The lost premiership years circa 1994 to 2001

We’ll get back there, have faith.

Ok…so you edited your post with a response and now I’ll answer your question re '99.

I’ll give you my thoughts on why we lost but I doubt that this will satisfy you.

Where to start?

Attacking down the members wing when we were kicking to the city end…their ruckman was stationed there and repeatedly clogged up our attacks

Mark Mercuri & Blake Caracella kicked (from memory) 0.7 between them…possibly our two best kicks at the time and yet they could not buy a goal.

Kicking 7.7 in the third quarter…a few more of those points being goals and we probably would have run away with the game.

Fat Lance kicking one from outside fifty in the last quarter when he could hardly take a breath

Fraser Brown kicking the arsey (for the time) dribble goal after being forced to go back inside

Wally getting caught

It was a one point game and it just seemed like the football gods didn’t want us to win.

Sometimes sh*t happens…that was one of those times

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Interestingly, the years you specify are, relatively speaking, some of the most consistently successful in the modern period of the club.

It’s the idea that every year should have ended in a flag that seems to be the point. To describe them as “lost premiership years”, is pretty presumptuous, especially when we won a flag in that period, in what is historically the most dominant season ever played in the sport.

I sort of don’t understand the premise of the original post: we used to be ruthless bastards that didn’t take a step back; but, um, we didn’t do well enough. Now we are a shadow of ourselves.

Is it in reference to then, or now?

You left out one important factor; Kouta. He played a blinder and turned the game their way.

Gee CJ…give a bloke a break…it’s over twenty years ago and I’m not getting any younger :wink:

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You won’t want to hear my thoughts about the 1968 GF then.

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I remember listening to that on the radio with my dad…I was 8 at the time

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Okay. Justify the Sydney brisbane and Richmond losses. I iike the efforts in justifying the Carlton loss so kudos to you but talent wise we were that much better than Carlton, you know it I know it, opposition supporters know it, all that ■■■■ you mentioned never should of been an issue. North Melbourne supporters to this day are forever greatful about 99. Fwiw I still long for those headY days of 94 to 01 even though we stuffed it up in many respects. These days we are just a soulless footy club dictated to by the powers that be. At least back then we were decent on field and we had a backbone of field.These days we have neither. We were ruthless in respect of always being thereabouts onfield and off field we would be somewhat a little more vocal .These days whatever the AFL want we will roll. 2013 August 29th proved that, no ruthlessness that day, no heart and to boot let a couple of premiership captain’s suffer. The old Essendon circa 94 to 01 never would of done that.

Now answer my remaining questions Mr swoiodley, since you seem to think you know everything.

Joan…it appears that you lack respect for your fellow posters.

Please quote where I have said (or even indicated) that “I think I know everything”

Until then, you’re going into the “troll pool” where I truly believe you belong

Compared to what we are now we were ruthless bastards. Don’t get me wrong 94 to 01 I had some of the best times at the footy we were a darn good side. It just irks me that the era could of down in AFL history as one of the best eras of all time. I just think we let a potential golden period slip. Now we are just a bunch of softies that will be lucky to win 8 games and opposition supporters laugh at. Don’t get the Townsend hate by some. Easily the toughest bloke at Essendon. That says a lot.

Answer the remaining questions swoodley that I have left and cut the bullshit.

Joan - last point from me:

Your original post and thread title is: “The lost premiership years circa (sic) 1994 to 2001”*

Your most recent post laments the loss of those years:

“These days whatever the AFL want we will roll. 2013 August 29th proved that, no ruthlessness that day, no heart and to boot let a couple of premiership captain’s suffer. The old Essendon circa 94 to 01 never would of done that.”

We are all variously upset about the current nadir of our football club - but let’s not conflate it with the reason you find it so upsetting.

All you have to do is say: we were very, very good back then. (Even though I wish we were better and had won the flag every year)
And otherwise accept that: we are not very good any more and, like the rest of us, look forward to the point when we can turn the corner.

In the end, this doesn’t seem to have been a conversation about “lost premiership” years; moreso, the fact that for many years we’ve devolved into a shadow of the team and culture we once were proud of.

Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 15 years for it to turn around.

C’mon Bombers

*94 was nowhere close to a premiership year.

Respect that post Zimmer👍.

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Swoodley so you have tried to explain the Carlton stuff up. Just waiting on the Richmond 95 explanation, Sydney 96, Brisbane 01. Your Carlton one while you tried failed. Waiting…,…

There were 3 we should have won.
The loss to Sydney in the Prelim 96, the loss to Carlflog in the Prelim 99 and the loss the the Lions when up by 18 points during the 3rd qtr in the GF 2001.

We wouldn’t have beaten North in ‘96. We were smashed by injury in that prelim.

We were robbed by the tribunal and Harry Caspar in ‘51, and by Jeff Crouch in ‘68 (not that we were the better side that day).

But equally, I’m sure Hawthorn are lamenting the loss in ‘84, about 5 clubs spewing in ‘93, not least Geelong who missed the finals.

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Despite playing in all the GF’s in the 80’s Hawthorn didn’t win them all.

North lost in 98

Brisbane 04

Geelong 08

Hawthorn 12

The best sides in the modern era all lost Grand Finals and probably prelims too. Sometimes their greatness gets them to the pointy end even if they aren’t the best team that year. No one wins them all and we did better than Geelong in the 80’s/90’s who were allways the bridesmaids.

Not sure why 95 comes up, Carlton where far and away the best team that year, ditto 96 and north.

:no_mouth: We all know what happened, and the why’s & wherefores have been discussed ad nauseam.

Pointless navel gazing regurgitation.

Thread,

muted.

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We had a shocking run of injuries to top players in that 94-01 period. 94 was a shocking year for injuries at the club, Long had 3 major knee injuries after 93, Bewick barely played 95-97, Hird had his foot issues 97-99, Mercuri was always copping soft tissue injuries. Wanganeen was an absolute champion and was irreplaceable post 96.

Carlton in 95 were a great team, 96 we would have got flogged in the GF.

97 to me is a year I think we could have done something. The comp was pretty weak that year and we started the year really well before players started dropping like flies. 98 we never really got going and we seemed a bit soft at times against the stronger teams, especially North.

I felt in 99 that North would probably beat us in a GF. Our team that year wasn’t a great one. Having Hird, Lucas and J Johnson out for most of the season was always going to catch up with us. In 2000 we got those three back plus Barnes and Rama in place of Young, Prior, Fraser, Sommerville and Rioli, although Rioli fit definitely plays in the premiership. Those five ins in place of the outs is what made us a great team in 2000 into 01. We still should have beaten Carlton with what we had in 99 to at least get a shot. North would have done anything to win 99 after their loss in 98, they blew a flag that year.

01 we just had too many players not 100%. It was pretty hot on the day and it was also warm the week before v Hawthorn which played into Brisbanes hands a bit. Hird took a big knock early and was pretty much done after that. These days he would have come off and not been allowed to return. We pushed really hard for an early goal in the 3rd qtr and Brisbane held off really well but if we got one goal it would have been a 20 point lead early in the 2nd half of a GF. Not many sides lose them from there.

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