Took an Irish mate to his first game that day. Said “make sure you wear a shirt with a collar” to get into the Members’. Naturally rolls up in a T-shirt, so had to sit down the Punt Rd end.
IIRC we got back within a goal with quite a few minutes to go, then Wallis and A Daniher missed straightforward shots, until Wanga won it with an HTB free.
1949 - Coleman’s first game - 12 goals.
1949 - Grand Final - 73 point win over FC.
1950 - Grand Final - Back to Back.
1974 - Windy Hill brawl v Richmond.
Games I’d like to go again: (apart from the obvious 'Daniher '81, '84, '85, '93, etc…)
1978 - Where it all started for me: Round 12 v South Melbourne at the Lake Oval. First game I ever attended. A young Tim Watson bags 5 in the rain.
1983 - Cameron Clayton’s square up on Dipper for the hit on Rocky Stoneham earlier that season. I’d make sure I’d see the punch this time around.
1984 - Second Semi Final v Hawthorn. Narrow loss, but still one of the greatest games I’ve witnessed. Merv and Dipper going head to head on a wing all day. Awesome contest.
1991 - Round 7 v WCE, Windy Hill. Another narrow loss, but one of the gutsiest performances I’ve seen from an Essendon side.
1992 - Anzac Day comeback v Melbourne.
1993 - Round 6. Salmon v Ablett.
1996 - Bewick’s 9 goal comeback v Geelong
1997 - Round 22 v Adelaide. Harvey’s last game.
2017 - Round 1 v Hawthorn.
thankyou
i was there and also at the previous game when Neil Daniher won us the game against the Blues
I got confused
93 PF on Fox504 now
when the great Ronnie Andrews was king hit from behind by Stewart Gull who was a heavy weight boxer at Windy Hill
Ronnie played on and well despite that
1991 - Round 7 v WCE, Windy Hill. Another narrow loss, but one of the gutsiest performances I’ve seen from an Essendon side.
absolutely
think we had 16 players left
a great Sheedy coaching performance
Bewick - concussion, courtesy of Mark Harvey.
Long - broken ribs.
Heard - knee.
Salmon - hamstring.
Somerville’s massive skyscraper in the third quarter.
Simon Madden defying his age with an inspirational performance.
7 point loss. Standing ovation from a rabid crowd.
Windy Hill was jam packed. From memory, they closed the gates well before the first bounce.
One of the most memorable afternoons I’ve spent at the footy.
Bruce was wrong. Though I guess we’re talking about it a quarter of a century on.
So many other moments you could have mentioned: e.g. Adrian Burns taking the Big Bad Irving kick to the stomach and continuing, because there was no choice.
P.S. Salmon was a groin issue, not hamstring. The leading mark he took late and then the kick to score killing him was brutal… not soft, as some may have labelled him.
there was no standing ovation at half time when we were goal-less. We’re not st kilda.
at the final siren after we’d kicked the final 6-7 goals of the game was when they were applauded.
Where were you sitting? Where I was definitely standing ovation.
I suppose technically, it’s always a Standing Ovation in the Grog Squad, … 
Madden… around Irving… what a kick! UNBELIEVABLE
I only recall applause after the match. I reckon people were ■■■■■■ off at half time. I was, I felt that we were playing like we thought we were never going to win so why bother and needed to get out of the doldrums. Then we did.
That was a great night; it was the VFL/AFL centenary match and as the curtain raiser they got a bunch of retired greats to play an exhibition game. I remember Barassi, Sam Newman our there - slow but still had skills and vision.
Then there were fireworks - first time I’d seen them at the ‘G
I also remember at some stage during the match calling out: “James Hird you will win the Brownlow.”
And then there was Boris. It was 9 goals 0 behinds if I remember correctly…
And his first game back from a knee reco as well. Was on fire that night.
You are correct, 9 goals straight and never looked like missing one.
Bittersweet night that one. Gain one champ back from a knee injury in spectacular fashion and lose another in Longy to the same type of injury.
Yep. Perfectly put.