That loss against WB will forever stay in my mind like it was yesterday. I was shattered as a little kid. The worst part as a supporter is that season was the last time we’d see Essendon being a top contender for the next 20+ years.. these days I’m barley hanging on to backing the dons. They’ve just let me down so many times the past 20 years. Happy to see we are hanging on this season though, it’s about friggen time
Essendon were playing a different game to everyone else in the comp that year. It was stunning to watch. Good on T Wallace and his team to pick them apart.
Coaches used to pack the backline back in the 1960’s that I recall & no doubt long before so I’m a bit lost about your central proposition. Lots of work in n this video and it takes me back to an era where Essendon were a top team bundled out of contention in 1999 & North Melbourne beat Carlton in the grand final. It’s been pretty lean for the Roos since.
Forms of flooding did exist in the 60s as user etc. mentioned. Having witnessed some games where this tactic was adopted I must make this point. It wasn't a tactic employed for the whole game. The tactic usually arose when a team was kicking into a strong wind trying to protect a meagre three quarter time lead.
@@grantadam7674 True. You would expect it as a tactic to stop scoring or used to arrest momentum against you. If the team get's a run of 3 goals against you, flood the defense to stem the flow and try to counter punch against the tide.
If true than this is the game that destroyed football. No more forwards kicking 10 goals, no more teams averaging 100 points per game. We live in a shit era.
The game was won by 11 pts in the end. Rohan Smith marked the ball just before the final siren, he went back and took his kick and scored a goal after the final siren
I think future historians of Australian football will pinpoint this game as the beginning of the end of AFL football. The game has been slowly becoming more and more boring and unwatchable since flooding has been used as a tactic. Eventually more and more people will give up on it. It’s not the game it used to be.
Totally disagree with your analysis. I covered this topic a few months ago. Bombers lost this game for themselves. They committed about 15 silly errors in last qtr with Fletcher being a massive culprit kicking it straight to the opposition several times. Lloyd dislocated finger went off for 10 mins and being held by Croft in that last play. West throwing the ball in the last minute. There was no flood in the last qtr, WB dropped loose man a few times and J Johnson didn't look up and see Moorcroft. Rama kicking straight up in the air, Lucas playing on instead of kicking long, Solomon cute kick turnover. If Lloyd goaled from set shot, would have put Bombers up 27pts and likely iced the game. WB were a good side in 2000 having beaten Carlton twice, Melbourne, Kangaroos & now Essendon, all top 4 sides. WB already played loose man in defence years earlier, check out 1997 R20 Adel vs WB, Wynd drops back in the hole all day and they beat the Crows at footy park. Floods didn't really become a thing until 2006, highlighted by Richmond playing the most boring game of all against the Crows.
Correct, Essendon were 4 goals up in the last quarter when the Bulldogs abondoned the flood and started playing attacking footy. All the flood did was prevent the Bulldogs being 10 goals down by 3/4 time. Also, Sheedy did little to combat the flood knowing a loss wasn't the worst thing for the team.
@@andrewleanestateagent2750 This. The previous week Essendon nearly lost to Sydney, who were missing a ruckman and didn't even make the finals. Sheedy's comments in the preceding weeks suggested he wouldn't be "surprised" if the Bombers dropped a game in the run home. Wily old fox.
After this game the afl changed the rule that meant there was 6 in each zone which is the set up in today's game hence this game changed the game forever
@dmajestic80 Exactly. The 666 rule was a result of an era when it was hard to move ball quickly at any part of the ground. Both sides would form huge loose packs around the ball. Just winning the ball became the objective rather than moving it on quickly. Games got very boring due to low scoring. I think the 666 rule helped, but the game evolved as well and then teams recovered the art of getting a run on, when they could bang on five goals in a row. Games opened up again and scores returned to normal.
