AFL Grand Final

Melbourne didn't give the Dons a better game than Carlton, in fact they
weren't too good at all. The Bommers have had the cup for a few months
now but had to play the game to rubber-stamp it. Essadun completed the
equal-most dominant season in history with an easy win over the
excessively whelmed Demons, they also joined Carlton as the most
successful team in VFL/AFL history with sixteen flags. As Kev Sheedy
said on the dias, "I can assure you that this team deserves to win the
premiership". Since they last won in 1993 there's been the '94 hangover,
beaten by a better side in '95, the one-point prelim loss in '96, a
horror injury run in '97 followed by a bit of rebuilding in '98 and
another single-point prelim loss last year. All catharsiserized, or
whatever, on this day.

Melbourne's centreman Shane Woewodin was a surprise winner of the
Brownlow Medal, by two round-22 votes from unlucky Footscray rover Scott
West, 24 to 22. A fast-finishing Andrew McLeod was third with 20 votes
and pre-count favourite Anthony Koutoufides fourth on 19. It was one of
the closest counts for a while, Woewodin and Pie Nathan Buckley
collected a lot of votes early but once the Pies started losing, Buckley
stopped polling. Kouta didn't get a vote before round 7, he received
three BOGs and two two-votes in the next five games to roar into
contention but once the knee happened in round 20 he was already
trailing Woewodin and West. Woewodin's win shows the value of
consistency over spasmodic brilliance like that of Kouta's or Carey's,
although the opposite is true for winning games rather than gongs.
Woewodin was also the first Medallist for many years not to get an
All-Australian guernsey. Essendon were believed to have set a club
record with 116 votes (Hird got 16) but Richmond had the most players
poll, 19, emphasising what an all-round team of champions they are. AFL
CEO Wayne Jackson made a better fist of reading the votes, he went from
fair to average. There must be someone better.

Carlton wasted no time in appointing Wayne Brittain as David Parkin's
coaching successor, although you might get a different story from
Brittain. He was a little peeved the Blues didn't broach the subject
until Tuesday, then made an offer substantially less than one from St.
Kilda. Brittain seriously considered the Saints but some senior Carlton
players and chairman of selectors Stephen Kernahan talked him 'round.
Everyone who's been associated with Brittain reckons he's brilliant,
covering for the fact he's never played the game at the highest level.
Parkin won't coach again, but he is keen on a "director of coaching"
job. Hawthorn, Fremantle and Carlton themelves are willing employers.
There was also a drug scandal, fringe Eagle Nick Stone tested positive
for amphetamines...they didn't help him much on the field.

And an ordinary year at the AFL HQ ended badly. Last Sunday Channel
Nine's respected current affairs show "Sunday" tipped a bucket on the
AFL Commissioners and their multiple conflicts of interest. The shadow
of the Packers and TV rights hovered over. Then there was a huge outcry
over the scarcity of Grand Final tickets for AFL and Essendon members.
The AFL members lost 5,000 to Colonial's Medallion Club folk, mainly
corporate types whose companies shelled out the bucks, while there were
10,000 tickets available for the Dons' 30,000 members. Melbourne were
better off by virtue of their smaller membership and the fact that many
are MCC members instead (or as well, in a few cases). However for the
first time even MCC members had to queue on Saturday morning for
tickets. Or their butlers and gardeners did, as the Coodabeens
suggested. Backing up on Thursday some Save Waverley folks won a court
action to have the stadium heritage-listed as a "building of historic
and cultural significance". I'm not joking. That'll make it hard for the
AFL to sell the site and give the clubs a cash injection of $6 million
each. But they're determined that footy won't be played there again and
the site will be redeveloped. Perhaps the AFL will have a better time
next year. Perhaps Rob Walls will too. After tipping Essadun all year,
he picked Carlton last week because "not enough people were tipping
them", then backed up by selecting Melbourne on Saturday.

At the MCG:
Essendon   4.8   10.16   16.17   19.21.135
Melbourne  3.3    5.5     8.8     11.9.75

Hardly a contest as the Bombers overran a Melbourne side overwhelmed by
the occasion, their opposition or both. Tight Bommer tackling and poor
disposal undermined the Dees' midfield run. If the Dons had kicked a bit
straighter it would've been a massacre of 1988 proportions, but they
still won easily. Another one-sided decider. In selection the Bombers
made no change, queries over Evil One and Mark Johnson proving
unfounded, Lloydy had more work on his thumbs. At Essadun's final
training they were joined by injured team-mates Dean Rioli and Peter
Berbakov. Melbourne announced an unchanged team too, initially, but
Cameron Bruce was a late withdrawal with a thigh strain and was replaced
by another half-forward, Ben Beams. The umpires were Hayden Kennedy,
Brett Allen and Darren Goldspink and they were fair to middling.

In addition to the usual cloth-waving kiddies and second-rate performers
with third-rate songs, and a bizarre blow-up umpire trying to mark a
balloon football, we had a whole institute-load of Olympic athletes
parade about the 'G, plus Pat Rafter who'd deliberately lost in the
first round of the US Open just to be there. No surprises amongst the
match-ups, as predicted Mark Johnson picked up Demon Jeff Farmer, Dustin
Fletcher played on David Neitz and Sean Wellman on Dave Schwarz. At the
other end the Dees put Anthony Ingerson against Lloyd and Al Nicholson
on Jim Hird. At the opening bounce Melbun's Jeff White jumped high over
John Barnes and thumped the ball forward, which Whitey would proceed to
do all day. The Dees had the first scoring chance, Neitz marking
Schwarz's kick by the goal-post, but his left-foot shot hit it. Then
Bommer Blake Caracella bobbed up in his usual paddock, his punt to the
square was dropped horribly by Barnes but Hird arrived and snapped a
goal. Lloyd missed from open play before Stephen Powell kicked
Melbourne's first goal, thanks to a poor clearing kick from Damien
Hardwick. White's tap saw the Dees clear the centre bounce, Schwarz
found Neitz on the lead. He missed but the Dees led by that point.
Huzzah. Fletcher booted the kick-in a mile, Barnes marked it and also
went long and straight, Caracella roved and kicked a goal. Another fast
start from Caracella, 6 kicks in the opening term and Justin Blumfield
had 9 disposals on the ball, he was very good. But White and Brownlow
man Woewodin combined to drive Melbourne forward from the restart.
Bommer Mark Johnson marked it, played on, was caught by Farmer and his
kick slewed for Powell to score his and the Dees' second sausage. This
was the most interesting part of the game. Soon nerves and the
close-checking Bombers got the better of the Melbourne midfield, in
particular Adem Yze, who had a total Barry Crocker, Andrew Leoncelli and
Guy Rigoni who made plenty of mistakes. A series of Dee backline fumbles
allowed Mark Mercuri to get the ball to Caracella, he baulked and calmly
slotted the Dons 7 points ahead. Leoncelli's poor bounce and panicky
kick on the wing turned over, Dee backman Matthew Collins was penalised
when caught by Mick Long but Long missed. There was a plague of Don
wastefulness, Adam Ramanauskas ran in with a two-bounce run and pointed,
Scott Lucas grabbed the kick-in and he missed too. Dons by 10 points and
their Dean Wallis, playing loose in the backline, had a blue with
Schwarz, the Dee went off with a bloodied nose. Symbolic. An excellent
Mick Long handpass set Mercuri running, he was palpably caught by
Collins. But in a remarkable piece of inconsistency play-on was called
and Lloyd banana-ed a goal. Melbun replied quickly thanks to White and
Woewodin in the middle again, Neitz gathered and handballed for Brad
Green to dribble a major. More Don points came from Jason Johnson and
Joe Misiti. More Dee nervousness was shown when Rigoni and Peter Walsh
made a mess of a speedy attack.

Don ruckman Steve Alessio came on for the second term, to exploit the
lack of Melbourne defensive height, while Yze was shifted forward to get
him involved. Early on Wellman marked at CHB for Essadun, found the busy
Blumfield in the centre, he delivered to Jim Hird on the lead and Jimmy
punted the Dons 17 points up. At the restart another White tap, onto
Powell's chest, sent Melbourne forward. Farmer dropped a chest mark but
was clobbered a split-second later and converted the free. Lucas missed
two ab-ser-loot sitters for Essadun, the ball became trapped in their
forward line as the Demons' kick-in routines fell apart. Hird looked
very out-of-bounds as he centered the ball, near the spot where Wayne
Harmes tapped-back in 1979. Mercuri gathered and handballed for
Caracella to snap his third major. Dons by 19. Lucas missed yet again,
Hird marked the kick-in and gave it to Alessio but he behinded. Another
poor Dee kick-in ensued, from Steven Febey, Jason Johnson punted it back
to goalsquare where Mercuri roved and snapped truly. Dons by 26 and
Schwarz retreated to defence as the Dees struggled. White and Woewodin
cleared the restart again, Neitz marked on the lead and punted the gap
back down to 20 points. As close as they got. Blumfield kicked yet
another behind, another terrible kick-in came from Travis Johnstone,
Paul Barnard kicked another point for the Bummers. Exciting, eh? Finally
three rapid Don goals opened up a gap their dominance deserved. Snappy
handpasses from Long and Blumfield sent Barnard in for the first of
those, then as a high Ramanauskas kick came in poor ol' Nicholson lost
his bearings, allowing Lloyd to run through, trip over/soccer the ball
and bundle it through. Quality stuff. A rare Essadun centre clearance
followed, Blumfield passed to Long who missed from 15m. A little later
Yze ignored the ball and crashed into Ramanauskas, from his free kick
Evil One gathered and handballed for an easy goal to Barnard. Essadun by
41 points in the shadow of half-time. The rattled Demons had threatened
violence for a few minutes but the Bommers started it, when Long smashed
his hip into Dee ruckman Troy Simmonds's head as the latter stooped to
collect the ball. A pretty ordinary effort from Longy, he was reported
for charging and a blue started as Simmonds was stretchered off. There
was time for Long to kick yet another point before the long break.

Melbourne started the second half with 20 fit men, in addition to
Simmonds young forward Brad Green was off with a neck/throat injury. The
Demons did score the first goal of the third stanza, Leoncelli and
Woewodin getting the ball down to Neitz, he wasn't paid a clear mark but
Farmer received a lucky free for being grabbed high and dobbed it. That
left the Dees 35 points in arrears but the Dons booted the next three as
they found the target. Hird shifted onto the ball, quite literally given
the number of possessions he accrued. Barnes and Blumfield spoiled each
other but Jason Johnson mopped up and handballed for Alessio to dribble
a sausage. Mercuri and Long combined to set up Barnard again, then
Melbun's White was undone by a cruel bounce, Dean Solomon handballed for
a goal to Blumfield. Dons by 53 points now. Half-forward Russell
Robertson came on and breathed life into the Dees, his good play led to
a tough pack mark and goal for Neitz, then Robertson caught Hird in a
strong tackle and punted his free between the big sticks. Down to 41
points before the Dons replied with a free-kick goal of their own, Long
held on the lead by Walsh. Walsh was involved in the next Demon attack,
Robertson climbed on Chris Heffernan's back for a terrific speccie, but
he missed. For the remainder of the quarter the match degenerated, the
Dees' confidence was gone and the Bombers lairized wastefully. It wasn't
much of a game, unless you're a Don. Robertson continued to battle away
for Melbourne but he missed another shot and was denied a free kick when
clearly tackled without the ball. Just prior to the final break Barnes
tapped a ball-up 30m from goal to Evil One, he raced in and grubbed it
through. At the restart Solomon got the agget and sent it forward, Gary
Moorcroft's centering kick was well-marked by Lloyd and converted. The
final quarter was one of celebration for the Bombers and their fans.
Jeff Farmer was in the middle now for Melbourne but a smother of his
attempted kick allowed Barnard to boot another goal, from 45m on the
run. Don fans enjoyed that. Barnard turned provider for the next major,
to Moorcroft. While Evil One Jr. was kicking it Fletcher and Melbourne's
Brent Grgic engaged in a prissy slapping-fight behind play, for which
both were reported. Robertson free-kicked his second goal when shoved in
the back by Mark Johnson, but a little later Yze's nightmare was
complete when his turnover saw Hird deliver to lleading Loyd, gol.
Sheedy benched the interchange men and allowed the starting eighteen to
take the glory as the final minutes ticked by. Melbourne kicked the last
two goals, Powell and Farmer, but it was the Dons' day. The siren rang
just 25 minutes into the korter, probably just as well. Nice work from
Channel Seven had a Hird close-up on screen. Essadun veterans Barnes and
Wallis (didn't they invent the bouncing bomb?) hugged and shed tears.
Never been a huge fan of Barnesy but after three losing Grand Finals
with Geelong, it was good to see him get a medal. Wallis too...coaches
other than Sheedy would've dumped him after last year.

James Hird won the Norm Smith Medal for best afield, gathering 29
disposals, taking 7 marks and booting 2 goals as he swapped between
half-forward and midfield. Jim's cool skill under pressure played a big
part in the victory, helped by the lumbering Nicholson as an opponent.
Steven Febey, Hird's opponent back in round 9, was no more effective
when tried later on. Hird's personal story was much repeated during the
game and afterwards, his three years of frustrating and
career-threatening injuries, the media's criticism for being involved
in...er...the media, his battle to find a consistent hairstyle.
Ruck-roving Justin Blumfield must've run him close, Blumfield had 20
disposals in the first half in a decisive effort but slowed after the
long break to finish with 27 possessions and a goal. The ever-alone
Blake Caracella finished with 20 disposals and 3 goals, the goals all in
the first one-and-a-half quarters. Paul Barnard surprised by kicking 4
goals after coming on at korter-time, from 13 kicks. Kudos to the
defenders too, Mark Johnson won praise for his game on Farmer although
The Wizard was starved of opportunity. The half-back line of Damien
Hardwick (16 disposals), Dean Solomon (17) and Wellman and/or Wallis (16
marks and 28 possies between them) constantly halted the Dees. Elsewhere
Joe Misiti collected his usual, unobtrusive 26 disposals around packs
and Matt Lloyd kicked 4 goals although Ingerson did alright, really.
Melbourne's best was probably ruckman Jeff White, who tapped superbly
all day for a total of 30, he also had 15 disposals and 7 marks.
Unfortunately for the Dees they couldn't take advantage. Of their
hard-running mob only Stephen Powell (26 disposals, 3 goals) had much
influence. Woewodin had 6 kicks in the first quarter but was pretty
anonymous for the next two stanzas before gathering some stats when it
was over. Demon skipper David Neitz battled away for 8 marks, 14
disposals and 2 goals, Russ Robertson fired a bit with 2 goals from 10
second-half possessions. In defence Anthony Ingerson played solidly on
Lloyd and Peter Walsh (21 disposals including 14 handpasses) wasn't the
worst. Farmer kicked 3 goals, two from frees.

Dee coach Neale Daniher placed things in perspective. "Even through the
disappointment of today I see our young team as winners. They were
beaten by a better side today. It gives them some indication of the
level they need to get to, to be last off the oval on Grand Final day.
But they (Essendon) were too good on the day and there's not much you
can do about that now...Whelan and Wheatley and Bruce and these sorts of
players that haven't played today, they'll come in and make us better
(next year) and that's people within our own squad." He didn't elaborate
on the game itself. "I think that's a real trap for coaches to come to a
press conference now and through all the disappointment of it all you
give a clinical post-mortem...we've got to take stock and we haven't got
a lot of time with the trading period...but a lot of our young blokes
will get better and through the year they've improved immeasurably and
they'll continue to do that."

Kev Sheedy was relieved rather than jubilant. "Relief is the nicest
thing for me and probably 800,000 other Essendon fans (how many?).
Especially with all the other preliminary finals. This team could be
better (than Essadun's back-to-back 84 and 85 premiers) but I think
they've still got to win another one yet. We're still young enough to do
well, but it depends on how hungry you are." On the game Sheeds reckoned
"We didn't kick well early, but that's the pressure of AFL finals and
Grand Finals. We had the ball inside our fifty enough, so the goals were
always going to come." And he had words for himself: "This one, twenty
years after I started, is pretty sweet. It's a long journey to stay and
get your head knocked around, and your brain sort of stretched and your
heart ripped out and replaced. And you go to church to find some soul."
Sheeds also praised Hird ("...he was coming back from a
career-threatening injury, where there was a danger he would possibly
never play again, it's just a marvellous effort to see him poll well in
the Brownlow and now the Norm Smith Medal") and Barnes ("...played a
marvellous game for us..."). Summing up he said "My job is to enjoy the
premiership and get these guys to refocus, because they're going to have
a longer break than they've ever had between seasons." So are we all,
Kev.