inside 50 to Cupido and Lloyd. Cupido recovered quickest from the touched ball to swing around on to his left foot and snap a brilliant goal above post height.
2 minutes later, it was Hird time. He started by intercepting a clearing kick from Collingwood’s Shane O’Bree 50m out. Hird immediately played on, took one look at the laces of the football, and let fly for another Essendon goal. Rioli kicked another goal not even a minute later to bring the house down all before 3QT.
Essendon’s first foray inside 50 in the 4th quarter gave Hird the chance to pick up a bouncing ball 40m out. This time Hird didn’t even look up as he kicked a fantastic goal off balance and under pressure.
Hird soon delivered a perfect chip to Lloyd who kicked his 5th goal from outside 50 to make the margin 37 points.
The 4th quarter turned into party time very quickly. Joe Misit had the ball bumped out of his hands which naturally fell into Hird’s lap, who snapped high, long and straight over the goal umpire’s hat for goal number 4. 2 minutes later, Hird roved the tap from Steven Alessio to snap his 5th.
The Pies were broken. Dean Soloman marked 75m out from goal, turned around, had time to mis-bounce the ball, collect it, and still comfortably get his kick away from 50m. Like most shots at goal that day, it sailed through for another goal. The Bombers won by 66.
Essendon were dominant in the air, winning the contested marks 19-8.
Sheedy didn’t appear to trust his depth. Jordan Bannister played 37% of the game for 5 disposals. Shane Harvey played 37% of the game for 2 disposals. Ted Richards played 24% of the game for 0 disposals. By comparison, Collingwood’s lowest time on ground % player was Leon Davis, with 45%.
What happened next?
You could almost set your clock to it, but Essendon lost to Fremantle at Subiaco by 31 points the following week, and that was in large part to junk time goals from the Bombers. The sensational performance against the Pies seemed like it took part in another universe when Essendon had their score doubled by Richmond one week later. The Bombers re-found their form late in the season to make and win an Elimination Final against Fremantle.
Collingwood lost 2 of their next 3 matches, including home losses against Sydney and West Coast. Despite being only 8th after Round 13, the Pies defeated almost all comers from then on - Brisbane being the exception. A Qualifying Final win against the Lions and a convincing victory against Home & Away standouts, Port Adelaide, gave the Pies confidence ahead of their Grand Final rematch. Thankfully, Brisbane were far too good on the day.
I had the same feeling about this one at the time. A tough grinding win against a talented team that eventually finished top 4. Not clear to me why “people don’t rate it”. Without question on my top 50 list.
Funny how we as supporters recollect games differently. This is one game I recall vividly as one of the best I’ve attended. Particularly with the added hindsight of how rarely we’ve been vaguely competitive with the Cats. Top 10 for mine.
This Anzac Day game is in my top 5 since 2000. And it just beats out the Zaharakis Anzac Day game.
I re-watched this game more often than any other game including the 2000 grand final. Whilst the GF was great, the journey to that day was more of a thrill and that day was more of a relief.
It’s a tad outside the range, but there are a handful of games in 1999 that I’ve re-watched more often than the 2000 GF. And I’ve probably re-watched the 2000 pre-season GF more than the 2000 GF.
Essendon scraped into the finals in unconvincing fashion, winning 2 of their last 4 Home & Away season matches - the 2 wins coming against sides that finished in the bottom 4.
Melbourne were outright ladder leaders after Round 18. A hefty loss to eventual premiers, Port Adelaide, started a collapse down the ladder, as they lost 4 on the trot to finish 5th.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
The Bombers found a bit of magic when it mattered to win an unpredictable and exciting game of football.
Early in the game, Melbourne’s Aaron Davey steamed in to the 50m arc from the bench-side wing and unleashed a kick towards the goalsquare. It looked like it was sailing through for a goal, but Dustin Fletcher glided across to mark on the goal line. Fletcher immediately kicked a trademark 55m drop punt to kick off an Essendon counter-attack along the opposite wing. Before you knew it, the ball was kicked deep inside forward 50 and found its way into James Hird’s lap, who floated through his set shot for a goal.
Throughout the 1st quarter, Essendon made effective use of the width of the MCG, frequently switching the play as they brought the ball out of defense and backing themselves to win the 50-50s in space. They rushed to a 31-7 lead before Melbourne kicked 4 in a row to level the scores at QT.
After Adam Yze kicked the opener for Melbourne in the 2nd quarter, the Bombers went on a 6-goal run. Matthew Lloyd appeared to be hungry for another 100 goal season tally, as he kicked 4 up to HT, including a 60m bomb to put Essendon back in front.
Mark McVeigh kicked a neat snap to put Essendon 19 points up after the Bombers went to coast-to-coast after some desperate defending. Minutes later, Hird squeezed a dribble kick under the outreached arms of Demon Jared Rivers. By the time Hird delivered a perfect pass to Lloyd, who then converted from 45m out, it was hard to imagine Essendon could find a way to lose.
Melbourne came out firing after HT, kicking 6.1 to 0.4 in the 3rd quarter. Almost an hour passed before the Bombers finally kicked their next goal through David Hille, who took a strong contested mark before levelling the scores at 84-84. Lloyd had gone cold, kicking 4 consecutive behinds. The Bombers needed some other big men to step up.
The Dees again took the lead, only for Hird to set up Scott Lucas who chipped in with a goal to level the scores once more. Hille was in the thick of the action. His tap from a stoppage just inside 50 found Hird, who gave it back to Hille after holding off his Dees opponent, the late Troy Broadbridge. Hille squeezed a handball out to a teammate before chasing a high hack kick by Dean Solomon and marking despite being far out of position. The big ruckman squeezed through the set shot from a tight angle to put Essendon back in front by 5 points.
At 97-97 on the scoreboard, Jason Johnson drilled a low kick inside 50 towards Hille in a 1-on-1 in the goalsquare. Hille gave a slight nudge to his opponent, Alistair Nicolson, before swivelling to kick the bobbling ball off the ground and through for a brilliantly improvised goal to put Essendon up by 6.
A rushed behind with seconds on the clock meant the Bombers had a kickout with only a 5-point lead. Fletcher chipped short to Sean Wellman, who saw no easy options and did what most of us would probably have done too - kick it to Hird. Hird read the ball and used his body superbly to take a clutch one-handed mark while holding off Troy Broadbridge. The siren soon rang with the ball in Hird’s hands. Hird tossed the ball into the air in relief. Somehow the Bombers had made it to at least the 2nd week of the finals for the 6th year in a row.
Melbourne’s Troy Broadbridge’s last match of AFL football. Broadbridge tragically passed away during a tsunami the following summer while on his honeymoon in Thailand.
What happened next?
Essendon faced Geelong at the MCG in the Semi-Finals. The up-and-coming Geelong side had a comprehensive 42-point lead late in the 3rd quarter. The Bombers only mustered 2 goals in over an hour of play until Jason Johnson kicked 2 of his own before 3QT. A quick burst from the Bombers, including a genius checkside by Hird from the boundary, reduced the margin to 15 points with just over 5 minutes remaining, but it was too little too late, despite Hird doing everything in his power to will the side over the line.
My birthday is ANZAC day and a uni mates birthday is also around the same time. This particular year, we had a joint one at a night club that had “Greek Night” (he’s Greek). Can’t remember the place but looked like it was a food court during the day.
Anyone, 24th April we are there with a bunch of uni friends and my Greek mate (mad Essendon, Pana-whatevertheyarecalled, Everton fan etc) had a bunch of his mates there too (also went to uni with them). One of them (another mAd Essendon fan, Olympiakos, Liverpool etc) was blind drunk and we obviously talk footy. One of the other boys is a pies fans and saying how they’ll smash us blab blah blah. He offers our drunk mate “5goals in”. Drunk mate stands up, “ill ■■■■■■■ give you ■■■■■ 10goals in”. Pies mate wages $500 on it!! Drunk mate collected $500 on the 26th, not even remembering how he got it.
That’s a prime example of why I don’t like this thread. It’s a good win when we’re 43 points up, and end up winning only because an opposition player missed a shot at goal? I’d call that a horrible win, one of those where you walk away after the game feeling as though we’d lost.
I was also pretty young, but the standards I’d adopted from the Essendon fans around me meant that I didn’t appreciate it at all. We were more concerned with the complete lack of talent coming through and the desperate mature-age recruits we kept picking up.
