Review GBU - 1998 GF

[Bovo]

I think it’s time we formally reviewed this game. I just watched it again and I just felt it needed to be mentioned how good Andrew Eccles was in this game!

Good: we won. Andrew McLeod, Andrew Eccles and Peter Caven

Bad: Ben Marsh and Matty Robran

Ugly: Wayne Carey! Couldn’t kick a goal when he needed to!

For those who are old like me and remember this game, let’s give it a review for old times sake.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Ben Hart's first quarter battle with Craig Sholl was brilliant. Hart stood up when NM had the momentum.

Carey kicked a ridiculous Q1 soccer goal that had me shuddering but I reckon D Jarman's left foot curler from the pocket was just afterwards which settled us down

 

[Bovo]

Ben Hart's first quarter battle with Craig Sholl was brilliant. Hart stood up when NM had the momentum.

Carey kicked a ridiculous Q1 soccer goal that had me shuddering but I reckon D Jarman's left foot curler from the pocket was just afterwards which settled us down

That Jarman goal was brilliant. His pickup near the boundary and left foot was sublime

 

[spenze]

Good: Peter Bell not getting a premiership medal- too good for a bit of kick to kick with the boys, what a knob

 

[lincsPJ]

They’re back.


They’re back.

 

[El Doederino]

Good: we have a settled young squad with some big future stars. Watch the premierships roll in from here

 

[spenze]

Good, Ali attending

 

[Bovo]

Good, Ali attending

On the ropes, just like North Melbourne

 

[Bovo]

Good: Peter Bell not getting a premiership medal- too good for a bit of kick to kick with the boys, what a knob

Did he start at Freo and then went back? I couldn’t quite remember his journey

 

[Moonwatcher]

Feel like we've used up 26 years of luck today with North's kicking (but that's superstitious nonsense).

 

[GreyCrow]

The Good
McLeod
Hart
Jarman
Smart
3rd Quarter

The Bad
How can there be a bad we friggin won it

The Ugly
Norths 2nd Quarter kept us in the game

 

[adelaidecrows]

Good
The 3rd quarter comeback. The kangaroos threw everything at us in the 2nd quarter but couldn't kick away. Missed some sitters but we applied enough pressure to make it hard for them. Blights teams had a tendency to make the opposition pay if they didnt put us away and thats what we did. Blight did his half time magic and the Crows came out on fire. North had no answers. Last quarter was a lot more even but 7 missed chances by the Roos kept them out of it as we kicked away.

Did the roos lose the match more than we won it? probably but our 3rd quarter was so good that we would have steam rolled our way back into the match even if we were 40 points down at half time.

Bad:
That lackluster 2nd quarter was a coach killer though and we could have realistically been 10 goals down, probably even should have been 10 goals down at half time. It was that bad.

 

[Firewalker]

Good:

Bickley’s enormously (still to this day) underrated 3rd quarter, moved into the centre and changes the total dynamic of the midfield battle in the 2nd half by getting first use from the rucks himself & stopping Bell & Stevens who had it all their own way in the first half.

Brett James turning into prime Gavin Wanganeen off halfback in the 3rd quarter

McLeod’s physical build of having very long arms for his height - that grab the ball out of mid air to somehow handball to Thiessen for the goal to start the 4th qtr breaks North

Darren Jarman just yelling and shaking the ball after taking a mark on the lead in the last quarter

Mickey Martyn whinging to Darren Goldspink after Robran put his hands all over his head to try to take a specky in the last quarter

Mark Stevens out marking Carey and running away from him in the last quarter is always a nice moment to see given how North chucked him away as steak knives in the McCartney deal

Bad

Kym Koster & Shane Ellen turning from big performers in ‘97 to absolute total duds a year later in the 1st half of this match, Blight right to bench them for the rest of the game.

The plan to play Roo at Full Forward in the first quarter played right into North’s hands especially when the team definitely could’ve used his toughness around the ball

Peter Vardy’s heel injury robbing us of showing what he could’ve been able to do fully fit in the ridiculous form he was hitting at the end of that season

Ugly

That footage they always show of Blight wanting to embrace/high five someone on the boundary line as the siren goes but no one’s around him so he just air swings to himself is awkward as f**k

This footage that’s just popped up on YouTube in recent weeks of the Talking Footy episode reviewing the game showing the footage of Blight going to shake Pagan’s hand post-game and Pagan not knowing it was Blight at first then he just flat out offers the weakest bad sportsmanship handshake ever






This review also recently put up on YouTube is probably the most in-depth specific game review I’ve seen that was recorded at the time

 

[crows dude]

The wingers Eccles and Theissen both great.

Mcleod dominant.

Harts first half amazing.

Caven destroyed Carey

Jarman was Jarman.

Goodwin and Johnson both great in the 2nd half.

 

[whattagun07]

Good: we have a settled young squad with some big future stars. Watch the premierships roll in from here

Just wait until McLeod, Goodwin hit their prime. I reckon Ricciuto will only get better too. And don't rule out Tyson Edwards moving into the midfield one day.
It will take some incompetent coaching and a complete lack of a forward line to stop that midfield.

 

[crows dude]

Just wait until McLeod, Goodwin hit their prime. I reckon Ricciuto will only get better too. And don't rule out Tyson Edwards moving into the midfield one day.
It will take some incompetent coaching and a complete lack of a forward line to stop that midfield.

2002. 2005 and 2006 Prelim losses Arghhhh. Should have had three more flags there.

 

[WetCrow1991]

2002. 2005 and 2006 Prelim losses Arghhhh. Should have had three more flags there.

2005 was the real stinker and largely due to Neil Craig.

 

[Smoooothy]

james theissen played his best game for the club in this GF

ben marsh was pretty handy in the 3rd quarter too

reckon the game changed the moment that nigel smart got knocked out then put the ball out on the full. seemed to knock some sense into him!

 

[Eagleboy2011]

2002. 2005 and 2006 Prelim losses Arghhhh. Should have had three more flags there.

2012

 

[dogs105]

Ben. Hart.

 

[Apsaalooke]

Same number of scoring shots in the end - 30 each, yet we win by 35 points

 

[PCORF]

2005 was the real stinker and largely due to Neil Craig.

If Ricciutio didn't stuff up vs West Coast with that hit that cost him a week we may have won that QF. Just couldn't get our hands on that ball all game. But still I thought we had a chance, the trip back to Perth was too much pressure for us to handle and we made many stupid mistakes under pressure and then the Eagles blew us away in the 3rd and there was no coming back.

If we had success in 2005 or 2006 and maybe even 2012 or 2017 we may have been a different side today. Underachieving has hurt this club badly!

 

[PCORF]

2012

We certainly would have not been complacent in the 2012 GF as huge underdogs. We could have beaten Sydney in the GF that year for sure.

If we won that preliminary final in 2012 I probably would have passed out from my celebration.

 

[Eagleboy2011]

We certainly would have not been complacent in the 2012 GF as huge underdogs. We could have beaten Sydney in the GF that year for sure.

If we won that preliminary final in 2012 I probably would have passed out from my celebration.

One of a few that got away.

 

[relapse]

If Ricciutio didn't stuff up vs West Coast with that hit that cost him a week we may have won that QF. Just couldn't get our hands on that ball all game. But still I thought we had a chance, the trip back to Perth was too much pressure for us to handle and we made many stupid mistakes under pressure and then the Eagles blew us away in the 3rd and there was no coming back.

If we had success in 2005 or 2006 and maybe even 2012 or 2017 we may have been a different side today. Underachieving has hurt this club badly!

That's been our problem

After 1998 we've been within touching distance of success on multiple occasions, but for whatever reason we haven't been able to get there.

Whether it's bad luck, the club not being good enough or most likely a combination of both, we've not been able to take our chances despite been around the mark

05, 06, 12, 16 and 17 have been five genuine chances to win a flag, had we of won one or two along the way I think the club would be in a completely different position.