With no finals for the Bulldogs to play, I thought I'd create a thread relating to some better times.
How many of you are old enough to remember the $21,000 incentive offered to Footscray to win its final three games of 1983? The money was put up by club sponsor Eastcoast Jeans. Footscray could not make the finals by the time round 20 began, but 1983 had seen a marked on field improvement from the club. Having been wooden spooners with only three wins in 1982, 1983 had seen Footscray in the final five at three different stages throughout the season. I was only 14 at the time and can’t recall if there was a specific reason Eastcoast thought it would be beneficial to offer the incentive, or whether they simply thought it would be a piece of motivational fun and a good PR exercise.
The campaign nearly came unstuck during the first quarter of those final three matches. We played Fitzroy, who were second the ladder, at the Western Oval. Apart from hoping to win the $21,000, of particular interest was when former Bulldog Bernie Quinlan would kick his 100th goal of the season. He went into this match with 95 majors, and most people expected him to reach the ton some time during this encounter.
At quarter time the Roys had kicked 9.3 (57) and we trailed by 45 points. A few minutes into the second term and Fitzroy had kicked inaccurately to extend their lead to 48. If one or two of those scores had been goals, who knows whether we would have come back. Yet come back we did, although we still trailed by 27 at the main break. Fitzroy had kicked 2.10 for the quarter to our 6.4.
Fitzroy had use of a strong wind for the third term, but somehow Footscray used their home ground better than their opponent to score 4 goals to 1 to reduce the margin to only 9 points at three quarter time.
We began the final term well but kicked four behinds in the opening nine minutes to still be behind. Eventually we got our act together and kicked 7 goals to 2 to win by 26 points. Bernie Quinlan finished on 98 goals and had to wait another week to crack the century.
Our next game saw a similar situation unfold against St. Kilda. The Saints were the bottom team but we were playing them at Moorabbin. After an even first quarter, Footscray trailed by 35 points at half time. We stayed with St. Kilda for most of the third term but couldn’t make any inroads into the half time deficit. In time on we were 45 points down until a late goal made the margin 39 points at the last change. Footscray outplayed their hosts during the final quarter and had kicked 6.1 to 0.4 just before time on. Simon Beasley kicked a goal which levelled the scores but Silvio Foschini kicked the Saints’ first goal for the quarter to put St. Kilda in front again. The Bulldogs levelled again a minute later when former Fitzroy player Chris Hansen kicked a 50 metre goal. Four minutes went by with scores level until Ian Williams received a pass standing alone in the forward line to win the game with the last kick of the day.
Our final game was back at the Western Oval versus Sydney, who were second bottom. After Sydney got away to a ten point lead at quarter time, Footscray kicked 7.6 to 1.1 in the second term to establish a 31 point lead at the main break. We were not really challenged from there on as we managed a 42 point winning margin to take the sponsor’s cash. We finished in seventh position with 10 victories, our best showing in seven years. Outside the ground there was a petition in which fans were being asked to show their support for Ian Hampshire to continue as coach for 1984. Of course, the position was given to Mick Malthouse, and our improved form of 1983 continued for most of Mick’s tenure. Only in Mick’s final season of 1989 did we lose more games than we won.
How many of you are old enough to remember the $21,000 incentive offered to Footscray to win its final three games of 1983? The money was put up by club sponsor Eastcoast Jeans. Footscray could not make the finals by the time round 20 began, but 1983 had seen a marked on field improvement from the club. Having been wooden spooners with only three wins in 1982, 1983 had seen Footscray in the final five at three different stages throughout the season. I was only 14 at the time and can’t recall if there was a specific reason Eastcoast thought it would be beneficial to offer the incentive, or whether they simply thought it would be a piece of motivational fun and a good PR exercise.
The campaign nearly came unstuck during the first quarter of those final three matches. We played Fitzroy, who were second the ladder, at the Western Oval. Apart from hoping to win the $21,000, of particular interest was when former Bulldog Bernie Quinlan would kick his 100th goal of the season. He went into this match with 95 majors, and most people expected him to reach the ton some time during this encounter.
At quarter time the Roys had kicked 9.3 (57) and we trailed by 45 points. A few minutes into the second term and Fitzroy had kicked inaccurately to extend their lead to 48. If one or two of those scores had been goals, who knows whether we would have come back. Yet come back we did, although we still trailed by 27 at the main break. Fitzroy had kicked 2.10 for the quarter to our 6.4.
Fitzroy had use of a strong wind for the third term, but somehow Footscray used their home ground better than their opponent to score 4 goals to 1 to reduce the margin to only 9 points at three quarter time.
We began the final term well but kicked four behinds in the opening nine minutes to still be behind. Eventually we got our act together and kicked 7 goals to 2 to win by 26 points. Bernie Quinlan finished on 98 goals and had to wait another week to crack the century.
Our next game saw a similar situation unfold against St. Kilda. The Saints were the bottom team but we were playing them at Moorabbin. After an even first quarter, Footscray trailed by 35 points at half time. We stayed with St. Kilda for most of the third term but couldn’t make any inroads into the half time deficit. In time on we were 45 points down until a late goal made the margin 39 points at the last change. Footscray outplayed their hosts during the final quarter and had kicked 6.1 to 0.4 just before time on. Simon Beasley kicked a goal which levelled the scores but Silvio Foschini kicked the Saints’ first goal for the quarter to put St. Kilda in front again. The Bulldogs levelled again a minute later when former Fitzroy player Chris Hansen kicked a 50 metre goal. Four minutes went by with scores level until Ian Williams received a pass standing alone in the forward line to win the game with the last kick of the day.
Our final game was back at the Western Oval versus Sydney, who were second bottom. After Sydney got away to a ten point lead at quarter time, Footscray kicked 7.6 to 1.1 in the second term to establish a 31 point lead at the main break. We were not really challenged from there on as we managed a 42 point winning margin to take the sponsor’s cash. We finished in seventh position with 10 victories, our best showing in seven years. Outside the ground there was a petition in which fans were being asked to show their support for Ian Hampshire to continue as coach for 1984. Of course, the position was given to Mick Malthouse, and our improved form of 1983 continued for most of Mick’s tenure. Only in Mick’s final season of 1989 did we lose more games than we won.
