First Premiers

In doing research a while back I saw that the Essendon Bombers won the first premiership in the league that is now called the AFL, back in 1897. I love this sort of thing, so I thought I'd visit their site to see what sort of history page they had.

First, a brief overview. The team has played over 2400 games total, won 1350 of them, with a winning percentage of over 56%. All these statistics are third behind Collingwood and Carlton in the history of the AFL/VFL.

Anyhow I was looking for more of a year-to-year sort of thing on the Bomber website, similar to what I saw from some of the other clubs. What I did find was a page where each player is listed alphabetically. Not really what I was looking for, but it sure looks like every man who ever played for the Bombers has his own separate listing, which includes games played and a short bio. Very nice.

The Dons even have their own walk-in museum at their training facility in Essendon, which isn't too far from the Melbourne Airport.

The thing that wowed me was this museum is available via virtual tour, here. This is amazing stuff. It's where I learned that the Essendon Football Club was formed in 1872. They saw some success in winning VFA premierships in 1892-93-94 before leaving and joining the Victorian Football League for the 1897 season. There was no Grand Final that year-- Essendon won the premiership by virtue of beating Geelong, Collingwood, and Melbourne in round-robin play to finish 3-0.

screenshot of the Essendon Virtual Museum. A fantastic presentation
of their long and storied history. Great stuff.

The museum has displays of Bomber greats, a celebration of the back-to-back premiership sides of 1984 and 1985, and so much more. There is also homage paid to James Hird, who was a great player and coach for the team. His grandfather and father also have their place in team history.

However, James played a role in a doping scandal that has rocked the team for the last several years, costing him his place in the game. This scandal is part of the reason the 2016 Bombers took home their first wooden spoon (for finishing last on the ladder) since 1933.

However Hird's place in Dons history cannot be denied.

So much to see and absorb, so little time. This virtual museum demonstrates how history should be told, remembered, and celebrated. Well done, Essendon.

The Bombers open season 2017 on March 25 at the MCG against Hawthorn.

2010 Grand Final

St. Kilda and Collingwood met twice during the 2010 home-and-away season. The Saints won a round 3 matchup way back in April, and the Magpies took the round 16 rematch three months later.

Collingwood won the minor premiership and were the #1 seed as a result of having the best win-loss record during the season, while St. Kilda finished third on the ladder. They would meet in what would normally be the last game of the season, and then they'd do it again.

The 2010 Grand Final between the two sides was a riveting affair, the Pies clinging to a one-point lead with under 2:00 to play and the Saints knocking on the door, bringing every ounce of desperation they had.

Saint Lenny Hayes kicked from just outside the forward 50-meter line, hoping to find a friendly face near the sticks. Not having the distance, the ball caromed away from teammate Stephen Milne and through for a behind, tying the game at 68. Had the ball bounced into Milne's hands (he'd gotten away from his defender), he had an open kick at goal from point-blank range that would've given the underdog Saints a five-point margin late in the match.

Instead that's where the scoring ended. Hayes won the 2010 Norm Smith Medal as the best on ground.

This match became the third of its kind in AFL history. In the other two, Melbourne beat Essendon in 1948 and North Melbourne defeated Collingwood in the rematch of the 1977 Grand Final.

The exhaustion...

and the stunned disbelief of both sides following a drawn Grand Final.

It's fascinating to watch the closing moments as the siren presided over drawn teams. The feeling is surreal at the MCG-- all the energy just completely left the building, replaced with a feeling of bewilderment at having to process a tie.

The sting must have been a little sharper for St. Kilda because they squandered a fourth quarter lead and lost the 2009 Grand Final to the Geelong Cats.

Instead the Saints and Pies went through more preparation and somehow tried to get their minds and bodies ready to play another match on the biggest stage of them all.

What's amazing about this is the overtime rules were in effect for all other finals matches, and were actually implemented in 1994 (North Melbourne over Hawthorn) and in the 2007 playoffs when Collingwood defeated West Coast.

Those games were settled with two five-minute extra periods, with sudden death in case scores are still level.

I compare this to America and the feeling that would be out there if the Super Bowl was still tied and everyone went home. It wouldn't happen of course because of how the rules are set up, but what if the Packers and Patriots were told to come back next week? Disbelief and outrage, correct?

So earlier this year the AFL amended their bylaws so that the Grand Final would also go to the two five-minute extra periods. I feel like this should have been done sooner, but part of the reasoning is that they seemed to like the possibility of having a tie. It makes sense, since they get to have another 100,000 fans buy tickets. Another stated reason is travel, as a non-Victorian side may have a disadvantage of added plane rides.

As for the 2010 Grand Final replay, Collingwood held St. Kilda to one first-half goal and won by 56 points. It marked their 15th (and most recent) Premiership. Scott Pendlebury for the Magpies won the Norm Smith Medal.

Centimetre Perfect

TV commentator Dennis Cometti retired from calling AFL games at the close of the 2016 season. 

He's been a staple of Australian sports TV as well as Australian Rules Football telecasts for a long, long time. He was on the air for 17 Grand Finals, and had the mic as the siren sounded on the Western Bulldogs' first league title in 62 years at the end of the 2016 season. He broadcast his first game in 1971 and began his A-list TV career in 1986. 

His partnership with Bruce McAvaney is also the stuff of legend. They go back and forth seamlessly during a telecast. One knows when to jump in when the other stops, many times during the run of play. The Sydney/Western Bulldogs Grand Final was their 12th together.

Cometti also covered Olympic swimming in 1992, 1996, and 2000. He's delivered some signature moments at special times to generations of Australian sports fans, many of whom are the athletes themselves. 

There is a generation of AFL fans who don't know what the game is like without him. His past experience as a player and a coach added a lot of insight, and he started his on-air career in the early 70s when players didn't become on-air personalities like they do now.

As a new watcher of the game I sure found his high baritone voice helpful as he explained things more deeply. I know I always paid attention to what he said-- as much for how he said as for what he said. Centimetre perfect is one of his many signature one-liners. 

He's not completely stepping away from the game, just the travel. The man is 67 years old and says that part of things takes some of the fun out of it. I totally understand that, as it happens stateside a lot, especially in baseball when there is six months of travel involved. More veteran announcers will skip a road trip here and there to save some wear and tear on their bodies. 

Cometti says he'll sit in on some WAFL (Western Australia) broadcasts as a way of staying involved, perhaps injecting some commentary here and there. Perth is his hometown, so it makes a lot of sense since the league is based there. I guess once something is as much a part of you as footy is to Dennis, quitting cold turkey just doesn't make sense. I can't imagine he'll be too involved-- my thought is that he won't want to be the center of attention and to give others the same chance he got. 

Besides, the WAFL is where it all began for him, so this is a way of bringing it full circle.

The man sure has the respect of his peers and of his public.

Cheers, Dennis. And thanks.

History Lesson

So Mason Cox was back in the lineup for Collingwood. He managed to kick a couple of goals but his shoulder was wrapped pretty well and it was plain to see it was bothering him. The up and down season of the Pies continues with a 15-point loss to the Richmond Tigers, who are struggling this season. Last year Richmond had a big streak to close out the season, winning like their last nine to qualify for the postseason. They're not having similar fortune this season.

My other match of the week was the Western Bulldogs qualifying for the eight with a win over North Melbourne. The Kangaroos can still make it, but Western sealed their trip to the postseason. It's pretty remarkable work by the Bulldogs since they've lost a lot of players to injury this season, including their captain Robert Murphy very early in the season.

Last week I wrote about Matthew Pavlich and Brent Harvey, and I saw some St Kilda highlights the other day and another player was wearing the old #7 jumper that Lenny Hayes wore before retiring in 2014. Those things made me think about how AFL teams honor their great players of the past, because Hayes was prominent on those two hard-luck Saints teams in 2009-10 and it didn't take long for someone else to put on his old guernsey.

I get it that there are only so many to go around and that you can't retire everyone's number, hang them from the rafters, put them on the ring of honor or whatever. There are 18 AFL teams and many teams share different venues such as Etihad or the MCG. That makes it tough honor past players in any of those ways.

Geography plays a role, since in the area of Melbourne, Victoria, you have the teams Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon, Melbourne, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, and North Melbourne all within a very close proximity of one another. That's almost half of the 18 teams in the competition. A park for each of those sides isn't practical. In fact, I find it amazing that there's such strong fan support for teams that are so close geographically.

Stateside the situation is different. Teams don't share a venue unless it's a situation like the Seattle Seahawks/Sounders. In a league of X number of teams, there are X stadiums nationwide, so honoring past players by putting their names/numbers on display is easier. Each team gets to do their own thing.

I have noticed that individual AFL teams each do a great job of preserving histories on their own websites. There are a lot of 'teams of the century' from the older clubs, as well as naming of all players to wear a specific guernsey number, premiership seasons, and such. So it's nice to see these things told, retold, and preserved.

On tap for this week-- three weeks left in the 2016 home and away season. Geelong at Richmond, and North Melbourne at Hawthorn. The Hawks dropped one to Melbourne last week and are now just one game clear of four other sides at the top of the ladder. I saw one prediction list them as falling to fifth by the end of the season. Their percentage isn't as good as the teams below them, and they've got questions regarding injury and suspension. Should be fun.

Play on!

Brent Harvey and Matthew Pavlich

The two matches shown last week both involved milestone performances by two longtime champion footballers: North Melbourne/St. Kilda and Sydney at Fremantle.

We'll start with Kangaroos champion Brent Harvey who set the AFL record for career games played with 427. He is listed at 167 cm/77kg, or about 5 feet 8 inches tall, 170 pounds and plays on the forward line. Being that size, speed and accuracy are important parts of his game. He debuted in 1996 and has played in two Grand Finals, winning in 1999. Hawthorn's Michael Tuck held the previous record of 426 games before his retirement in 1991.

Harvey, at age 38, seems to think he can still play and contribute-- he sees 450 games as a possibility. Watching him zip through the middle of the field makes me think sure, why not? However Harvey is aware of the needs of the club and is loyal to the club when he understands it's not about him.

North defeated the Saints 85-62. Harvey kicked his only goal near the end of the game. The Saints needed to win to keep their hopes alive of finishing in the top 8.

Freo's Matthew Pavlich is 6'3" and 220 lbs (192 cm/99 kg) and is a center half-forward. He reached milestone game number 350 this past week. Matty Pavs was the Dockers' captain from 2007-15, and he's played in one Grand Final, falling to Hawthorn in 2013. His height is a major advantage when taking marks within range of goal. He's one of only 15 men in the history of the league (which dates back to 1897) to reach 350 games.

Pavlich's milestone was overshadowed by Harvey's. Didn't really matter much-- Freo stayed within shouting distance in the first half, but Sydney blew it wide open in the second, winning by 90 points. In listening to the commentators, it sounds like the retirement writing is on the wall for Matthew. It's weird, since at age 34 you'd think he's got a few more years left. Also a little sad that such a fine and versatile player has not hoisted a premiership trophy.

An individual player's milestone games seem to be more of a thing down under than they do here in the states. My thought is that we place a higher value on it when a coach does it, and more likely if it's a round (and big) number win. Maybe it has something to do with the number of games that are played. Here it's 82 (NBA), 162 (MLB), 16 (NFL), and 80 (NHL). These just don't seem to be numbers that lend themselves to milestone games, with the exception of the NFL, but that's slightly misleading, as the nature of the NFL leads to more injuries, missed games, and subsequent retirements.

So it's nice to see the AFL honor two of their all-time greats.

On the DVR this week: four weeks left in the 2016 home-and-away season. Collingwood/Richmond and North Melbourne is at the Western Bulldogs. The hot-and cold Magpies are in 12th position on the ladder, and Richmond laid an egg last week in a big loss to GWS.

North is in 8th position, three games clear of ninth place with four games to play. The Bulldogs are in 7th place with the same number of wins, but ahead of NMFC by virtue of a higher percentage. That ought to be a fun one.

This means the eight playoff sides are already in place, barring some unusual occurrences. First-place Hawthorn leads the field by two games. After that it's a mess. four teams are tied at 13 wins and three are knotted a game behind at 12 victories. So it'll be a wild ride, but it seems as though we know who the eight will be.

Round 9

I typically record two matches per week on Fox Sports 1 or 2 and watch them during the week, as mentioned. This week did not include the Richmond Tigers, a side that I've seen play several times this season.

The first game I watched was Sydney vs. Hawthorn, featuring two of the better sides in the AFL, and a rematch of the 2014 Grand Final, won by Hawthorn in a blowout. This game saw the Swans get a big lead early and keep their opponent at arm's length down the stretch. It was an entertaining affair. The Hawks have won the last three premierships so I knew they'd make a run and they did but fell short.

What I've noticed over time is the commentators' weird love affair with Lance "Buddy" Franklin, an outstanding Sydney player. Granted, he kicked a goal from 70 meters, but two weeks ago they showed footage and talked about one of the water boys smiling because he got to give the great Buddy a water bottle. Maybe the guy was just happy because Buddy just kicked a goal. I don't know. It just seems strange is all.

I also picked up West Coast at Port Adelaide. I like watching games at the Adelaide Oval because they show an old hand-operated cricket scoreboard in the background that has the match score. It seems to me that scoreboard (which is right next to a snazzy electric one) has been used for a long, long time and could tell a story or two.

West Coast, last year's premiership runner-up, has a hard time winning road games, and they had trouble putting away the Power after leading by 30+ in the second half. The Eagles did pick up the win and got the job done. Port will lose defender Tom Jonas to suspension for six matches after he struck Eagle Andrew Gaff with an elbow, knocking Gaff out for a few minutes.

So here is the ladder (standings) after nine rounds:

Top 8 teams make the postseason. The percentage column indicates the amount of points a team scores for every 100 points scored against it. Hawthorn, in 7th position, is winning but not by wide margins, as they're scoring 102.7 points for every 100 their opponent tallies. 

My DVR is already set to record North Melbourne at Sydney and Richmond/Essendon this week. I'm particularly looking forward to North/Sydney, which should be a good one.