Sitting on top of the ladder then lost last 4 games of the season to finish 5th & miss out on a double chance .

Lost the elimination final against Essendon who finished 8th!  
 

So Melbourne Like! 

We were plagued by injuries.

IIRC we lost one or more key players each of those last four games of the regular season

Beat the Baggers by over 100 points earlier in the season, only to lose to them in one of the last of those 4 games.

Shot ourselves in the foot big time that year.

  On 11/04/2020 at 07:57, Diamond_Jim said:

We were plagued by injuries.

IIRC we lost one or more key players each of those last four games of the regular season

As I said so Melbourne like.. the Injury  curse continues at any sniff of success eg 2019

  On 11/04/2020 at 07:57, Diamond_Jim said:

We were plagued by injuries.

IIRC we lost one or more key players each of those last four games of the regular season

I think we may have lost Neitz on the morning of that final against Essendon too- he plays, we’d probably win.  With that’s said we were a step below Saints, Lions and Power that year.  Geelong we’re running hot in the right time of the year too.

04, 05 and 06 were pretty similar stories; each year we faded badly in the final rounds and limped into the finals.

 

2006 we lost twice to Carlton who only won 3 games for the season. Win those two and we finish top 4 and dont have to travel to Perth for the semi final.

  On 11/04/2020 at 11:42, Dr. Gonzo said:

2006 we lost twice to Carlton who only won 3 games for the season. Win those two and we finish top 4 and dont have to travel to Perth for the semi final.

As I said so melb like 

  On 11/04/2020 at 09:32, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

I think we may have lost Neitz on the morning of that final against Essendon too- he plays, we’d probably win.  With that’s said we were a step below Saints, Lions and Power that year.  Geelong we’re running hot in the right time of the year too.

04, 05 and 06 were pretty similar stories; each year we faded badly in the final rounds and limped into the finals.

 

Strangely that sounds like the recent Geelong...

  On 11/04/2020 at 11:42, Dr. Gonzo said:

2006 we lost twice to Carlton who only won 3 games for the season. Win those two and we finish top 4 and dont have to travel to Perth for the semi final.

We were also leading Geelong by 38 points at one stage in the second last game of the year only to fall over the line with a draw. Win that one and just one of the Carlton games you pointed out and top 4 would’ve also been ours.

Losing to a pathetic Carlton in round 18 2006 was absolutely unforgivable and came from nowhere considering we’d gone 12-2 leading into the game.

  On 11/04/2020 at 09:32, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

I think we may have lost Neitz on the morning of that final against Essendon too- he plays, we’d probably win.  With that’s said we were a step below Saints, Lions and Power that year.  Geelong we’re running hot in the right time of the year too.

04, 05 and 06 were pretty similar stories; each year we faded badly in the final rounds and limped into the finals.

 

Those are my memories as well. In the end I  wasnt that disappointed we lost that elim to the bombers as it was suddenly obvious we werent going anywhere that year.  I remember being at the G when we easily beat Port Adelaide in  round 18? to  go to the top of the ladder and at that stage I thought we were good. But by the time the final came around it was clear that injuries and form has killed us. North were on the top of the ladder a couple of years ago at 9-0 and they were just an av team ....similar story I think. 

The great choke of 2004

It's a disgrace that we never managed a top 4 finish from 2002-2006, considering the list we had, and the way we predictably fell off a cliff at the end of each season.

2004 was probably our best shot. That said, we never really had a side capable of beating Brisbane/ Port/ St Kilda in a final. We were a team of honest tryers, with a handful of very good players - but I always felt we were 2-3 gun players short of the best teams. 

  On 12/04/2020 at 02:11, Wells 11 said:

I remember being at the G when we easily beat Port Adelaide in  round 18?

That was Hawthorn. We were belted by Port by 70 points the following week. We might have sat on top of the ladder, but we were a fair way off the pace.

Ahh...what a season! Went overseas just after the midway point of the season and it started splendidly. We thumped the ladder leading Saints by 10 goals and enjoyed another 3 weeks of listening to wins at ridiculous hours of the morning in Internet cafes. Came back just in time for 5 losing games. 

  On 12/04/2020 at 04:30, Dee Zephyr said:

Ahh...what a season! Went overseas just after the midway point of the season and it started splendidly. We thumped the ladder leading Saints by 10 goals and enjoyed another 3 weeks of listening to wins at ridiculous hours of the morning in Internet cafes. Came back just in time for 5 losing games. 

88 was similar if I recall in that we won the first 8 plus and then cratered but we recovered to sneak into the six? and then we all know what happened from there

I was in Europe for the first six odd weeks of the season and was amazed when in the Qantas lounge in Singapore on the way home to read of our success. Definitely no internet cafes in those days

Edited April 12, 20205 yr by Diamond_Jim

  On 12/04/2020 at 02:11, Wells 11 said:

Those are my memories as well. In the end I  wasnt that disappointed we lost that elim to the bombers as it was suddenly obvious we werent going anywhere that year.  I remember being at the G when we easily beat Port Adelaide in  round 18? to  go to the top of the ladder and at that stage I thought we were good. But by the time the final came around it was clear that injuries and form has killed us. North were on the top of the ladder a couple of years ago at 9-0 and they were just an av team ....similar story I think. 

We beat Hawks in round 18 2004 to go top of the ladder. The only time barracking for the Demons I can recall being top of the ladder that late in the season. Only other times I can recall were early in the season in 1990 (round 5) and 1994 (round 6) maybe.

  On 12/04/2020 at 05:44, Diamond_Jim said:

88 was similar if I recall in that we won the first 8 plus and then cratered but we recovered to sneak into the six? and then we all know what happened from there

I was in Europe for the first six odd weeks of the season and was amazed when in the Qantas lounge in Singapore on the way home to read of our success. Definitely no internet cafes in those days

Yeah we were 2nd or 3rd after round 16 1988 after smashing the Pies off the G and then lost 5 in a row. Had to beat Carlton in round 22 to sneak into the 5, had we lost the Bombers would've played finals. We lost to some average teams in 88 too, Saints at Moorabbin (wooden spooners), Richmond late in the season, Bulldogs and Swans at the G. I reckon we did the same thing throughout the Northey years too, there was always a run of games mid-late season that cost us a double chance. Actually a similar thing happened in 94 too under Balme, can't remember about 98.

Edited April 12, 20205 yr by Dr. Gonzo

  On 11/04/2020 at 11:42, Dr. Gonzo said:

2006 we lost twice to Carlton who only won 3 games for the season. Win those two and we finish top 4 and dont have to travel to Perth for the semi final.

2004 and 2006 a complete waste, always faded against the better teams, eg W.C, Crows, Syd.

Edited April 12, 20205 yr by Win4theAges

  On 12/04/2020 at 05:49, Dr. Gonzo said:

Yeah we were 2nd or 3rd after round 16 1988 after smashing the Pies off the G and then lost 5 in a row. Had to beat Carlton in round 22 to sneak into the 5, had we lost the Bombers would've played finals. We lost to some average teams in 88 too, Saints at Moorabbin (wooden spooners), Richmond late in the season, Bulldogs and Swans at the G. I reckon we did the same thing throughout the Northey years too, there was always a run of games mid-late season that cost us a double chance. Actually a similar thing happened in 94 too under Balme, can't remember about 98.

1998 we really struggled through the middle of the season.  Had heaps of injuries and then when the senior men came back in we strung a few together towards seasons end and the final game of the season we were comfortably in the 8 but a chance for 4th if we could beat the Tigers, who were playing for a spot in the finals.  We smoked them, the Bombers got 8th, the Tigers finished in their then usual spot of 9th and we ended up 4th.  Unfortunately under that finals system it didn't carry the same advantages as the present system.  We were stiff in 98 - we were the only team to beat the eventual Premiers in that finals series.

1990 was our year and really the one we let slip.  We won 16 games - a very high number to finish only 4th (in the final year of the old final five) and but for a terrible hiding we got against North Melbourne we would have been outright second.  We beat Essendon (top) twice; we beat the Eagles in Perth; we beat Hawthorn in successive weeks including the Elimination Final, to end their run of successive GF's (1983-1989, then back in 1991) and we had ended Collingwood's finals series in 1988 and 1989.  We really were probably the best side in the comp in 1990 but a shocking performance in the semi final against the Eagles, after the enforced week off because of the Collingwood/Eagles draw and an injury during training to our 1990 Band F G.Lyon, ended any hopes of the breakthrough.  Northey was a great coach but I reckon he'd think 1990 was really the one that got away.  Of our 5 consecutive years of finals under him, I think we maxed ourselves out in all of them but 1990.

  On 12/04/2020 at 07:48, Swooper1987 said:

Northey was a great coach but I reckon he'd think 1990 was really the one that got away.  Of our 5 consecutive years of finals under him, I think we maxed ourselves out in all of them but 1990.

Agree... That of course was the year Collingwood broke their premiership drought. There was no outstanding team and it was ours for the taking.

While I definitely feel like that period we shot ourselves in the foot plenty of times against lower teams it was also a classic case of missing that ingredient you can’t actually plan/prepare for: luck. 

We seemed to always lose players towards the end of the season that we were critical to our chances. 

We definitely choked on a golden chance to finish top 4 that year though. 

Seems to be the way of the MFC.

  On 12/04/2020 at 07:48, Swooper1987 said:

1998 we really struggled through the middle of the season.  Had heaps of injuries and then when the senior men came back in we strung a few together towards seasons end and the final game of the season we were comfortably in the 8 but a chance for 4th if we could beat the Tigers, who were playing for a spot in the finals.  We smoked them, the Bombers got 8th, the Tigers finished in their then usual spot of 9th and we ended up 4th.  Unfortunately under that finals system it didn't carry the same advantages as the present system.  We were stiff in 98 - we were the only team to beat the eventual Premiers in that finals series.

1990 was our year and really the one we let slip.  We won 16 games - a very high number to finish only 4th (in the final year of the old final five) and but for a terrible hiding we got against North Melbourne we would have been outright second.  We beat Essendon (top) twice; we beat the Eagles in Perth; we beat Hawthorn in successive weeks including the Elimination Final, to end their run of successive GF's (1983-1989, then back in 1991) and we had ended Collingwood's finals series in 1988 and 1989.  We really were probably the best side in the comp in 1990 but a shocking performance in the semi final against the Eagles, after the enforced week off because of the Collingwood/Eagles draw and an injury during training to our 1990 Band F G.Lyon, ended any hopes of the breakthrough.  Northey was a great coach but I reckon he'd think 1990 was really the one that got away.  Of our 5 consecutive years of finals under him, I think we maxed ourselves out in all of them but 1990.

Yep that's how I see it too. We beat bombers at the G and Windy Hill, Eagles at the G and at Subi, Hawks in back to back weeks to knock them out of the finals. The Pies creamed us earlier in the year but as you say we had the wood on them in Finals. I agree, 1990 the one that got away and was probably the one that was up for grabs competition wide. Yeah the team wasn't star studded but then the Pies won with Starcevich at CHF and no big name Full forward.

1990 is one of the reasons I really hate West Coast, knocked us out in 90, 91, 94 and then in 2018. Can't stand the arrogant [censored]. Hated Hawthorn too for 87 and 88 but I admire what they've achieved despite my hate for them. West coast? Nup

 

Edited April 12, 20205 yr by Dr. Gonzo

Been watching a few clips lately like most and came across this the other day. 

Remembering the good bits. Round 2, 2004.

 

Edited April 12, 20205 yr by Dee Zephyr

  On 12/04/2020 at 08:00, Win4theAges said:

Seems to be the way of the MFC.

Monkey on the back.  Our backs.

WE,  have to lose this MfcSS.   It holds us down,  face under water.   Via our own hands.

  On 11/04/2020 at 22:50, Bring-Back-Powell said:

We were also leading Geelong by 38 points at one stage in the second last game of the year only to fall over the line with a draw. Win that one and just one of the Carlton games you pointed out and top 4 would’ve also been ours.

Losing to a pathetic Carlton in round 18 2006 was absolutely unforgivable and came from nowhere considering we’d gone 12-2 leading into the game.

Was there that day.  It was a front row seat to Gary Ablett starting to realise his potential.  He single handedly tore us apart in the second half and showed that he was capable of being more than a flashy half-forward.