MaroonBoy
12 Jun 2003, 23:03
This weekend the Lions take on West Coast. Every time the Lions play West Coast my mind wanders back to one of my all-time favourite Royboy days out.
Princes Park, Round 24, 1991. Roys V West Coast. The ground a patchwork quilt of sand and grass, a bit heavy in places, conditions fine, windy and bloody cold. 7500 Roy Boys and Girls there (plus 13 or 14 WCE fans).
We were last on the ladder with 3 wins, West Coast were first with 19 wins, having dropped only three games for the year, all by less than a goal. West Coast looked very hot that year while we’d struggled and struggled, only beginning to click consistently in the closing matches of the season. (Anyone remember the 1-point win over North two weeks earlier at PP: 148 to 147?) The bookies were offering odds of 17/1 on the Roys winning.
At half-time we were a long way off the pace with West Coast kicking 5 -10 to the Roys 1- 8. Our single big dob had come courtesy of Brett Stephens in the second quarter.
And then after the long break the Royboys went berserk. With a blustery wind behind them, they kicked six goals to zip to go into the three quarter time huddle two goals up: 7 -14 to 5 -14. Ozzie and Caven both popped goals from 55-60 metres out; Harding and Brett Stephens two apiece. But with West Coast having the aid of the strong breeze in the last quarter, could we hold on?
Did we what! The Eagles kicked the first goal of the quarter then one to Broders and two to Kappler (including a great one on the run from 40 out), plus two more to Dean Harding meant we opened up a 4 goal buffer by the 15 minute mark. The Eagles came at us madly, kicking three quick goals before Brett Stephens finished them off with two goals from center half forward. The hooter went. We’d won by 10 points: 13 -15 to 12 -17. Hundreds of delirious Royboys poured onto the ground, mobbing the players chairing Matt Rendell off the ground. (His last hurrah for the Roys). Wish I’d taken those odds of 17 to 1!
Later somebody made the comment that Fitzroy help to set up the Hawthorn premiership that year. (Maybe it was Alan Joyce, the Hawks coach at the time or was it someone in the media?). The Roys showed that when a team came at them hard and fast, the Eagles were beatable. We ****ed with their minds, ruined that air of invincibility that had grown around the Eagles as season ’91 progressed – and got ourselves off the bottom of the ladder too.
I got hold of the video the next month and must have watched the game six or seven times over the following summer. It was wonderful, heady stuff and it certainly made my off-season more bearable. There was definitely a promise shown in that match that had me eagerly anticipating the start of ’92 season.
(I still pull that video out every now and then for a bit of a Royboy rollick. Which makes me wonder – what’ll I do when videos finally disappear????)
Princes Park, Round 24, 1991. Roys V West Coast. The ground a patchwork quilt of sand and grass, a bit heavy in places, conditions fine, windy and bloody cold. 7500 Roy Boys and Girls there (plus 13 or 14 WCE fans).
We were last on the ladder with 3 wins, West Coast were first with 19 wins, having dropped only three games for the year, all by less than a goal. West Coast looked very hot that year while we’d struggled and struggled, only beginning to click consistently in the closing matches of the season. (Anyone remember the 1-point win over North two weeks earlier at PP: 148 to 147?) The bookies were offering odds of 17/1 on the Roys winning.
At half-time we were a long way off the pace with West Coast kicking 5 -10 to the Roys 1- 8. Our single big dob had come courtesy of Brett Stephens in the second quarter.
And then after the long break the Royboys went berserk. With a blustery wind behind them, they kicked six goals to zip to go into the three quarter time huddle two goals up: 7 -14 to 5 -14. Ozzie and Caven both popped goals from 55-60 metres out; Harding and Brett Stephens two apiece. But with West Coast having the aid of the strong breeze in the last quarter, could we hold on?
Did we what! The Eagles kicked the first goal of the quarter then one to Broders and two to Kappler (including a great one on the run from 40 out), plus two more to Dean Harding meant we opened up a 4 goal buffer by the 15 minute mark. The Eagles came at us madly, kicking three quick goals before Brett Stephens finished them off with two goals from center half forward. The hooter went. We’d won by 10 points: 13 -15 to 12 -17. Hundreds of delirious Royboys poured onto the ground, mobbing the players chairing Matt Rendell off the ground. (His last hurrah for the Roys). Wish I’d taken those odds of 17 to 1!
Later somebody made the comment that Fitzroy help to set up the Hawthorn premiership that year. (Maybe it was Alan Joyce, the Hawks coach at the time or was it someone in the media?). The Roys showed that when a team came at them hard and fast, the Eagles were beatable. We ****ed with their minds, ruined that air of invincibility that had grown around the Eagles as season ’91 progressed – and got ourselves off the bottom of the ladder too.
I got hold of the video the next month and must have watched the game six or seven times over the following summer. It was wonderful, heady stuff and it certainly made my off-season more bearable. There was definitely a promise shown in that match that had me eagerly anticipating the start of ’92 season.
(I still pull that video out every now and then for a bit of a Royboy rollick. Which makes me wonder – what’ll I do when videos finally disappear????)