That was the famous Dogs game that we lost, and it worked for them, but mostly because we utterly panicked and banged it long over and over arrogantly thinking eventually it would work, plus the week before had taken it’s toll on us (Carlton win) which gave a nice stew for our only loss.
Wallace flooded the backline, their players in possession would go for the boundary up field, then reset with their defensive players behind and on the ball, and then go for the counter with players moving with the ball when they got in possession and go again for the boundary when in danger. We still managed a 23 point lead early in the last despite how badly we player, but ran out of legs badly with a few injured on the bench too. Dogs also a hard edge brand that enjoyed tough slogs (they also upset the Blues a few weeks before who werre on their own winning streak).
Out only loss came the week after the biggest build up to a Home and Away game ever, the Carlton game which was epic and we ended up running away with it late. I think the Round 21 loss to the Dogs and then the next week where we were down by 3 goals at HT to the Pies (who were about 3rd last) was the worst period from us that entire year. Only other time we were in trouble all year was in Round 10 against we trailed by about 4-5 goals in the third against a hot Crows team, until Long kicked 6 goals in just over a quarter.
It came after argubaly the team being in the worst form of the year, where puandits were saying we were showing cracks with us losing to the Dogs in Round 21 and barely overcoming a lowly Pies (down by 3 goals at HT) too. People gave North a chance leading in, then we go BAM and win by 125 points against a team that was 3rd for most the year (until they slipped up late and had to face us from 4th).
Honestly I’ve seen so much 2000 games, the first year I truly watched every game as a youngster and then my Mum got me the official 2000 yearbook which I must have read 100 times.
They might have tried it in the WCE game I can’t say for sure they didn’t so you could also be right, but that was a rather forgettable and average performance from us despite an easy win, with Sheedy threatening to kill White at HT being the only source of entertainment. The famous Bulldogs game we lost everyone was praising Wallace how he “reinvented” football for flooding and going for the boundary.
There were quotes from after the game where Sheedy was angry, saying “they’ve lost the chance at a perfect season” but he mellowed in the weeks after. I think it was a good loss to have for the team but gee, you’ll never get a chance at the perfect season again.
Wallace also did his best to mislead the opposition in the lead-up, publicly telling reporters about the need to kick goals because he didn’t expect “a 12-goal game similar to the Carlton one”, while secretly training for the super-flood gameplan at Chirnside Park in Werribee.
lol. You wouldn’t get away with that now.
Even so, blitz/BT was still a thing so we totally dropped the ball on this and I blame blitzers.
