Enjoy The Ride

[Bulldog4life]

Big comebacks have happened in Grand Finals, Preliminary Finals as well as throughout the year.

Here are some that might interest you all: Some good teams were on the receiving end.

1. Carlton v Collingwood -- Grand Final, 1970

The Blues came from 44 points down at half-time to win by 10 points. This may not have been the biggest comeback of all time but it happened on the competition’s biggest stage, involved the game’s most traditional rivals and took place in front of the biggest crowd ever to attend a match. As such, it is undeniably the most memorable comeback in VFL/AFL history. For much of the game, the Magpies looked set to break their 12-year premiership drought, but the Blues conjured a remarkable victory on the back of coach Ron Barassi’s half-time
edict (“handball, handball, handball”), inspired performances from Alex Jesaulenko, Brent Crosswell and David McKay, and reserve Ted Hopkins’ four second-half goals.

2. Essendon v Adelaide -- Preliminary Final, 1993

The Bombers came from 42 points down at half-time to win by 11 points. Again, this comeback rates so highly not because of the margin the Bombers overcame, but because it happened in the heat of a do-or-die final. Inspired by the brilliance of Michael Long, Gary O’Donnell’s relentless drive in the midfield and two late goals from Tim Watson, the Bombers rammed on 11 goals to the Crows’ two in the second half. The ‘Baby Bombers’ carried that momentum into the Grand Final, where they jumped Carlton from the opening bounce and waltzed to a 44-point win.

3. Essendon v North Melbourne -- Round 16, 2001

The Bombers came from a record 69 points down at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter to win by 12 points. This is the biggest comeback in the VFL/AFL’s 114-year history. In the absence of their skipper Wayne Carey, the Kangaroos had ambushed the ladder-leading Bombers with a 12-goal first quarter, and looked home when they kicked the first two goals of the second term. However, the Bombers, led by midfielder Jason Johnson and spearhead Matthew Lloyd (nine goals), then rattled on 25 goals to North’s 11 to escape with a most unlikely victory. At the time, the Bombers -- three games clear at the top of the ladder and seemingly headed for back-to-back flags -- seemed invincible.

4. Collingwood v St Kilda -- Round 10, 1970

The Magpies came from 60 points down at the 27-minute mark of the second quarter to win by seven points. As we know, Collingwood was on the wrong end of the League’s most celebrated comeback in the 1970 Grand Final, but earlier that season it produced an even bigger comeback of its own. To put it in context: in Essendon’s record comeback of 2001, the Bombers had screamed back to within 21 points of North Melbourne at half-time, but the Magpies were still 10 goals behind the Saints just before half-time in this game; and they were up against a strong St Kilda side that would finish the season in third place. However, the Magpies steamrolled the Saints with a 12-goals-to-four second half. Peter McKenna and Wayne Richardson both bagged five goals.

5. St Kilda v Sydney -- Round 7, 1994

The Saints came from 48 points down at the seven-minute mark of the final quarter to win by one point. No other team has been so far down so late in a match and won, as the Saints did on this memorable Sunday at the SCG. And they could largely thank one man -- Tony Lockett. The champion spearhead was at his dominant best that afternoon, kicking 11 goals as the Saints piled on eight last-quarter goals to snatch a win. Earlier, Lockett had cleaned up Peter Caven in a clash that subsequently earned him an eight-match suspension. The two became teammates for a season when Lockett moved to the Swans in 1995.

6. Brisbane v Hawthorn -- Round 16, 1995

The Bears came back from 51 points down at the 25-minute mark of the third quarter to win by seven points. This was one of those great wins that turned a club’s season around. In Robert Walls’s last year as coach, the Bears were in familiar territory down near the bottom of the ladder, in 14th, after round 15, 1995. But on a warm July day at the Gabba -- the Hawks moved their three-quarter time huddle into some shade -- the Bears, inspired by Michael Voss, piled on nine goals to the Hawks’ one in the final quarter to claim an upset victory. They carried on
that momentum, winning six of their next seven games to make the finals for the first time in their eight-year history.

7. Hawthorn v Geelong -- Round 6, 1989
The Hawks came from 56 points down at the 28-minute mark of the second quarter to win by eight points. This match pitted the powerhouse sides of 1989 against each other -- the reigning premier, Hawthorn, and the emerging challenger, Geelong. The Cats had the ‘champs’ on the ropes for most of the first half, kicking a remarkable 17 goals to half-time, with Gavin Exell ultimately finishing the game with nine majors. However, the Hawks proved they were equally at home in a shootout, kicking 17 goals of their own in the second half to remind the Cats of the League pecking order. The move of Gary Ayres from defence into the centre was instrumental in the Hawks’ win, while Dermott Brereton and Gary Buckenara both kicked five goals.

8. West Coast v Geelong -- Round 10, 2006

The Eagles came back from 54 points down at the 18-minute mark of the third quarter to win by three points. Any Cats fans will tell you 2006 was not a good year for Geelong. However, on this day, the Cats looked like claiming the scalp of ladder-leader -- and eventual premier -- West Coast, when they held a nine-goal lead on their home turf more than halfway through the third quarter. To make matters worse for the Eagles, they had gone into the game without injured superstar Chris Judd. Not that they needed to worry. Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr (both 31 possessions) combined beautifully with ruckman Dean Cox to get the Eagles home.

9. Geelong v Carlton -- Preliminary Final, 1931

The Cats came from 47 points down at quarter-time to win by six points. At first glance, the size and timing of this comeback don’t demand its inclusion on this list. The margin is only equal-20th on the League’s biggest comeback list. And the fact the Blues had established their lead by quarter-time, gave the Cats plenty of time to get back into the match -- indeed, they’d hit the front by three points at half-time. However, the circumstances of the Cats’ revival make up for these factors. They were scoreless at quarter-time, it was a preliminary final and it set them up to claim the premiership the following week, when they defeated Richmond by 20 points. The Cats also almost kicked themselves out of the game in a tense last term, with 1.7.

10. Hawthorn v St Kilda -- Round 12, 1999

The Hawks came from 63 points down at the five-minute mark of the second quarter to win by 13 points. This stood for more than two years as the VFL/AFL’s biggest comeback and remains the second biggest. The Saints jumped the Hawks with a nine-goals-to-one first term and then added the first two goals of the second quarter. However, the Hawks then kicked 16 of the next 19 goals to run over the top of the Saints, with Shane Crawford (26 possessions) and Nick Holland (five goals) leading the way.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/foo...-1226142924061

[firstdogonthemoon]

It is clearly time for Bevo to go.

Alright maybe not.

In all seriousness I will never be able to accept a loss to the Saints ever. But that's just me.

However... If you had come to me in January and said we will be 4 and 1 and then have an extremely educational loss to a hated foe I would have been first in line. And also laughed at you.

I remain extremely enthusiastic. If we come close to Freo that will be amazing and I will be "ok" with losing that one as well. We are really building something here.

[Twodogs]

Well said Comrade. It's not all doom and gloom.

[comrade]

Well said Comrade. It's not all doom and gloom.

It's not even close to doom and gloom.

[chef]

It's not even close to doom and gloom.

Yep. It's the complete opposite.

[Maddog37]

At this point we have beaten three of the top five and beaten another one of them convincingly in the NAB challenge.

[Go_Dogs]

At this point we have beaten three of the top five and beaten another one of them convincingly in the NAB challenge.

That's a pretty reasonable sounding stat, isn't it.

Another big challenge against the best of the bunch this week.