Alastair Clarkson at Port, no Giants or Suns, Richmond bottom: What footy was like when Essendon won its last final
It’s hard to remember living without Facebook and YouTube. When Essendon won its last final in 2004, Mark Zuckerberg had only just launched his social media juggernaut and YouTube didn’t exist. Here’s a reminder of what Australia was like.
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Richmond battling to the wooden spoon.
The G-Train — Fraser Gehrig — terrorising defences.
Chris Judd exploding from packs in the west at breakneck speed.
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Football has changed significantly since the last time Essendon triumphed in a final — not that the club’s supporters need to be reminded.
The Bombers’ last victory in September came in an elimination final against Melbourne in 2004, when Matthew Lloyd, James Hird and Jason Johnson inspired their side to a come-from-behind five-point win.
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Coach John Worsfold has conceded supporters have become “anxious” after 15 years, the longest current finals drought in the AFL — bar Gold Coast, which has never played finals.
“We can’t impact what has happened in the past,” Worsfold said this week on AFL 360.
“We’re focused on becoming a really good team together and making our own story together. “But we understand people are getting anxious.
“They want to see the Bombers win a final again, all the supporters.
“But do they deserve it anymore than West Coast, who are reigning premiers? They want to win this final.
“You don’t get extra advantages because you have got more to play for.”
As Worsfold and his team prepare to head west, here’s what footy was like when Essendon won last experienced finals success.
5,471 #MightyBombers
— Days Since Essendon Won a Final (@EFCFinals) August 28, 2019
Bloody fantastic Essendon have Dylan Shiel. But not many excuses left for them not to break finals drought next year. This year they got in 3 great recruits, they still didn't play finals. And we said, gee they finished the year well. Long time since 2004 elimination final win
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) October 9, 2018
THE FINAL
The Bombers and Demons traded blows in the opening quarter at the MCG in front of more than 60,000 supporters, going to the first break level at 5.2 (32) apiece. Essendon kicked clear in the second quarter as stars Jason Johnson, Matthew Lloyd and James Hird helped it open a 29-point halftime lead. But the clash turned on its head in the third term as Melbourne slammed on seven goals to lead by eight points at the last break. Adem Yze (26 disposals) and James McDonald (25) were key ball winners for the Demons. Melbourne still led by a goal with 10 minutes to play before Hird and Scott Lucas combined to level the scores. David Hille was the hero, putting the Bombers in front and then giving Essendon a six-point lead with his third goal minutes later after outpointing Alistair Nicholson at the top of the goalsquare. It would prove the last major as Essendon held on in a thriller.
HOW WE REPORTED IT
THE SEASON
Eventual grand finalists Port Adelaide and Brisbane Lions were the dominant teams throughout 2004, with the Power (17-5) finishing one game clear of the Lions (16-6) at the top of the ladder. Three-time reigning premier Brisbane dropped consecutive games to Sydney and West Coast in rounds 18 and 19 which ultimately handed the minor premiership to the Power. St Kilda and Geelong were the other top-four sides, with Melbourne, Sydney, West Coast and Essendon also qualifying for finals. The Bombers only clinched eighth spot when they defeated Western Bulldogs in Round 22 and Fremantle lost to St Kilda. Both teams had gone into the last round with 11 wins. Brisbane and Port Adelaide had little trouble in their qualifying finals, although the Cats and Saints responded by winning their semi-finals.
Geelong downed Essendon by 10 points, while St Kilda claimed an emphatic win over Sydney. The Power defeated the Saints by a goal in their preliminary final, a match remembered for the fan invasion after Fraser Gehrig’s 100th goal which swung momentum to Port Adelaide. Brisbane overcame Geelong by nine points to earn a shot at its fourth straight flag. The Power denied them that title as coach Mark Williams famously mocked his critics with a choking gesture which has gone down in AFL folklore. Two sides which have enjoyed success in recent years, Hawthorn and Richmond, finished in the bottom two. The Hawks would lay the platform for an era of success by drafting Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis in the first seven picks.
THE COACHES
Adelaide — Gary Ayres/Neale Craig
Brisbane — Leigh Matthews
Carlton — Denis Pagan
Collingwood — Mick Malthouse
Essendon — Kevin Sheedy
Fremantle — Chris Connolly
Geelong — Mark Thompson
Hawthorn — Peter Schwab/Donald McDonald
Melbourne — Neale Daniher
North Melbourne — Dean Laidley
Port Adelaide — Mark Williams
Richmond — Danny Frawley
St Kilda — Grant Thomas
Sydney — Paul Roos
West Coast — John Worsfold
Western Bulldogs — Peter Rohde
Peter Schwab parted ways with Hawthorn late in the season as the club failed to live up to pre-season expectations it would be a premiership contender. Gary Ayres was replaced by Neale Craig at Adelaide midway through the campaign.
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WHAT WERE THE CURRENT COACHES DOING?
Don Pyke was on the board of directors at West Coast.
Chris Fagan was an assistant at Melbourne.
David Teague was in his first year as a player for Carlton.
Nathan Buckley still had three years left in his Collingwood career.
John Worsfold was in his third season as senior coach of West Coast.
Chris Scott played in the grand final for Brisbane against Port Adelaide and Stuart Dew.
Leon Cameron was in his first year as an assistant at Western Bulldogs after retiring at the end of 2003.
Alastair Clarkson was yet to be appointed Hawthorn coach and was an assistant at Port Adelaide.
Simon Goodwin was in the middle of a decorated career with Adelaide.
Rhyce Shaw was in his fifth season at Collingwood.
Ken Hinkley had just joined Geelong as an assistant coach after taking local club Bell Park to a premiership in 2003.
Damien Hardwick played in Port Adelaide’s premiership.
Brett Ratten retired at end of 2003 with Carlton.
John Longmire was in his third year as an assistant with Sydney.
Adam Simpson still had five years left in his 306-game North Melbourne career.
Luke Beveridge was a year off being elevated to the senior coaching job at VAFA club St Bedes where we would lead the club to three consecutive flags.
THE STARS
— Fraser Gehrig won the Coleman Medal with 90 goals, one more than Matthew Lloyd.
— Melbourne’s Jared Rivers won the Rising Star.
— West Coast’s Chris Judd won the Brownlow Medal from Mark Ricciuto and Chad Cornes.
— Byron Pickett won the Norm Smith Medal as Port Adelaide ended Brisbane’s premiership streak.
THE TALKING POINTS
— Brisbane Lions’ dynasty came to an end in the grand final with a loss to Port Adelaide.
— Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney were yet to enter the competition.
— Richmond and Hawthorn finished in the bottom two.
— Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis hadn’t played a game.
— Essendon’s last finals win was Jobe Watson’s seventh game
— The Bombers finished eighth with a 12-10 record, the same result as this year.
AND …
— Facebook had only been around for seven months and had less than one million users.
— YouTube was still months from being launched.
— The iPhone 3G was four years from being released. The Motorola Razr and Nokia 2600 were the most popular mobile phones in use.
— John Howard was Australian Prime Minister and Mark Latham was opposition leader.
— Princess Mary became a Danish royal when she married Crown Prince Frederick
— Shannon Noll’s ‘What About Me?’, Maroon 5’s ‘She Will Be Loved’ and Delta Goodrem’s ‘Out of the Blue’ were three of songs which spent the longest at No. 1 on the ARIA charts.
— Shrek 2 was the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide ahead of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Finals won by Essendon
— Joshua Kay (@js_kay) August 10, 2019
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None under anyone other than Kevin Sheedy#AFLDonsDogs
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