Club History What's your most heartbreaking loss 💔

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Dec 14, 2008
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Edge
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Essendon
Been poking around club boards looking for dream team smokies and noticed a few threads like this, thought it might be cool to see here, I mean we as a club specialise in routinely ripping our fans hearts out through their eyeballs- there should be an extensive list...hell in the last 2 years we have agonisingly lost after the siren multiple times, some clubs boards might have the gc, coll and port muggings in their top 5s for pain, for us it's just chicken feed.

Anyhow we are talking those losses that really knocked you about, you might have shed a tear, you might have still been feeling it a week later, teams win and lose each week, it's normal but there are these extra special losses that leave a mark.

(Let's be honest, any red blooded Essendon fan will all have the same one #1 but let's go through the motions anyway)

Here's a few of mine leading into the top 3

89 prelim v Geelong

Ten year old me toddled off to the g to see us destroy Geelong 3 weeks earlier, we looked awesome after finishing second on the ladder, hawthorn softened us up in the precursor, dermie flattened vdh, but I came out of that game thinking we were not far off them in a potential gf, just had to get there, Geelong had other ideas, 160 point turnaround. Tears were shed.

1990 grand final v coll

More tears were shed. How could we kill the collywobbles?

95 semi final v Richmond

Up by 5 goals at half time, cruising, enter scott turner who destroys Gary O'Donnell and awakens the tiger army... Painful on all accounts.

....onto my top 3

3. 2014 elimination final v the minnow

Cruising at half time, then some kid that looks like a 🤡 decides to become a footballer, and Frank the tank makes an appearance - unforgivable loss!

2. 1996 prelim v Sydney

Sure we may have been under dogs this game but there was a real feeling we really wanted that gold centenary cup, we flew out the blocks in the lightning premiership and looked primed all season, after losing to Brisbane by a point agonisingly 2 weeks earlier this one really stung, we'd opened up a late 2 goal lead when Symonds hit a cheeky banana, Lloyd was gone with a spleen, bewick in a dressing gown with whiplash yet we were still on for a famous victory.. yeh nah. Could somebody have chopped off that plugger lead? Is it worth death? We just handed the minnow a flag with. Legend has it Sheedy gave the worst spray of his career which he still regrets.

#1 you know it, 99 prelim v Carlton

Best side all year, up against the old foe... how could we let this happen? All those late moments still etched, Mercs head in hands missing a soda, Wallis with the world at his disposal decides to try break through a junk yard dog first...Murphy holding the ball aloft. Horrible horrible times. I just sat there tier 3 of the ponsford in tears , numb, as that stupid bass droned round the stadium bap ba dup dada. ...and we just gave the minnows another flag. I don't even care if it spurred on 2000, if i could rewrite any game, it's this one.

Anyway, over to you, heartbreaking games for you?
 
Don't really remember much pre 95 as was in primary school. 96 was sad but I didn't expect us to win before hand. We also were lucky to be in the prelim considering we got a home final the week before against the higher ranked eagles due to the agreement between AFL and MCG.


99 really hurt, we had spanked carlton during H&A, had a great ding dong battle with the roos and came out on top, even though the Duck was on fire, so I was pretty confident we would match them in the GF.
But we just threw it all away in that prelim.
I remember all the moments you mentioned as well as Lloydy kicking into the man on mark from goal square.
What's worse is carlton also got to play the eagles at home the week before despite finishing lower, yet unlike us they didn't get their comeuppance a week later. There is no justice in this world.
 

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Been poking around club boards looking for dream team smokies and noticed a few threads like this, thought it might be cool to see here, I mean we as a club specialise in routinely ripping our fans hearts out through their eyeballs- there should be an extensive list...hell in the last 2 years we have agonisingly lost after the siren multiple times, some clubs boards might have the gc, coll and port muggings in their top 5s for pain, for us it's just chicken feed.

Anyhow we are talking those losses that really knocked you about, you might have shed a tear, you might have still been feeling it a week later, teams win and lose each week, it's normal but there are these extra special losses that leave a mark.

(Let's be honest, any red blooded Essendon fan will all have the same one #1 but let's go through the motions anyway)

Here's a few of mine leading into the top 3

89 prelim v Geelong

Ten year old me toddled off to the g to see us destroy Geelong 3 weeks earlier, we looked awesome after finishing second on the ladder, hawthorn softened us up in the precursor, dermie flattened vdh, but I came out of that game thinking we were not far off them in a potential gf, just had to get there, Geelong had other ideas, 160 point turnaround. Tears were shed.

1990 grand final v coll

More tears were shed. How could we kill the collywobbles?

95 semi final v Richmond

Up by 5 goals at half time, cruising, enter scott turner who destroys Gary O'Donnell and awakens the tiger army... Painful on all accounts.

....onto my top 3

3. 2014 elimination final v the minnow

Cruising at half time, then some kid that looks like a 🤡 decides to become a footballer, and Frank the tank makes an appearance - unforgivable loss!

2. 1996 prelim v Sydney

Sure we may have been under dogs this game but there was a real feeling we really wanted that gold centenary cup, we flew out the blocks in the lightning premiership and looked primed all season, after losing to Brisbane by a point agonisingly 2 weeks earlier this one really stung, we'd opened up a late 2 goal lead when Symonds hit a cheeky banana, Lloyd was gone with a spleen, bewick in a dressing gown with whiplash yet we were still on for a famous victory.. yeh nah. Could somebody have chopped off that plugger lead? Is it worth death? We just handed the minnow a flag with. Legend has it Sheedy gave the worst spray of his career which he still regrets.

#1 you know it, 99 prelim v Carlton

Best side all year, up against the old foe... how could we let this happen? All those late moments still etched, Mercs head in hands missing a soda, Wallis with the world at his disposal decides to try break through a junk yard dog first...Murphy holding the ball aloft. Horrible horrible times. I just sat there tier 3 of the ponsford in tears , numb, as that stupid bass droned round the stadium bap ba dup dada. ...and we just gave the minnows another flag. I don't even care if it spurred on 2000, if i could rewrite any game, it's this one.

Anyway, over to you, heartbreaking games for you?

Dude....why did you awaken these nightmares for me? I'd pushed them down very deep. All of these you've mentioned were key moments of harm in my life. 'Dermie in 89, '90, flipping Scott Turner in '95 urgh.....

Obvs '99 is the worst though. THE WORST.
 
Losing a regular season game dosent hurt much because you have next week to redress it, losing a prelim is the worst kind of hurt, not only do you have 5 months to dwell on it, but you are supposed to sit there and watch the 'big game' the next week with everyone else but inside knowing you should be in it
 
Hard to argue with Howard's list there.
I think you hit all the high notes.

As far as a regular game, the losses after the siren to Pies & Port recently sucked balls. Elliott & Houston...
And only a couple of years earlier the Fri night Sydney match where Rohan manhandled Gleeson for the winning goal was another fair dinkum kick in the nuts with a steel capped boot!
Why do I follow this shit truck team?

The other ones that hurt are where we play Geelong and are non competitive from the get go. (Basically the last 15 years vs them)
The GWS round one horror.
The Hawks belted us by near 100 on a Sunday arvo at the G about 10 or 12 years ago that was shit to be at.
end thread.
 
Hard to argue with Howard's list there.
I think you hit all the high notes.

As far as a regular game, the losses after the siren to Pies & Port recently sucked balls. Elliott & Houston...
And only a couple of years earlier the Fri night Sydney match where Rohan manhandled Gleeson for the winning goal was another fair dinkum kick in the nuts with a steel capped boot!
Why do I follow this shit truck team?

The other ones that hurt are where we play Geelong and are non competitive from the get go. (Basically the last 15 years vs them)
The GWS round one horror.
The Hawks belted us by near 100 on a Sunday arvo at the G about 10 or 12 years ago that was shit to be at.
end thread.

One that really bothered me, we played Carlton I reckon it was late 2000s maybe early 2010s, we were up by about 50 points in the second - Carlton had about 4-5 big player outs, ripe for the taking and we just inexplicably rolled over, and let them kick like 8 in a row and went on to lose
 
I couldn’t think of a more acccurate list. The silver lining to being so shit is we haven’t had a heartbreaking loss for 10 years 😃
 

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One that really bothered me, we played Carlton I reckon it was late 2000s maybe early 2010s, we were up by about 50 points in the second - Carlton had about 4-5 big player outs, ripe for the taking and we just inexplicably rolled over, and let them kick like 8 in a row and went on to lose
Was that Fevola getting a bag?
I reckon I was at that one too!
At halftime a couple of Blues supporter mates were going to leave & we conned them into staying & they witnessed a massive comeback.
I remember Spike McVeigh taking a speccy & kicking a goal late to keep us in it.
We were expecting a 12 - 15 goal romp for the Bombers but again got kicked square in the nuts!
 
Hard to argue with 99
One that got away.

Dean Wallis trying to dodge Fraser Brown followed by Mark Mercuri's disappointed face when the siren went is etched into my brain.

I can still remember John Elliot carrying on after the game and it turned out the pricks had been breaching the salary cap.
 
One that got away.

Dean Wallis trying to dodge Fraser Brown followed by Mark Mercuri's disappointed face when the siren went is etched into my brain.

I can still remember John Elliot carrying on after the game and it turned out the pricks had been breaching the salary cap.
We lost two games that day. That was maybe our problem. Already had one hand on the cup.
 
1999 on the day for sure although it did drive us to have the year we did in 2000.
Two narrow losses in 1996 finals against Brisbane and Sydney had some sting.
Getting smashed by Fitzroy in the 1979 Elimination final still sticks in my mind. Was the first final we had played in for 6 years . I started going to games in 1974 so I had never been to a final. Was so excited and the game was over at 1/4 time. It was a new level of disappointment.
 
The 83 GF was not pleasant. It was my first season as a Don's supporter and I wanted to change clubs after the game with the way we rolled over. Dad, who's not a Don's fan, ignored my tears and told me to stick fat as it's what you do.

Thanks Dad, 4 flags over the next 17 years was pretty damn fine

**** you Dad, for all those reasons Howie has mentioned, plus the last 20 ****ing years!
 
The only thing that could trump 99 would be if we play Carlton in an actual GF and they beat us first to 17. Oof that would sting (although winning a few finals to get there would be a nice change). But yeah… 99 is the worst by the length of the straight.
 
83/90. **** me. You can stick the 99 prelim up your arse. 83/90 actual g.f's.
You can throw '01 in there as well. Stinking hot Brisbane day. Up at halftime. Hird selfishness, should not have played. Mercs similar. Both of them running up and down on the spot. Ridiculously selfish, you'd expect more from a captain, he was absolutely cooked on the day.
 

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