Is anyone prepared to…

[mjp]

…rank the 10 best moments of the 2016 prelim?

I wanted to start a poll…but where do you start.

My vote for #1 is the Daniel goal (and the lead up passage of play) on 3/4 time.

Or maybe Smith’s first goal when he is involved on the wing and follows up.

Or maybe the Bont fend off (vs Wilson) then handball to Zaine…right foot snap…goal.

Or maybe the Dickson one hander 20m in front.

Or…

Whatcha got??

[Mofra]

...or the commentators talking up Wood's marking ability early in the game, only for him to take a hangar 10 seconds later.

... and the crowd sound of "yeaaaahhhh' when Bont kicks a goal late in Q4 while BT screams 'to hit the front, to hit the front' (great run by JJ to get the ball and kick to him)

[EasternWest]

1. Boyd's toepoke and play
2. Clay's hit on Griffen/Clay's first half.
3. Stringer's cross kick
4. Knee of God
5. Libba's kick out the back
6. Macrae's wobble goal
7. Wood's hanger
8. Devon Smith spudding it up
9. Lobb's very early audition.
10. T Boyd's toughness to gut it out without Roughead.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

Heath Shaw’s tantrums

[chef]

The booing when the Giants ran out. Removed any thought this was a home final.

[Mat Lyons]

TOP 40 Bulldog Moments of the 2016 Finals Series…Enjoy the countdown!

**The magnificent moment that didn't make the cut: Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Johannisen unleashes a rocket, fittingly, from upon the Bulldog emblem outside the 50 metre arc. Tears flow as the crowd and JJ believe the second premiership may indeed be on it’s way to Barlky Street, until the goal umpire and technology conspire to threaten to continue the drought curse. The Football Gods however had other ideas, as the list below, and Bulldog history tells us…

40. Q1 Elimination Final Vs West Coast, Daniel’s one-step long bomb goal, as Bulldog supporters around the country shuffle nervously on their sofas, allowing themselves for the first time, to consider that we may not be just making up the numbers…

39. Q1 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Wood’s ice-cool Captainly conversion to open the account after Dunkley’s craftily executed centring cross.

38. Q2 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Smith’s instinctual roving off the pack and adrenaline-pumping curly snap for his fourth major

37. Q1 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Wood’s fierce commitment to spoil a mark where Hunter’s opportunistic roving and lace-out pass finds Dickson. He expertly sends the ball over the goal umpire’s hat to give the Bulldogs the lead for the first time in a Grand Final since the third quarter of the 1961 decider.

36. Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Tom Boyd’s enormous pack mark at halfback, splits his opponents and teammates in half and has the punters howling in the aisles

35. Q3 Elimination Final Vs West Coast, Daniel’s mid-air steal and shimmy, before releasing inside 50 to Dunkley for a major

34. Q2 Grand Final Vs Sydney, McLean’s round-house snap to keep the Bulldogs in touch with seconds remaining before half time

33. Q1 Elimination Final Vs West Coast, Picken’s three-touch mark in heavy traffic, and conversion to goal

32. Q3 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Roughead’s enormousl vice-like mark inside 50 and centre-splitting goal

31. Q4 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Bontempelli’s intercept from Hodge and assist to Dickson for a major

30. Q4 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Picken’s rolling, snaking punt for a goal to end the Premier’s title defense

29. Q2 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Hamling’s contested mark having outpointed Franklin, to save the day at the last line of defence

28. Q3 Elimination Final Vs West Coast, Tom Boyd’s head-first battering-ram escape from a clutch of tackles, before releasing to Smith for a magnificent goal

27. Q1 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Smith’s follow up from his own clearance to run onto a Cordy assist and smash home the game’s opener

26. Q3 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Smith’s centring ball to Dickson for a one-handed slips catch and conversion

25. Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Roughead's mighty momentum halting mark following Johannisen's goal review, which demanded the cruel footy gods to back off, and to signal that the weight of ill-fated history was about to change.

24. Q3 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Liberatore’s scoop to Bontempelli for a goal to elicit Bruce’s throaty tones – “Of course it’s him!”

23. Q3 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Morris’ desperate smother on Kennedy to prevent a certain goal, typifying the tenacity of the 2016 breed

22. Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Wood's second effort after winning a vital contest at half back, to follow up with a brutal and rugged bump on Hanneberry to effectively end the play-maker's day and hand a significant advantage to his team, as only a skipper can.

21. Q3 Elimination Final Vs West Coast, Picken’s glorious contested mark against two defenders, and goal conversion

20. Q3 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Jack-in-the-box Stringer’s leap-frogging right foot snap from the pocket for his third goal and trademark horizontal-arm celebration

19. Q3 Elimination Final Vs West Coast, Roughead’s contested grab, turn and magnificent running, long goal

18. Q2 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Picken’s courage against the flight to mark and absorb all the impact that the Hawk army could muster, before rising immediately from the canvas, unrattled and itching for more

17. Q2 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Hunter’s over-the-head handball pinpointing Picken for a bending classic goal and exemplifying the class and success of the now-famour 'Bulldog handball club'

16. Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Stringer’s mercurial goal from within the tight dimensions of a phone-box, to give every hopeful dreamer, belief that the unthinkable may happen

15. Q2 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Bontempelli’s matrix-like side-step and pass to Tom Boyd who marks down low and squeezes home a left foot snap

14. Q1 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Wood’s sky-scraping hanger on centre wing in front of the adoring and frothing Bulldog-faithful

13. Q1 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Cordy’s bone-crunching tackle and subsequent goal from the boundary to register a goal – and our first score – at precisely 19:54 on the clock. Charlie and Ted, thank you for your helping hand.

12. Q2 Semi Final Vs Hawthorn, Bontempelli’s chesty nudge when confronted by Hodge, epic mark and goal

11. Q1 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Dickson’s second effort to recover after almost hauling in a classic one hander, to rise to his feet and beat three opponents to jet through a magnificent goal

10. Q3 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Morris’ slide and gather against all odds to extract the leather from his opponent’s grasp and move the ball forward, where Smith put the cherry on top

9. Q4 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Bulldog team defensive effort between Wood, Hamling and Roberts to clear the ball from certain-death, enabling Smith to see the ball over the boundary with less than two minutes remaining

8. Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Picken’s elegantly iconic, soaring mark from behind, that reminded us all of dad Billy, as pubs across the country roared in approval

7. Q4 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Bontempelli’s deft tap to Liberatore and pinpoint transition to Macrae 30 metres out, to extract the lead from the Giants for the final, magnificent time

6. Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Picken charging into an open goal with the glorious backdrop of the red, white and blue army roaring victoriously as the dam wall was obliterated

5. Q4 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Matt Boyd’s hack out of mid-air landing with Johannisen who embarked on a kamakazi dash through the Orange Sea, to steer a kick in the path of Bontempelli for a majestic Bulldog goal

4. Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, Biggs’ extraordinary five-peat individual involvement in 30 seconds of manic and relentless finals footy results in Picken ramming home an enormous goal

3. Q3 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, the extraordinary, rabid, relentless, pressure-packed transition from Tom Boyd to Dunkley, to Bontempelli with ferocious tackling support from Dickson, to the wrenching Liberatore to Stringer, whose parry to Dahlhaus and inside 50 entry results in Smith’s head on collision allowing the ball to ricochet to Daniel for perhaps the hardest-earnt team goal in Bulldog final’s history, as Brian Taylor declares “Goal! Play of the year!!”

2. Q4 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Stringer’s cross to Dickson with 30 seconds remaining seals the deal and sends the tri-colours into their first Grand Final since before the moon landing

1. And the GREATEST MOMENT of them all?...Q4 Grand Final Vs Sydney, despite his broken back, Sir Dale Morris charges down footballing Goliath, Lance Franklin allowing the soon-to-be immortal figure,Tom Boyd, to press the red button, launching a Bulldog Atomic Bomb skyward, scoring a direct hit that paid his salary in one thunderous blow and sent the engraver to collect his tools to etch our name onto the most glorious cup on the planet!

[soupman]

The Bont goal is probably my favourite football moment ever, so that. Just seeing it unfold, and knowing what was gonna happen, and the eruption of the crowd as it did was so beautiful.

But the 30 seconds after the siren wins on a personal level. We had about 14 of us in our group, and everyone was ecstatic. The outpouring of emotion...relief, excitement, happiness. As an extended family that had done all the hard yards, had had so many moments of "when will it be our turn", had gone every week every year, and had gambled on being there for that very exact moment, it was amazing. I distinctly remember having to run across about 12 seats to get to the bay across behind celebrating people so I could hug my sister and the rest of the our group. And seeing Dad and my uncle both in tears. And having Easton Wood run over to us and give my partner a footy.

Honestly if i could replay a minute of my life that would probably be it, or maybe I'd split it 5050 (3030?) with the Bont goal.

[mjp]

3. Q3 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, the extraordinary, rabid, relentless, pressure-packed transition from Tom Boyd to Dunkley, to Bontempelli with ferocious tackling support from Dickson, to the wrenching Liberatore to Stringer, whose parry to Dahlhaus and inside 50 entry results in Smith’s head on collision allowing the ball to ricochet to Daniel for perhaps the hardest-earnt team goal in Bulldog final’s history, as Brian Taylor declares “Goal! Play of the year!!”

2. Q4 Preliminary Final Vs GWS, Stringer’s cross to Dickson with 30 seconds remaining seals the deal and sends the tri-colours into their first Grand Final since before the moon landing

OK - I'm trying to put a line through any non-prelim stuff ('cos it's my thread and I'll do what I want) and given that I need serious justification as to how the Stringer kick - which sealed a game I guess but it was basically OVER - is better than the Daniel goal...on the siren with the Giants coming hard at us and the game on the line...it gave us last q momentum and (I think) was the most crucial passage of play all day.

So HOW is the Stringer goal rated above the Daniel goal??

The list is great btw but we should strip out all of the stuff from the West Coast, Hawthorn and Sydney games and focus instead on the best game ever player...the prelim vs the Orange.

[EasternWest]

OK - I'm trying to put a line through any non-prelim stuff ('cos it's my thread and I'll do what I want) and given that I need serious justification as to how the Stringer kick - which sealed a game I guess but it was basically OVER - is better than the Daniel goal...on the siren with the Giants coming hard at us and the game on the line...it gave us last q momentum and (I think) was the most crucial passage of play all day.

So HOW is the Stringer goal rated above the Daniel goal??

The list is great btw but we should strip out all of the stuff from the West Coast, Hawthorn and Sydney games and focus instead on the best game ever player...the prelim vs the Orange.

I know you didn't quote me but I put Daniel's goal above Stringer's cross. But I understand why people might put that moment up so high.

For me Stringer's kick was like a pressure relief valve finally blowing and all the pent up years of bleh were washed away. I know it's fatalist, but him kicking that to Dickson meant there would be zero seconds - none - nada - zilch - left in the game for us to find a way to lose.

He takes a potshot there and there's still at least three second left in the game for us to conjure a way to lose.

[EasternWest]

The booing when the Giants ran out. Removed any thought this was a home final.

But it was a home final. Just not theirs.

[mjp]

I know you didn't quote me but I put Daniel's goal above Stringer's cross. But I understand why people might put that moment up so high.

The Stringer kick ==> Dickson point is not top 10.

I would say the Smith goal from Q1 is CLEARLY ahead of it. The Bont fend-off to Cordy goal, the Boyd toe poke...I could keep going. An under-rated one (and I can picture the kick and mark but not the kicker though I THINK it was Liber) was the over the back mark to Macrae with Haynes coming back but too late to effect the spoil...I'm sure that came out of a BTI with Liber having a couple of involvements but can't remember if he dished it off or kicked it.

I don't know why I've been thinking about this game so much today...I don't think I've watched it for over 12-months...

It is hard to define the joy of watching the footy during 2015 and then again in the 2016 finals when the boys were playing a united style of footy...I guess the Brisbane game in 2021 showed it's still there somewhere (and that Bailey Smith has TRUE GRIT) but all of the effort based losses since 2017 have really pushed those memories to the back of my mind...it's hard to forget though that once upon a time - and it wasn't that long ago really (but longer than I'd like) when you would go to the footy/turn on the game and just know that no matter what happened, it wasn't going to be effort/energy that cost us the result.

[Sedat]

8. Devon Smith spudding it up.

I'd have a Jeremy Cameron highlight in the list as well but I couldn't find one.

[Grantysghost]

The Stringer kick ==> Dickson point is not top 10.

I would say the Smith goal from Q1 is CLEARLY ahead of it. The Bont fend-off to Cordy goal, the Boyd toe poke...I could keep going. An under-rated one (and I can picture the kick and mark but not the kicker though I THINK it was Liber) was the over the back mark to Macrae with Haynes coming back but too late to effect the spoil...I'm sure that came out of a BTI with Liber having a couple of involvements but can't remember if he dished it off or kicked it.

I don't know why I've been thinking about this game so much today...I don't think I've watched it for over 12-months...

It is hard to define the joy of watching the footy during 2015 and then again in the 2016 finals when the boys were playing a united style of footy...I guess the Brisbane game in 2021 showed it's still there somewhere (and that Bailey Smith has TRUE GRIT) but all of the effort based losses since 2017 have really pushed those memories to the back of my mind...it's hard to forget though that once upon a time - and it wasn't that long ago really (but longer than I'd like) when you would go to the footy/turn on the game and just know that no matter what happened, it wasn't going to be effort/energy that cost us the result.

Maybe not in a highlight sense, but in a history of the Footscray Football Club sense it's probably number 1 for me. It's the moment I actually believed we might just win it all.

[Mofra]

Maybe not in a highlight sense, but in a history of the Footscray Football Club sense it's probably number 1 for me. It's the moment I actually believed we might just win it all.

Yeah. "Jeez, if even Jake is being unselfish we're a chance" seemed to be my thoughts as well.

[jazzadogs]

Patton and Cameron laughing in Boyd's face when Lobb outmarked him in the goal square is retrospectively a highlight, just for the way the big s?!*-eating grins were wiped off not long after.