History lesson

[tom9779]

This article was in the AFL runner. great read. highlighted some bits.
I hope our young players evolve like some of the stars of sheedy's first premiership side did.


Rebuilding a Superpower

By Rohan Connolly

1:00 PM Tue 05 May, 2009
As Essendon celebrates the 25th anniversary of the 1984 premiership this year, a new book, Glory & Fame, the Rise and Rise of the Essendon Football Club, retraces the club's transformation into a football superpower. Here, in an edited extract, Rohan Connolly relives the Bombers' famous rivalry with Hawthorn from the 1980s.

THE FOOTBALL world started to talk about Essendon's "eliminitis" after its 1982 elimination final defeat to North Melbourne.

It was the Bombers' fifth elimination final defeat since the final five had been introduced in 1972, and it prompted coach Kevin Sheedy to mould the side he believed would be resilient enough to go those necessary further steps in September.

The 1983 season would see the debut of a beanpole young ruckman and forward called Paul Salmon. A young back pocket, Mark Thompson, would take his first steps in senior football, while highly rated full-back Paul Weston arrived from South Australia.

There were three left-field recruits who would prove stunning successes after being injected into the senior mix in the latter part of the season, continuing to strengthen Sheedy’s reputation as a coach from whom one should expect the unexpected.

From the VFA came a smart running defender in Peter Bradbury, and a little red-headed whippet called Alan Ezard.

More remarkable still was the return to Windy Hill of another gritty and courageous little man in Darren Williams. 'Daisy' had played just one senior game for the Bombers in 1979 before heading to East Fremantle in the WAFL, then Vermont in the local suburban leagues.

His resurgence would become a recurring theme as Sheedy drew rapid and stunning improvement from a host of seemingly unlikely sources – his "project players". Like ungainly looking key defender Kevin Walsh, pilloried even by his own fans early on but, by 1983, a dependable and mobile centre half-back, and by 1985, another state representative.

Up to the start of 1983, Roger Merrett had played 41 pretty uneventful games over five seasons for Essendon. But Sheedy stuck with the rugged centre half-forward, a decision which would reap huge rewards.

Merrett seemed to epitomise the sort of football Sheedy wanted his Essendon team to play. Tough, uncompromising and with plenty of attitude. Qualities which came to the fore especially when, on the eve of the finals, former Hawthorn captain and The Sun columnist, Don Scott, wrote about a "hitman" operating in one of the finals teams, a player quickly identified as Merrett. It prompted a major controversy.

But far from being unsettled by the tumult surrounding him, Merrett instead rose to new heights, as Essendon, once again condemned to fourth and an elimination final after missing the double chance on percentage, this time responded in very different fashion.

Thanks to four goals from skipper Terry Daniher, the Bombers dispensed with Carlton by 33 points to notch up their first finals victory for 15 years.

The following week in the first semi-final, they staged a rousing fightback to beat Fitzroy by 23 points. And in the preliminary final, a hapless North Melbourne was put to the sword in a thumping 86-point win.

In his third season as coach, Sheedy had lifted Essendon into a Grand Final against Hawthorn. Now would come perhaps the defining moment of Essendon’s resurgence as a League power.

[hillchaser]

Love it !

Remember going to my first few games around that era... first went in 81 so see the bombers and Fitzroy.. then went a few times in 82 and 83 as a young kid in primary school. I remember watching the bombers at waverley in 84 or 85... I was 9 years old and was coughing all day ....turns out I was sitting next to Glen Hawker's parents who spent the day giving me Anticols and warm drinks of milo's.

[andrewb]

Sheedy had an amazing ability to reinvent himself and his methods.

The 84/85 flags were won using a mix of class and thuggery.

The 93 flag (which history will one day judge as one of the best coaching achievements of all time) was won with a "doughnut" team - much like the one we have now. Heaps of experience at the top end and lots of youth and exuberance... but very little in the middle. Imagine pulling a flag out of our current squad or Richmond's squad - that's the equivalent of what Sheedy achieved in 1993.

If anyone in the modern age got a premiership out of a team containing:

- Three first year rookies (Fletcher, Olarenshaw and Hird)
- Two second year players (Misiti and Mercuri)
- A bunch of journeymen the quality of Calthorpe, Grenvold, Somerville, Wallis, Paul Hills and Chris Daniher

They'd have a gold statue erected outside the MCG. I still don't know how we won that flag.

For the 99-02 run he reinvented his style again and had a very skillful team. There was toughness around the edges with Hardwick, JJ, MJ and Wallis but the core of that team made up of guys with amazing skills - the same youngsters that had helped to deliver the 1993 premiership. We were very, very unlucky not to get at least a couple of flags over that period. Bad luck and salary cap mismanagement derailed us... as well as one of the best teams (Brisbane) that we'll see in our lifetimes.

I think that once he'd finally given and started rebuilding in 2005/06 he had decided that his next tilt at a premiership was going to be built around pace. You could see it in the recruiting over those years and in the team that we're building now. Unfortunately he probably left the rebuild a little late and his luck finally deserted him. Plus, I think that other teams caught up and suddenly the natural instincts that he'd relied on for so long were not deserting him so much as being picked apart by far more advanced coaching and recruiting departments heavily armed with statistics and video analysis.

I don't know that it's as easy to find the hidden gems like Merrett and Walsh these days... There's shorter lists, more public and media scrutiny and six extremely well resourced interstate teams to deal with. Put simply, it's not as easy to win a flag in this 16 team national competition with strict salary cap rules and advantages for new teams as it was in the 12 team victorian equivalent... we're going to probably have to readjust our expectations a little!

[swoodley]

There's some lovely spin in that article especially regarding Kevin Walsh

The best thing he did in the '84 GF was get knocked out by Dipper in the last quarter...that got the boys even more fired up to win the game.

And as for his state representation in '85...Sheeds was coach and had about 8-9 Essendon players in the team. I'm pretty sure that they didn't all deserve their selection but in those days, nothing stopped Sheedy getting what he wanted.

[rockhole]

I use to shudder every time the pill went anywhere near Walshy. I reckon he gave away at least two goals per match with fumbles and wrong decisions. On the other hand, he was tall and could run all day at great pace. On top of that, he was another Sheedy lovechild so he had to play!!

[j-mac31]

There's some lovely spin in that article especially regarding Kevin Walsh

The best thing he did in the '84 GF was get knocked out by Dipper in the last quarter...that got the boys even more fired up to win the game.

And as for his state representation in '85...Sheeds was coach and had about 8-9 Essendon players in the team. I'm pretty sure that they didn't all deserve their selection but in those days, nothing stopped Sheedy getting what he wanted.

Didn't he start in the ruck for Vics one year because "My players can play anywhere."

[Sismis]

- Three first year rookies (Fletcher, Olarenshaw and Hird)

Hird was drafted in 1990

[Jazz_84]

didn't play till 1992 though if thats what they meant

[Rossoneri]

didn't play till 1992 though if thats what they meant

So then 93 was his second year.

I have on tape the 84-85 games, ABC's commentary kicks arse. I still get a tingle down the spine when Bradbury and then Bomber thompson kick the 2nd and 3rd goals of the on-slaught. But Leon Bakers' Blind turn to put us a point up at the 9 minute mark was SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!

And how about the mark by Merrett in the GS? Behind Burne and Mew "Merrett, what a mark"!!!!!!!!!!

[Sismis]

didn't play till 1992 though if thats what they meant

So then 93 was his second year.

I have on tape the 84-85 games, ABC's commentary kicks arse. I still get a tingle down the spine when Bradbury and then Bomber thompson kick the 2nd and 3rd goals of the on-slaught. But Leon Bakers' Blind turn to put us a point up at the 9 minute mark was SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!

And how about the mark by Merrett in the GS? Behind Burne and Mew "Merrett, what a mark"!!!!!!!!!!

THE BLIND TURN!!!!!!!! What a moment

[Sismis]

didn't play till 1992 though if thats what they meant

So then 93 was his second year.

I have on tape the 84-85 games, ABC's commentary kicks arse. I still get a tingle down the spine when Bradbury and then Bomber thompson kick the 2nd and 3rd goals of the on-slaught. But Leon Bakers' Blind turn to put us a point up at the 9 minute mark was SUPERB!!!!!!!!!!!!

And how about the mark by Merrett in the GS? Behind Burne and Mew "Merrett, what a mark"!!!!!!!!!!

he was injured in 1991 (i think, better ask meggles as she seems to have memorised his biography....) and considers himself quite fortunate to have still been on the list in 93.

[rockhole]

didn't play till 1992 though if thats what they meant

So then 93 was his second year.

And how about the mark by Merrett in the GS? Behind Burne and Mew "Merrett, what a mark"!!!!!!!!!!

The great thing about Roger's mark was that he was completely blocked by the Hawk defence and you simply could not see him. Then, like the parting of the waters, the defence evaporated and there stood Roger on the goal line with a one grabber. That game had so many highlights but that and Leon's goal stay in my memory forever.

[andrewb]

Yeah, sorry - forgot about those games in 92.. 93 was his first "real" season though. I hope we can get the same sort of production out of Gumby once we can get him on the park!

[pear]

There's some lovely spin in that article especially regarding Kevin Walsh

The best thing he did in the '84 GF was get knocked out by Dipper in the last quarter...that got the boys even more fired up to win the game.

And as for his state representation in '85...Sheeds was coach and had about 8-9 Essendon players in the team. I'm pretty sure that they didn't all deserve their selection but in those days, nothing stopped Sheedy getting what he wanted.

Very harsh, Swoods. Walsh actually won the EJ Whitten medal for BOG for Victoria, a feather in any player's cap I reckon. (Though I agree, old Spitfire was generally a bit of a hack. From memory one of his favourite tricks was to get hit in the face by the footy when attempting a spoil).

[pear]

BTW the medal he won was in 86

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._J._Whitten_Medal

[BenDoolan]

There's some lovely spin in that article especially regarding Kevin Walsh

The best thing he did in the '84 GF was get knocked out by Dipper in the last quarter...that got the boys even more fired up to win the game.

And as for his state representation in '85...Sheeds was coach and had about 8-9 Essendon players in the team. I'm pretty sure that they didn't all deserve their selection but in those days, nothing stopped Sheedy getting what he wanted.

Very harsh, Swoods. Walsh actually won the EJ Whitten medal for BOG for Victoria, a feather in any player's cap I reckon. (Though I agree, old Spitfire was generally a bit of a hack. From memory one of his favourite tricks was to get hit in the face by the footy when attempting a spoil).

Yes!

He was so uncoordinated. He did play some fine games. But gee wizz, did he play some shockers.