Have you not seen any Essendon games over the last 10 years or so? Especially games against the Swans… 
The misplaced confidence in the Essendon crowd towards the end of the 1996 Prelim. Then Dunkley took Hird out, Plugger kicked the winner.
I was there.
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HARMICHAEL KHUNT
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Alot of Essendon supporters say 1996 as a missed opportunity.
There is no way we win the 1996 GF without Hird in the side
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From memory, he wasn’t the only one who was injured.
I went to the GF, one of the most vocal barracking for Norf.
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Always knew you were a north supporter.
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Pretty sure Gorth beat us in the reserves GF by about 17 goals as well.
And Lloyd (Spleen)
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Allegedly the Essendon Norf 2001 game was the biggest comeback.
I wasn’t there for that, but did get to enjoy the shoot out game, apart from GAblett getting free rein from the umps.
Correct, a lacerated spleen. Lloyd ended up in hospital.
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Lucas was also not available for that GF. The score turnaround from prelim to GF loss was similar to the finals versus Geelong in 1989.
Gorth had close to zero injuries so their GF team was STACKED. Because our seniors weren’t in the GF, the rules of the time meant we had to drop lots of players who had played in the winning prelim.
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Spleen… broken splines are more of an issue for engineers and mathematicians…
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We managed to do that quite easily vs Shitney @ SCG 2017
The “Marty McFlyswat” in the goal square by Rohan
Likewise I’ve seen the claim from North supporters about 99, and on one occasion, 2000.
While I believe that anything can happen on GF day, there was no chance of us beating that North team in 1996
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1999 we ■■■■■■ away a premiership. We would’ve creamed them.
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I was there as well, first game of footy I took my son. Lockett got flogged all day and then kicked his only goal.
You cursed it.
We were rife with injuries towards the end of the game. I believe Sheedy said that guys Lloyd and 2 or 3 others wouldn’t have been available for the grand final if we’d made it.
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IIRC Lloyd’s spleen issue caused him to miss the first two weeks of 97.
He was no chance for the 96 GF
Somerville was suspended too.
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