Universal Love Memory Lane: 1990 premiership

[ksardog]

The highlight for me was the semi final two weeks earlier. I knew we had Essendons measure and if we met them again in the GF we'd have a strong chance of winning it.

The Esssendon bubble burst in one comical incident where Madden and (from memory) Kickett were in possession of the ball across half back. All they could do was handball to each other and back again as all the upfield options were shut down. Streaming through the middle of them came Scott Russell to intercept the ball and kick a goal from 35 metres out.

From that moment on I knew Essendon were toast. I reckon they knew it too, and they played like it in the GF with Daniher forced to go the knuckle as a last resort.

I knew we had essendon measure after they defeated us in about rd19 by a goal at waverley. We were all over them in the end of that game and i knew that wouldnt beat us for the rest of the year.

Loved it when rowdy came back on, bomber thompson s**t himself and daniher was trying to calm browny down in case he wanted revenge.

Daicos first goal settled the nerves and game was basically over after we blitzed them in the 2nd qtr

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

I knew we had essendon measure after they defeated us in about rd19 by a goal at waverley. We were all over them in the end of that game and i knew that wouldnt beat us for the rest of the year.

One of the best games i've ever seen. Michael Christian almost missed out on a premiership after being dropped after that game, he had a stinker. Millane was also beaten by Anderson that game. Bad move, Anderson...Millane wasnt gunna let that happen again!! Crisso didnt get back into the seniors until the West Coast replay. If not for the drawn game who knows if he would have made it back into the team!!

(i reckon it was round 18...then we got smacked in round 19 by Hawthorn and then won our last three games by 60+points)

 

[Nightowl]

Even though I support the dogs.. ..
I remember being very happy when you won this premiership! It was good for football. Lethal celebrating on the boundary line just before the siren brought a tear to my eye.

 

[raymond35]

One of the best games i've ever seen. Michael Christian almost missed out on a premiership after being dropped after that game, he had a stinker. Millane was also beaten by Anderson that game. Bad move, Anderson...Millane wasnt gunna let that happen again!! Crisso didnt get back into the seniors until the West Coast replay. If not for the drawn game who knows if he would have made it back into the team!!

(i reckon it was round 18...then we got smacked in round 19 by Hawthorn and then won our last three games by 60+points)

common belief is that Anderson beat millane, but I won't have a bar of it. Anderson played well and broke even with pants but it looked like Anderson won because every other week pants was destroying his opponents.
pies were certainly the better side by then and if not for the ridiculous free kick Long received in the last quarter we would have won that game as well.

 

[partylikeits1990]

wow! the best day of my life was the birth of my son in 2001 and the second best was the 1990 grand final. we must be the same person from parallel universes or something. I got into the gf with vfl park membership, but did go to the semi final with a scalpers ticket. interesting how much I remember of that amazing day, when entire years afterwards are a blank.

Haha that is sensational, we are both truly blessed. Is your son is playing u/14's next season?

 

[Trickster]

Just to provide a different angle, I picked up a 20 yr anniversary book on the 1990 flag pre-Xmas written by Michael Gleeson.

Fantastic in-depth read which basically goes back to the start of Matthews tenure and covers the premiership in fantastic detail. It also details the almost ill-fated trip to the bush where the players had gotten lost in 1987 but players like Millane, Kerrison and Morwood showed leadership to get the guys out in one piece.

A couple of other interesting points...

Graham Wright was Matthews whipping boy and would come down on him like a tonne of bricks most times. Later Matthews said he basically did it because he knew Wright could handle it and offered a job to Wright when he moved up to Brisbane because he was one if few people that he could trust to do the job.

Tony Francis never really fitted in as at the time he was studying and going to uni so other players thought he was aloof. He also never drank and never went on end of season trips due to exams which exacerbated players thoughts.

After half time where Matthews and Daniher had almost gotten into fisti-cuffs through the wire fence that separated the teams up the race, Matthews walked up to our coaches box (this was back in the day when both were next to each other) and according to Gubby Allan before he got to ours just stopped, stood and stared at Sheedy for about 1 or 2 minutes right in front of their box as play was going on in the third quarter.

Absolute brilliant insightful read and shares information which we'd never be privy to. Definitely recommend. I was not even aware of it and just saw it by chance in a bargain bin at a post office for less than $10.

 

[peter9789]

These were the 20 pages in the paper devoted to our awesome win!!!

I have the original paper also from that day and pull it out occasionally to reminisce about that day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Little known useless trivia...Graeme Wright and Dane Swan are right foot kicks but bounce the ball with their left hands. Not sure theres many in the game who are like that.

 

[Anzacday]

Little known useless trivia...Graeme Wright and Dane Swan are right foot kicks but bounce the ball with their left hands. Not sure theres many in the game who are like that.

Robbie Flower was the same.

 

[raymond35]

Haha that is sensational, we are both truly blessed. Is your son is playing u/14's next season?

my guy is not playing footy at the moment, doing basketball at school. he played some good footy at primary school but its a different world growing up in qld compared to Victoria.
you're looking forward to another jnr footy season by the sounds of it?

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

Robbie Flower was the same.

And Paull Williams, I think?

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

That flag awarded benefits for me beyond being a proud Pies supporter.
I was in my first year at Melbourne Uni and had my eye on a blonde bombshell. I'd put a considerable amount of work into attracting the interest of this beauty but success was limited, to say the least. Just had to accost that she was out of my league.

On the Monday after the GF, I happened to be discussing the glorious win with a couple of others when I got a tap on the shoulder. Low and behold it was HER.
Her: Hi Filo, I had no idea that you were a Pies fan. how good was that?
I played it all cool ala Danny Zuko the first time he sees Sandy at school.

We chatted more over the next week or so. She invited a few people over to watch the video of the game. The night went well as the other couple of guests took off just before 3/4 time. As we watched the last quarter, she spotted a tear in my eye and was quite impressed by the show of emotion. We talked about the previous GF losses and how this one erased the pain.

She moved a little closer to me and put her hand on my lap. She whispered "it's ok now, we've seen a flag..." This was a poor attempt at disguising her true intentions or so I hoped. I was concerned that she had spilled a drink earlier and the remnants were now on my new Levi 501's. Haha. I'll stop there before it becomes a cheaper version of a Mills and Boon book.

A memorable evening for 1) reliving Collingwood's overwhelming performance 2) my totally underwhelming performance later that night.

 

[TradeDraft]

I loved at the end of the Game the Siren was blow a few times.

They don’t do that anymore

 

[raymond35]

I loved at the end of the Game the Siren was blow a few times.

They don’t do that anymore

that's true dave. I think that tradition might have ended when they no longer had one official from each club as timekeepers. back in the 70s and 80s they would blow the siren about 10 times.

 

[TradeDraft]

that's true dave. I think that tradition might have ended when they no longer had one official from each club as timekeepers. back in the 70s and 80s they would blow the siren about 10 times.

Was that all Games?

 

[raymond35]

Was that all Games?

no just grand finals. I'd never really thought about it till I saw your comment. early 70s I think it was the go.

 

[Vicky Park]

That flag awarded benefits for me beyond being a proud Pies supporter.
I was in my first year at Melbourne Uni and had my eye on a blonde bombshell. I'd put a considerable amount of work into attracting the interest of this beauty but success was limited, to say the least. Just had to accost that she was out of my league.

On the Monday after the GF, I happened to be discussing the glorious win with a couple of others when I got a tap on the shoulder. Low and behold it was HER.
Her: Hi Filo, I had no idea that you were a Pies fan. how good was that?
I played it all cool ala Danny Zuko the first time he sees Sandy at school.

We chatted more over the next week or so. She invited a few people over to watch the video of the game. The night went well as the other couple of guests took off just before 3/4 time. As we watched the last quarter, she spotted a tear in my eye and was quite impressed by the show of emotion. We talked about the previous GF losses and how this one erased the pain.

She moved a little closer to me and put her hand on my lap. She whispered "it's ok now, we've seen a flag..." This was a poor attempt at disguising her true intentions or so I hoped. I was concerned that she had spilled a drink earlier and the remnants were now on my new Levi 501's. Haha. I'll stop there before it becomes a cheaper version of a Mills and Boon book.

A memorable evening for 1) reliving Collingwood's overwhelming performance 2) my totally underwhelming performance later that night.

Filo, we must have the sequel. And after that night?

 

[ppoiter]

That flag awarded benefits for me beyond being a proud Pies supporter.
I was in my first year at Melbourne Uni and had my eye on a blonde bombshell. I'd put a considerable amount of work into attracting the interest of this beauty but success was limited, to say the least. Just had to accost that she was out of my league.

On the Monday after the GF, I happened to be discussing the glorious win with a couple of others when I got a tap on the shoulder. Low and behold it was HER.
Her: Hi Filo, I had no idea that you were a Pies fan. how good was that?
I played it all cool ala Danny Zuko the first time he sees Sandy at school.

We chatted more over the next week or so. She invited a few people over to watch the video of the game. The night went well as the other couple of guests took off just before 3/4 time. As we watched the last quarter, she spotted a tear in my eye and was quite impressed by the show of emotion. We talked about the previous GF losses and how this one erased the pain.

She moved a little closer to me and put her hand on my lap. She whispered "it's ok now, we've seen a flag..." This was a poor attempt at disguising her true intentions or so I hoped. I was concerned that she had spilled a drink earlier and the remnants were now on my new Levi 501's. Haha. I'll stop there before it becomes a cheaper version of a Mills and Boon book.

A memorable evening for 1) reliving Collingwood's overwhelming performance 2) my totally underwhelming performance later that night.

Just pointing out a typo mate you wrote underwhelming instead of fantastic

 

[partylikeits1990]

my guy is not playing footy at the moment, doing basketball at school. he played some good footy at primary school but its a different world growing up in qld compared to Victoria.
you're looking forward to another jnr footy season by the sounds of it?

Sorry for the delayed response Ray. Yes my son loves his footy but he has copped a bit of flack for it though, it's not easy being a footy tragic in Rugby League heartland. Much better than when I moved up here 19 years ago though....

 

[Gone Critical]

You describe it better than I could. It was like one person finally had had the courage to believe and then the person next to them grew the courage and it was contagious.

People would be looking around at each others eyes trying to gauge whether they should also finally believe. Some people were still panicking that supporters should wait for the final siren. They had seen so many victories snatched before, the trauma had been to much for them to accept what was now plainly obvious.

This is why people who experienced the 1990 Premiership know that it will never be surpassed.

Edit: I should also note that I was sitting around a group of about 15 people who had been to every Collingwood game including finals since 1966. Seen 7 Grand Finals without a victory. They had only ever tasted tragedy.

Really feel that emotion coming through in these posts. I had been at 70, 77x2, 79, 80, 81 and had recollections of 66 but was only 6 yo. Reckon in many ways 70 is the clearest memory, burnt into me

As such the overwhelming emotion during much of the last Q was fear. I was sitting in the Southern Stand terraces with one brother and had various other brothers and my old man in other spots around the ground. Remember as the Q went by and we were well in front no one in the crowd was prepared to declare anything. Even when in normal circumstances you would have been going off cause you couldn't be beaten the crowd was just hushed and murmuring. It felt like everyone was ready to jump on anyone who went early for fear that would come back at us. I just looked at my brother during the Q , didn't have to speak, everyone was feeling it.

It was like the crowd was a little psychotic, thought processes were jumbled, we were seeing defeat where any sane rational mind would only see victory. Everything was slow and agonising. Then Barwick kicked the goal, remember there were only 2 kicked for the Q. Everyone knew, I knew, my brother knew. It was past the 20 min mark and we were now 7 goals up. We now knew we couldn't lose. Everyone just went off, it was berserk .

 

[Robroy22]

I must have been a little bit different to most pies fans that day but I knew "we had em" when Daics kicked our first. Tim Lane described it like this " If you hadn't seen it, make sure you watch the replay tonight because you'd never believed he could have threaded that needle....maybe the Magpies will settle now".
From where I was sitting behind the goals at the Ponsford stand end Daics was just doing what he'd done all season. Kicking a goal from anywhere!! All our family call that pocket "Daicos Corner" even to this day simply because of that goal.
As soon as we scored that one we were "on"....and even after Rowdy got KO'd at quarter time I just knew that we'd run all over the Bombers. Like others here have noted....I'd seen the fear in their players eyes when we pushed them out at Waverley in the H&A match. Sheeds did his best to build them up again but after we belted them in the semi final...they knew we had their measure and then some. For mine it would simply come down to...Would those boys succumb to the same pressure that had been built up by the media for so many years?

Luckily we had a CBK (cold blooded killer) as our coach and he'd got the boys playing ruthless footy. We ran like Hawthorn's great sides of the 80's, we won so many contested possessions through our midfield (Shaw, Millane, Wright, Russell, Francis, Monkey and Charlie) that the ball hardly ever pierced our half back line after quarter time.

For mine it was retribution for '64 (robbed by a back pocket player!) '66 (a wobbly Barry Breen point) '70 (playing 2 men short after half time against a rampant Blues inspired to play "game changing" footy) '77 (Drew a GF after finishing last the year before....thanks Fabulous Phil) '79 the Blues pinch another one thanks to a Harmsy snapback from the third row of the members!) '80 (losing any GF is hard....but being forced to watch "Hungry" kick seven nearly made me puke!) '81 (Mark Williams almost willed us over the line in this one but in the end we just weren't good enough).

So....when ever I see that 1990 GF on "Footy Flashbacks" or the like, I love to watch two things. Terry Daniher's face after Daic's first goal. It was sheer disbelief.... he shook his head like "How the hell does he do things like that?"
And the second one is Gavin Brown coming back on the ground. It probably wouldn't be allowed these days but when Rowdy came back on....the hairs on the back of my neck just stood up and I knew we wouldn't be letting that Black and Red mob back into the contest.

 

[Pie eyed]

You describe it better than I could. It was like one person finally had had the courage to believe and then the person next to them grew the courage and it was contagious.

People would be looking around at each others eyes trying to gauge whether they should also finally believe. Some people were still panicking that supporters should wait for the final siren. They had seen so many victories snatched before, the trauma had been to much for them to accept what was now plainly obvious.

This is why people who experienced the 1990 Premiership know that it will never be surpassed.

Edit: I should also note that I was sitting around a group of about 15 people who had been to every Collingwood game including finals since 1966. Seen 7 Grand Finals without a victory. They had only ever tasted tragedy.

Beautifully described.
1990 surpassed mere elation was justification of 30+ years of dedication and hope.

 

[rustyg70]

Ahhh, remember it like yesterday.
My girlfriend at the time was a stripper, and she had a job to serve beer topless at a grand final party.
So just after I've dropped her off, I get a call from her saying the guys holding the party have no problems if I want to come back and watch the game with them.
This is where it gets good.
The whole party was full of Bombers supporters. I was the only Pies fan in the room.
So, in exchange for my missus serving them beer with her boobs out, I got to watch the Grand Final with her, eat all of their food, drink all of their beer, take all of their cash after they all bet me the Pies will lose ( ended up pocketing $260), And watch their face drop as the mighty Pies demolished the Dons.
And to top it all off, as my missus was driving my drunken arse home, we stop at the bottle shop to pick up some grog, and find 2 crisp $50 notes in the car park.

Winners were definitely grinners that day.

 

[Anzacday]

Ahhh, remember it like yesterday.
My girlfriend at the time was a stripper, and she had a job to serve beer topless at a grand final party.
So just after I've dropped her off, I get a call from her saying the guys holding the party have no problems if I want to come back and watch the game with them.
This is where it gets good.
The whole party was full of Bombers supporters. I was the only Pies fan in the room.
So, in exchange for my missus serving them beer with her boobs out, I got to watch the Grand Final with her, eat all of their food, drink all of their beer, take all of their cash after they all bet me the Pies will lose ( ended up pocketing $260), And watch their face drop as the mighty Pies demolished the Dons.
And to top it all off, as my missus was driving my drunken arse home, we stop at the bottle shop to pick up some grog, and find 2 crisp $50 notes in the car park.

Winners were definitely grinners that day.

And....

 

[rustyg70]

And....

we went home, got drunk, got naked, and made love.
I gave her the best 97 seconds of her life.