Your top 5 / bottom 5 moments of 2005

[Goldenblue]

Now we have entered a new year, what were your top and bottom 5 moments of 2005 for the Eagles?

Here are mine:

(The Top)

1. Grand Final.
I have to admit it gave me shivers up the spine when I saw the blue and gold ribbons around the cup before the game started. Though we lost and it was gut wrenching, I am proud of the way the boys fought back when all looked lost at one stage.

2. Cuz's Brownlow.
Most pundits were on the money when they touted Cuz would win the Brownlow part way through the season. However, the biggest surprise was the way Kerr lead the count most of the night but pipped in the last few rounds by Cuz.

3. Rounds 1 through to 8.
We won 8 games in a row till our round 9 loss to Collingwood. This enabled us as a team to show our critics that we were a force that could go all the way. The myths of us not winning away and then not able to win finals were dead and buried.

4. Rounds 3 and 20 Vs Fremantle.
Beating the Dockers anytime is a memorable moment. Though, my fears of losing in round 3 were overcome when we snuck in by 4 points if my memory serves me correctly. Round 20 was beautiful to watch a professional side dismantle an up and coming side.

5. Prelim final vs Adelaide.
After losing to the Crows on our home soil in round 22, it was sweet revenge for the club as we pipped them to reach the grand final for the first time since 1994. I have to admit that I was one who had a few doubts creeping in when our team looked a little lost during those last few rounds.


(The bottom)

1. The Grand Final loss.
I was hurting, I was proud, I nearly cried. It still hurts when I replay that game on my TV. I am a sucker for punishment.

2. Chris Judd's suspension.
We do have rules we have to abide by when we play our great game, but when opposing players scrag, niggle and use unlawful tatics to curb a players creativity, the taggers need looking at. Rules must be brought in to protect these players and umpires should learn to be more aware of what is going on around the ball. Judd was suspended for losing his cool due to an opposing players dirty tactics.

3. Losing round 9 to Collingwood.
We were on a roll, we were the favourites to win the match, Collingwood were a rabble and we should have won the game. I don't mind losing to any other side, but losing to Collingwood is a no no. Collingwood's supporters came out of the woodwork again sprouting flag claims, but worse, they won another 4 in a row. We allowed them to get back into form, and I prefer Collingwood when they are a rabble as they are fun to tease. ;)

4. Round 19.
We lost an away game to the Bulldogs. Not only did we lose, but we lost in grand style. It allowed the doubters to climb back on the bandwagon about us not winning away and that we were on the slide down again. Though it is only a hic cup, it was the first time in 2005 that I actually turned the TV off due to my disgust in our players attitudes and work ethics.

5. Phil Matera.
The retirement of the little fella was a shock. Though often bagged by opposition supporters, there are other opposing supporters who do recognise the guy is a champion. Injury ravaged his 2005 season which in turn helped him into retirement, but not seeing the number 33 made famous by him, (after Holmes and Kemp) will be sorely missed.

[embleygirl]

Top 5

1. Ben winning the Brownlow

2. Getting to the GF

3. The two Derby wins

4. Just how great our midfield really is - they totally stepped it up another notch

5. Drew Banfield signing on another year

Bottom 5

1. GF Loss

2. The thrashing against Geelong

3. Brauny's injury - ruling him out of the GF

4. Matera retires

5. Collingwood loss

[jorel6669]

Top 5.
1. Beating Adelaide to make the grand final - surreal feeling I've not felt for 10 years.
2. Cousins' Brownlow win - thoroughly deserved, great to see back to back West Coast winners after years of wondering if I'd ever see an Eagle win one.
3. Beating Sydney in the Qualifying final - was pretty much resigned that the Eagles weren't going to make the grand final this year, but then they pulled something out of the hat, despite what the Big Footy crowd says.
4. Thrashing Port Adelaide - it was an answer with an exclamation point to the surprise loss to Collingwood the previous week
5. Second Western Derby win - outgunned an opponent that needed to win.

Bottom 5.
1. Grand Final loss - like the Qualifying final, I thought the game was pretty much over at half time. So proud of the team for fighting so hard to push a very underrated Sydney side. It's funny how the Eagles get bagged for having no forward line, when they kicked only one less goal than a side that had a forward line consisting of the All-Australian full forward in Barry Hall, along with Nick Davis, Micky O'Loughlin and few mosquito fleeters. Heaven help the rest of the comp if our forward line does start to fire!
2. Grand final loss - so gut wrenching it needs to be listed twice to underline how much it hurt.
3. Losing the Wizard Cup final - more of a disappointment than gut wrenching. Would have liked to have seen it happen but I'd happily watch the side lose EVERY pre-season cup if they could go on an win the big one.
4. The flogging at Geelong - the questions returned as to whether the side was ready for finals.
5. Win over St Kilda - may seem weird that I have this here, but reflecting on the game it really was a sign that the killer instinct was not there. The Eagles dominated but still only won by 30 odd points against a St Kilda side that wasn't really playing good footy. I think this crept back in the wins over Melbourne, Richmond, Kangaroos, Hawthorn... Hopefully it's something they will address in 2006. Finish sides off.

[Mrs. Cousins]

The Best Moments:
1. Being on top of the ladder for most of the year and making the Grand Final

2. My boy winning the Brownlow

3. Beating Sydney in the Qualifying Final, easily the most exciting game ive ever been to

4. Beating Adelaide in the Prelim Final

5. The Port thrashing


The Worst Moments:
1. Losing the Grand Final, it still hurts :mad:

2. Our first loss of the season being to Collingwood, the team i hate with a passion

3. Loss to Geelong, didnt look like we were even trying out there

4. Phil Matera retiring

5. Losing to Bulldogs

[wce_all_da_way]

Top 5

1. Prelim. The Final Quarter of that game was great. Loved the Chick and Hansen goals. That got me so pumped up.

2. QF. The Hunter mark was awesome but so was Cox taking those marks at the end.

3. Brownlow win for Benny.

4. The first Derby when we came back from that margin at Half Time.

5. The Port Thrashing.

Bottom 5

1. Grand Final loss

2. Collingwood loss.

3. Adelaide loss. I thought we were done.

4. Juddy suspended

5. The Cousins/Gardy incident. That really ********ed me off what The West wrote. Blown out of proportion

[skip]

BEST
Cousin Brownlow
Prelim Final
V Brisbane both times
v Freo both times
v Port

WORST
GF loss
Collingwood loss
late season form
Judd suspension
Cuz and Grady the gangsters, but cuz responded well playing a great games v Hawkers

[Quinz]

My top 5 moments:

1- Cuzz Brownlow: Great season from an inspiring captain.
2- Qualifying Final: One of the best games I have seen, had heaps of memorable moments.
3- Preliminary Final: Overcoming a late charge by Adelaide to enter the Grand Final, never experienced anything like that before in my life, being too young to remember the 92/94 GF's.
4- Kerr vs Essendon: Unbelievable game by Kerr, inspiring stuff.
5- Eagles vs Port: Total annihilation, brilliant stuff.

Bottom 5 moments:

1- Grand Final: Worst moment of my year by far. Felt proud of the boys, but couldn't escape the hollow feeling. Because we had some back from a great deficit, and almost won, felt even worse.
2- Phil Matera retiring: Sad to see the end of a champion player.
3- Losing to Geelong: Got completely destroyed, when cementing top spot was on offer, and let the doubters back in.
4- Judd Suspension: Sucked in by cowardly, unfair play, which the umpries completely failed to address.
5- Braun Injury: Felt terribly sorry for him, pplaying ervery game of the seaons, and being a great contributer to the club, only to miss out on the thing every player wants. Could have made a diference in the GF.

[ImperialPurple]

originally posted by Goldenblue:
4. Rounds 3 and 20 Vs Fremantle.
Beating the Dockers anytime is a memorable moment.


originally posted by embleygirl:
3. The two Derby wins


originally posted by jorel6669
5. Second Western Derby win


originally posted by wce_all_da_way:
4. The first Derby

originally posted by skip:
v Freo both times



Aah... but it's us that are obsessed with beating you, eh? ;) Isn't that the line?? "The Shockers are too concerned with us - for us it's just another game. We don't care about them at all."

:confused:



But just FYI - our worst "winning percentage" against any team in the comp is against you lot... :( ; our best is against St Kilda... :thumbsu:

[jorel6669]

.
Aah... but it's us that are obsessed with beating you, eh? ;) Isn't that the line?? "The Shockers are too concerned with us - for us it's just another game. We don't care about them at all."

:confused:



But just FYI - our worst "winning percentage" against any team in the comp is against you lot... :( ; our best is against St Kilda... :thumbsu:

The key difference being is that it would head your list. It seems we're more obsessed about grand finals and finals according to our lists. :)

[Bestbird]

.

Aah... but it's us that are obsessed with beating you, eh? ;) Isn't that the line?? "The Shockers are too concerned with us - for us it's just another game. We don't care about them at all."

:confused:



But just FYI - our worst "winning percentage" against any team in the comp is against you lot... :( ; our best is against St Kilda... :thumbsu:

Of course most Eagles fans enjoy beating the Dockers, hometown derbies of any football code anywhere in the world are important for bragging rights during a season for there fans.

The difference in the past though it seems is that the Dockers and there fans have tended to treat the games more like the pinnacle of a season, almost giving it a finals like status instead of a regular home and away derby



Top Five

1. Early season form indicating that the team had elevated itself from a middle of the road side to a team to be reckoned as a finals threat

2. Cousins winning the Brownlow

3. Home Finals in Perth

4. Being with all the Eagles fans in melbourne and witnessing all the the pre game day hype (Lots of Alcohol induced merriment to boot)

5. The team making the Grand Final



Bottom 5


1. Bad publicity in the media regarding the club with Cousins and Gardiner

2. Waiting all season to see a KPP kick a five goal bag to no avail

3. The Geelong game late in the season. The players appeared to not want to be there

4. The home final vs Sydney, left the ground proud of the way the team fought back in the last quarter only for it to be coined a "lucky win" by some parts of the media

5. The feeling of loss immediately after the Grand final, even though it was quickly replaced with pride in the way the team played

[ImperialPurple]

The key difference being is that it would head your list.


Originally posted by Bestbird:
The difference in the past though it seems is that the Dockers and there fans have tended to treat the games more like the pinnacle of a season, almost giving it a finals like status instead of a regular home and away derby


Keep telling yourselves that people. ;)



BTW - I come in peace. I'm outta here now. :)

[Goldenblue]

BTW - I come in peace. I'm outta here now. :)

You are always most welcomed here IP. Have to admit, one of the Freo posters I respect the most. :)

[Jako]

Top 5:

1. Ben Cousins intercepting a Sydney pass in our goal square and kicking a goal to put us in front in the grand final in the last quarter.. I thought we had it...

2. Daniel Chick kicking the last goal of the day in the prelim final, securing a place in the GF and running along the boundary line with one fist raised in the air with the crowd going bezerk. sends shivers up my spine thinking about.

3. Hunters screamer in the dying minutes of our first final and sebsequent goal. What a moment!

4. rounds 1 - 8. who would have thought we'd be undefeated at that stage. wow I had fun bragging to my friends.

5. Our four point win over kangaroos on a friday night at the telstra dome, can't remember the round. may seem like an odd choice but it was the first win i had witnessed live for years. I had just been unlucky enough to go to pretty much every game in melbourne we lost and none of the games we won for years and that's what made this game extra special.

runners up -

6. Our first quarter against brisbane the second time we played them at subi. Was touted as a danger game for us and brisbane were almost favourites and we came out and smashed them around, one of the best first quarters i've seen.

7. watching Judd hang the brownlow around Cousins neck, that was special. However the personal glory of the brownlow will never rank above team success for me.

8. Our second half against Port Adelaide at Subiaco, a huge win and that mexican wave!

9. Both derbies, they just put a smile on your face :D

Bottom 5:

1. That Leo Barry mark.

2. Round 9 loss to collingwood, I was there...

3. Round 22 loss to Adelaide. After being so dominant we lost the minor premiership.

damn i'm depressed now...

4. Our end of season loss of form.

5. Micheal Braun doing his knee in the opening minutes of the prelim final

[Carn the Coasters]

HIGHLIGHTS
1. Qualifying Final Win v Sydney.
2. Chick and Hansen's back-to-back goals in the Preliminary Final.
3. Watching the team run out onto the MCG on Grand Final day.
4. The first quarter of the Lions game, that left our record at 15-1.
5. Winning at the MCG against Richmond followed by an even better win against Melbourne (in the top of the table clash).

LOWLIGHTS
1. Grand Final
2. Losing the minor Premiership after leading for 18 consecutive weeks going into round 22.
3. Losing to Collingwood to end our 8-game winning streak.
4. Losing to Geelong so badly in round 21.
5. Michael Braun missing the Grand Final due to injury.

[bluey17]

Enjoying victories over your local rivals, gee what is sport coming to? :rolleyes:

You guys had hats made celebrating your first ever derby win