What are some of the biggest pieces of revisionist history in the AFL?

[MadMundy]

I've seen over on other sites for different sporting leagues people going on about the competition's biggest bits of revisionist history, whether it's about a player, a club, or just the competition in general.

What's something people claim nowadays that wasn't quite the case at the time?

 

[The 747]

Footy was better 10-15 years ago, or in the 80s. It wasn't. It was very good comparatively in the 90s though.

 

[joe444]

1) Oh, that Hawthorn were the only team with injuries in the 1989 Grand Final.




2) That Alex Jesaulenko's nickname was "Jezza" when it wasn't.

 

[Osho]

1) Oh, that Hawthorn were the only team with injuries in the 1989 Grand Final.
View attachment 2008277
View attachment 2008278


2) That Alex Jesaulenko's nickname was "Jezza" when it wasn't.
View attachment 2008280View attachment 2008281View attachment 2008282View attachment 2008283View attachment 2008284View attachment 2008285

The Jessa Jezza observation is interesting. I was around at the time and remember it being def a zz in spoken word, but the ss in print makes me question my memory.

Though could it be similar to Aussie, spelt ss but pronounced zz, unless one is an American?

 

[HairyO]

Footy was better 10-15 years ago, or in the 80s. It wasn't. It was very good comparatively in the 90s though.

We didnt care about umpires because they just blew their whistles.

And they were able to look beyond 3 midfielders per team for their Brownlow votes too.

 

[The 747]

We didnt care about umpires because they just blew their whistles.

And they were able to look beyond 3 midfielders per team for their Brownlow votes too.

Don't disagree with either of those points.

 

[Ghossein]

We didnt care about umpires because they just blew their whistles.

And they were able to look beyond 3 midfielders per team for their Brownlow votes too.

Definitely this.

It's not that the game was 'better' back then, it was just more straight-forward. You could bump/tackle without worrying about 50 different rules.

 

[Franc de Borges]

That Essendon would’ve won the 1999 Grand Final.

Not quite revisionist as many thought it at the time, but to me it’s just garbage. North weren’t going to lose two in a row.

 

[Franc de Borges]

Probably the biggest is that AFL records should start from 1990. Literally no one thought this at the time, or for many years after.

Such a huge deal was made of the Eagles being the first non-Victorian team to win it. Why would this be the case if it was only the third Grand Final in consideration?

 

[raskolnikov]

That Essendon would’ve won the 1999 Grand Final.

Not quite revisionist as many thought it at the time, but to me it’s just garbage. North weren’t going to lose two in a row.

Not saying we would have won necessarily but we would have provided a much better contest than what Carlton did. And teams have lost 2 grand finals in a row before (e.g. Collingwood 02-03, St. Kilda 09-10.

 

[Franc de Borges]

Not saying we would have won necessarily but we would have provided a much better contest than what Carlton did. And teams have lost 2 grand finals in a row before (e.g. Collingwood 02-03, St. Kilda 09-10.

We were within two goals halfway through the third. Of course Essendon may have won, but it’s considered a fait accompli.

 

[raskolnikov]

We were within two goals halfway through the third. Of course Essendon may have won, but it’s considered a fait accompli.

I don't think I've seen that many posts saying we would have won. Just that it was a pity that we didn't see the two best teams of that year go head-to-head. I really don't know who would have won and we never will.

 

[t_94]

How pivotal Nick Riewoldt getting run down by Heath Shaw

23

Heath Shaw

Age

38

Ht

183cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

21.0

5star

K

15.8

5star

HB

5.2

4star

M

6.3

5star

T

2.4

4star

MG

472.4

5star

D

14.5

3star

K

11.0

4star

HB

3.5

2star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.6

3star

MG

244.0

4star

D

13.4

4star

K

9.6

4star

HB

3.8

3star

M

5.8

5star

T

1.4

4star

was in the context of the 2010 GF replay. Saints were never winning that ; threw all their punches the week before.

 

[Dangerousfield]

That Essendon would’ve won the 1999 Grand Final.

Not quite revisionist as many thought it at the time, but to me it’s just garbage. North weren’t going to lose two in a row.

So North were actually good once upon a time?

Ah, that's back when you could buy a flag if you had enough money. Before the era of cash in bags, secret property deals etc

 

[Cleansweep17]

The GAS 14 goals “from the wing” is hands down the most exaggerated thing I’ve ever heard. Not only did he not kick ANY from the the wing (or even run in from there) most of them were set shots from 20-30m directly in front. I saw a couple of standard crumbs as well but the furthest shot he had was the last goal (around 50-55m almost directly in front) THAT WAS THE ONLY GOAL OUTSIDE 50.

Now before you say “hey this guy is just a salty Richmond troll I remember the game perfectly and GAS was a freak”. Here are all the goals, test your memory and you’ll see I’m not making it up….

 

[Taper]

Brett Ratten

Brett Ratten

Age

53

Ht

184cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.4

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

10.3

5star

M

2.9

3star

T

3.0

5star

No current season stats available

D

26.4

5star

K

13.8

5star

HB

12.6

5star

M

3.4

4star

T

1.6

4star

's time at Carlton.

While Ratten was coach of Carlton, everyone said that Carlton had this amazing list chock full of high draft picks and Ratten was an ordinary coach who wasn't getting the best out of this amazing list.

Revisionist history says that Ratten was hard done by and got the best out of a list that had major deficiencies, so much so that Ratten ended up getting a second chance at St Kilda.

 

[jooce8891]

1) Oh, that Hawthorn were the only team with injuries in the 1989 Grand Final.
View attachment 2008277
View attachment 2008278


2) That Alex Jesaulenko's nickname was "Jezza" when it wasn't.
View attachment 2008280View attachment 2008281View attachment 2008282View attachment 2008283View attachment 2008284View attachment 2008285

mandela effect?

 

[TheEscapeClub]

The GAS 14 goals “from the wing” is hands down the most exaggerated thing I’ve ever heard. Not only did he not kick ANY from the the wing (or even run in from there) most of them were set shots from 20-30m directly in front. I saw a couple of standard crumbs as well but the furthest shot he had was the last goal (around 50-55m almost directly in front) THAT WAS THE ONLY GOAL OUTSIDE 50.

Now before you say “hey this guy is just a salty Richmond troll I remember the game perfectly and GAS was a freak”. Here are all the goals, test your memory and you’ll see I’m not making it up….

First bounce, about 47 seconds in, Ablett runs in off the wing right behind the Richmond ff in Jeff Hogg.

Second play, Darcy kicks out from fb and Ablett takes a hanger on The General, Richmond's ruckman.

Next vision, receives a kick from Buddha Hocking, not leading out from ff but from the flank and on the other side of the ground, kicks a goal from 40+ and then jogs back towards the wing. You actually see him run across the lines on the outer of the centre square.

Next one, Morgan bangs it long from the center, Ablett not leading out from ff but runs in from the direction of chf towards the goals. Exell brings the ball to ground and Ablett sharks the spilt mark to run in for a simple dribble goal on his left and then jogs back up to the wing.

Next one, Ablett in none of the vision around ff and hff, Malakellis handballs it off to Ablett who has now appeared from somewhere further up the field, presumably the wing.

Next, picks up a loose ball just inside the 50m arc and slots it on his left.

Start of the 2nd quarter, Ablett on the wing next to the umpire.

Ablett runs forward, Scott handballs over the top to him, Ablett 10m clear, 20m out, slots it and jogs back to the wing.

I'll give you the 6th goal, Lindner has gone up to the wing and Ablett to the forward pocket. Exell is still playing at ff.

Half time, Ablett has 6, 5 from the wing and 1 from the fp.

First bounce of the second half, Ablett runs in off the wing and gets the centre clearance.

Goal 7, runs in from further up ground, takes possession, shows young Dusty how a don't argue should be done, snaps on the left and sends it through post high. Jogs back up to the wing.

Goal 8, Ablett drifts down from the wing, Bruns pumps it deep into attack, the bloke with 7 goals to his name takes an uncontested mark about 15m out from goal with Knights looking typically clueless and Peter Wilson sooking to the umpire about an opponents superior body work.

Goal 9, looks like he's back in the forward pocket again, Wilson has a swing and a miss, Ablett takes an easy mark. Nope, I was wrong, he jogs back to the wing which makes sense because Wilson often played there.

Start of the last quarter, Ablett can be seen standing on the wing as the umpire is about to bounce the ball to start proceedings. This should be fun, it must be a 5 goal quarter from Ablett.

FMD, how quick to Ablett get from the wing to the goal square? Nah, that can't be right, they show Bourke smash the opening bounce forward but then I think the vision has been edited, only Superman could have got there that quick. That's number 10 as he jogs back to the wing.

11 and 12 are standard set shots from about 45m going through post height. He might be in the fp now, he could have go tired from all the running forward from the wing. Hard to tell without the lead up footage prior to his marks.

Maybe Ablett had done a poop in his shorts. He's got 14 and practically takes an uncontested mark about 20 or 30m out.

By my calculations, I reckon he's kicked 9 or 10 starting off the wing and the rest out of a forward pocket.

You do understand that it's not Netball where only the Goal Shooter (Full Forward) and Goal Attack (Centre Half Forward) are allowed to score? Anyone can run anywhere on the ground and kick a goal.

Anyway, pretty standard fare for the day in a Ablett/Geelong v Richmond game. Plenty of goals to Ablett, Richmond smashed and no-one at the Richmond home game, give it a couple of more years and we'll be back to those crowds.

Thanks for sharing, I hadn't watched this one for a few years, I bet you enjoyed it as much as I did watching the Great One go to work.

 

[clarkoscluster]

Probably the biggest is that AFL records should start from 1990. Literally no one thought this at the time, or for many years after.

Such a huge deal was made of the Eagles being the first non-Victorian team to win it. Why would this be the case if it was only the third Grand Final in consideration?

Not to mention that if they won any of the GFs between 1987-89, people would be advocating for them to not count? I think not..

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Probably the biggest one is that footy was “tougher” in the old days (60s, 70s, 80s).

It was way more violent, but nowhere near as tough.

Players used to routinely shit themselves and pull out in tough situations. They don’t these days because it gets highlighted and replayed 1000 times.

Most of the “big hits” were just assaults on guys who weren’t looking and couldn’t defend themselves.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Not to mention that if they won any of the GFs between 1987-89, people would be advocating for them to not count? I think not..

If there ever is an official move to start “AFL only” records, starting it in 1990 would be madness. It started in 1987.

 

[Teen Wolf]

Excellent idea for a thread.

Another one for Gary Ablett Sr is his goal tally changing from 1030 to 1031 some 20 years after retirement. Or maybe that's one of the smallest pieces of revisionist history... Stuff like Cotchin and Mitchell winning Brownlows is probably a tad more significant.

By the same token, a bunch of Richmond club B&Fs were awarded via revisionism (including one of Jack Dyer's), the history about which was in turn correctly revised a few years ago. The stand named after Dyer being described as architecturally significant, rather than an eyesore, is also worth mentioning. Glad the Tigers have resisted sentimental hysteria on both counts.

More about venues: The idea that Waverley was ever going to dwarf the MCG in capacity. It seems forgotten that there were also plans in the late 60s for the 'G to permanently increase to 150k. Once it was clearly not gonna happen for "VFL Park", the MCC unsurprisingly lost interest in upsizing their ground too.

Recurring example on the North board which really bugs me: "Wayne Carey leaving the club was a bad thing". Trading a toxic veteran for pick 2 should be considered the best list management decision ever.

And one even closer to my heart: The Bulldogs being labelled a women's footy pioneer. Dees aside, North Melbourne did more to support women's football than all other AFL clubs combined, speaking pre-2017 of course.

 

[Cleansweep17]

First bounce, about 47 seconds in, Ablett runs in off the wing right behind the Richmond ff in Jeff Hogg.

Second play, Darcy kicks out from fb and Ablett takes a hanger on The General, Richmond's ruckman.

Next vision, receives a kick from Buddha Hocking, not leading out from ff but from the flank and on the other side of the ground, kicks a goal from 40+ and then jogs back towards the wing. You actually see him run across the lines on the outer of the centre square.

Next one, Morgan bangs it long from the center, Ablett not leading out from ff but runs in from the direction of chf towards the goals. Exell brings the ball to ground and Ablett sharks the spilt mark to run in for a simple dribble goal on his left and then jogs back up to the wing.

Next one, Ablett in none of the vision around ff and hff, Malakellis handballs it off to Ablett who has now appeared from somewhere further up the field, presumably the wing.

Next, picks up a loose ball just inside the 50m arc and slots it on his left.

Start of the 2nd quarter, Ablett on the wing next to the umpire.

Ablett runs forward, Scott handballs over the top to him, Ablett 10m clear, 20m out, slots it and jogs back to the wing.

I'll give you the 6th goal, Lindner has gone up to the wing and Ablett to the forward pocket. Exell is still playing at ff.

Half time, Ablett has 6, 5 from the wing and 1 from the fp.

First bounce of the second half, Ablett runs in off the wing and gets the centre clearance.

Goal 7, runs in from further up ground, takes possession, shows young Dusty how a don't argue should be done, snaps on the left and sends it through post high. Jogs back up to the wing.

Goal 8, Ablett drifts down from the wing, Bruns pumps it deep into attack, the bloke with 7 goals to his name takes an uncontested mark about 15m out from goal with Knights looking typically clueless and Peter Wilson sooking to the umpire about an opponents superior body work.

Goal 9, looks like he's back in the forward pocket again, Wilson has a swing and a miss, Ablett takes an easy mark. Nope, I was wrong, he jogs back to the wing which makes sense because Wilson often played there.

Start of the last quarter, Ablett can be seen standing on the wing as the umpire is about to bounce the ball to start proceedings. This should be fun, it must be a 5 goal quarter from Ablett.

FMD, how quick to Ablett get from the wing to the goal square? Nah, that can't be right, they show Bourke smash the opening bounce forward but then I think the vision has been edited, only Superman could have got there that quick. That's number 10 as he jogs back to the wing.

11 and 12 are standard set shots from about 45m going through post height. He might be in the fp now, he could have go tired from all the running forward from the wing. Hard to tell without the lead up footage prior to his marks.

Maybe Ablett had done a poop in his shorts. He's got 14 and practically takes an uncontested mark about 20 or 30m out.

By my calculations, I reckon he's kicked 9 or 10 starting off the wing and the rest out of a forward pocket.

You do understand that it's not Netball where only the Goal Shooter (Full Forward) and Goal Attack (Centre Half Forward) are allowed to score? Anyone can run anywhere on the ground and kick a goal.

Anyway, pretty standard fare for the day in a Ablett/Geelong v Richmond game. Plenty of goals to Ablett, Richmond smashed and no-one at the Richmond home game, give it a couple of more years and we'll be back to those crowds.

Thanks for sharing, I hadn't watched this one for a few years, I bet you enjoyed it as much as I did watching the Great One go to work.

Every kick inside 50 is not “the wing” mate.

The one outside 50 is directly in front. Case closed 0 out of 14 were from the wing.

Do we say Henderson’s (Def) 2017 QF goal from the goal square was a great goal “from the backline”. No

And those goals from the bench, sub and emergency are insane they aren’t even on the ground yet!!!

 

[Gavin Excell]

That Hawks were underdogs v Freo in the 2013 GF

They were quite a pronounced favourite

 

[HairyO]

mandela effect?

All clubs have players get surgeries when the season ends.

Hawks had a few players in hospital after the game. Anyone know how many Geelong had?