- Dec 14, 2008
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- AFL Club
- Essendon
For a lot of us in here - 93 would have been peak Essendon. It was just a year out of the box for more reasons that one.
Not only did we win the flag, but won the Brownlow, played some very high scoring exciting footy and unearthed a raft of young stars. When you are playing a squad with an average age of 22, and an average game tally of 38, you would expect that you are probably in rebuild mode, not challenging for a flag. Generally when rebuilding, the playing 22 can be in a state of flux with older guys frozen out and newer guys going in and out of the side while striving for balance or finding out who has it and who does not.
In the end we had a fairly solid core of players who played at or around 20 games that year, as momentum built it became harder and harder for others to find a spot.
...And that core of players have gone into folklore in our heads, we link 93 with the gf and the players that played in it, Hird, Misiti, Fletcher, Mercuri, Denham and co but there were a lot of players left behind that don't get tagged to the GF in our memories.
Worse still for the frozen out players, we had on our list, five ready made players in Scott Cummings, Cockatoo Collins, Michael Prior, Ben Doolan and Dale Kickett who were plying their trade in the state leagues. It was an embarrassment of riches really.
When most people think of hard luck stories from that year, the focus generally goes to Derek Kickett, but I reckon there are a few others that did a whole lot of work to get us into a flag position yet never got the final glory. Whilst there may have been a few players lucky to find themselves in the final flag winning team.
A few players to peck around the edges of the team through the year were
Tony Daniher - 8 games
Glenn Kilpatrick - 2 games
Glenn Manton - 7 games
Tony Delany - 4 games
David Flood - 4 games
Peter Cransberg - 4 games
Alan Ezard - 4 games
Keiran Sporn - 5 games
Todd Ridley - 4 games
But I want to focus on a couple that I reckon could have been worthy premiership players
Michael Symons - I reckon this bloke did enough to be a premiership player in 1993, he played 19 consecutive games, got dropped after a 2 goal effort in the qualifying final then a quiet game v wce and never returned. I recall he was a very exciting player that year playing fwd, on a wing and off hb. He was very strong in the air but obviously had the slight kicking flaw. Rumours were about he got dropped after receiving a 100m penalty and missing a goal from 15m out directly in front vs carlton- we lost by 2 points but Sheedy didn't forget..
He was 8th pick in the 91 draft - and at 182 cm marked well above his height. He went on to play 18, 19, 18 and 15 games in the next 4 seasons proving he was a solid best 22 player and very unlucky not to be a part of the flag side. Symonds went on to play 109 games in the red and black, being dropped just before the 1999 finals series and playing in a reserves flag. He went back to the wafl and came runner up in the sandover medal following year.
Steve Alessio - Although he only played 12 games in 93 due to inj I reckon big Sess probably had more strings to his bow than Somerville and could nearly have been playing in that spot. He was a more imposing player when resting fwd, had a good set of hands and was a good ruckman. There were times that all three of Salmon, Somerville and Alessio played together but I assume that was at sheedys discretion re: which teams he could stretch for height.
Alessio walked in off the street and asked for a trial thus wasn't drafted in the normal sense, the huge man with huge presence was given the 27 jumper after 5 games in 1992, the number was held in high esteem around bomber land. Sess went on to play 184 games between 92 and 2003 being a part of the 2000 flag team.
Bradley Plain - Might sound like an odd choice but I reckon this bloke was hugely under rated, he might have been every bit as good as Orazio on his day. The only thing that held him back was injuries. in 1993 he only played 7 games due to injury, but he kicked 23 goals in those 7 which is going at a fair old clip. I only have him in this conversation because when he was playing, it coincided with the time were were a very high scoring and ruthless side throughout the year - Plain and Bewick together were a devastating combo.
Plain, known for his long sleeves was recruited from Tasmania, he played 19 games in 1989 kicking 27 goals in a season culminating in the prelim final loss. He bettered that with 28 goals from 11 games in 91 including 8 goals and 3 brownlow votes vs Sydney, he also received 3 votes for a 34 possession game v Stk. Injuries got the better of him post 93, he was traded to Collingwood where he played 9 games, then to Nth Melbourne for a further game before retiring. A talent unfulfilled.
Anyone got any other 93 memories of players who never made the big dance hardluck stories or anything else?
Not only did we win the flag, but won the Brownlow, played some very high scoring exciting footy and unearthed a raft of young stars. When you are playing a squad with an average age of 22, and an average game tally of 38, you would expect that you are probably in rebuild mode, not challenging for a flag. Generally when rebuilding, the playing 22 can be in a state of flux with older guys frozen out and newer guys going in and out of the side while striving for balance or finding out who has it and who does not.
In the end we had a fairly solid core of players who played at or around 20 games that year, as momentum built it became harder and harder for others to find a spot.
...And that core of players have gone into folklore in our heads, we link 93 with the gf and the players that played in it, Hird, Misiti, Fletcher, Mercuri, Denham and co but there were a lot of players left behind that don't get tagged to the GF in our memories.
Worse still for the frozen out players, we had on our list, five ready made players in Scott Cummings, Cockatoo Collins, Michael Prior, Ben Doolan and Dale Kickett who were plying their trade in the state leagues. It was an embarrassment of riches really.
When most people think of hard luck stories from that year, the focus generally goes to Derek Kickett, but I reckon there are a few others that did a whole lot of work to get us into a flag position yet never got the final glory. Whilst there may have been a few players lucky to find themselves in the final flag winning team.
A few players to peck around the edges of the team through the year were
Tony Daniher - 8 games
Glenn Kilpatrick - 2 games
Glenn Manton - 7 games
Tony Delany - 4 games
David Flood - 4 games
Peter Cransberg - 4 games
Alan Ezard - 4 games
Keiran Sporn - 5 games
Todd Ridley - 4 games
But I want to focus on a couple that I reckon could have been worthy premiership players
Michael Symons - I reckon this bloke did enough to be a premiership player in 1993, he played 19 consecutive games, got dropped after a 2 goal effort in the qualifying final then a quiet game v wce and never returned. I recall he was a very exciting player that year playing fwd, on a wing and off hb. He was very strong in the air but obviously had the slight kicking flaw. Rumours were about he got dropped after receiving a 100m penalty and missing a goal from 15m out directly in front vs carlton- we lost by 2 points but Sheedy didn't forget..
He was 8th pick in the 91 draft - and at 182 cm marked well above his height. He went on to play 18, 19, 18 and 15 games in the next 4 seasons proving he was a solid best 22 player and very unlucky not to be a part of the flag side. Symonds went on to play 109 games in the red and black, being dropped just before the 1999 finals series and playing in a reserves flag. He went back to the wafl and came runner up in the sandover medal following year.
Steve Alessio - Although he only played 12 games in 93 due to inj I reckon big Sess probably had more strings to his bow than Somerville and could nearly have been playing in that spot. He was a more imposing player when resting fwd, had a good set of hands and was a good ruckman. There were times that all three of Salmon, Somerville and Alessio played together but I assume that was at sheedys discretion re: which teams he could stretch for height.
Alessio walked in off the street and asked for a trial thus wasn't drafted in the normal sense, the huge man with huge presence was given the 27 jumper after 5 games in 1992, the number was held in high esteem around bomber land. Sess went on to play 184 games between 92 and 2003 being a part of the 2000 flag team.
Bradley Plain - Might sound like an odd choice but I reckon this bloke was hugely under rated, he might have been every bit as good as Orazio on his day. The only thing that held him back was injuries. in 1993 he only played 7 games due to injury, but he kicked 23 goals in those 7 which is going at a fair old clip. I only have him in this conversation because when he was playing, it coincided with the time were were a very high scoring and ruthless side throughout the year - Plain and Bewick together were a devastating combo.
Plain, known for his long sleeves was recruited from Tasmania, he played 19 games in 1989 kicking 27 goals in a season culminating in the prelim final loss. He bettered that with 28 goals from 11 games in 91 including 8 goals and 3 brownlow votes vs Sydney, he also received 3 votes for a 34 possession game v Stk. Injuries got the better of him post 93, he was traded to Collingwood where he played 9 games, then to Nth Melbourne for a further game before retiring. A talent unfulfilled.
Anyone got any other 93 memories of players who never made the big dance hardluck stories or anything else?
