Not sure people realize how strange a season 1993 season was.
As a Carlton supporter I remember we had not been in finals for four seasons. We improved in 1992 but were not a finals team. But fast forward to Grand Final week of 1993 and all of a sudden we were in the Grand Final. I distinctly remember thinking gee, we are not really what I consider a grand final level team but here we were in the Grand Final. Essendon was the other team. I also did not think they were anything special but we were both in it and someone had to win the flag. It was when the league was 15 teams. Eagles, Brisbane and Crows were the expansion sides and we had a final six series. I recall it being the most even season I'd seen. Hence why maybe I did not consider my team or Essendon anything special but we were both playing off for the premiership.
Have a look at the ladder at end of round 22. As there were 15 teams there were byes involved and each club only played 20 games in home and away season. Check out the 10th team on ladder. Percentage of 112.2%...lol
The 12th team has won half their games with 10 wins and only 3 and a half wins between 1st and 12 on ladder. Compare that to two seasons later when 1st had 4 wins more than 2nd team.
What an odd season 1993 was. Three clubs at bottom of Swan, Tigers and Brisbane and crap but the rest all very even.
1 Essendon 20 13 1 6 119.1% 54
2 Carlton 20 13 1 6 117.6% 54
3 North Melbourne 20 13 7 6 120.8% 52
4 Hawthorn 20 13 7 116.6% 52
5 Adelaide 20 12 8 117.8% 48
6 West Coast 20 12 8 115.8% 48
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7 Geelong 20 12 8 111.6% 48
8 Collingwood 20 11 9 101.3% 44
9 Footscray 20 11 9 99.0% 44
10 Melbourne 20 10 10 112.2% 40
11 Fitzroy 20 10 10 99.5% 40
12 St Kilda 20 10 10 94.2% 40
13 Brisbane Bears 20 4 16 75.3% 16
14 Richmond 20 4 16 70.7% 16
15 Sydney 20 1 19 63.3% 4
It only gets more odd when the finals series starts.
For first time in league history a night final is fixtured.
The finals series works as week one 1 v2 in the Qualifying Final and the other 4 teams from 3rd to 6th play in two Elimination Finals.
3 v 6 and 4 v 5
So on Saturday arvo North play Eagles at Waverley Park as 3rd v 6th. Wayne Carey plays actually.
Elimination Final
West Coast 5.3, 9.10, 11.12, 17.18, (120) Sat 04-Sep-1993 2:30 PM Att:29,147 Venue: Waverley Park
North Melbourne 3.1, 5.2, 8.3, 11.3, (69) West Coast won by 51 pts
So 3rd get eliminated in the first final.
Now this is where it gets really whacky.
1st v 2nd has winner rewarded with a double chance to reach the Grand Final.
4th v 5th has winner rewarded with double chance to reach the Grand Final.
That's right, 1st and 2nd have to play each other but 4th on ladder only needs to beat 5th team to get similar reward of top team on ladder beating 2nd....lol
So Carlton and Essendon play the first night final at the G on the Saturday night. I remember being at it. Was a corker of a match.
Qualifying Final
Carlton 4.3, 7.6, 12.7, 15.10, (100) Sat 04-Sep-1993 7:45 PM Att:79,739 Venue: M.C.G.
Essendon 3.4, 7.6, 11.7, 14.14, (98) Carlton won by 2 pts
We won by 2 points and a result we moved onto the next weeks Second Semi-Final match where we earn a week off in Preliminary Final week if we win the 2nd Semi and advance to Grand Final.
On the Sunday was the other Elimination Final of week one of Hawthorn v Adelaide. Fourth v Fifth on ladder.
Elimination Final
Adelaide 3.4, 10.6, 12.7, 16.14, (110) Sun 05-Sep-1993 2:30 PM Att:55,287 Venue: M.C.G.
Hawthorn 3.4, 6.6, 10.12, 13.17, (95) Adelaide won by 15 pts
So Adelaide now leap frog 2nd team on ladder without needing to beat them to earn a new ranking. I love how absurd it worked out.
It showed how floored it was as a finals series that they forced first and second to play each other straight away and the loser of them essentially gets dumped to 3rd ranking for no logical reason.
Then next season the league changed it to a final 8 series and we had a final 8 ever since with two preliminary finals.
1993 season was last year of one preliminary final. Lucky this season was so even that it probably did not matter what happened in week one of finals series. As it turned out the second week Carlton and Adelaide played a final out at Waverley Park with the winner advancing to Grand Final and getting the third week off. Carlton beating Crows in front of 59,223 crowd and comical moment of Harry Madden kicking a bounce and running goal.
At the G on the Sunday Essendon beat the Eagles and the famous moment of Sheedy waving his jacket I think might have been born.
The 3rd week Essendon played Crows at the G in prelim final for right to meet Carlton in Grand Final the following week.
Crows were up by 42 points at half time. They managed to lose an epic by 11 points and the Baby Bombers with veteran Tim Watson were in the Grand Final.
The Grand Final I went to I remember thinking why are Carlton leaving out young Kouta and Peter Dean and playing hacks but honest triers like Athorn and Tim Powell ahead of them? No!!! please no.
I never got an answer and looked on in horror at first bounce with Mark Athorn matched up on match winner Michael Long.
The rest is history. The Bombers won it and Long was a big reason why.
But I will forever remember this season for the whacky way the first week of finals worked, the first time a final had been played at night and the amazing final round ladder where only 3 and a half wins separated 1st from 12th on ladder. Tenth team with a percentage of 112%. It was the year the premiership was more open than ever. No club stood out but the same prize on offer. Last time I think we will ever see only 20 home and away rounds in a season.
Just a whacky but entertaining season all round.
Two years later and the 2nd team on ladder was not as close to top team as the 12th team was in 1993. Amazing!!!
As a Carlton supporter I remember we had not been in finals for four seasons. We improved in 1992 but were not a finals team. But fast forward to Grand Final week of 1993 and all of a sudden we were in the Grand Final. I distinctly remember thinking gee, we are not really what I consider a grand final level team but here we were in the Grand Final. Essendon was the other team. I also did not think they were anything special but we were both in it and someone had to win the flag. It was when the league was 15 teams. Eagles, Brisbane and Crows were the expansion sides and we had a final six series. I recall it being the most even season I'd seen. Hence why maybe I did not consider my team or Essendon anything special but we were both playing off for the premiership.
Have a look at the ladder at end of round 22. As there were 15 teams there were byes involved and each club only played 20 games in home and away season. Check out the 10th team on ladder. Percentage of 112.2%...lol
The 12th team has won half their games with 10 wins and only 3 and a half wins between 1st and 12 on ladder. Compare that to two seasons later when 1st had 4 wins more than 2nd team.
What an odd season 1993 was. Three clubs at bottom of Swan, Tigers and Brisbane and crap but the rest all very even.
1 Essendon 20 13 1 6 119.1% 54
2 Carlton 20 13 1 6 117.6% 54
3 North Melbourne 20 13 7 6 120.8% 52
4 Hawthorn 20 13 7 116.6% 52
5 Adelaide 20 12 8 117.8% 48
6 West Coast 20 12 8 115.8% 48
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7 Geelong 20 12 8 111.6% 48
8 Collingwood 20 11 9 101.3% 44
9 Footscray 20 11 9 99.0% 44
10 Melbourne 20 10 10 112.2% 40
11 Fitzroy 20 10 10 99.5% 40
12 St Kilda 20 10 10 94.2% 40
13 Brisbane Bears 20 4 16 75.3% 16
14 Richmond 20 4 16 70.7% 16
15 Sydney 20 1 19 63.3% 4
It only gets more odd when the finals series starts.
For first time in league history a night final is fixtured.
The finals series works as week one 1 v2 in the Qualifying Final and the other 4 teams from 3rd to 6th play in two Elimination Finals.
3 v 6 and 4 v 5
So on Saturday arvo North play Eagles at Waverley Park as 3rd v 6th. Wayne Carey plays actually.
Elimination Final
West Coast 5.3, 9.10, 11.12, 17.18, (120) Sat 04-Sep-1993 2:30 PM Att:29,147 Venue: Waverley Park
North Melbourne 3.1, 5.2, 8.3, 11.3, (69) West Coast won by 51 pts
So 3rd get eliminated in the first final.
Now this is where it gets really whacky.
1st v 2nd has winner rewarded with a double chance to reach the Grand Final.
4th v 5th has winner rewarded with double chance to reach the Grand Final.
That's right, 1st and 2nd have to play each other but 4th on ladder only needs to beat 5th team to get similar reward of top team on ladder beating 2nd....lol
So Carlton and Essendon play the first night final at the G on the Saturday night. I remember being at it. Was a corker of a match.
Qualifying Final
Carlton 4.3, 7.6, 12.7, 15.10, (100) Sat 04-Sep-1993 7:45 PM Att:79,739 Venue: M.C.G.
Essendon 3.4, 7.6, 11.7, 14.14, (98) Carlton won by 2 pts
We won by 2 points and a result we moved onto the next weeks Second Semi-Final match where we earn a week off in Preliminary Final week if we win the 2nd Semi and advance to Grand Final.
On the Sunday was the other Elimination Final of week one of Hawthorn v Adelaide. Fourth v Fifth on ladder.
Elimination Final
Adelaide 3.4, 10.6, 12.7, 16.14, (110) Sun 05-Sep-1993 2:30 PM Att:55,287 Venue: M.C.G.
Hawthorn 3.4, 6.6, 10.12, 13.17, (95) Adelaide won by 15 pts
So Adelaide now leap frog 2nd team on ladder without needing to beat them to earn a new ranking. I love how absurd it worked out.
It showed how floored it was as a finals series that they forced first and second to play each other straight away and the loser of them essentially gets dumped to 3rd ranking for no logical reason.
Then next season the league changed it to a final 8 series and we had a final 8 ever since with two preliminary finals.
1993 season was last year of one preliminary final. Lucky this season was so even that it probably did not matter what happened in week one of finals series. As it turned out the second week Carlton and Adelaide played a final out at Waverley Park with the winner advancing to Grand Final and getting the third week off. Carlton beating Crows in front of 59,223 crowd and comical moment of Harry Madden kicking a bounce and running goal.
At the G on the Sunday Essendon beat the Eagles and the famous moment of Sheedy waving his jacket I think might have been born.
The 3rd week Essendon played Crows at the G in prelim final for right to meet Carlton in Grand Final the following week.
Crows were up by 42 points at half time. They managed to lose an epic by 11 points and the Baby Bombers with veteran Tim Watson were in the Grand Final.
The Grand Final I went to I remember thinking why are Carlton leaving out young Kouta and Peter Dean and playing hacks but honest triers like Athorn and Tim Powell ahead of them? No!!! please no.
I never got an answer and looked on in horror at first bounce with Mark Athorn matched up on match winner Michael Long.
The rest is history. The Bombers won it and Long was a big reason why.
But I will forever remember this season for the whacky way the first week of finals worked, the first time a final had been played at night and the amazing final round ladder where only 3 and a half wins separated 1st from 12th on ladder. Tenth team with a percentage of 112%. It was the year the premiership was more open than ever. No club stood out but the same prize on offer. Last time I think we will ever see only 20 home and away rounds in a season.
Just a whacky but entertaining season all round.
Two years later and the 2nd team on ladder was not as close to top team as the 12th team was in 1993. Amazing!!!
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