Melbourne v Geelong in AFL elimination final — 13 years after previous September stoush
AN AFL boss causes a pre-match fuss, Demon Jeff White cops a boot to the face and Gary Ablett stars. We look at the talking points the last time Melbourne and Geelong met in a final.
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SOME things have changed, others remain the same to this day.
Melbourne and Geelong meet in an MCG final next week — 13 years on from the last time they met with so much on the line.
On that day — September 3, 2005 — the Dees entered the clash riding a wave of emotion after a big three weeks to qualify for September, Gary Ablett starred, and there was even an AFL boss making the news. Sound familiar?
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It’s fair to say neither club, nor their fans, could quite have predicted the differing rides they’d experience from that day to now.
Like their looming clash, that 2005 meeting was also a cutthroat elimination final.
Geelong prevailed in style, but there were plenty of talking points from an action-packed day.
Here’s a glimpse back at the day the Cats got the cream.
PRE-MATCH: AFL BOSS GIVES JOURNO THE BOOT
Gillon McLachlan might have been in the news in recent days but it was his predecessor, former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, who made a splash before the first bounce.
Jon Ralph reported that Demetriou wasn’t happy with one-time Channel 7 presenter turned Herald Sun journalist Jim Wilson — who held hosting duties at pre-match functions throughout the finals.
Wilson had already welcomed guests when Demetriou — believed to be upset with Wilson’s coverage of an AFL-WADA drugs conflict earlier in the year — made the call to eject the host.
“My relationship with Andrew has always been very strong, and I had covered the issue as any good journo should,” Wilson said.
“He obviously wasn’t aware I was hosting the function today and he got back from the red-eye flight from Perth, and walked into the function after I had introduced myself to the audience in the Legends Room.
“I was promptly swapped to the Ryder Room.”
CALL FOR SCORE REVIEW AFTER GOAL-LINE CONTROVERSY
The AFL did bring in the score review system, but not before several contentious incidents (2009 grand final, anyone?).
One of those came in the opening term when Geelong forward Kent Kingsley got his boot to the ball as it crossed the goal line.
Kingsley was awarded the goal, but reporting on the match for the Herald Sun, legendary journalist Scot Palmer wrote: “... it is time for the AFL to consider technology to avoid public outrage by having a final won or lost by default.
“Football needs a video umpire — an eye in the sky … Yesterday’s goalmouth error in the first quarter when Kent Kingsley put foot to ball for a “goal” proves the need for urgent action.
“We saw Kingsley’s leg over the line from 80m away and the MCG crowd of 65,000 saw it on a replay that left Melbourne fans moaning.”
MIDFIELDER MOONEY BOWLS DEES OVER
Cameron Mooney was starting to establish himself as a weapon in Mark Thompson’s team when the coach deployed his enforcer to a different role.
Mooney started the match in the centre square, alongside ruckman Steven King, and would accumulate a career-high 26 disposals to go with two goals and 11 marks in a matchwinning display.
“He’s been setting the tone for us, not just today but for the past five weeks,” Jimmy Bartel said.
“He’s been playing a lot of good footy, he’s fully fit and running through the midfield like he was last year.
“He’s got a bit of size about him and people certainly know he’s around. He’s lifting all of us right now.”
The man himself was already thinking about the following week and his team’s trip to Sydney.
“We had a different team in today, it was a big occasion for us and now there are fresh challenges for all of us as Sydney are in such good form,” Mooney said.
Mooney was unable to repeat the heroics against the Swans as Nick Davis’s four final-term goals broke Geelong hearts.
JEFF WHITE’S HORROR BROKEN JAW
Melbourne came into the clash on a high, having jumped from 11th on the table to finishing the season seventh following wins memorable wins over Geelong (by 1 point), the Western Bulldogs (4 points) and Essendon (by 10 points).
But things didn’t go their way from the start as the Dees steadily lost players.
Perhaps the biggest blow came when ruckman Jeff White was felled in a freakish clash from a boundary throw-in.
With the ball in dispute, Cats ruckman Steven King threw a boot at the footy in a bid to clear the ball from the congestion. But White got there first, the Cat’s big right boot connecting with the Melbourne star’s jaw.
A bloodied White was attended to by trainers and medical staff before being forced off, eventually taken to hospital where a broken jaw was confirmed.
After the match, Melbourne coach Neale Daniher reflected not only on the injuries — in addition to White the Dees lost Brock McLean (concussion), Guy Rigoni (concussion), Travis Johnstone (ankle) and Paul Wheatley (groin) — but his side’s inability to fire after their big run into September.
“The game was never a contest,” Daniher said.
“Our midfield was slaughtered. It was over by halftime. When we had injuries in the third quarter, there was no real chance of fighting back. We just ran out of numbers.”
SCOREBOARD — 2nd ELIMINATION FINAL, 2005
Geelong 5.4 12.5 16.8 18.8 (116)
Melbourne 2.3 6.4 6.6 9.7 (61)
GOALS
Geelong: G Ablett 3, Kelly 3, Mackie 2, Ling 2, Mooney 2, Playfair 2, N Ablett, Tenace, Kingsley, S Johnson
Melbourne: Robertson 4, Wheatley 2, Davey, Holland, Yze
BEST:
Geelong: Mooney, G Ablett, Bartel, Milburn, Rooke, Ling, King
Melbourne: Brown, Carroll, Moloney, Bruce
Crowd: 65,018
Umpires: Schmitt, Wenn, Goldspink
Venue: MCG
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