14 reasons Essendon, Hawthorn hate each other

BRAWLS, snipers and Dermie's kiss. Here are 14 reasons why Essendon v Hawthorn will never be just another game.

Alastair Clarkson

IT'S easy to say "it's just another game".

For Hawthorn and Essendon, it hasn't been that way for more than three decades.

And it will probably never change.

No matter where they are on the ladder, the rivalry between the two teams borders on four quarters of hatred.

It started back in the 1980s when both teams were powerhouses. 

In 2004 a central figure in the '80s rivalry, Dermott Brereton, was sick of seeing the struggling Hawks being pushed around by Essendon. A club director, he visited the rooms at halftime of a game at the MCG - and the result was the infamous "line in the sand game".

The Bombers won that game easily but Hawthorn won a flag in 2008 and now both teams are back at the top of the ladder - and will write a new chapter in the rivalry on Friday night when they fight for top spot.

See our classic Hawks v Bombers rivalry moments below. Have we missed one? Leave a comment

Essendon coach James Hird has seen the rivalry from the outer when he was a Bomber supporter growing up. He also saw it from inside the fence as a player and now in the box as the coach.

Asked about the rivalry on the eve of last year's Round 18 clash against the Hawks, Hird turned, smiled and briefly fuelled the fire that always burns between the two clubs.

"There's a lot of history with the two clubs," Hird said with a grin that hinted he'd like to say more, but dare not.

"As a kid growing up, I hated Hawthorn more than any team. Dermott Brereton, 'Dipper', the whole lot. It was always a great day at the MCG or at Waverley when you'd go and watch Hawthorn and Essendon ... there's been some great contests."

Here are 14 memorable moments in footy's biggest rivalry.

1. DIPPER THE DESTROYER

In what may have been the trigger of the bitter warfare between the clubs, Robert DiPierdomenico runs through Bomber Alan Stoneham like a freight train at Princes Park in 1983. "Dipper" copped five weeks and Stoneham a closed eye and re-arranged nose.

2. HITMAN CLAIMS END IN COURT

Controversy erupts after former Hawthorn captain Don Scott alleges one of the players in a team contesting the 1983 finals includes a player using illegal tactics.

In his weekly column in The Sun, Scott wrote: "There's a hitman operating in the league's final five and unless one of his pursuers captures him on Saturday, he will be sniping in September. This guy is doing it frequently. If he is being encouraged to carry out these sniping acts by his coach then it's a giant slur on his club and the game. Most players know who I'm talking about, but the football public cannot be told."

However, as Kevin Sheedy wrote in his book Stand Your Ground, "he didn't name Roger (Merrett), but it was pretty obvious who he meant".

Derryn Hinch named Merrett on radio and the incident resulted in defamation proceedings.

3. LINE IN THE SAND

Dermott Brereton, who was a club director at the time, urges Hawk players to fly the flag at halftime of a 2004 loss to Essendon. Minutes later they spark a monster all-in brawl. Four players - including Hawk captain Richard Vandenberg - are suspended for a combined 16 weeks and the tribunal hands out a record $70,700 in fines.

4. BURNING ANIMOSITY

Brereton holds a burning Bombers jumper for a Herald Sun back-page photograph to promote Rivalry Round. Brereton said later the jumper didn't ignite easily, so he doused it in petrol. A writer at another newspaper described the image as "a crime against everything sport represents". 

5. FIGHT CLUB

The 1985 Grand Final. A forgettable, one-sided match forever remembered because of one of the biggest brawls of all time. After a fight broke out on the wing soon after the opening bounce, players ran off the bench to join the melee. The Bombers eventually won by 78 points in what was club legend Leigh Matthews' last game.

6. KISS OF DEATH

Enraged during a 1988 game, Brereton plants a kiss on Bomber Bill Duckworth after a free kick is paid against him. Minutes later the Hawk forward charges through Essendon's three-quarter time huddle. Bomber coach Kevin Sheedy later describes him as a "mad Irishman".

Dermott Brereton

7. POSTMAN DELIVERS

Leigh Matthews runs into a Windy Hill behind post, snapping it in half during a clash in 1982. The Hawks, down by 19 points at three-quarter time, kick seven goals to one in the last term to win easily.

8. CROAD'S MOMENT

The 2001 preliminary final - a game that still eats away at Hawthorn fans. With the Bombers on their knees late in the contest, Trent Croad hits the post with a 55m bomb. The Hawks kick 9.13 and lose by seven points.

9. CEO DEFECTS

Hawthorn chief executive Ian Robson shocks the club by announcing in 2009 that he is quitting to join Essendon. Alastair Clarkson and Robson then cross paths in a hallway at club headquarters where it is said the Hawks coach made his displeasure well known.

10. WHERE WAS THE VIDEO REVIEW?

Dean Solomon claims a toe-poke goal in 2005 after the ball clearly comes off the boot of Hawk Jonathan Hay. The Bombers win by two points and umpires later admit they got it wrong.

11. LLOYD LABELLED A 'SNIPER'

Hawk Campbell Brown labels Bomber captain Matthew Lloyd "one of the biggest snipers in the game" in an explosive aftermath to the final home-and-away game of the 2009 season when Essendon secured eighth spot with a 17-point victory.

Lloyd's brutal hit on Brad Sewell left the midfielder with a fractured cheekbone and eye socket.

Clarkson had to be held back by then football manager Mark Evans after the game and Brown said on radio: "Matty Lloyd he has done that a fair few times to us and I think he is one of the biggest snipers in the game, so his time is coming."

Alastair Clarkson

Lloyd was suspended for six matches, but it was reduced to four with an early guilty plea. He never played again.

Brown's anger was stoked by a clash in 2005 when Lloyd, returning from injury wearing an arm guard, fractured the cheekbone of Hawks youngster Josh Thurgood.

Josh Thurgood

12. WATSON WHACK

The Hawks set a then record 83-point winning Grand Final margin over Essendon in 1983. To add salt to the wound, Essendon's dynamic matchwinner Tim Watson was knocked semi-conscious by his tagger, Colin Robertson, who went on to win the Norm Smith Medal. 

13. DERMIE STRIKES AGAIN

Recurring villain Dermott Brereton ironed out Bombers forward Paul Vander Haar in a bone-crunching shepherd in the 1989 second-semi final. Vander misses the prelim the next week with concussion.

14. CALL IN THE COPS

Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy sparked a police investigation by claiming the Hawks were sniffing an illegal substance in the 1984 finals. It was deeply embarrassing to Hawk coach Allan Jeans, who was a police sergeant.

"I didn't allege anything, I just asked what they were sniffing, and all of Hawthorn broke loose," Sheedy later said. "It was a risky thing to do, because I would have thought as a coach if I had lost the 1984 Grand Final I would have been sacked."

It was discovered that the Hawks were sniffing a harmless concoction, including smelling salts and liniment, to clear their airways.