We wish it was only 100 points, it was 160, one of the biggest losses in VFL/AFL history. We were incredibly awful, but it lead to us playing the kids and the rest is history
Ah the entitled ones - how dare any past period have higher highs or lower lows than their own lived experience.
I’ve had to come to terms with old blokes endlessly telling me about Coleman and Reynolds.
Without denigrating their views or those players.
And for what it’s worth none of you have noted that Geoff Blethyn is my avatar of choice - I have fond memories of players of the Seventies. (And 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s). It just doesn’t make for amazmoments in Essendon history.
I’ll leave you with a moment I’d happily relive (a mate reminded me last night)
Post 1985 Grand Final.
Leigh Matthews being carried from the ground in tears after what was then a record Grand Final loss.
Suck on that Hawthorn.
4 Likes
Any moment? Mine would’ve been when Dank was about to inject the first player. Or when Matthew Knights was being appointed as coach.
Otherwise the great stuff…93 GF… 2000, West Coast game when Hirdy the hugged the crowd, West Coast game when they booed Jobe (to shove it up them)
1 Like
It was after the Hawthorn loss in 1992 that Sheedy brought Hird into the team for the last three games of the season. With Hird, Fletcher, Mecuri, Hills, Olarenshaw, Calthorpe and Misiti we had a team filled with talented young players who along with Salmon, Thompson, O’Donnell etc took us to a flag in ’93.
I’d go back to any game at Windy Hill pre O&HS law.
i wish we were just ■■■■.
add a saga on top of it and suddenly the 70s was still worse.
1 Like
If only that were true.
I was begging for us to kick just 1 more Goal so we could deliver back to them, the humiliation of a record GF loss they gave to us in 83. (82 points).
We had our chance as I recall, when leading by 77 late in the last, but kicked a point to win by 78, rather than a goal, & the 83. that would have achieved that amazingly poetic result.
How fkn perfect that would have been, … sigh
3 Likes
I’ve been a supporter since 1960, but still somehow the passions coming out of the persecution of the saga are the strongest.
The 2nd last round win against Carlton at the height of the AFL war against the club in 2013, when the players knew they were to be thrown out of the finals sticks out for me. We had been struggling woefully in preceding weeks due to the saga, and gave it one final almighty effort that night. Guess who kicked the winner late? Yep Zaka again.
The wins the same year in the west against both Freo and WC were right up there.
And if you leave out the emotions generated by the saga, the 84 GF win was pure heaven. After the hopelessness of the early 70s, we had something like 4 consecutive losses in the first week of the finals (79 to 82), then the record breaking GF loss in 83, and to come from behind and overrun Hawthorn in the last was just about the most exhilarating thing I can remember
9 Likes
Yeah the 84 GF is still my favourite game that I attended. Dad and I got tickets from my uncle who worked at 3AW at the time. Same seats for the second semi and the granny, on the aisle right across from a bay full of Hawthorn members. They gave us ■■■■ for 7 out of 8 quarters that September, but we gave it back in the quarter that mattered most, for a brief period before they all started leaving anyway.
As far as a moment that I wish I was there for, in the boardroom when it was decided that Hardwick’s dodgy laptop should deny him the coaching gig.
1 Like
I forgot one big saga related win. Round 1 of 2017 when all the players came back, against Hawthorn, as the reigning premiers, and after an emotional march to the G. How good was that!
Edit: just realised Hawthorn weren’t the reigning premiers, but pretty much equivalent of.
10 Likes
This one holds a special place. After the match we were all singing the song, then my 8yo nephew hugged me and thanked me for making him an Essendon supporter. I reckon he might enjoy his next few years.
8 Likes
I think the Commission thought he’d quit but i never heard that the club agreed to sack him.
If they agreed to sack him, they would have sacked him.
But…of course, it’s popular in some quarters to bag every single action the club made.
Hird had been strongly urged by Lukin to stand down and Demetriou made similar comments in the media before the Fro game. Just the look on Robson’s and Evans’ faces in the rooms after the dons came back from the dead against Freo says it all about what the club wanted.
No need for me to bag the club: by their actions you know them
4 Likes
One loss that I would have not minded seeing live was the Rnd 7 match at Windy Hill 1991 v the Eagles.
Both teams went in at 6-0 in a top-of-the-table clash. Eagles started well with the first 5 or six goals of the match before Essendon staged a comeback to hit the front (I think) at half time.
In the third quarter Essendon’s injuries started to mount with no bench and Shane Heard, Longy and the Big Fish all occupying the full forward line all with leg injuries ( all had strained/pulled hammies I think). Despite this disastrous set of circumstances, the Bombers aided by Salmon’s strong marking and two goals on one leg and the rabid home crowd to spur them on, Essendon somehow managed to get out to a two or three goal lead and hang onto it until early or midway into the final term before the highly talented Eagles team finally broke them and overran us to win by 7 points.
It was Wanganeen’s first season at Essendon too and he played some inspired footy in this game to really grab everyones attention.
Despite the loss the Essendon side were given a standing ovation from the pro-Bomber crowd for their gutsty performance for what probably ended up being the game of the year that season.
After this game though Essendon never really recovered spluttering their way to a first week exit in the finals to Melbourne where once again injuries played a part in their downfall.
The Eagles ended winning their first 11 or 12 games of the season before succumbing to Hawthorn in the GF by 53 points out at VFL Park.
Even watching that game on tv from Perth the atmosphere of the Essendon crowd that day really stood out and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
One of my all time favourite Essendon games that I unfortunately never got to attend.
Another mention would’ve been any home match at Windy Hill in that '84-'86 period where we would regularly win by between 80-100+ points.
Most notable games were beating North by 104 pts after leading by 100 at half time, Smashing Geelong by over 100 and Fark Carlton by 109
Just glorious times.
11 Likes
I can still still hear the hum of the crowd as Smack kicks it and goals. (3rd quarter)
( I was watching on telly, being there must have been amazing, I recall replaying that bit over and over. Magic) 
2 Likes
My (much older) cousin played seven games for Essendon in the late 50s.
Would be nice to be able to go back to that time and watch him running around.
9 Likes
1989 Round 15 v Essendon, Windy Hill
Chris Lewis’ second quarter goal was the only major the Eagles registered for the entire day.
ESSENDON 8.2 13.2 17.8 25.10 (160)
WEST COAST 0.1 1.2 1.7 1.12 (18)
I went to this game and still remember going home grumpy because I was certain that Chris Lewis’s snap for goal from the wind-sock end pocket was touched off the boot.
Would like the opportunity to double-check.
8 Likes
I was at that game. Dunstall killed us kicking 12. It was a terrible day.
Princess Park, Neale Daniher.
Behind all day with two prats in front of us mocking my mate every time he said “it’s not over until the final siren”
Daniher marked, both bent down with their hands on their knees, heard the Essendon roar, spun around and walked away without looking up and my mate screaming “it’s not over until the final siren”
6 Likes
Was this the day princess Dianna died?