It was, in a word, mayhem. Fans of the then Brisbane Bears had invaded the field to celebrate a fantastic come-from-behind win over Footscray at Carrara. Except there was one big problem. The game hadn’t finished.
It was Round 8 1988 and, with the Brisbane Lions originally due to play the Western at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, this unforgettable drama headlines episode two of our special coronavirus pandemic flashback series.
For as long as the AFL competition is in limbo lions.com.au will look back at home-and-away highlights of the club’s record against the scheduled opponent each round.
The man in the middle of the mayhem at Carrara 32 years ago was Footscray star Simon Beasley, the 1985 Coleman Medalist and full forward in the Footscray Team of the Century.
Unbeknown to the Carrara fans invading the field, Beasley had taken a lunging chest mark a split second before the final siren. And with the Dogs two points down, he had a kick after the siren to win the game.
Beasley, who had kicked seven goals straight to keep his side in it, shaped as the difference between the sides until an early ‘repayment’ from high-priced Bears recruit Warwick Capper.
In his seventh game for the Bears, Capper delivered on the huge transfer fee Bears owner Christopher Skase had paid to lure him from the Sydney Swans when he slotted an angled 15m set shot from the boundary line.
It turned out to be the match-winner, but only after five minutes of high drama before Beasley took his last kick. And missed.
Even Bears coach Peter Knights, who described the episode as “a total disaster”, was on the playing arena at the time Beasley took his kick, 10m away with a perfect view.
Like the fans, Knights jumped with joy as Beasley sliced his kick to the right.
Knights later appealed for less spectator zest after it was revealed that umpire Bryan Sheehan had threatened to award Footscray a 15m penalty that would have put Beasley in the goal square if any more fans had run across his path.
Beasley, speaking later on Melbourne radio, said Sheehan had offered him ‘three or four minutes’ but he felt comfortable taking his kick.
Footscray officials were less diplomatic. General Manager Dennis Galimberti questioned whether the Bears’ security priorities were VIPs or players.
“The Bears have a number of people guarding this pavilion. Perhaps they should divert some of those to crowd control and re-think their priorities,” Galimberti said.
Bears fans celebrated deliriously for a second time when Beasley missed, but still it was several seconds before the result was official as the goal umpire battled to find a clear path through the hoards to see the umpire and signal a behind.
The final score was Brisbane 10-12 (72) to Footscray 9-17 (71). And one of the club’s famous victories over the Dogs was in the bag.
It was one of 23 wins Brisbane have had over the Bulldogs in 56 meetings. It was 4-13 in the Bears era to the Dogs, and has gone 19-20 to the Dogs since the merger.
WELCOME SWOOPER!
In their first 15 meetings with the Dogs the Bears had won only twice and had never kicked 100 points. Until Round 1 1996 and the first game under coach John “Swooper” Northey.
Northey, former coach of Sydney, Melbourne and Richmond, had taken over from Robert Walls, who had retired after five years at the helm in which he took the club to the finals for their first time in his last game in 1995.
Confidence was high at the Gabba as the young side, captained by Roger Merrett, looked to build on the momentum of the previous season.
Queensland football favorite Danny Dickfos made his debut with West Australian draftee Troy Johnson as the Bears hosted a Footscray side which had finished seventh in ’95.
It was one-way traffic from the first bounce in front of a Saturday night Gabba crowd of 14,222.
The home side led at every change and won 21-15 (141) to 7-12 (54). Not only was it their first triple figure score against the team from the west of Melbourne but it was a win which 24 years later remains the club’s biggest against the Dogs.
Shaun Hart kicked an equal career-best five goals in his 83rd game, and Alastair Lynch, returning to football after missing all but Round 1 of the 1995 season with Chronic Fatigue, kicked four.
A 20-year-old Michael Voss had 33 possessions in his 56th game and picked up three Brownlow Medal votes to kick off a campaign which by the end of the season would see him share the game’s highest honour with Essendon’s James Hird.
It was a Brisbane side which included eight players who five years later would be a crucial part of the club’s first premiership side – Voss, Lynch, Hart, Marcus Ashcroft, Chris Scott, Nigel Lappin, Craig McRae and Darryl White.
FIRST GAME UNDER THE ROOF
In Round 2 2000 the Brisbane Lions made an historic first visit to what was then known as Colonial Stadium, Australia’s first football stadium with a roof and more recently the potential financial savior of the game during the coronavirus pandemic.
It was Sunday night, 19 March. The Lions were to play the third game at the venue against the Western Bulldogs.
Ten days earlier Essendon had christened the magnificent new stadium with a 94-point win over Port Adelaide.
As the Lions had a familiarization session at the ground the day before the game the roof was a point of fascination with the players. Could they hit it? What would happen if they did?
They need not have bothered. Nobody could get close.
For a time it looked like the Lions wouldn’t get close either the following night. With the roof closed, they trailed the Dogs 2-2 to 7-2 at quarter-time and were 35 points down four minutes into the second term.
But they kicked 17 of the next 22 goals to win 21-13 (139) to 17-8 (110), repeating their 1999 semi-final win over the Dogs and atoning for a poor 40-point loss to Carlton at Princes Park in Round 1.
It was a stirring win, highlighted by a career-best performance from 20-year-old ruck tyro Beau McDonald in just his eighth game, and an equal career-best seven goals from Daniel Bradshaw, playing just his second game since August 1998.
Bradshaw, who spent the entire first quarter on the bench, picked up three Brownlow votes, Shaun Hart two votes for 20 possessions and two goals, and Michael Voss one vote for 23 possessions and one goal.
And the roof? It was almost forgotten once the game started. The players said the atmosphere and conditions were superb and enjoyed the perfect setting for the perfect victory.
It was an unforgettable moment, too, for Mick Martin. The former Bulldog played his first game for the Lions against his old club and settled in well across half back. And playing against Brisbane for the first time with the Dogs was ex-Bear turned Lion Trent Bartlett.
A BIG DAY AHEAD OF A BIG NIGHT
Saturday 23 June was a big day on the 2012 Brisbane Lions calendar. The Lions were to play the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium in the afternoon ahead of the launch of the club’s Hall of Fame.
Wearing an old Fitzroy strip to mark the occasion, the Lions set the tone for a magnificent celebration with their first win over the Dogs in Melbourne in nine years.
Coached by Michael Voss for the 80th time, they led by 17 points at halftime and kicked 10-1 to 2-6 in the second half to win 18-6 (114) to 7-14 (56). Tom Rockliff was best afield as he collected 40 possessions and two goals.
Ash McGrath (5 goals) and Dan Merrett (4 goals) led the assault up forward while Simon Black was as clean as ever in his 305th game and a 23-year-old Dayne Zorko picked up 29 possessions in his sixth.
The side included current assistant-coaches Jed Adcock and Ben Hudson, plus women’s team assistant-coaches Black and Merrett, current players Zorko, Daniel Rich and Ryan Lester, plus Rockliff, Jack Redden and Pearce Hanley, now playing elsewhere.
At the dinner that followed Kevin Murray, Haydn Bunton and Voss were inducted as Legends in the highlight of the inaugural Hall of Fame dinner.
SEVEN IN A ROW
It now seems like an eternity ago, but in football terms it was just eight weeks ago. Or at least eight games. Whatever, it was a special moment for coach Chris Fagan and his young side.
In Round 20 last year the Lions gave Fagan his first win over the Bulldogs, ending the club’s five-game losing streak against the Dogs dating back to 2015 and, more importantly, locking up a top four berth for the club’s first finals appearance since 2008.
It was the Lions’ seventh win in a row and saw them sit equal on top of the ladder.
Strictly speaking, they were third on percentage, but given that the club had not sat atop the ladder since Round 2 2007 it was a moment to behold.
It was a danger game after the Dogs had beaten the Lions in Ballarat in Round 8, but after a 4-3 to 0-5 first quarter they were never headed and won 14-14 (98) to 11-14 (80).
Mitch Robinson was a standout, earning two Brownlow votes in a game in which Charlie Cameron kicked four goals and Marcus Adams, in his fifth Brisbane game, played against his former side for the first time.
FITZROY’S RECORD WIN OVER THE DOGS
Saturday 30 May 1981 was a standout day in Fitzroy v Footscray history, with the Lions recording their biggest win ever against the Dogs in 126 meetings. And it was Harvey Merrigan’s day.
Down 1-2 to 5-3 at quarter-time, the Lions outscored the Dogs 21-13 to 5-5 thereafter and won by 77 points – 22-15 (147) to 10-10 (70).
Robert Walls, later to play a key role in the development of the Brisbane Bears, was in his first season as Fitzroy coach, and Garry Wilson, now a Hall of Fame legend, was in his first season as captain.
Merrigan, 31, and Ron Alexander, 30, were the senior statesmen of the team, with 20-year-olds Rod Lewis and Michael Poynton the youngest.
Scott Clayton, later to play a key role in recruiting what became the Lions’ triple premiership team of 2001-02-03, was a 21-year-old playing his fourth game for Fitzroy. And Leigh Carlson, a member of Collingwood’s losing 1979-80 grand final teams, played his first game for his new club.
There were good players on every line as Fitzroy posted their fifth win of a season in which they went on to finish fifth on the home-and-away ladder with a 14-8 record. They beat Essendon in the elimination final before going down to Collingwood.
Bernie Quinlan, playing against his former side, had 23 possessions through the midfield and kicked four goals to be best afield. Lee Murnane had 20 possessions and three goals, Leon Harris 20 possessions and two goals, Wilson 26 and one, and Mick Conlan led the possession count with 27.
But the man of the moment was Merrigan.
Playing his 196th game, the 1974 club champion and 1978 captain was a no-frills fullback. Nothing ostentatious about him, but wonderfully effective and reliable. A favorite among Fitzroy fans.
Later named on the bench in the Fitzroy Team of the Century, Merrigan had featured on the team goal sheet just 12 times in 195 games. Eleven times he’d kicked one goal, and in his 181st game he’d kicked two.
Amazingly, his previous goal in his 187th game had been a very special one. It was the goal in Round 17 1979 that gave Fitzroy what at the time was the highest score in football.
Playing Melbourne at Waverley, Fitzroy went past the then record of 213 points set by Footscray in 1978, and went on to a total of 238 points.
This set a mark that 41 years later still ranks second-highest all-time behind Geelong’s 239 points against the Bears at Carrara in 1992.
In Round 10 1981 Merrigan was swung forward by coach Walls and enjoyed a stint in the spotlight like never before.
With one goal at three-quarter time, Merrigan led quickly from the goal square and received some silver service from his midfield. He kicked four goals in the last quarter for a career-best of five.
Sadly, it was to be his second last game. Plagued by injury in his latter years, he missed the following eight weeks and made a fleeting comeback in Round 19 for what would be his last game. He never kicked another goal.
Fitzroy enjoyed an aggregate 54-72 win/loss record against Footscray. They never met in a final.
