Turning Back The Clock - Season 1981

[BenDoolan]

Barry Davis had just resigned at the end of the 1980 season. The EFC, after interviewing the likes of Allan Jeans and John Nicholls, signed on former Richmond champ Kevin Sheedy. Being young and naïve, I wondered why they chose him. After 6 rounds of the 1981 season, I was cursing the fact they had chose him. Despite the 5 losses from the first 6 rounds, the team was playing some good footy. The problem was that they had played against better opposition in Geelong who were strong, Richmond who had just annihilated Collingwood in the 1980 GF, and Hawthorn who were still a strong unit.

A turning point came with a 25 point victory over St.Kilda in R7. From that day on, they went on to win another 14 games straight, including the night series competition (Escort Cup) which was played mid week. The team was playing an exciting brand of football – attacking and skilful. A 19 year old Tim Watson was already a star and capable of match winning performances, such as the Escort Cup Grand Final v Carlton. The image of him leaping over a prone Carlton player, ball tucked up under his armpit, and running in to kick an inspirational goal is now folklore. The Bombers had just won their first ever night series, and Kevin Sheedy was a hero. The crowd chanted his name as he stepped up to the microphone during the presentation. Bomber supporters had been starved on any sort of success for years. And for me, it was the first time I’d seen the team win any sort of trophy.

The team kept rolling on their winning streak. I never had the one real hero of a player, I liked them all. I had a soft spot for Garry Foulds though. Nothing flash about him, but ever so reliable. I’ve always liked those sorts of guys – the quiet achievers. Naturally I was drawn to the flashy brilliance of Tim Watson, the tenacity of Merv Neagle, the toughness of Rotten Ronnie Andrews, and the masterful Simon Madden. The winning streak was doomed to end in R20 v Carlton at Princess Park. 26 points down at the time on period of the last quarter, most had given up on any thought of victory. I was intently listening to the game on radio. It appeared that Carlton had the game sewn up. Sheedy threw Neale Daniher into the forward line and all of a sudden, things changed. Mike Fitzpatrick was penalised for wasting time, and the flow of the game turned our way. We were within 2 goals of victory when Neale Daniher marked in front of Bruce Doull – 35 metres out. He cooly split the middle at the 30 minute mark. 5 points down. We won the clearance from the centre bounce with Glenn Hawker weaving his magic on the wing. His kick forward landed in the lap of Neale Daniher, again in front of the celebrated champion, Bruce Doull. Almost in the exact same position, Mr Cool slotted home the goal to put us amazingly 1 point in front at the 31 minute mark. Not long after, the final siren sounded. This victory got me running out of the house in jubilation – running across the street to my mate who was listening to the game as well. We were both in transit as we were running to each others place to enjoy the victory. I had just found my first hero – Neale Daniher. A 20 year old cool customer who could play equally as brilliantly in the forward line as in defence. Number 6 became my favourite number.

As R20 became a sensation and a realisation for me, R21 became a tragedy. Not because we won the game by 111 points, but because Neale Daniher damaged his knee. My hero worship only lasted one week. Initially, the injury wasn’t thought to be a serious one, however, his attempts to return to the team for the finals caused it to be a major career destroying injury.

Our winning streak of 15 games ended in R22 in crap conditions at Waverley v Geelong by 8 points. We finished 4th on the ladder with 16 wins. This was extremely unlucky as we were 1 game and 2.8% away from top spot! We were stuck in the Elimination Final against Fitzroy who had destroyed us in the Elimination Final 2 years earlier. We started the game nervously, and were goalless at quarter time. We never managed to peg back that early deficit, and we lost by 15 points. Season over. Tragically.

It was an exciting year. The team achieved wonderful things. On a sad note, one of my other favourite players, Ian Marsh, was unable to take the field that season because of a heart condition. At 25, he never played again. At some point during the season, Kevin Sheedy threatened to put the boots back on, such was the plight of our injuries. By the end of 1981, Neale Daniher’s career was ruined, at the age of 20. He had played 66 consecutive games up until then, and was a champion. Neale won the B & F and was named captain for the 1982 season. He was never able to lead to team on the field.

After initial doubts early in the season, Kevin Sheedy was a revelation. The team looked a serious premiership threat. They looked inspired and ambitious. 3 years later, we were singing “Kevin Sheedy walks on water” as he masterminded a Grand Final victory against an Allan Jeans coached Hawthorn. Funny how things turn out.

Thanks Sheeds.

[bombers_rock]

Great post. I wasn't born in 1981, but it sounds like I only just missed out on some really great times of the Essendon Footy Club and Sheeds' reign.

To do any job for 27 years is becoming unheard of, so to do a job, that can be such a formidable task, where you can be riding high and praised one minute, down and out and damned the next (which is all part of the package of coaching a VFL/AFL team) and be able to ride all the bumps in the road with ease and continue on is a massive achievement.

Football has changed incredibly even in the time I've been actively following it - since around 1996. I'm sure it changed throughout the 80s and early 90s as well, so to continue being one of the sharpest coaches going around for such a long period, with so many changes going on is nothing short of awesome.

Can't be anything but proud to be a Bombers supporter. It is an absolute privilege to have seen, and continue to see, Sheeds coach, the teams he's put together and the awesome wins he's plucked, which have seemed to come from nowhere at times, through his incredible ability to swap things around, make the hard decicions and take some risks that, at the time, you'd think "Sheeds, you're mad".

THANKS SHEEDS

Whoever the next coach of Essendon may be, they're going to have mighty big shoes to fill.

[Rossoneri]

Awesome work BD.

That 5-goal turnaround against Carlton was incredible. Back then, the clock didnt stop when the ball went out of bounds or when there was a ball up.

Too bad about Neale as well, by the sounds of it, he would have been an awesome player, my dad constantly says that as well.

Would have have been better than TD?

And one more thing, who did we trade to South Mlebourne to get TD and Neale to Essendon. I think one was Neville Fields, who ended up coming back to Essendon (I think). Who was the other?

[BenDoolan]

Awesome work BD.

That 5-goal turnaround against Carlton was incredible. Back then, the clock didnt stop when the ball went out of bounds or when there was a ball up.

Too bad about Neale as well, by the sounds of it, he would have been an awesome player, my dad constantly says that as well.

Would have have been better than TD?

And one more thing, who did we trade to South Mlebourne to get TD and Neale to Essendon. I think one was Neville Fields, who ended up coming back to Essendon (I think). Who was the other?

Put it this way - Neale Daniher would have been holding the premiership cups aloft in the 1984/85 premierships if he never got injured. It's very difficult to say whether Neale would have ended up the better player, but based on the 66 games prior to his injury, the signs were there that he was going to be a Bomber great, not just a champion. His awareness, reading of the play, skills, flair, and composure was all natural to him. Terry had to work very hard to become the player he was. I remember reading somewhere that it irked Terry that Neale never worked hard on the training track and that he simply relied on his natural ability. Even when they were growing up, he said he never joined in the rough and tough kick to kicks with wheat sacks ect. He reckons that's why he had weak knees, because he never "hardened them up".

I don't recall any other player being swapped for Terry & Neale. I thought it was purely for Neville Fields. They offered Terry and threw Neale in for good measure (sight unseen as he was playing at Assumption College). One of the biggest trade bungles ever - with Nifty coming back to Essendon in 1981.

[spikefan]

Awesome writing BD, Thanks

[jimmyc1985]

Nice work BD. I would say it was a trip down memory lane for me...but i have surprisingly few memories of 1981 . Therefore, it was more of a history lesson to me - a 15 game winning streak in your first season of coaching was certainly an auspicious start for Sheedy!

[swoodley]

I love it when you do these retrospective pieces Ben...it brings back so many memories.

Round 1 at Kardinya Park against the cats when our new coach was on display for the first time. Tony Buhagiar (the budgie) debuted and we ran them close but just failed to get over the line.

Round 2 (I think) we broke through for our first win under Sheeds against the bullies? Who knew at that time how many more would come over the following years

Round 7, I think it was when we went out to VFL Park to play the filth...we'd lost five out of six and Sheed's threatened to pull the boots on if things didn't improve. The threat worked and we won a game that we were expected to lose and our winning streak was off and running

That round 20 game, I went with a mate from work who was a scum member so we stood behind the goals at the stand end amongst all the scum members. I was decked out in bomber jumper, scarf and beanie and was copping shit all day...until that brilliant comeback...when the siren sounded, I gave heaps of shit to the scum around me until my mate dragged me out of there...still brings a smile to my face

Next week and as you say it was all about Neale's injury...as the years have passed, I have forgotten the winning margin but still remember the hollow feeling of Neale being carried off.

And the round 22...76,000 fans (idiots) went to Arctic (VFL) Park to watch us play the cats for a top three finish. It literally pissed down for the entire game and at the finish it was the cats who prevailed and won the important double chance....15 wins on the trot and 16 overall was only good enough for 4th spot and the dreaded eliminitis got us again the following week.

A sad finish to what could have been a great year but as the dust settled, I knew that success was just around the corner.

After spending years during the 70's in the wrong half of the ladder, the mighty bombers were on the rise again.

[swoodley]

Awesome work BD.

That 5-goal turnaround against Carlton was incredible. Back then, the clock didnt stop when the ball went out of bounds or when there was a ball up.

Too bad about Neale as well, by the sounds of it, he would have been an awesome player, my dad constantly says that as well.

Would have have been better than TD?

And one more thing, who did we trade to South Mlebourne to get TD and Neale to Essendon. I think one was Neville Fields, who ended up coming back to Essendon (I think). Who was the other?

Put it this way - Neale Daniher would have been holding the premiership cups aloft in the 1984/85 premierships if he never got injured. It's very difficult to say whether Neale would have ended up the better player, but based on the 66 games prior to his injury, the signs were there that he was going to be a Bomber great, not just a champion. His awareness, reading of the play, skills, flair, and composure was all natural to him. Terry had to work very hard to become the player he was. I remember reading somewhere that it irked Terry that Neale never worked hard on the training track and that he simply relied on his natural ability. Even when they were growing up, he said he never joined in the rough and tough kick to kicks with wheat sacks ect. He reckons that's why he had weak knees, because he never "hardened them up".

I don't recall any other player being swapped for Terry & Neale. I thought it was purely for Neville Fields. They offered Terry and threw Neale in for good measure (sight unseen as he was playing at Assumption College). One of the biggest trade bungles ever - with Nifty coming back to Essendon in 1981.

IMHO, I think that if Neale hadn't done his knee, we would talk about him in the same vein as we now talk about Hirdy. I saw a majority of his first three seasons and he was an awesome player. Made captain at the age of 21 but never got to lead the side out. One of the great losses suffered by EFC and the game as a whole.

[billyduckworth]

Thanks for another great nostalgic post, Benny. I look forward to them. I too remember Sheedy threatening to pull on the boots again (which actually wasn't an emptry threat, as he had only just retired as a player a little over a year before and was only in his early thirties).

There is no doubt at all that ND would have been a champion if not for those blasted injuries. These days, the surgeons would probably be able to fix it. I remember going to Windy Hill one day to watch training. At that stage, ND was supposedly on the mend and due back within a week or two. But I happened to see him hobbling up Napier Street and I knew then things were not right.

Even though I am not necessarily eager to get rid of Sheedy, it would be nice poetic justice if ND became our next coach.

[Scott]

Didn't Footscray beat us (round 6 - 7), and sheeds came out and said if they don't lift I'll have to put the boots back on?

[billyduckworth]

That sounds right to me, Scott. I have this vague memory of being at the Western Oval on a fairly wet & muddy day.
But someone with much better knowledge of stats (Benny?) can probably correct me.

[Megan]

And Megan was born!

[Madden]

And Megan was born!

That's my most prominent memory of the year... (or it would be, if I wasn't born until 1982...)

I always find these threads curious. A lot of people talking about their memories of the year / games (which is fine, and great to read), and some people who always talk about what great games they were despite being only a twinkle in their father's eye at the time...

[Rossoneri]

And Megan was born!

That's my most prominent memory of the year... (or it would be, if I wasn't born until 1982...)

I always find these threads curious. A lot of people talking about their memories of the year / games (which is fine, and great to read), and some people who always talk about what great games they were despite being only a twinkle in their father's eye at the time...

Or people who have heard stories about the games from their father, or perhaps read them in books, or various articles in the newspaper?

Perhaps I should call you a surgeon?

[MH_Bomber]

I remember listening to the Carlton game on the radio too. As I recall I listened to the 3KZ with the Captain and the Major - Captain Blood Jack Dyer and Ian Major. The atmosphere and screaming level was awesome. We were G O N E and Neale miraculously pulled us back. I have a friend who was at the game and a cheer squad member at the time. He told me he fainted with sheer exhaustion after running onto Princess Park after the game such was his vigorous thumbing of the thoroughly arrogant Carlton Social Club at the time who thought they had the game sewn up.

Those were the days when there were no salary caps, no interstate clubs and all games were played on a Saturday arvo.

[84859300]

I remember listening to the Carlton game on the radio too. As I recall I listened to the 3KZ with the Captain and the Major - Captain Blood Jack Dyer and Ian Major.

Me too. My memory was so good of that day, I recall cleaning out the garage with my Dad whilst listening to the whole game...........except for the last five minutes.

I absolutly cracked the shits when Carlton kicked a goal. I threw my broom out and ran out into the street to find another goup of kids playing. Just what I needed to get my mind off life (as every young 'un does).

Five minutes later I hear my Dad yell at the top of his lungs, something that I heard 5 houses away. Another Carlton goal I thought, until he came out and called me at the top of his lungs. He knew I was disapointed, but I had left him with the last bit to clean up so i was expecting a bit of a spray.

He looked stern and then broke outo int a big grin. We won, he said. I said no way.....he had brought out the radio with the hoopla still ringing in the crowd to ensure I belived him.

It was an early tea and clean up to settle in for the replay that night.

[swoodley]

I remember listening to the Carlton game on the radio too. As I recall I listened to the 3KZ with the Captain and the Major - Captain Blood Jack Dyer and Ian Major.

Me too. My memory was so good of that day, I recall cleaning out the garage with my Dad whilst listening to the whole game...........except for the last five minutes.

I absolutly cracked the shits when Carlton kicked a goal. I threw my broom out and ran out into the street to find another goup of kids playing. Just what I needed to get my mind off life (as every young 'un does).

Five minutes later I hear my Dad yell at the top of his lungs, something that I heard 5 houses away. Another Carlton goal I thought, until he came out and called me at the top of his lungs. He knew I was disapointed, but I had left him with the last bit to clean up so i was expecting a bit of a spray.

He looked stern and then broke outo int a big grin. We won, he said. I said no way.....he had brought out the radio with the hoopla still ringing in the crowd to ensure I belived him.

It was an early tea and clean up to settle in for the replay that night.

Great stuff 8485....

[Jazz_84]

Great read, thanks BD

And Megan was born!

lol i thought you were older then 25 my bad

[Madden]

And Megan was born!

That's my most prominent memory of the year... (or it would be, if I wasn't born until 1982...)

I always find these threads curious. A lot of people talking about their memories of the year / games (which is fine, and great to read), and some people who always talk about what great games they were despite being only a twinkle in their father's eye at the time...

Or people who have heard stories about the games from their father, or perhaps read them in books, or various articles in the newspaper?

Perhaps I should call you a surgeon?

Ah, call me that if you want... can I ask why?

[BenDoolan]

That sounds right to me, Scott. I have this vague memory of being at the Western Oval on a fairly wet & muddy day.
But someone with much better knowledge of stats (Benny?) can probably correct me.

Yes, we lost to the Bulldogs in R6 at the Western Oval by 8 points. Even though we lost 5 out of 6 games, we weren't losing them by much.