The best prelim finals since 1995?

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#79
To this day the best game of football I have been to.
Same here

I can remember going out at 3 quarter time for a smoke and a very patronising Essendon supporter telling me well done you have fought a good fight but now we will run over the top of you. :D

Kouta was just unstoppable in that last quarter what an epic.

And then finally got home to find out Kennett lost the Victorian election. Day of the underdog.
 

iluvparis

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#80
Adelaide had a ridiculous record over Sydney at the time whereas West Coast were only ever 50/50.

West Coast could have been slight favourites over Adelaide and uncertain to beat Sydney with Adelaide expected to beat the Swans easily.

Even Swans fans at the time said they were lucky not to face Adelaide in finals.
Sure they had a good record - but what are the chances they would have started $1.10 against the Swans at a neutral venue?

0%
 

iluvparis

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#81
Same here

I can remember going out at 3 quarter time for a smoke and a very patronising Essendon supporter telling me well done you have fought a good fight but now we will run over the top of you. :D

Kouta was just unstoppable in that last quarter what an epic.

And then finally got home to find out Kennett lost the Victorian election. Day of the underdog.
Yeah I think its forgotten by many that after being 4 goals up at half time the Dons slammed on 7 goals in the third quarter to lead by 11 points at 3/4 time. Then Alessio slotted the first of the last quarter to put them almost 3 goals up. Everyone on earth would have thought we were dead at the point.

So many great memories from that day - the broadcasts across radio and TV were iconic. Channel 7 had Drew Morphett (YOU'D WANT TO BE ON THE BLUES NOW!!!!) and Sandy Roberts (Carlton.....CARLTON! are into the Grand Final!). ABC still had Tim Lane and his call of Lappins goal to put us back in front was on their intro promo for a few years afterwards (Lapin....bouncing....bouncing....BOUNCING.... GOAL!!!!).

I can still remember the club song echoing through the bowels of the Great Southern Stand and the pure devastation on the faces of all the Bombers supporters.

Too bad we are such a fking rabble these days :'(:'(:'(:'(
 

Gibbsy

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Moderator #82
Only been to two, Cats v Pies 2007 and Pies v Hawks 2011, pretty sure I cried at both! Two of the best games I've ever seen.

Then I echo the thoughts of pretty much everyone else here in terms of some of the greatest.
 

Gavin Excell

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#83
Same here

I can remember going out at 3 quarter time for a smoke and a very patronising Essendon supporter telling me well done you have fought a good fight but now we will run over the top of you. :D

Kouta was just unstoppable in that last quarter what an epic.

And then finally got home to find out Kennett lost the Victorian election. Day of the underdog.
It did look like it though - that Carlton had given its best shot but by the 3rd qtr Essendon had assumed control and would run away with it.
 

srobbo

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#84
Same here

I can remember going out at 3 quarter time for a smoke and a very patronising Essendon supporter telling me well done you have fought a good fight but now we will run over the top of you. :D

Kouta was just unstoppable in that last quarter what an epic.

And then finally got home to find out Kennett lost the Victorian election. Day of the underdog.
I thought the outcome was a forgone conclusion, that I had the old man lining up for GF tix for 3 mates & myself during the game.

Unlike the Ess bloke you spoke to, I distinctly remembering feeling at 3qtr time that we hadn't put you away after being pretty wasteful with 7.8....

Half an hour later I'd never felt more ill...

Erghh..
 

ioppolo

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#86
We went into the game as favourites iirc. We had beaten them twice that year already and they had injuries. I thought at half time we were a chance to run over them, and then it happened lol. I remember at the time the oddity of being favourite to win the PF yet Adelaide were still favourites for the flag. Winning a prelim final away from home is a great achievement and its one of my favourite footy memories.
You forgot the asterisk for Ben Cousins second half performance.
 

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Moderator #87
One could go back to 1987 (yes, I know it's outside the date range given by the OP) when the late great Jim Stynes ran over the mark, gave away a 15 metre penalty and Bucky kicked truly from 40 metres out after the siren to put Hawthorn into its fifth consecutive grand final.

I was at the 2012, 2013 and 2014 preliminary finals and thought Hawthorn would lose each of them.

I really hated the twilight start time for the 2012 preliminary final. Tippett absolutely monstered Schoenmakers and almost put the Crows into the grand final. After leading by 22 points in the third quarter, the Hawks seized up and let the Crows take the lead deep into the last quarter. The Hawks snatched the lead late into the game when Clarkson swung Burgoyne into the middle who won a centre clearance and hit Rioli on the chest, with Rioli kicking truly. But it wasn't over by a long way and it needed a Ben Stratton tackle on Dangerfield as Dangerfield was steaming towards the 50 metre arc to seal the victory.


2013 was probably the best non-grand final game I've ever been to. Hawks had lost 11 in a row, some by less than a kick with shots after the siren. We had plenty of chances to get a comfortable lead but missed a few shots at goal while the Cats nailed theirs (Harry Taylor snapping truly on the run in the third quarter comes to mind). There was also that goal from a ball-in when it should have been a free kick to Hawthorn for OOTB against Geelong. Like many Hawthorn supporters at 3/4 time I thought we were done and Hawthorn would be tarred with the brush of being an all-time choker, having lost the 2012 grand final and then being bounced out by our biggest rival in 2013.

Then Burgoyne stepped up and played the best quarter of his career. From memory, Burgoyne had 11 disposals - all of which were effective - including the goal that put the Hawks in front. The Geelong players probably panicked a little bit because when Hawthorn hit the lead, there were still a couple of minutes left but the Cats let their structures devolve and started bombing it out of defence. The one time they actually thought about their play they got it to Varcoe who missed a snap to level the scores.

I spoke with Brad Sewell some time after the match about his attempt to stop Varcoe. He said that his dive was pure desperation and he didn't think he had a chance of stopping Varcoe.

I also happen to work with Chappy's partner (of course Chapman was suspended for the preliminary final) and she said that Chappy was so angry with what happened that night he didn't sleep at all and ended up starting his mad Monday that Saturday morning at about 4 or 5 in the morning before going to a GDFL grand final the next day.

Being at the ground, nobody in the crowd heard the final siren but boy it was a huge and sweet relief when we worked out that the game was over and Hawthorn had won.



In 2014, Port Adelaide made all the running in the first quarter but couldn't hit the broad side of the barn with their shots on goal. Hawthorn took advantage of their shots and were lucky to trail only by 12 points at quarter time. Port had had 12 scoring shots but kicked 3.9. Had they kicked 9.3 or even 6.5.41, it would probably have been a different outcome. Hawthorn then kicked six goals to two in the second quarter and led by 11 points at half-time. The Hawks kicked five goals to three in the third quarter and led by 23 points at 3/4 time. Then the Hawks stopped thinking about the task at hand and instead started thinking about the grand final and the Power came roaring back in the last quarter. Then Hodge won a free kick.

For the sheer enormity of the situation and what was at stake given the binary outcome of winning versus losing, I would have the 2013 preliminary final as the best preliminary final I've attended.

To be honest, I much preferred the 2008 preliminary final against St Kilda when the Hawks led by a lot at half-time (47 points) and it was virtually certain that Hawthorn would be in the grand final. Made for a much more comfortable night at the footy.
 

iameviljez

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#88
Lol are you kidding me - more history in a Port v St Kilda final then Carlton trying to stop a rampaging Essendon equaling their AFL record 16 flags in one of the AFL's most bitter rivalries at a packed MCG!?!?

You must be 100% taking the piss.
Absolutely more history on the line, because the Power had flat-out choked two years in a row and were on their last chance, and StKilda - the loser of the league - had won their only flag in their history 38 years ago.

With all due respect, Carlton and Essendon were used to being in, and winning, Grand Finals. It doesn't mean the same - look at Richmond supporters now, compared to the Geelong fans who are just used to it.

To illustrate the point, the Dogs' flag last year was, I think, a lot more historic than Essendon's 2000 flag which did carry them to 16.
 
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iameviljez

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#90
Same here

I can remember going out at 3 quarter time for a smoke and a very patronising Essendon supporter telling me well done you have fought a good fight but now we will run over the top of you. :D

Kouta was just unstoppable in that last quarter what an epic.

And then finally got home to find out Kennett lost the Victorian election. Day of the underdog.
I remember the 2013 QF vs Fremantle at Kardinia for the opposite reasons. Geelong gets done in a boilover, and, to quote the old bloke walking in front of me on the way out, "And we'll probably get bloody Tony Abbott tonight now, too"...
 

ok.crows

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#91
I never knew that, but you're right, that does seem lopsided. In Victoria it was all about Sheedy's speech.

Ess 32 free kicks
Adel 15 free kicks

Wanganeen 8 free kicks
From memory most of Adelaide's 15 free kicks in that game were awarded in the first half. In the second half I think Adelaide got just 1 free compared to 17 for Essendon or something like that.
 
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#92
From memory most of Adelaide's 15 free kicks in that game were awarded in the first half. In the second half I think Adelaide got just 1 free compared to 17 for Essendon or something like that.
That's poor form by the umpires, as I said, in Vic the focus was on Kevin Sheedy's speech and how he simultaneously inspired Essendon to win as well as writing a future Barack Obama acceptance speech.
 

Goggin Our Best

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#93
I thought last years was very good Giants v Bulldogs

Last qtr - 2 or 3 times the Dogs looked gone for sure - but rallied and won - plenty of emotion in that win

All the Dogs supporters sitting in the stands - and their President Peter Gordon out on the ground straight after the win - like a conductor - conducting the Orchestra .
 

Boxhead_31

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#95
Only been to two, Cats v Pies 2007 and Pies v Hawks 2011, pretty sure I cried at both! Two of the best games I've ever seen.

Then I echo the thoughts of pretty much everyone else here in terms of some of the greatest.
Still the biggest none GF crowd is that 2007 PF isnt it?

The noise at that game was unbelievable and the commitment from both sides was fabulous



Play for the game for mine from Smithy that
 

rippersnipper

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#96
Come to think of it, i haven't actually watched that many prelims. I watched both of our recent ones unfortunately, watched last year's banger and the first quarter of sydney's destruction of geelong. Watched bits of 2007's pies-geelong match but i was away thankfully which helped when we got buggered by port. Don't remember anything from before 2007. Of the ones I've seen:
1. Hawks-Port 2014
2. Pies -Hawks 2011
3. GWS - Doggies 2016
4. Cats - Pies 2007

That's all that I can remember really. All were outstanding matches fortunately.
 

Topkent

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#97
Geelong/Collingwood (2007) will always stand out. 98,002 fans at the MCG on a Friday night - compared to the 97,302 eight days later. The atmosphere just about as electrifying as the football.

Gary Ablett was outstanding - his performance confirming his place amongst the all-time greats.
He became an all time great in his first season of decent footy?
 

iluvparis

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#99
Absolutely more history on the line, because the Power had flat-out choked two years in a row and were on their last chance, and StKilda - the loser of the league - had won their only flag in their history 38 years ago.

With all due respect, Carlton and Essendon were used to being in, and winning, Grand Finals. It doesn't mean the same - look at Richmond supporters now, compared to the Geelong fans who are just used to it.

To illustrate the point, the Dogs' flag last year was, I think, a lot more historic than Essendon's 2000 flag which did carry them to 16.
You definitely need a lesson in perspective if you think that is the case.
 

Adz

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Geelong/Collingwood (2007) will always stand out. 98,002 fans at the MCG on a Friday night - compared to the 97,302 eight days later. The atmosphere just about as electrifying as the football.

Gary Ablett was outstanding - his performance confirming his place amongst the all-time greats.
He wasn't an all time great in 2007.
 
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