AFL finals 2015: Western Bulldogs hoping to banish Adelaide Crows demons
AS THE Bulldogs prepare to face their Adelaide demons former coach Terry Wallace has revealed his biggest regret from the heartbreaking 1997 preliminary final.
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THE Bulldogs jump from the foot of the ladder to a fairytale finals appearance with an exciting new coach, and run into a red-hot Adelaide at the MCG.
Sound familiar?
It will for every Bulldogs fan still scarred by the 1997 preliminary final, which the Bulldogs somehow lost to the Crows despite being 22 points in front with nine minutes left.
Images of Libba’s legs wrapped around Brett Montgomery — thinking he’d kicked the matchwinning goal — or Rohan Smith pounding the turf with his fists after the siren will live with Bulldog supporters forever.
Terry Wallace, who coached the Dogs that day, has revealed his biggest regrets from one of the most heartbreaking results in finals history — at the top of the list is his speech at three-quarter time, when the Bulldogs led by almost four goals.
“The one thing we speak about today in modern football is ‘process-driven’ ... (my address) was about what it would mean to the club and the supporter base, and I think it was just a little bit too overwhelming for the group as a whole,” he said on Channel 9.
And it’s not the only thing he would do differently if he had his time over.
“You look at it today and say, ‘Why didn’t we drop two behind the ball, have Chris Grant playing like that? But it wasn’t played like that.
“(Darren Jarman, who kicked three last-quarter goals) was a superstar player but gee, I would have loved to have Granty floating in front of him for a while and see whether he would have been able to kick them then.”
Wallace says he believed Liberatore’s shot, which sailed over the goalpost and was judged to be a behind, was a goal.
“I did, and the only reason I say that I thought it was a goal is just about the most honest person that I know is Brad Johnson who was standing right on the goal-line at the time and he swears to this day that it was a goal.
“It would have lifted the roof off — it did, almost. We just needed one goal to get over the line. We kicked 0.6 in the last quarter of that game and it was only the second quarter of the year that we didn’t kick a goal in a quarter, so that’s why I think the whole thing just got a bit overwhelming.”
The magnitude of the defeat didn’t take long to hit home.
“I walked out of the Southern Stand after the game and Adelaide Crows supporters walked past me saying, ‘We’ve waited seven years for this’,” Wallace said. “It was 36 years we had waited at the time, it’s now 54 years for the Western Bulldogs since they’ve played in their last Grand Final let alone a premiership.”
The Crows knocked the Dogs out of the finals again a year later on the way to back-to-back flags, but Montgomery and Smith — now part of the Bulldogs’ coaching staff under Luke Beveridge — aren’t likely to burden their young charges with history lessons.
The story is similar for Richmond.
The Tigers have a tortured recent history when it comes to September, having not won a final since 2001 and appeared in just four finals series since 1982.
The yellow and black army have endured elimination final defeats in the past two years after a finals drought of 11 years.
Richmond’s history will have little impact on its players — Ben Lennon was just six years old last time the club won a final — but its fans are desperate to have the weight of finals failure lifted from their shoulders.
Victory on Sunday would not only set up a favourable semi-final clash against Fremantle or Sydney, but relieve the pressure on coach, players and fans alike.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Overall: Western Bulldogs 22-18 Adelaide Crows
Past 10: Western Bulldogs 6-4 Adelaide Crows
At the MCG: Adelaide 3-2 Western Bulldogs
MCG HISTORY
1997 Preliminary Final: Adelaide 12.21 (93) def W. Bulldogs 13.13 (91)
1998 Preliminary Final: Adelaide 24.17 (161) def W. Bulldogs 13.15 (93)
1999 Round 16: W. Bulldogs 14.15 (99) def Adelaide 14.13 (97)
2006 Round 20: W. Bulldogs 16.9 (105) def Adelaide 14.14 (98)
2007 Round 2: Adelaide 16.14 (110) def W. Bulldogs 11.6 (72)
Richmond’s finals history since 1990
1995: Qualifying final (lost to North Melbourne)
1995: Semi final (defeated Essendon)
1995: Preliminary final (lost to Geelong)
2001: Qualifying final (lost to Essendon)
2001: Semi final (defeated Carlton)
2001: Preliminary final (lost to Brisbane)
2013: Elimination final (lost to Carlton)
2014: Elimination final (lost to Port Adelaide)
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