Your favourite Preliminary Final.

RAPPA

Brownlow Medallist
Feb 20, 2008
15,753
31,759
Victoria
AFL Club
Carlton
When Dean Wallis closes his eyes at night, he sees one face

8DC97CC4-6A9D-41FE-A024-8D9B0ACF5086.jpeg
 

PCORF

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 3, 2007
5,962
2,279
AFL Club
Adelaide
1997 Western Bulldogs vs Adelaide
1999 Essendon vs Carlton
2007 Geelong vs Collingwood
2011 Collingwood vs Hawthorn
2016 GWS Giants vs Western Bulldogs
 

LuckyBounce!

All Australian
May 3, 2017
670
1,475
AFL Club
St Kilda
My first final I went to as a young fella was the Hawthorn v Melbourne preliminary final in 1987. Not a bad first one to see first up.
My favourite saints one is 1997 when we beat North Melbourne to finally make a Grand Final for the first time in 26 years.
 
Probably the 2016 one from an objective POV. Though admittedly I was too young for many of the best ones.

Hard to really choose from a Swans POV, we haven't really played in many great prelims. Guess I'll go 2012 if only because Collingwood beating us 15 times in a row before that (or something). Wish I was old enough to remember 96.
 

domus

Brownlow Medallist
Mar 31, 2008
12,306
21,675
Mooroolbark
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Mooroolbark footy club
Collingwood vs North 1979
Collingwood vs Geelong 1980
Collingwood vs Geelong 1981
Collingwood vs Adelaide 2002
Collingwood vs Geelong 2007
Collingwood vs Geelong 2010
Collingwood vs Hawthorn 2011
Collingwood vs Richmond 2018
Such blissful memories :)
 
Last edited:
Essendon v Hawthorn in 2001 was a great game.

Trent Croad had a shot from outside 50 in the last minute to win. It looked like it was going in all the way and then hit the post 2/3 high. If that goal goes in then Croad doesn't get traded for pick 1 (Hodge).

The game was also infamous for Goldspink gifting Essendon 3 goals in the first quarter. Hawks fans never forgave him.
Well.

If by last minute you mean 8 minutes later the siren sounded then sure.
 

Defabs

Team Captain
Jul 6, 2014
428
576
AFL Club
Collingwood
Jess Scolero dislikes this post.

fu** we gave it our all that night.

Incredibly proud of our team that year. The Cats won their other two finals by over fifteen goals so it said a lot for our tenacity that we were one kick away on the final siren :(
Collingwood vs North 1979
Collingwood vs Geelong 1980
Collingwood vs Geelong 1981
Collingwood vs Geelong 2007
Collingwood vs Geelong 2010
Collingwood vs Hawthorn 2011
Collingwood vs Richmond 2018
Such blissful memories :)
you forgot the 2002 and 2003 prelims against Adel and Port Adel 😀

The 2002 one especially with 90k there, we started off poorly but then hit our straps in the third quarter. Rocca’s goal from 65m in the third stands out.
 

domus

Brownlow Medallist
Mar 31, 2008
12,306
21,675
Mooroolbark
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Mooroolbark footy club
you forgot the 2002 and 2003 prelims against Adel and Port Adel 😀

The 2002 one especially with 90k there, we started off poorly but then hit our straps in the third quarter. Rocca’s goal from 65m in the third stands out.
OMG!! Of course-2002 tops my list! Dementia is setting in. Thanks for reminding me. The loudest crowd I've ever heard. 2003 not so much-once Rocca was reported I knew our chances of winning the flag had greatly diminished. I remember all the fans around me going crazy in the last quarter and I just sat there brooding over the Rocca elbow. Sadly, I was proven to be correct.

I will amend my original post! :thumbsu:
 
Oct 9, 2003
44,626
42,242
Singapore / 30,000 feet
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Eagles (NFL), Suns (NBA)
0872dc289658aba71fe5af3a01c758891ce5269f


Not just the best PF, but I agree with Rohan, the best game I've ever been to, even though we lost. Only game I've ever cried at.

 

Luv_our_club

Norm Smith Medallist
Feb 14, 2017
6,883
12,955
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Well.

If by last minute you mean 8 minutes later the siren sounded then sure.

naah

Croad's kick in 2001 was late. I was there. I would be surprised if there was 3 mins left on the clock.

Love you to prove me wrong though.
 
naah

Croad's kick in 2001 was late. I was there. I would be surprised if there was 3 mins left on the clock.

Love you to prove me wrong though.
We kicked 2 goals after it.

And Goldspink didn't gift us 3 quarter goals. Other than that your memory is spot on.
 
Feb 21, 2016
2,195
2,907
AFL Club
Collingwood
fu** we gave it our all that night.

Incredibly proud of our team that year. The Cats won their other two finals by over fifteen goals so it said a lot for our tenacity that we were one kick away on the final siren :(
It really would have felt we pinched that one off the cats. Reckon we would have rolled Port the next week too had we somehow got past Geelong.
Alas, champion Geelong team.
 

Luv_our_club

Norm Smith Medallist
Feb 14, 2017
6,883
12,955
AFL Club
Hawthorn
We kicked 2 goals after it.

And Goldspink didn't gift us 3 quarter goals. Other than that your memory is spot on.

I would still like proof. (If i have, i will add it to the Mandela effect because i think most people remember it being an end of game moment).


Re the umpiring:

8.00: Lucas gets a very soft free kick in a marking contest. Result: one behind.
- 9.30: Alessio shoves Shaun Rehn fair in the middle of the back at a boundary throw-in. No whistle, goal to Alessio.
- 11.30: Paul Barnard manfully fills the shoes of absentee full forward Matthew Lloyd, taking a world class dive after minimal contact from Mark Graham. Behind.
- 16.50: Alessio fails to outmark Steven Greene, a full foot shorter. Greene recovers from the contest and is set to race away with the football. Whistle. Holding the man. Eh? Alessio goal.
- 20.40: Chris Heffernan dives on the football forty metres from goal. A couple of Hawks converge, and look the goods for a holding the ball decision. Except the umpire points the other way. In the back. Eh? Heffernan goal.
- 23.50: Luke McCabe effects a textbook one-on-one spoil on Dean Rioli, keeping pace with him all the way, reaching around the forward and punching clear. At one brief stage, McCabe held Rioli's jumper. Whistle. Free. Goal. In theory, this free kick was there. If this sort of "holding" warrants a free kick every time it occurs, then there would be 100 free kicks in the match.

By the time Rioli had kicked Essendon's fourth umpire assisted goal out of four, the Bombers were 14 points ahead. This lead was thoroughly, completely undeserved. Hawthorn dominated the balance of play in the first quarter, and but for some ordinary kicking for goal and the forlorn hope of a balanced umpiring display, would have been two or three goals up ourselves.
 
Back