I think that may have been Somerville’s first game.
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Hawthorn at Glenferrie in the penultimate round of the 1957 season. We were never seriously in it and ended up 21 points adrift. It looked like we had blown the double chance but we thrashed Carlton the following week while Hawthorn lost to Footscray after being well ahead at three quarter time, with the result that we leap-frogged the pair of them into second spot.
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I think that might have been Peter Somerville’s first game, and he came into the team as a last minute change. I was there, and I had noticed he wasn’t playing in the Reserves, so I figured he would come into the firsts. He marked everything that day and was clearly BOG. He subsequently became a classic Essendon whipping boy, but was actually a good, mobile ruckman and an excellent mark. Got a premiership medal in 1993 too.
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1998
V.s fremantle at Waverley park. I was so excited to see my favourite players in person……then the game played out
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That game was one of the worst I’d been to. I’d rank it up in the top 10 of “my worst games”.
Peak Essington that game.
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Did some more checking; it was Somerville’s first game and he wore the #42 guernsey.
Round 17, 1990 - Essendon 18.17.125 d Richmond 6.10.46 at Waverley Park
Salmon and Bewick kicked 3 each, Neale Daniher also had 20 touches and two goals and I was very lucky to see him play in hindsight, because he only played two more games after this.
Also notable for being the third and final game of Justin Stubbs obscure Essendon career (not that I knew of him at the time!)
Brownlow Votes 3. G.O’Donnell, 2. G. Anderson, 1. D. Bewick
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Dockers were in their green anchor guernseys from memory. ■■■■ game. James Clement had a blinder from recollection.
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Oh yeah… that was rancid! Truly putrid. The first time we’d lost to Fremantle, definitely in Melbourne, possibly ever. James Clement of all people kicked 5. I was there too…
First game was in 1964, a Bye for my U16 team, FTG, and our team was invited by the Melbourne Football Club to the MCG for the Demons vs the Bombers game.
Our U16 team included Kevin and Dean Murray, nephews of the great Kevin Murray, and my best mate Noel Hardwick, father of Damien Hardwick.
We were invited into the Melbourne rooms at Half Time, and Norm Smith was on an elevated platform with the Melbourne team around him, and we were just behind them. The red-headed Norm Smith was a firebrand and as he roared, we trembled. Totally awesome. I stood just behind the great Ron Barassi. It was a wow! But I was already a Bombers supporter and the mighty Bombers coached by the great John Coleman and captained by Jack Clarke, rose to the occasion and defeated the Demons (the eventual Premiers) by 2 points. Truly a game to remember and cemented my support of the Bombers. I have never wavered.
Essendon 6.14 (50) d Melbourne 7.6 (48) on August 8, 1964.
Coaches:
Essendon: John Coleman
Melbourne Norm Smith
Captains:
Essendon: Jack Clarke
Melbourne: Ron Barassi
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The first game I can remember attending was the 1979 Elimination final.
I wish I could forget.
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Yep. I picked a game I was certain we would win for my first game. Didn’t go to another until 2000 round 22 against Collingwood
1st Essendon game was 1979 against the Hawks at Princess Park.
Somewhere around Rd.6 or 7.
It was a beautiful Autumn Day.
My slightly older cousin was quite cocky the Hawks would win being the reigning Premiers.
He went quiet as TD slammed 5 goals in the 1st qtr, presumably on Kelvin Moore.
We ended up winning by approx 8 pts.
Pretty sure some of it is on YT.
Friday night game early in the 89 season. Wouldn’t have a clue who was playing, not even the bombers.Arrived in Tas Christmas 88. Got taken up by my new neighbour to his brother in law’s shed where they watched the footy every saturday. About a dozen blokes who all became
Good mates asking me who I go for.
" Who wears claret and blue" I asked, West Ham’s colours. " No one" they said. " Well last night I watched a game and all I kept hearing was Watson this and Watson that. Great farkin player. Who was he playing for" They told me. And here I am.
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Been following the Bombers since 93, moved to Melbourne for first job after graduation, so the first live game was 1999 Round 1 against Carlton at the MCG. I remember it was beautiful weather and great result in the end.
I consider myself very lucky as I was in Melbourne from 1999 to early 2002, the very best years to be watching the Bombers live at the MCG and Docklands.
Not wrong. The first 20 or 30 bombers games I went to as a kid (during that sort of era) were all wins, including the two comebacks in 2001 (vs North and vs Sydney).
Strangely enough, my old man reckons they are complete opposites in terms of quality. He rates the comeback vs North as the best game of footy he’s ever been to, and the one against Sydney as the worst.
lol same. aged 4.
don’t really remember anything about the game but i also remember being gobsmacked by the size and aura of the g.
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There is some footage of the game on YouTube…
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god bless the rare essendonfc videos channel
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1997 v Footscray.
Also went 1998 v Richmond, Collingwood and Geelong. We lost all of the above.
Started going more regularly in 1999. What a time to be alive.