At this point, it’s pretty obvious what the top 2 are and I think I’d agree. I know one of the games has a lot of hindsight critics, but it was an incredible game.
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Wasn’t that game at Optus Oval for some stupid reason
Elliot was having a tiff with the AFL at the time, not sure what it was over
Best Win Since 2000 No. 2
Round 16 2001 vs Kangaroos
| Essendon | 2.3.15 | 12.4.76 | 19.8.122 | 27.9.171 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kangaroos | 12.1.73 | 16.1.97 | 22.4.136 | 25.9.159 |
Context
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Essendon were 13-2 and comfortably sitting in 1st place on the ladder. The previous week’s outing had been an underwhelming win against Geelong at Docklands. James Hird was returning from injury to boost the Bombers’ stocks, though Sean Wellman, who’d later be named the All-Australian centre half back, was missing for the red-and-black.
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The Kangaroos’ era of competing for flags appeared to be over, sitting in 9th on the ladder. The Roos’ form was impressive nonetheless, with 5 wins in their last 6 matches. Wayne Carey, Anthony Stevens and Mick Martyn were some of the key outs for the Kangas.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
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The Bombers came back from 69 points down in the 2nd quarter to win by 12 points - setting a new record for the greatest margin overturned in VFL/AFL history.
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Truthfully there are too many key moments to list out in full, so I’ll try to keep things somewhat brief…
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After the Kangaroos kicked 15 of the first 18 goals, The Bombers played one of the best patches of footy they’ve ever played, kicking 9.0 in less than 20 minutes to cut the margin to just 15 points. The way that the game completely shifted from one side’s dominance to the other during a quarter was astounding.
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Jason Johnson played one of the best matches played by an Essendon midfielder in the last 25 years by having 31 disposals (and no clangers), 13 clearances, 10 inside 50s, 4 tackles, and kicking 4.2.
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Matthew Lloyd kicked 6 goals in the 1st half and took some terrific contested marks while doing so.
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As you’d expect, James Hird was also pivotal in the Bombers’ fightback. Early in the Bombers’ fightback, Hird’s risky decision to play on from a mark and subsequent late hit from Corey Jones paid dividends, as he managed to squeeze a mongrel punt through the big sticks and under the attempted smother of Brent Harvey.
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Even after what must be 50+ watches, some of the late 2nd quarter goals still give me goosebumps:
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The roar after Blake Caracella’s goal on the run from 45m out (and Essendon’s 6th in a row) suggests that a lot of Don fans at the MCG were suddenly very optimistic about their chances.
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Mark Bolton’s goal after running in unopposed from outside 50 made it 8 in a row, and if that wasn’t enough to get the crowd up-and-about, Jason Johnson burst away from the next centre clearance, took 2 bounces, and kicked a beauty on the run.
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The 3rd quarter was closely contested, with the Bombers kicking 7 goals to 6. The Kangaroos kicked the last 2 of the quarter to give themselves momentum and a handy 14-point lead heading into 3QT.
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Lloyd’s 9th early in the 4th cut the margin to 9 points. Soon it was Adam Ramanauskas’s turn to take a set shot. He slipped over as he kicked, but the ball somehow swung through for another 6 points.
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After Brent Harvey kicked a torpedo from outside 50 and soon a behind from just inside the boundary, Essendon needed another lift, and naturally it was in the form Jason Johnson. He collected a high-bouncing football on the wing before evading a diving tackle, taking a bounce, and drilling through a fantastic goal from just inside 50.
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After Gary Moorcroft put Essendon in front, the Kangaroos launched another attack. Kangaroo Shannon Motlop hurriedly snapped goalward from 15m out, but the outstretched hand of Hird stopped the ball from travelling the required distance, allowing Chris Heffernan to take possession just outside the goalsquare. The Bombers then launched a devastating counterattack of their own. Paul Barnard, Hird, Lloyd, Caracella and Mercuri all combined before Cory McGrath’s chip off the side of the boot luckily avoided the hand of Steven Alessio and went through for a goal.
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When Gary Moorcroft goaled on the run shortly after a quick Essendon centre clearance, it looked like the Bombers might steamroll the Kangaroos to truly humiliate the Roos. Corey McKernan had other ideas, as he kicked 2 quick goals for the Kangas to set up a nervy finish. McKernan even had a set shot to cut the margin to just 1 point, but missed.
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With Essendon 6 points up, Mark Johnson looked short of ideas when he kicked long down the wing to a pack of players. Hird roved the pack and kicked a long snap into the forward pocket. The ball bounced high over the jumping Gary Moorcroft (and his opponent) which allowed Blake Caracella to run in and finally kill the game off from point blank range.
Extra notes
- Essendon played 3 recognisable ruckmen: John Barnes, Steven Alessio and Judd Lalich. This is the only time these 3 players all played for Essendon in one game.
What happened next?
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Essendon lost their next 2 matches to Port Adelaide and Carlton. The win over the Kangaroos was, in hindsight, arguably the end of what felt like a mostly unbeatable team. The Bombers would win 3 of their last 4 Home & Away matches, but showed plenty of chinks in their armour by the time they met Brisbane in the Grand Final. Despite briefly looking like their experience may be enough at HT, the Lions overran the Bombers in the 2nd half to knock them off their perch and win the premiership.
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The following week, the Kangaroos came close to breaking Brisbane’s winning run in another shootout - this time at Docklands. The Lions kicked 5 of the last 6 goals to storm home and claim victory. One week later, the Roos lost by 107 points against Sydney at the SCG. The Kangas plummeted to a 13th-placed finish come the end of the season.
Click here for best win #1.
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Just an incredible game of football.
It’s easily the best game of football I’ve ever been to and I cannot see it being eclipsed.
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I know some people will disagree with this game being so high, but I’m not one of them. A few notes of my own:
- North were just absolutely scorching in the first quarter. They kicked 12 goals without a miss until David King just missed from beyond 70 metres right on the QT siren.
- This game was on a Sunday afternoon and Channel 7 completely broke precedent by airing a full replay on (I think) Monday or Tuesday night. The game was just that fun.
- I do agree that this was the beginning of the end, but I don’t see it as a harbinger of doom as much as a last hurrah. In fact, you could say our two year run of absolute dominance was bookended by two games against the Kangaroos. It started with the famous Lloyd vs Carey shootout in late 1999 and ended here.
- We really did limp to the line in 2001 and in hindsight were quite lucky to make the Grand Final. We looked a lot more like fringe finalist 2002-04 Essendon than an all conquering juggernaut. I’m still not really sure about what went wrong, but maybe it’s just impossible to be that hot for too long.
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Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have this in the top 3. A GF win almost by default has to be reasonably high up on the list, but I wouldn’t have it in my top 10 or maybe even top 20. It’s just not a game to revisit very often. It’s easy to look back in hindsight and say that obviously nobody was near us and we were never going to lose, but the primary feeling in 2000 was more nervousness (“surely we can’t screw this up again, can we?”) and relief more than sheer happiness.
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100% agree with this, Hawthorn spunked that prelim big time.
Its easy to assume what number 1 will be and id agree with any combination of these 2 games being 1 or 2. But this is genuinely the best game of football I’ve been to live.
Number 1 is a deserved choice for another reason.
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Yeah, I’m glad that game didn’t make the top 50 regardless of the occassion. It was one of the most ominously bad wins I can remember. The bookies had us dead even with Brisbane going in but I knew we had no chance.
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The 2001 game was surreal in the sense that during the second quarter run we the fans knew we would win and that we were all witnessing something unfold that will never happen again.
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No comeback win will ever come close to this. North led by more than 10 goals, kicked a further 10 goals after making that lead, and lost.
There have been other comebacks close to this margin, but in all of them the team that led first stops dead in their tracks. We came back in the second then had to beat North about three more times.
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I was very grateful for that, it allowed me to record that game. I nearly wore out the VHS. I don’t remember them ever replaying a game like that.
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Robert walls (■■■■): “Gary, kangaroos are 33 points up, 25 minute mark of the second quarter: who would you have your money on? “
Lyon (nervously, like he can’t believe he is going to say it) “I think the Bombers, Rob”
What made this game extra special was the fact we got 19 points up and the Ross still came back and kicked the next 2 and should have kicked three but that spud McKernan missed a sitter from 35 out
At the game, at quarter time my dad said “if we outscorethem by 6 goals in the second quarter we will win”
My mate said “we can still win this, how many times have we outscored teams by 10 goals in 3 quarters?”
Said something along the lines of “we’ll be with 4 goals at HT and win” to my mum.
It’s pretty clear what the number 1 game is.
And I have no issue with it. It definitely fits in perfectly on this list because not in your wildest dreams would you even consider dominating a final quite like that.
I’ve gone through a few in the 2000that I’d try and find a spot for within the 50. But my standards are weather it’s watchable or not.
I’d try to include:
- 2000 Ansett Cup GF
- 2004 v Haw line in the sand. I know it kicked off Hawthorn’s resurgence, but I can definitely watch the first half of that game.
- 2007 v Richmond with the hands in the back rule.
On a quick skim view, there weren’t many others that stood out.
I do want to watch 2009 v Carlton in round 3. It was a close win, but I don’t recall anything from that game.
I seem to think there was another good win against St Kilda in the 2000s, but I don’t know when it was.
I’ll go through the 2010s and 2020s games. There’s bound to be another two or three there.
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Imagine if a 12 goal loss led to our resurgence we’d be resurging every second week.
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Watching the replay at quarter time, I still think we’ll lose.
Best Win Since 2000 No. 1
Qualifying Final 2000 vs Kangaroos
| Essendon | 9.1.55 | 15.6.96 | 25.9.159 | 31.12.198 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kangaroos | 4.2.26 | 6.3.39 | 9.4.58 | 11.7.73 |
Context
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Essendon came into the game in shaky form having lost infamously to the Western Bulldogs in Round 21 and won in uninspiring fashion against bottom-four Collingwood in Round 22.
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The Kangaroos were the reigning premiers, though Essendon had won their last 3 meetings - 4 if you include the 2000 Ansett Cup final. The Roos were also in scratchy form, with just 2 wins from their last 4 matches.
Why it’s on the list / key moments
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4 quarters of unbelievably high quality football during a Qualifying Final. Essendon were better in basically all areas of the game.
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Again, there are too many highlights to mention. Thankfully you can see all the goals on YouTube (as of Feb 2026).
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Joe Misiti had 41 disposals, 5 tackles, 11 clearances, 10 inside 50s and kicked 4.0, playing one of the best ever games by an Essendon midfielder.
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James Hird returned from a minor injury to kick 5 goals in the 1st half.
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Adam Ramanauskas, in his 24th game of AFL football, looked like a star of the future. The youngster took several courageous/acrobatic marks and effortlessly brought the ball out of defense, an example of which came in the 3rd quarter when he sidestepped Shannon Motlop and escaped the fingertips of Wayne Carey.
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By late in the 3rd quarter, it started to look truly embarrassing for the Kangaroos. They trailed by 82 points and were leaving a paddock for Essendon to stroll through as they pleased. Michael Long handballed over an oncoming Roo to Chris Heffernan, who then repeated the dose and handballed over the top of his opponent to Gary Moorcroft. Moorcroft chipped short to Blake Caracella 20m out. With Essendon teammates on either side of him and under absolutely no pressure, Caracella jogged into 12m out and kicked the goal over the heads of Matthew Lloyd and Mick Martyn.
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Minutes later, Moorcroft found John Barnes in the goalsquare, who marked and immediately handballed to Misiti, who was roughly 4m out from goal. Misiti blasted the ball into the stands off one casual step.
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Matthew Lloyd kicked his 100th goal of the season during the 4th quarter, kicking his 6th goal of the game on Mick Martyn with the contest long over. Fans streamed onto the MCG and play had to be paused for some time. The ball had been delivered to him by Long, who played his last great game with 31 disposals, a goal and an abundance of creativity. Party time.
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Sheedy tried to share around the goals in the 4th quarter with Damien Hardwick, Dean Wallis and Ramanauskas all spotted up forward. Wallis provided an assist for Moorcroft, while Ramanauskas took a brilliant leaping one-hander against Kangaroo Peter Bell. Bell’s expression of disbelief told the story.
Extra notes
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Essendon won the disposals 408-258, including more than doubling the Kangaroos in uncontested possessions. It was a training drill for the Bombers.
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David King kicked 7.0 and had 22 disposals for the Kangas. His windmill celebration after kicking the opening goal was as good as it got for North.
What happened next?
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Essendon cruised through to their 16th premiership over the following 3 weeks.
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The Kangaroos recovered to win a close Semi-Final against Hawthorn, but they were blown away by Melbourne in the Preliminary Final. The 50-point loss was flattering to the Roos.
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Genuinely the most complete 4 quarter performance from any team in any era of footy I have ever seen. I could count the amount of “mistakes” we made on one hand, North didn’t even play that ■■■■ we were at legit perfection
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