Well time certainly flies.
It feels like just yesterday the final siren sounded to the drawn grand final between the Pies and Saints and the ensuing madness that occurred.
It's hard to believe that was nearly 10 years ago and now the final siren to the decade is nearly upon us - Perhaps in 2019 it will be Collingwood who open and close the decade as premiers, or Geelong who are looking unstoppable at the moment. It might be West Coast to go back to back or the Giants who didn't even exist in 2010. Perhaps we will see another surprise premier like the Bulldogs of 2016 who rose from 7th to claim a most magnificent premiership.
It's certainly been a memorable and eventful decade and like it or not, the game is vastly different from the previous decade.
There's been unbelievable highs such as the beginning of AFLW, Hawthorns remarkable three peat, the establishment of two new teams and the Dogs and Tigers ending long premiership droughts.
There's also been some major low points such as the Essendon saga which dominated news headlines for five years, tanking and the sad loss of Phil Walsh.
I thought this thread could be a depository of memories of the decade, good or bad, as we reflect and look towards 2020.
I've included a few major events by season.
2010
Richmond lose their first 9 games under new coach Damian Hardwick and draw comparisons to Fitzroy
Mark LeCras dominates the Bombers in a 12 goal performance as West Coast go on to 'win' their first wooden spoon while Matthew Knights is later sacked as Essendon Coach
Mark Williams, Paul Roos and Bomber Thompson all end successful coaching careers at their respective clubs
Collingwood finish the season in first place.
Chris Judd wins the Brownlow
Collingwood and St Kilda play out an epic drawn grand final climaxed by that Brendon Goddard mark and a bad bounce for Stephen Milne - Collingwood win the replay easily
Lenny Hayes and Scott Pendlebury both win Norm Smith medals
2011
The AFL introduces a short lived substitute rule
Gold Coast begin life as an AFL club and are crushed by Carlton in their first ever match - The Suns' first win would come against Port Adelaide after Westhoff misses a shot after the siren and they would also claim victory in the first Q-Clash against Brisbane
Chris Scott coaches Geelong to a 13-0 start and the premiership in his first season as well as the unusual first of coaching against his twin brother Brad of North Melbourne
James Hird is appointed coach of Essendon with Mark Thompson as an assistant - a 'dream team' set up
Essendon post a record quarter time score of 15.4 (94) against the fledgling Gold Coast - Kyle Reimers kicks eight goals
Geelong defeat a hapless Melbourne by 186 points and Dean Bailey is immediately sacked
Long time Adelaide coach Neil Craig is also sacked after a 100 point loss to St Kilda, Rodney Eade is also sacked by the Dogs
Port Adelaide are dismal losing to Collingwood by 138 points and Hawthorn by 165 points in successive weeks
Collingwood are dominant in home and away season losing only two games - both to Geelong including a surprise 96 point defeat on the eve of the finals
West Coast bounce back from the wooden spoon to a top 4 finish
Collingwood defeat Hawthorn in a thrilling Preliminary Final
Mick Malthouse coaches his last game for Collingwood and is replaced by Nathan Buckley in a premeditated handover
Ross Lyon defects from St Kilda to Fremantle
Dane Swan wins the Brownlow and Jimmy Bartel the Norm Smith
2012
GWS enter the competition, losing their first match to Sydney - they would win their first game in Round 7 against the Suns
The Swans under John Longmire win the premiership in a classic Grand Final against Hawthorn – Ryan O’Keefe wins the Norm Smith
Lance Franklin scores THIRTEEN goals against the Kangaroos
Brett Ratten is hastily sacked by Carlton after losing to the Suns and missing the finals – he is eventually replaced by Mick Malthouse
Jobe Watson is awarded the Brownlow medal however is later stripped of the honour - Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin become joint winners.
Port Adelaide and former Collingwood player John McCarthy dies in an off season trip to Las Vegas.
The footy world also mourns the passing of Jim Stynes from cancer.
The AFL introduces free agency. Brendon Goddard is one of the first high profile player moves switching from St Kilda to Essendon.
2013
The season is marred by the Essendon supplements saga attracting major headlines throughout the season. The Bombers would eventually be charged for bringing the game into disrepute and kicked out of the finals series – Carlton benefit by qualifying in eighth and coming back from 5 goals down to defeat the Tigers in a memorable elimination final.
Other scandals such as the Adelaide-Kurt Tippett contract saga and Melbourne tanking investigation are other unwelcome off field distractions.
Melbourne start the season poorly, losing to the Bombers by 148 points in Round 2
St Kilda host Sydney in the first match for premiership points to be played outside Australia in New Zealand
Collingwood and Sydney play a match in Round 9 that is remembered for a racism controversy targeted at Swans star Adam Goodes
‘The Miracle On Grass’ – Brisbane come back from 52 points down to defeat Geelong courtesy of an Ash McGrath goal after the siren
The Kennett curse is lifted as Hawthorn stage a last quarter comeback to defeat Geelong in a classic prelim.
Fremantle make their first ever grand final in a loss to Hawthorn, perhaps equally as memorable was their win over Geelong at Kardinia Park in the Qualifying Final
Hawthorn finish first for the second season in a row
Brian Lake claims the Norm Smith medal and Gary Ablett wins the Brownlow as a Sun.
John Worsfold steps down as West Coast coach as Scott Watters, Michael Voss and Mark Neeld are sacked throughout the year
2014
In one of the biggest trade surprises in history, Lance Franklin lands at the Swans
Adelaide and Port Adelaide begin playing permanently at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval
The Swans and Hawks dominate the season with the former finishing first and the latter winning back to back flags in a perfect Grand Final performance
The irresistible Hawks almost don’t make the grand final - just scraping past surprise prelim finalists in Port Adelaide
As James Hird serves a coaching suspension, Mark Thompson becomes caretaker coach of Essendon, guiding the Bombers to 7th place
Richmond recover from 3-10 to make the finals, however the elimination final against Port Adelaide is one to forget
Matt Priddis wins the Brownlow and Luke Hodge the Norm Smith
St Kilda claim the wooden spoon
Andrew Demetriou resigns as CEO and is replaced by Gillon McLachlan
2015
Mick Malthouse breaks the record for games coached…and is sacked weeks later
Fremantle finish first for the first time ever, however fail to make the grand final as Hawthorn win a tremendous three-peat against West Coast.
Dustin Fletcher plays his 400th game for Essendon
Tragedy strikes as Adelaide Coach Phil Walsh is found deceased on July 3rd. Adelaide’s game against Geelong is cancelled as other games from the round feature touching tributes to Walshy. The Crows regroup the next week to play West Coast in Perth and are valiant in defeat and deservedly cheered by Eagles fans.
Essendon begin the season seemingly in the clear after found ‘not guilty’ – WADA later announce an appeal of this decision. James Hird reclaims his position as Essendon coach though later steps down after a run of heavy losses.
Nat Fyfe wins the Brownlow and Cyril Rioli the Norm Smith.
Carlton claim the wooden spoon.
2016
34 Essendon players are suspended for a year for their role in the supplements saga. As a result Essendon are forced to field a team of ‘top ups’ and succumb to their first wooden spoon since 1933, with a club record 17 consecutive defeats in the process. John Worsfold begins his tenure as Essendon coach in the toughest of circumstances.
The AFL dabbles in further rule changes including reducing the interchange cap from 120 to 90.
The Western Bulldogs complete a fairy-tale season storming home from 7th position to win their first premiership in 62 years. They would defeat the Swans in a brilliant Grand Final which was also a fitting end to Dennis Commetti’s commentating career.
GWS make the finals for the first time in a run that ends with an agonising preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs. Sydney smash Geelong in the other prelim – a somewhat surprise.
Fremantle suffer a major fall from grace starting the season with 10 consecutive losses.
Richmond also struggle and finish in 13th position - almost resulting in the sacking of Damian Hardwick…
Patrick Dangerfield moves to Geelong and wins the Brownlow while Jason Johannisen the Norm Smith
North Melbourne’s Brent Harvey becomes the games records holder, overtaking Michael Tuck. Harvey retires with 432 games to his name.
2017
The inaugural season of AFLW concludes with Adelaide defeating Brisbane in the Grand Final.
The AFL goes global with Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast playing for premiership points in Shanghai
Adelaide finish first on the ladder.
The Western Bulldogs miss the finals as reigning premiers
Yellow and Black fever grips Melbourne as Richmond dominate the finals series and destroy the Crows in the Grand Final to win their first premiership since 1980
Dustin Martin caps off one of the most dominant and complete individual seasons ever winning the Brownlow and Norm Smith to go with his premiership medal
Eleni Glouftsis becomes the first ever female to umpire a VFL/AFL match in Essendon’s win against the West Coast
Essendon, buoyed by the return of suspended players, rebound to make the finals – although are smacked by the Swans
Sydney recover from a 0-6 start to remarkably make the finals
West Coast defeat Port Adelaide in a thrilling elimination final with a goal after the final siren of extra time
Brisbane claim the wooden spoon
2018
Perth’s Optus Stadium opens
AFLX is launched – though is not as successful as hoped
Richmond dominate the season, finishing first and becoming the first ever team to record 100,000 members. Unfortunately the Tigers’ save their worst performance for the Preliminary Final, losing to a brilliant Collingwood by 39 points.
West Coast come back from over 5 goals down to defeat Collingwood in a thrilling Grand Final. The match is memorable for a late passage of play beginning with a Jeremy McGovern mark and culminating in a Dom Sheed goal to put the Eagles in front.
Melbourne make the finals for the first time since 2006. Unfortunately for the Demons the season ends in an embarrassing preliminary final loss in which they fail to score a goal in the first half.
Tom Mitchell wins the Brownlow and Luke Shuey the Norm Smith
Carlton are dreadful and once again claim the wooden spoon
It feels like just yesterday the final siren sounded to the drawn grand final between the Pies and Saints and the ensuing madness that occurred.
It's hard to believe that was nearly 10 years ago and now the final siren to the decade is nearly upon us - Perhaps in 2019 it will be Collingwood who open and close the decade as premiers, or Geelong who are looking unstoppable at the moment. It might be West Coast to go back to back or the Giants who didn't even exist in 2010. Perhaps we will see another surprise premier like the Bulldogs of 2016 who rose from 7th to claim a most magnificent premiership.
It's certainly been a memorable and eventful decade and like it or not, the game is vastly different from the previous decade.
There's been unbelievable highs such as the beginning of AFLW, Hawthorns remarkable three peat, the establishment of two new teams and the Dogs and Tigers ending long premiership droughts.
There's also been some major low points such as the Essendon saga which dominated news headlines for five years, tanking and the sad loss of Phil Walsh.
I thought this thread could be a depository of memories of the decade, good or bad, as we reflect and look towards 2020.
I've included a few major events by season.
2010
Richmond lose their first 9 games under new coach Damian Hardwick and draw comparisons to Fitzroy
Mark LeCras dominates the Bombers in a 12 goal performance as West Coast go on to 'win' their first wooden spoon while Matthew Knights is later sacked as Essendon Coach
Mark Williams, Paul Roos and Bomber Thompson all end successful coaching careers at their respective clubs
Collingwood finish the season in first place.
Chris Judd wins the Brownlow
Collingwood and St Kilda play out an epic drawn grand final climaxed by that Brendon Goddard mark and a bad bounce for Stephen Milne - Collingwood win the replay easily
Lenny Hayes and Scott Pendlebury both win Norm Smith medals
2011
The AFL introduces a short lived substitute rule
Gold Coast begin life as an AFL club and are crushed by Carlton in their first ever match - The Suns' first win would come against Port Adelaide after Westhoff misses a shot after the siren and they would also claim victory in the first Q-Clash against Brisbane
Chris Scott coaches Geelong to a 13-0 start and the premiership in his first season as well as the unusual first of coaching against his twin brother Brad of North Melbourne
James Hird is appointed coach of Essendon with Mark Thompson as an assistant - a 'dream team' set up
Essendon post a record quarter time score of 15.4 (94) against the fledgling Gold Coast - Kyle Reimers kicks eight goals
Geelong defeat a hapless Melbourne by 186 points and Dean Bailey is immediately sacked
Long time Adelaide coach Neil Craig is also sacked after a 100 point loss to St Kilda, Rodney Eade is also sacked by the Dogs
Port Adelaide are dismal losing to Collingwood by 138 points and Hawthorn by 165 points in successive weeks
Collingwood are dominant in home and away season losing only two games - both to Geelong including a surprise 96 point defeat on the eve of the finals
West Coast bounce back from the wooden spoon to a top 4 finish
Collingwood defeat Hawthorn in a thrilling Preliminary Final
Mick Malthouse coaches his last game for Collingwood and is replaced by Nathan Buckley in a premeditated handover
Ross Lyon defects from St Kilda to Fremantle
Dane Swan wins the Brownlow and Jimmy Bartel the Norm Smith
2012
GWS enter the competition, losing their first match to Sydney - they would win their first game in Round 7 against the Suns
The Swans under John Longmire win the premiership in a classic Grand Final against Hawthorn – Ryan O’Keefe wins the Norm Smith
Lance Franklin scores THIRTEEN goals against the Kangaroos
Brett Ratten is hastily sacked by Carlton after losing to the Suns and missing the finals – he is eventually replaced by Mick Malthouse
Jobe Watson is awarded the Brownlow medal however is later stripped of the honour - Sam Mitchell and Trent Cotchin become joint winners.
Port Adelaide and former Collingwood player John McCarthy dies in an off season trip to Las Vegas.
The footy world also mourns the passing of Jim Stynes from cancer.
The AFL introduces free agency. Brendon Goddard is one of the first high profile player moves switching from St Kilda to Essendon.
2013
The season is marred by the Essendon supplements saga attracting major headlines throughout the season. The Bombers would eventually be charged for bringing the game into disrepute and kicked out of the finals series – Carlton benefit by qualifying in eighth and coming back from 5 goals down to defeat the Tigers in a memorable elimination final.
Other scandals such as the Adelaide-Kurt Tippett contract saga and Melbourne tanking investigation are other unwelcome off field distractions.
Melbourne start the season poorly, losing to the Bombers by 148 points in Round 2
St Kilda host Sydney in the first match for premiership points to be played outside Australia in New Zealand
Collingwood and Sydney play a match in Round 9 that is remembered for a racism controversy targeted at Swans star Adam Goodes
‘The Miracle On Grass’ – Brisbane come back from 52 points down to defeat Geelong courtesy of an Ash McGrath goal after the siren
The Kennett curse is lifted as Hawthorn stage a last quarter comeback to defeat Geelong in a classic prelim.
Fremantle make their first ever grand final in a loss to Hawthorn, perhaps equally as memorable was their win over Geelong at Kardinia Park in the Qualifying Final
Hawthorn finish first for the second season in a row
Brian Lake claims the Norm Smith medal and Gary Ablett wins the Brownlow as a Sun.
John Worsfold steps down as West Coast coach as Scott Watters, Michael Voss and Mark Neeld are sacked throughout the year
2014
In one of the biggest trade surprises in history, Lance Franklin lands at the Swans
Adelaide and Port Adelaide begin playing permanently at the redeveloped Adelaide Oval
The Swans and Hawks dominate the season with the former finishing first and the latter winning back to back flags in a perfect Grand Final performance
The irresistible Hawks almost don’t make the grand final - just scraping past surprise prelim finalists in Port Adelaide
As James Hird serves a coaching suspension, Mark Thompson becomes caretaker coach of Essendon, guiding the Bombers to 7th place
Richmond recover from 3-10 to make the finals, however the elimination final against Port Adelaide is one to forget
Matt Priddis wins the Brownlow and Luke Hodge the Norm Smith
St Kilda claim the wooden spoon
Andrew Demetriou resigns as CEO and is replaced by Gillon McLachlan
2015
Mick Malthouse breaks the record for games coached…and is sacked weeks later
Fremantle finish first for the first time ever, however fail to make the grand final as Hawthorn win a tremendous three-peat against West Coast.
Dustin Fletcher plays his 400th game for Essendon
Tragedy strikes as Adelaide Coach Phil Walsh is found deceased on July 3rd. Adelaide’s game against Geelong is cancelled as other games from the round feature touching tributes to Walshy. The Crows regroup the next week to play West Coast in Perth and are valiant in defeat and deservedly cheered by Eagles fans.
Essendon begin the season seemingly in the clear after found ‘not guilty’ – WADA later announce an appeal of this decision. James Hird reclaims his position as Essendon coach though later steps down after a run of heavy losses.
Nat Fyfe wins the Brownlow and Cyril Rioli the Norm Smith.
Carlton claim the wooden spoon.
2016
34 Essendon players are suspended for a year for their role in the supplements saga. As a result Essendon are forced to field a team of ‘top ups’ and succumb to their first wooden spoon since 1933, with a club record 17 consecutive defeats in the process. John Worsfold begins his tenure as Essendon coach in the toughest of circumstances.
The AFL dabbles in further rule changes including reducing the interchange cap from 120 to 90.
The Western Bulldogs complete a fairy-tale season storming home from 7th position to win their first premiership in 62 years. They would defeat the Swans in a brilliant Grand Final which was also a fitting end to Dennis Commetti’s commentating career.
GWS make the finals for the first time in a run that ends with an agonising preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs. Sydney smash Geelong in the other prelim – a somewhat surprise.
Fremantle suffer a major fall from grace starting the season with 10 consecutive losses.
Richmond also struggle and finish in 13th position - almost resulting in the sacking of Damian Hardwick…
Patrick Dangerfield moves to Geelong and wins the Brownlow while Jason Johannisen the Norm Smith
North Melbourne’s Brent Harvey becomes the games records holder, overtaking Michael Tuck. Harvey retires with 432 games to his name.
2017
The inaugural season of AFLW concludes with Adelaide defeating Brisbane in the Grand Final.
The AFL goes global with Port Adelaide and the Gold Coast playing for premiership points in Shanghai
Adelaide finish first on the ladder.
The Western Bulldogs miss the finals as reigning premiers
Yellow and Black fever grips Melbourne as Richmond dominate the finals series and destroy the Crows in the Grand Final to win their first premiership since 1980
Dustin Martin caps off one of the most dominant and complete individual seasons ever winning the Brownlow and Norm Smith to go with his premiership medal
Eleni Glouftsis becomes the first ever female to umpire a VFL/AFL match in Essendon’s win against the West Coast
Essendon, buoyed by the return of suspended players, rebound to make the finals – although are smacked by the Swans
Sydney recover from a 0-6 start to remarkably make the finals
West Coast defeat Port Adelaide in a thrilling elimination final with a goal after the final siren of extra time
Brisbane claim the wooden spoon
2018
Perth’s Optus Stadium opens
AFLX is launched – though is not as successful as hoped
Richmond dominate the season, finishing first and becoming the first ever team to record 100,000 members. Unfortunately the Tigers’ save their worst performance for the Preliminary Final, losing to a brilliant Collingwood by 39 points.
West Coast come back from over 5 goals down to defeat Collingwood in a thrilling Grand Final. The match is memorable for a late passage of play beginning with a Jeremy McGovern mark and culminating in a Dom Sheed goal to put the Eagles in front.
Melbourne make the finals for the first time since 2006. Unfortunately for the Demons the season ends in an embarrassing preliminary final loss in which they fail to score a goal in the first half.
Tom Mitchell wins the Brownlow and Luke Shuey the Norm Smith
Carlton are dreadful and once again claim the wooden spoon
Last edited:
