Was Gary Buckenara’s post-siren goal in 1987 Preliminary Final the greatest ever?
GARY Buckenara in 1987, Malcolm Blight before him in 1976, Gary Ablett Sr in 1994 and more recently Tom Hawkins in 2012. The top 10 after siren goals of all time, vote for yours.
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HE TOOK 2138 kicks in a career spanning 154 games for Hawthorn but there is one that stands out far more than any other for Gary Buckenara — the last kick of the 1987 Preliminary Final.
The Hawks were trailing Melbourne by 22 points at three-quarter time before finishing in a flurry to be four points adrift as the final seconds ticked down.
Chris Langford had the ball in the middle of the ground and spotted a leading Buckenara who dived for the ball on the 50m line.
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Pushed by Melbourne defender Rod Grinter as he did so, Buckenara was awarded a free kick and went back to line up for the kick from 55m as the final siren sounded.
It was then Melbourne’s first-year Irish recruit Jim Stynes ran across the mark in one of the most famous blunders in football history.
Buckenara was awarded a 15m penalty and, with nerves of steel, kicked truly to see Hawthorn to a two-point win — and through to the grand final.
“I knew there wasn’t long to go so you hurry to take the kick and then next thing I got the 15 metres and I still hadn’t heard the siren until Russell Greene came up to me and said ‘For god sake Bucky, kick the goal, the siren’s gone’,” Buckenara recalled this week.
“Thankfully I didn’t think too much about the ramifications. I was probably more nervous after everything had settled down in the change rooms.
“I was always confident having a set shot because I’d practised it so many times as a kid and always regarded myself as a pretty good kick. So one thing I didn’t really get nervous about was kicking for goal.”
Buckenara’s kick from 40m easily cleared the goal line but the one thing he still gets asked is if he had the legs to kick it from 55m had Stynes not ran through the mark.
“I always tell Melbourne supporters I would have kicked it anyway because it makes them feel a bit better,” Buckenara said.
“But who knows, you may try and kick it a bit harder and not time it as well but as it was it went through by a long way.”
Hawthorn went on to fall to minor premier Carlton by 33 points in the Grand Final the following week but Buckenara’s goal still stands as one of the most important of all time.
1. Gary Buckenara
Preliminary Final, 1987 — Hawthorn v Melbourne
One of the most famous football moments of all. Hawthorn trailed by 22 points at three-quarter time but finished in a flurry to be four points down in the dying seconds. Gary Buckanara marked 49m just before the final siren sounded and was lining up for goal when Melbourne’s Jim Stynes ran across his mark as the siren sounded. A 15m penalty was awarded and Buckanara kicked truly to see the Hawks to a grand final.
2. Malcolm Blight
Round 10, 1976 — Carlton v North Melbourne
North Melbourne trailed by 27 points at halftime having kicked just three goals and coach Ron Barassi lined up talented young forward Malcolm Blight and told him, “You’re playing like a goose”. The insult worked, for Blight went on to kick three goals in the final five minutes of the game including a 55-metre torpedo punt after the siren as the Kangaroos claimed a one-point win.
3. Billy Brownless
Qualifying Final, 1994 — Geelong v Footscray
With just seconds to go, Geelong is trailing by one point. David Mensch has the ball at half forward and kicks long where a leading Billy Brownless in space charges out from the goal square and marks above his head 25m from goal with 12 seconds left on the clock. As he prepares to start his run up, the siren sounds. Brownless goes back and calmly slots his second goal of the night after the siren to see the Cats to a semi-final.
4. Gary Ablett Sr
Preliminary Final, 1994 — Geelong v North Melbourne
Two weeks after Billy Brownless goaled after the siren to see Geelong pinch a qualifying final win over Footscray, the Cats completed the great escape once again. Deep in the pocket, Leigh Tudor centred the ball to the goal square where Gary Ablett took a one-handed mark with two seconds on the clock, scores level. Ablett kicked his third goal of the day after the siren, progressing the Cats to a grand final against West Coast.
5. Tom Hawkins
Round 19, 2012 — Hawthorn v Geelong
It was another great chapter in one of the greatest rivalries of the modern era. With 34 seconds on the clock, Geelong was trailing by four points but had possession in defensive-50. The Cats worked the ball to Joel Selwood in the middle of the MCG, who hit up a leading Tom Hawkins who marked 45m out with 23 seconds to go. Hawkins already had five goals but sailed through his sixth as the siren sounded to see the Cats to a two-point win.
6. Ashley McGrath
Round 13, 2013 — Brisbane v Geelong
Trailing by 52 points at the 23-minute-mark of the third quarter, Brisbane was dead and buried — so everyone thought. The Lions hit back to stage the eighth-greatest comeback in the history of the game and it had a stunning finale. Trailing by a point, the Lions were still deep in defence with 15 seconds to go but worked the ball to Ashley McGrath who marked on the lead 45m from goal directly in front as the siren sounded. McGrath kicked the goal in his 200th game, Brisbane winning by five points.
7. Karmichael Hunt
Round 16, 2012 — Richmond v Gold Coast
Richmond held a 16-point lead at the 22-minute-mark of the final term before conceding the next two goals, the second Jarrod Harbrow coming with 25 seconds left reducing the margin to four points. The Suns won the following centre clearance and the end result was a Karmichael Hunt mark 15m out on a slight angle. Gold Coast was winless from 14 games and rugby convert Hunt had kicked just three goals in his 31-game career but went back and slotted the goal to see the Suns to victory.
8. Alastair Clarkson
Round 15, 1987 — Melbourne v North Melbourne
He burst onto the coaching scene, taking Hawthorn from cellar-dweller to premier within four seasons. But Alastair Clarkson also burst onto the playing scene in 1987. At age 19, Clarkson was called up to make his debut against Melbourne and had 10 touches and two goals to his name when the siren sounded. He made that three goals and 11 touches with an after-the-siren match winner which saw the Kangaroos prevail by two points.
9. Barry Hall
Round 3, 2005 — Brisbane v Sydney
Brisbane had been in complete control at three-quarter time, leading by 32 points. Then Sydney kicked six of the next seven goals to level the scores. With seconds left, the ball was kicked long into Sydney’s forward line, where Barry Hall received a free kick for high contact from Brisbane’s Chris Scott. Hall kicked the goal from 20m out after the siren to win the game. Remarkably, it was not the first time Hall had kicked a post-siren match winner. He also did so in his final game for St Kilda against Hawthorn in 2001.
10. Bill Ryan
Round 1, 1967 — Geelong v Collingwood
Geelong’s Bill Ryan had already recorded three behinds for the day before he marked and lined up for goal after the siren — his team trailing by five points — and missed. Thousands of fans poured on to the field to celebrate Collingwood’s win. But the umpire determined the man on the mark for Collingwood had overstepped and awarded Ryan another shot on goal. After mounted police cleared supporters from the ground, Ryan kicked the goal to see Geelong to a one-point win.
Originally published as Was Gary Buckenara’s post-siren goal in 1987 Preliminary Final the greatest ever?
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