The '90s

[Sttew]

Football was shit in the 1990's. Cats played in 3 GF's and didn't win any.

 

[dogs105]

Very dark days the 90's as a Swans supporter early and then suddenly since the mid to late 90's it became the birth of a strong club. Hard to forget Plugger and Kelly through the 90's and watching the end of Ablett and Dunstall's fine careers and Carey tearing games apart. Good times.

But Bucky and Richard Osborne?

 

[dogs105]

Early 90s SoO was awesome. Kernas, Platten, Naley, Modra, Hall, McDermott, Jarmans, Lindner, Fielke, McIntosh, Bradley, Francis, Carey.

 

[FootyJunkie]

was a big transitional period... volatile period on and off the field.... for good as well as bad

up to half a dozen non Victorian teams to stress the national competition, yet Saturday arvo suburban footy in Melbourne was still king...

the league and clubs were still trying to figure out how to make it all become more professional as the decade went on... what happened to Fitzroy sucked though

established stars from the 80s like Ablett, Dunstall, Lockett, Kernahan, Roos, and Libba mixing it up with 90s stars like Carey, Buckley, Modra, Hird, Kouta and Jackovich.... tactical play was not yet as scrutinized as it is today, so general play was very enjoyable for the average punter... seeing a side lose by 10 goals, but scoring 140 points themselves was not unheard of

with no Foxtel having the rights, Channel 7 went out of their way to cover all the non Victorian games... all Eagles, Crows, Swans and Bears home games were televised LIVE into Melbourne... Sunday Double Headers, the rare Triple Header...

 

[Seeds]

In purely aesthetic terms I think the game was at its peak towards the end of the 90's.

There was no kicking backwards, no flooding, no rolling zone, no 80 interchanges a game, genuine 1 on 1 match ups in the middle, full forwards given space.

Wrong. Flooding and rotations and backwards chipping was already becoming a thing in the late nineties. I think you mean the early nineties.

 

[Seeds]

was a big transitional period... volatile period on and off the field.... for good as well as bad

up to half a dozen non Victorian teams to stress the national competition, yet Saturday arvo suburban footy in Melbourne was still king...

the league and clubs were still trying to figure out how to make it all become more professional as the decade went on... what happened to Fitzroy sucked though

established stars from the 80s like Ablett, Dunstall, Lockett, Kernahan, Roos, and Libba mixing it up with 90s stars like Carey, Buckley, Modra, Hird, Kouta and Jackovich.... tactical play was not yet as scrutinized as it is today, so general play was very enjoyable for the average punter... seeing a side lose by 10 goals, but scoring 140 points themselves was not unheard of

with no Foxtel having the rights, Channel 7 went out of their way to cover all the non Victorian games... all Eagles, Crows, Swans and Bears home games were televised LIVE into Melbourne... Sunday Double Headers, the rare Triple Header...

Why did you write Libba? He wasn't in the top 100 players of the era. Had one good season in what is regarded as the worst season of football in the past forty years. Won a Brownlow with only 18 votes. Most years that wouldn't get him near the top 5. Was just a scrapper for the rest of his career.

 

[Seeds]

Everyone quickly forgets that every Grand Final in the 90s was a blow out. The only thing that made a lot of them memorable was the first flags for Eagles and Crows.

Some like 91, 92, 97 and 98 were close but the momentum was all with one team and you knew which way it was going to swing.

Grand finals were blow outs but there were a lot of sensational finals. The 94 and 96 finals series in particular.

 

[Banyo Bloods]

But Bucky and Richard Osborne?

I'd like to forget Bucky he changed the back of our jumpers to red to signal change. Osborne and Brereton just didn't really work out.

 

[Seeds]

No one topped Allen jackovich. He was the 90s.

 

[La Vache]

Why did you write Libba? He wasn't in the top 100 players of the era. Had one good season in what is regarded as the worst season of football in the past forty years. Won a Brownlow with only 18 votes. Most years that wouldn't get him near the top 5. Was just a scrapper for the rest of his career.

Not even close. Libber was a top in-and-under rover for at least half a decade. During this time he was a sensational, tough player and one of the best tacklers ever.

 

[ZEV]

Why did you write Libba? He wasn't in the top 100 players of the era. Had one good season in what is regarded as the worst season of football in the past forty years. Won a Brownlow with only 18 votes. Most years that wouldn't get him near the top 5. Was just a scrapper for the rest of his career.

Every year from 1980 to 1990 18 votes would make top 5. Would have won with 18 in '86.

From 1990-97 18 votes would make the top 5 in the brownlow and 18 votes was enough to win it in 93....

 

[frenchconnection]

Football was shit in the 1990's. Cats played in 3 GF's and didn't win any.

That was good in my opinion

 

[frenchconnection]

Wrong. Flooding and rotations and backwards chipping was already becoming a thing in the late nineties. I think you mean the early nineties.

From memory think it was Rodney Eade when he used to coach the Sydney Swans and Plough when coaching the Bulldogs was when the flooding started. Can't remember when that was but that was the start of AFL being less enjoyable to watch.

 

[Mootsy]

As a Hawks fan, I'm not gonna disagree! But I gotta admit I am quite partial to the current era too. I didn't much like the 90s, but that was more due to the off field goings-on, death of Fitzroy, Melbourne Hawks, closure of Waverley Park etc.

Of course most Hawks fans probably won't be feeling this thread ..

 

[Mootsy]

Are you being sarcastic?

Rex had charisma and many commentators like Landy etc had very memorable tone and calling style.

 

[FootyJunkie]

No one topped Allen jackovich. He was the 90s.

 

[kickazz]

There seemed to be less of a sameness about the players in the 90s. We had genuine specialists - big bodied tall forwards, shorter mids. Some of the mids were slowish but had endurance. It was the Wingers and Half Backs that you used for pace. Genuine defenders who needed to be able to stop champion full forwards - never mind if you couldn't launch an attack through pace or long precise kicking; stop Ablett/Modra/Dunstall/Plugger and you got a game.

Now all the players are built very similarly - relatively tall and slender enough to run all game.

 

[Damon_3388]

I hate sounding anything like KB, but it was all about the big bags that drew me into footy as a youngster in the 90's.

I'd watch Plugga, Ablett Snr, Dunstall, Modra, Rocca, Carey, Lloyd and Richo every week just to see how many goals they'd kick. I'd then marvel at how the race to the Coleman would chop and change and project how likely each would kick a ton.

I do miss those days.

Not saying those mentioned weren't brilliant footballers, but I feel like those individual goal totals were as much a product of the style of play as anything else. There was a perfect combination of attacking ability and intent, along with the last bastions of primitive defensive structures and a lack of tackling pressure.

 

[kickazz]

From memory think it was Rodney Eade when he used to coach the Sydney Swans and Plough when coaching the Bulldogs was when the flooding started. Can't remember when that was but that was the start of AFL being less enjoyable to watch.

It wasn't the first time it was used by any stretch, but I remember the Bombers' only loss in 2000, against the Bulldogs, was remarkable at the time for the unprecedented magnitude of the use of flooding by the doggies to get an upset result. Definitely a watershed moment.

 

[eaglespremiers]

Alex Jesaulenko, the era of the great full backs: Dench, Southby and Moore, the greatest ever comeback 1970 grand final (44 points), the 1977 draw (first ever live telecast grand final), Royce Hart, Gary Dempsey, the highest ever attendance at a VFL/AFL match (121,696), the 1972 highest aggregate grand final (50.27.327), Wayne Harmes's tap in the 1979 grand final...............UP THERE CAZALY!

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray....

 

[eaglespremiers]

unprecedented

That word has lost so much meaning around these parts.

 

[chunkylover]

View attachment 389694

Intentional, low impact and head high contact. 1 week down to a $1500 fine Allen and we dont want to any more of that excessive personality displayed on an AFL field in the future

 

[mehow2g]

Professionalism will change any sport to a less of a spectacle, you can check out NBA, Soccer, Tennis etc and find the 90's were more enjoyable.

The 80/90's for basically all sports was more so a battle of talent not a battle of who worked the hardest during the off season and during the season, nowadays C grade talented people can close the gap to the more talented, in today's sportsmen world you have to be the best in all areas talent, hard work and mental strength.

I swear the players from the 90's had more testosterone.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

This old style of play people loved, if you brought it back now people would enjoy it for a half or maybe 3 quarters. Then at the end at the game the losing team's supporters would go "Well that was shit. Play to win next time."

 

[Mootsy]

The great thing about today is that you get the VFL = 90s style game...and the AFL = very elite and professional but often quite boring and sterile to watch, then you watch another game and it's an incredible game..

best of both..

what i miss is the old commentators and i miss the run and space of the old game, you used to have specialist callers of the game and very distinctive, now you just get ex-footballers with special comments and what, Bruce is left and he's a specialist commentator, very well skilled.

then again, you could just tune into the radio station that has the old commentators that people like etc....

Rex, Drew, Tony, etc are still on radio...

People underestimate how important great commentary is and that ties into charisma and the art of it..