Does anyone remember the Lightning Premiership?

[Fire]

Hey, you're preaching to the choir here mate...Love that Golden Cup in our trophy cabinet!!

Silvers good, but it's no gold.

 

[you idiot sheehan]

The only I can recall is Bradley Plain kicking the winning goal against North in the qualifying final.

That was actually the first round of the Fosters Cup in 1994. Buckely's first official game for the Pies too.

 

[MadMaxx]

didnt it rain like a bastard that weekend and more or less ruin the whole thing?

It did indeed. I went to the Friday night. Invariably there was a HOWLING gale. The wortst weather I EVER ever saw at Waverley (consider that for a second), and the rain was literally sideways to the old scoreboard end. Whicever side won the toss and kicked to that end won the game, as they were so buggered after sliding round for a half (there were no quarters, just halves) would lose the game.

There werent many perople there at all, especially as everyone was tucked up in the back 2 rows of the stand to avoid the 90 degree rain.

 

[Captain Sensible]

They had a 'last player to touch it gets a free payed against them when it goes out of bounds' rule. It was great watching the players frantically try and keep the ball in the field of play.

 

[spell_check]

I recall seeing this on TV, yes.

 

[Hard Ball Get]

Haha this thread made me laugh.
I had totally forgotten about it.
I think the AFL would prefer it that way.

 

[Sir_Adrian84]

I'd love to see the Lightning premiership come back to replace the pre-season comp. Its got the perfect feel for a pre-season warm-up 4 weeks before the season - short games, so players can play intense football in bursts, without having to worry about lasting out a full 100 minutes in 30-degree Febuary heat. Plus going to the MCG to see 4 Lightning premiership games in a night would be awesome - a great opportunity to check out half the league in one hit, see what other teams are looking like for the season. Much better than watching your team's reserves go through the motions against someone elses reserves in the first week of Feb.

i reckon that if they were to ever extend the season and get rid of the NAB cup, this would be a good substitute.

 

[Longy413]

They had a 'last player to touch it gets a free payed against them when it goes out of bounds' rule. It was great watching the players frantically try and keep the ball in the field of play.

Three points for hitting the post as well, from memory.

 

[vast]

for some reason i keep thinking this was the first time i saw dean soloman playing, can anyone confirm this?

 

[Longy413]

for some reason i keep thinking this was the first time i saw dean soloman playing, can anyone confirm this?

Pretty sure Solly was drafted in 1997.

 

[ArchAtM32]

Didn't it involve Carlton, Collingwood & Essendon out at Waverley Park?

Different comp. the Coll Carl Ess one was earlier and is harder to find information on.

 

[Wackelpudding]

Different comp. the Coll Carl Ess one was earlier and is harder to find information on.

Glad you were able to straighten that out for him, after 10 years waiting!

 

[Benjarman11]

I remember as a kid watching this but no one has ever talked about it and I am not comletley sure this isn't a figment of my imagination. I recall about 10 years ago in preseason there was a weekend competion at waverley in which all the teams (and maybe some other ones) competed with bizzaro rules and jerseys, I think the games might have been shorter and the cup was won on the second day?

I was there on the Friday, Still have the footy record!

 

[Milanista28]

They should do this again, On a weekend maybe involving the Vic sides.

 

[LiterallyNobody]

I had a book from 2004 which was like a preview to the upcoming season and in it were the results of previous lightning premierships.

It may surprise you to know that there have been five or six such occurrences. Of the winners Essendon have two and I believe St kilda and Richmond are the other winners.

 

[LiterallyNobody]

Ok didn't even need to find my book. Apparently it was popular in the war time and was referred to as the "patriotic premiership". The first instance was in 1940 and won by St kilda. It was a twelve team knock out but the teams finishing lower on the ladder that year were given a bye upon winning their first round match bringing the remainder down to four teams. These four teams played off for the right to play St kilda and north in the semi finals. In the grand final St kilda beat Richmond 4.2.26 to 0.2.2

This was repeated in 1941, 1943 and then again 1951, 1952 and 1953.

41 was won by Collingwood
43 by Essendon

51 by Collingwood
52 by Melbourne
53 by Richmond

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Different comp. the Coll Carl Ess one was earlier and is harder to find information on.

Going purely off 20+ year memory...

1995... It was a sponsors thing, called the Challenge Cup, sponsored by Challenge Bank (the mob who first had their logo on the footies)... Held on a Sat or Sun arvo at Waverley, weather was decent... the three all played each other, probably a bit like the NAB Cup was a few years back when they had three teams playing each game...

The first time a fresh faced Matthew Lloyd stepped out in red and black. He played in the forward line and stood on a pack to take an absolute hanger. He was 16.

Don't think there's any footage of the games.

 

[Yianni]

I went. It rained. And I almost got hit by a train on the way home because I didn't look both ways at a level crossing because I was pissed off at my friends wanting to leave early to go home and bonk.

 

[FootyJunkie]

did ch 7 televise the whole thing? i bet they did, they were all over anything AFL related before Foxtel came on board.

 

[Andy_Mac]

I still have a Melbourne jumper

 

[Hawthorn United]

The best footage I can find

 

[yyou]

didnt it rain like a bastard that weekend and more or less ruin the whole thing?

but was there lightning?

isn't it ironic that school lightning carnivals are only postponed when there is a chance of lightning?

 

[FootyJunkie]

how could they run a lightning premiership without Port !!!

 

[Xenthor]

I had a book from 2004 which was like a preview to the upcoming season and in it were the results of previous lightning premierships.

It may surprise you to know that there have been five or six such occurrences. Of the winners Essendon have two and I believe St kilda and Richmond are the other winners.

Nice to hear th Saints are winning

 

[Frank Gallagher]

It was a campaigner of an idea.