Opinion VERSUS' Bout five: Special edition - 1985 Premiership side vs 2000 Premiership side

[Howard Moon]

Doss last one

 

[Howard Moon]

Heard an interview with Dermie recently, he wa speaking about playing against Essendon in the 80s.

He said it was the only team he had a cetrain fear when playing, because they were brutal. When ever you took posession and kicked or handballed it you had to run the words through your mind 'brace for impact' 'brace for impact'.. because each and every time, it was coming, and if you were not ready youd be on the floor.

He also said these were the games he liked playing best because the fear, it makes you feel alive.

 

[Donakebab]

The figures of the 1985 side were very, very good but actually not quite as dominant as I had thought. Yes, 19 wins is amazing but many of the wins weren't particularly huge.

I can't really judge as I've only seen snippets of the '85 side, though.

We spent almost the entire season without our best key forward Big Fish after he did a serious knee in '84. He played round 15, 22, SF and GF. Two of those games may have been off the bench as he barely touched it, but in round 22 he kicked 7.5 from 15 disposals and 6.4 from 11 disposals in the GF. Those numbers are just ridiculous. Yes it's all speculation, but I'm pretty confident that if he's in the side we notch up a lot more big wins even post knee, but pre knee we wipe sides off the park.

 

[Jade]

You're a **** Howard!

Seriously. You and your ridiculously hard to split polls...

Campaigner material right there.

2000. It was a staggeringly good side, even if it couldn't back up.

 

[Schopp]

Thanks Howard.

I wonder if that took its toll on the players somewhat and also contributed to our decline. I remember Guy McKenna saying he had to cover John Worsfold's absence for a couple of weeks and it was so hard on the body he wondered how Worsfold could always play like that. Watching that 85gf and the 2000 team you wondered how anyone was going to knock them off for years yet they couldn't follow up the next year. Sheeds had some remarkable players at his disposal over the journey.

 

[TheBrightSide]

The 2000 team would win the game.
The 1985 team would win the melee.

 

[BrunoV]

I went with 85 which is a bit strange given that the only game I've seen is the grand final.

There are a few things, though. The 85 midfield was much more powerful which I think translates across any era. The standard of the competition was also a lot better in 85, knocking off Hawthorn was no mean feat (there was not 1 other decent team in 2000).

 

[BrunoV]

If the 1985 team were a professional team rather than blokes with a day job who played footy, it'd be one of the best games you'd ever want to see.

If Merv Neagle played in the '85 flag I'd damn near take them in a 2 horse race, but without that added piece of toughness and class in the midfield I'll reluctantly side with the 2000 side (I say reluctantly as I was a 7/8 year old kid in 84/85, the nostalgia is gripping).

Compare the below forward lines to what we have today, it almost brings a grown man to tears. They'd both be right up there with the best forward lines to have played the game.

Forwards

Daniher – Merrett – Harvey
Baker – Salmon - VanDerHaar

Mercuri – Lucas – Hird
Bewick – Lloyd - Ramanaskas

I didn't realist that Neagle did not play. If we are limited to selecting a side without him then I probably go back to 2000.

Reckon that Madden, Watson and Neagle are streets ahead of the best midfielder listed for the 2000 team (with Baker probably cancelling out Mercuri and Hird being a vital part of keeping 2000 competitive around the ball).

 

[AsIfYouCare]

Eth summed it up perfectly - 2000 is the best season of footy in the history of the VFL/AFL.

Collingwood 1929? Undefeated home and away, but with a second semi loss. One loss each, and I guess a finals loss is worse than a home and away loss, but going through the regular season undefeated surely counts for something.

Perhaps a tie.

 

[yaco55]

Collingwood 1929? Undefeated home and away, but with a second semi loss. One loss each, and I guess a finals loss is worse than a home and away loss, but going through the regular season undefeated surely counts for something.

Perhaps a tie.

Only 18 game season in 1929.

 

[Bombermania]

Tough call, 2000 side was ruthless, so many times they blew teams away early then sat on them, I was under 10 in 1985 so the memory isn't as strong plus the coverage was a lot less so I saw less of our games but I don't recall seeing us perform to the same high standards that we showed in 2000. watching some of the games on Fox Footy from that era, whilst taking into account the change in skills and how the game was played, the 2000 side was just stronger. The forwardline and backline would be where I feel the 2000 side would be too strong.

Side note, last year I noticed no games from the 2000 season besides the GF were shown during the Fox Footy history month, yet that bloody 99 Prem final was shown a good half a dozen times.

 

[TheBrightSide]

I didn't realist that Neagle did not play.

He pulled out due to gastro.
I remember someone from the cheersquad commenting that he must be spewin' to miss out on a medal.

 

[Jesse Custer]

I'll go 2000 as well. Such a clinical, clean, tough, brutal side. It had everything. Plus the silky one touch mover who happened to skipper us to the flag.

 

[Schopp]

He pulled out due to gastro.
I remember someone from the cheersquad commenting that he must be spewin' to miss out on a medal.

What an awful way to miss out. He and Watson were powerful quick midfielders something we have had a death of.

Baker was a genius thank goodness when Judkins was watching a quarter of footy at the WAFL that Leon completely dominated.

Was watching the 84 prelim recently and couldn't believe how good Vanders was.

 

[Howard Moon]

As a kid my favorite part was daisy Williams flicking the bird

 

[yaco55]

He pulled out due to gastro.
I remember someone from the cheersquad commenting that he must be spewin' to miss out on a medal.

Neagle had a badly corked thigh.

 

[SydneyBomber]

Heard an interview with Dermie recently, he wa speaking about playing against Essendon in the 80s.

He said it was the only team he had a cetrain fear when playing, because they were brutal. When ever you took posession and kicked or handballed it you had to run the words through your mind 'brace for impact' 'brace for impact'.. because each and every time, it was coming, and if you were not ready youd be on the floor.

He also said these were the games he liked playing best because the fear, it makes you feel alive.

He also said in another interview a few years ago at the 84/85 reunion (guest speaker) that he felt lucky getting through a game against us during those years on the few occasions his nose wasnt broken by the end of the game haha.

Ps. He was on video hookup, as he wasnt stupid enough to show up in person even after all these years haha. Credit to him, he was really good value.

 

[gdaytiger2001]

I have to go with 85 any side with Leon Baker in it gets my vote, I remember sitting there as a young tacker with number 4 on my back watching that team demolish the greatest team of that era with absolute ease. Also how can you go past a team that has streets named after it.

 

[table tennis]

The 2000 side was the best ever. Pointless to put them up against anyone

 

[TheBrightSide]

Neagle had a badly corked thigh.

His Wiki page say's leg injury too.
There was definitely a gastro story going around that day, which was most likely Sheed's version.

 

[Howard Moon]

His Wiki page say's leg injury too.
There was definitely a gastro story going around that day, which was most likely Sheed's version.

Got the shits cause he wasn't able to play...

 

[Max Headroom]

Clinical answer - 2000
Emotional answer - 1985, because of what came before in 1983 and because it was so damn satisfying. I was 16 at the time and it was probably when I was most passionate about the game.