BCs Top 10 Wins of the Noughties

[Headless]

I would be very interested to see that percentage from <35 metres including out on the fulls!

 

[goDees22]

I would be very interested to see that percentage from <35 metres including out on the fulls!

Or not making the distance. My number one for the decade would have to be the comeback against brisbane at the gabba, 6 goals down at qt against the best in the business away from home, neitz and ward!! dominating, plus its the only interstate game i've ever been to. We should do a top 10 players of the decade list, would be interesting

 

[Bartram_Class]

Number 7...

Melbourne v. Geelong, Round 20, 2005

Courtesy of wiki.melbournefc.com:

Melbourne travelled to Kardinia Park with their finals hopes hanging by a thread and a woeful record in Geelong where they had not won since 1988. Having already lost seven in a row in season 2005, it was the last throw of the dice for the Demons.

At half time it looked as if that record was going to continue when the Cats held a comfortable lead. They had been 34 points in front in the second term, and 31 in the third but a blistering end to the third quarter gave the Demons a slender lead at the final break. Geelong then opened up a 15 point lead in the last before the Demons once again challenged.

In the third term a Cameron Ling blunder gifted Melbourne a goal to get them back into the contest, before the Cats gave away two free kicks for goals to put the Demons right back into the contest.

Seven goals from the dominant Russell Robertson was the difference. Geelong defender Matthew Egan had the opportunity to win the game with a kick from outside 50 after the siren but he pushed it to the left to give the Demons a 1pt win and a wild card back into the finals race.

With the win they moved level on points with 8th place Fremantle and 9th placed Western Bulldogs who they were due to play the next week. A loss would have seen them drop to 12th and effectively out of finals contention.

Speaking after the match a pumped up Neale Daniher said "Mate, I'm not drained, I'm pumped - ready to go," Daniher said.

"To win one by one point after the siren, that will give us a big lift. We've had many a long drive from this place back to Melbourne over 18 years - I think I might drive home slowly.

"The season is a marathon. It's been said like that - we can see the stadium and we're still in the race."

 

[On the bench]

Number 8...

Melbourne v. Western Bulldogs, Round 21, 2005

6. Geelong 40
7. Brisbane 40
8. Fremantle 40
9. WB 40
10. Melbourne 40
11. PA 38
12. Richmond 36

Therein lies why this game took on extra significance. Bear in mind the Doggies had won four on the trot, had most of the Victorian media on their bandwagon and we were stumbling having been 2nd in Round 13 (when we lost to the Eagles at home).

11 points down at 3/4 time.

2 points down with about a minute on the clock.

Davey smothers Cooney(?) in the forward pocket, ball is thrown back into play and Skipper decides to come in late and knock White onto the floor. Dodgy free-kick, but we take it, White slots it from about 40 on an angle. Gets a brownlow vote for his troubles.

Cue celebrations of the like not typically reserved for Round 21; Daniher running down the stands, high-fiving the members, hugging players.

Great night.

This game was a beauty & i would of had it no 2 behind the 2000 Qualifying Final vs Carlton,from memory i think we were 21 points behind in the last quarter to somehow get up & steal the most unlikely of victories,probably the most pumped i've been after a win in such a long time!

 

[stabler]

This game was a beauty & i would of had it no 2 behind the 2000 Qualifying Final vs Carlton,from memory i think we were 21 points behind in the last quarter to somehow get up & steal the most unlikely of victories,probably the most pumped i've been after a win in such a long time!

agreed.

 

[Crusty Demon]

yep, the win against Carlton in the 2000 final was the best win of the decade. Amazing come from behind win where Brad Green and Cam Bruce emerged in a big way! I remember Hamill tearing us apart that game but they couldn't quite put us away all game. I remember just giving it to any Carlton supporter outside the G that arvo! The prelim against the kanga's a fortnight later was a different kind of euphoria as we had it sewn up early! But I rate the Gabba come back in 2002(?) as a better win. Against great opposition and away from home, down byt 6 goals at 1/4 time, I was actually lucky enough to be there at the game with my close friend who is a massive Lions fan. I hit the bar halfway through the second quarter thinking the match was gawn! But Daniher placed Woewodin in front of Lynch which proved to be a masterstroke, and Ward played his best game for the club while Neitz destroyed two of the best defenders of the decade in Leppa and Mal Michael. I was half cut at the end of the game and proved to be a menace for all Lions fans. Definitely one of the most memorable games I've ever been to....

 

[Bartram_Class]

Number 6...

Melbourne v. Essendon, Round 1, 2005

Was tough to separate this from the two games later in the year, but the sheer emotion has it at No. 6 for me. Both teams coming out together, the poignant '20' tattoos that we wore, the terrific rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' as the balloons were released and the chilling minutes silence.

We simply had to win, and win we did. Moloney's opener was a particular highlight for mine, Yze's banana of which a video is below, Ferguson's brownlow vote-winning performance and Johnstone's goal in the last quarter where he points at his tattoo in celebration.

A fitting tribute to the tragedy that was Troy's death.

[YOUTUBE]z_WyZro1Gyg[/YOUTUBE]

 

[On the bench]

Was a fitting tribute but was'nt much of a game!

 

[Supermercado]

Was a fitting tribute but was'nt much of a game!

Disagree, was a slashing performance against the side who had knocked us out of the finals. The Yze goal, Moloney's first goal, Ryan Ferguson running riot in the backline. Very memorable.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Disagree, was a slashing performance against the side who had knocked us out of the finals. The Yze goal, Moloney's first goal, Ryan Ferguson running riot in the backline. Very memorable.

Aaron Henneman running equally riot in the first quarter, then fading into footballing obscurity...

 

[demonfan9]

Was a fitting tribute but was'nt much of a game!

I think that you have to take the circumstances into account when doing an exercise just as this. For example, the Carlton final which many fans regard as the best match they've seen. If that was a Round 4 match in front of 25,000 then I doubt people would rate it as highly.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Number 5...

Melbourne v. Collingwood, Round 14, 2000

When originally putting together my list, I was never going to let this game slip out of the Top 5. IMO this was the game that kickstarted our 2000 run to the GF, we'd lost to Carlton to the tune of 98 points the week before, were in danger of slipping out of the 8 with another loss and just had to win. Who better than the old enemy?

That said, this match was only about one player, Jeff Farmer. With the unfortunate Ben Beams breaking his arm early on in the 2nd half, the otherwise insipid Farmer had to be sent back on. 9 goals (Farmer giving us a running count with his celebrations) later, we'd won by 65 points. We'd win 11 of the next 12 on track to the GF.

He always remained a Demon in my mind after that game Jeffrey, he may have moved back west but he belonged on the 'G and on the big stage.

We'd beat the Pies quite regularly in the Noughties, but the brutal manner in which we disposed of them in that 2nd half would prove impossible to top.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Number 4...

Melbourne v. St. Kilda, Elimination Final, 2006

We only won four finals in the noughties, and this (while not being our best) was definitely one of the most memorable of those wins.

Unfortunately YT deleted the highlights package I'd made of this game, but the 67k at the 'G that night got a treat of a game. We'd stumbled into the finals and played catch-up for most of the final after the Saints had jumped the gun in the 1st term. Carroll's dump of Gehrig was arguably the turning point, whilst McLean's final quarter was superb (still IMO the best game he played for us).

There was also the little Davey sub-plot, getting dragged for being sucked in by Stevie Baker, then returning and dazzling a couple of defenders in the final Q on the Southern Wing before delivering truly to Neitz (Hudghton was always his bunny), who kicked his 4th.

Our own board here would go into overdrive with the Russian's injury opening up a spot for the arrival of 426 the week after.

 

[demonfan9]

Even though we finished higher on the ladder in 2004, I still believe that 2006 side was our best since the Grand Final. We were the top Victorian team that year, but the interstaters dominated the top four. McLean was class but hasn't been the same since, Neitz had his last great season, McDonald won his first Best & Fairest and was All Australian, even Nathan Carroll impressed at full back. We won 11 out of 12 games mid year and looked a force, but our inability to win interstate meant we wouldn't progress far in September.

Hard to imagine that it was just 2006 when we were able to beat sides like St Kilda and Geelong, and smash sides like the Bulldogs, Hawthorn and Collingwood. Look where they all are now, and where we are now.

 

[Supermercado]

I reckon the '06 side were better, but the '04 side had a better chance of winning the flag.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Number 3...

Melbourne v. Adelaide, Round 2, 2001

When you have a record at AAMI like ours, you treasure the rare wins. If we'd lost this one, it would have been a travesty as we dominated all night. A goal up at 1/4 time, 6 goals up at 1/2 half, 4 goals up at 3/4 time. Nevertheless, we were 3 points down with about 10 seconds left, ball at half-forward...

[YOUTUBE]xujU9yx6HEo[/YOUTUBE]

The wiki's view:

The Dees were back in the winners circle, but it was a close run thing. After having led all night in greasy conditions, by as much as 35 at half time, the Crows struck back in the last quarter and a Simon Goodwin goal saw them hit the lead in with 30 seconds to go. From the centre bounce the ball went out of play, and a Schwarz tap to Leoncelli, who had been dominant all night, saw the Melbourne midfielder make his 28th possesion the most important with a goal on the run to win the game. There were just three seconds left on the clock when the goal umpire signalled maximum points.

Leoncelli was clearly Melbourne's best along with Robertson, Walsh and Yze.

Remarkably it would be the last time Melbourne would win at Football Park for the decade.

I love the eery silence as the ball drifts through the goals.

 

[Supermercado]

Meanwhile the downward trend continued for one game players in the last decade. Poor Rohan Bail and his 30 seconds - at least Michael Clark kicked a goal.

http://wiki.fcmelbourne.com/tiki-index.php?page=One+Game
1890's - 12
1900's - 40
1910's - 22
1920's - 16
1930's - 8
1940's - 5
1950's - 7
1960's - 10
1970's - 5
1980's - 6
1990's - 5
2000's - 2

Must have been a wild walk in and ask for a game policy going during the 1900's

 

[RandB]

I reckon the '06 side were better, but the '04 side had a better chance of winning the flag.

Commonwealth games arguably cost us 2 wins and finishing 2nd with a home final against an interstate club in '06.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Number 2...

Melbourne v. Brisbane, Round 14, 2002

I remember almost turning this off at quarter-time, we were atrocious early on, a lazy 6 goals down at quarter-time, and then 5 goals at half-time. Neale 'Rafa' Daniher turned it around though, and we had arguably our best half of football for the decade, led by Neitz (that mark he took with his arms fully extended was class) and Ward (4 goals?!, 3 brownlow votes).

Wiki's view:

Melbourne had sold their home game to Brisbane to raise an estimated $250,000, but when Brisbane piled on eight goals in the first quarter it looked like a bad idea.

By the 17 minute mark of the first term the Lions were already 37 points in front. Four goals in a row at the start of the second term cut the gap, but the Lions responded again and held a commanding 31 point break at half-time.

Brisbane had won 18 games in a row at the Gabba, and as late as the seven minute mark of the last quarter they were still 39 points in front. From that point the Demons piled on 13 goals to three to steal one of the most unlikely victories of the year.

Adem Yze put the Demons in front five minutes into the last term, and two more goals stretched the margin to 18 before the Lions booted two goals. Having come so far to get in front the Demons weren't going to let the game go and a Cameron Bruce goal sealed the deal.

A delighted Neale Daniher said "I’m really proud of the way the boys stuck at their task. It’s very difficult up here, and then to be facing six goals to zip and kick 18 goals to eight after quarter-time is just a magnificent effort by a group of blokes that have got a lot of spirit."

Best were Neitz, Bizzell and White. Chris Lamb also claimed a scalp by beating Alastair Lynch.

I'd forgotten about their home record.

Remember this was no ordinary Brisbane outfit, this was the reigning Premier, and the same side that would go on to win the next two for good measure.

Very worthy runner-up IMO.

 

[Supermercado]

Carlton in the 2000 finals now an absolute cert to win.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Carlton in the 2000 finals now an absolute cert to win.

I'm hearing whispers there's a fair bit of late money going on Carlton, Round 22, 2007.

 

[Supermercado]

From Pakistan?

 

[Bartram_Class]

From Pakistan?

and Italy.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Number 1...

[YOUTUBE]unvG_vnMj1o[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Andy_Mac]

That footage almost makes me cry!!

How good was having Ox and Neitz down forward doing all the argy buagy stuff.

Also Brad Green must play as a dedicated forward this year. There is no doubt in my mind Greeny should play as Brad Johnston style FF. The man has no fear of flying at packs!