Essendon domination: The best of the Bombers' 20-game winning streak | 2000 | AFL

[@AngriestPandah]

Not only did they win every game in preseason and the final but 20 games out of 21 in normal season all the finals and the grand final. THE MOST DOMINANT SEASON IN AFL HISTORY.

[@Millsy383]

Essendon's 2nd tier players in this team were seriously elite... Everyone remembers the champions like Hird, Lloyd, Long, Mercuri, Misiti and Fletcher but then you had players like Justin Blumfield, Chris Heffernen, Blake Caracella, Dean Rioli, Jason Johnson and Adam Ramanauskas who would slice you apart if you weren't careful.

[@YBDexter]

Agreed bro, they had underrated players back then for sure, really talented physical midfield n incredible backline with the likes of damien hardwick n mark johnson to make it a force to be reckoned with.

[@stevep4383]

that hird pass at 1:58 is unreal

[@meecrob1261]

Makes me sad watching this We were such a force.

[@thenightangel6533]

were back

[@iLoveStKildaJadeGresham]

@@thenightangel6533 Next year could be an awesome year for the bombers

[@iLoveStKildaJadeGresham]

@@mufc3316 who asked?

[@dunning-kruger551]

@@iLoveStKildaJadeGreshamyeah nah.

[@braevujanic7099]

Greatest team of all time and look at us now..

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Not the greatest team of all time. In regards to their list, they only had a few superstars on the team, and then the rest were fairly ordinary players. They choked when they had actual competition (1999, 2001), and dominated a season where they had no proper competition (2000). They also relied far too much on having good runs with injuries. Essendon's 1984/1985 team is easily a better side than Essendon's 1999-2001 team. Defeating the Hawthorn 80s team back to back is a far greater achievement than beating an ordinary Melbourne team that didn't even make the top 8 before or after 2000

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

We'll be back!! Believe in it!! Speak it into existence.. it's been a rough 20 plus years since... But it'll be part of "the comeback story"

[@stevelozevski8151]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jaybreacher4430]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage nigga you couldn't be more wrong

[@AbdulahiFahiye]

Never count us out we are the AFL

[@orizion3607]

scott lucas was my idol growing up. jason johnson wow this team brings back being a kid and enjoying everything

[@Vandanescobar]

Same here !!

[@AnthonyLeighDunstan]

I remember by about the 5th or 6th round we started to watch two games instead of one game per week: Sydney (my team); and Essendon. At the time I didn’t care much for other teams, but we tuned in to the dons because it was miraculous to see just how untouchable they really were. It was because of the 2000 Essendon team that I discovered the beauty of the game outside of my own team.

[@planetX15]

I think Collingwood won their first five (or six) matches too, but you smart enough to watch Essendon instead as the second team to watch

[@robives9155]

Absolutely brilliant!, as a tiger supporter I still tell my boys of the most powerful display of AFL football performed by this team in history. Hats off to the bombres!

[@Layby2k]

Haha Bombres....I remember that banner.

[@sydstewart9106]

one of the best lineups our sport has ever seen

[@sydstewart9106]

@@mufc3316thankyou MU FC, very nice

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Some very average players in that line-up. Brisbane's 01, 02, 03 line-up was better

[@stevelozevski8151]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage he said one of the best. Plus Brisbane had $1M more than all the other clubs to spend on players

[@jamiekelly6851]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage yeah nah

[@peterstrangar662]

​@@mabiorcholappreciationpageThey didn't have a dynasty, but up there with the best. Just rampaging run. Many players in their prime.

[@BomberAceF7]

Sandy Roberts. One of the all time great callers.

[@whatupyo7260]

That’s when we had a proper forward line

[@r.mhaych5021]

Scott Lucas has magnets for hands haha

[@mrpuniverse2]

Scott Lucas over shadowed by LLoyd sadly but what a player and in this video we saw some rare things from him he actually kicked two goals on his right foot and a few handballs to. His most memorable right foot kick set up the Moorcroft mark of the year. Scott was a grat player loyal to the end and kicked eight goals in Sheeds last game as coach

[@jdf2100]

the greatest team of all time

[@f3rdi881]

Then why didn’t they win more than 1? Was more a team of champions rather than a champion team.

[@Azaxx]

@@f3rdi881 Cause when it mattered in the '99 prelim/2001 GF they couldn't perform in the way they should have. Best team to not more than 1 premiership, which in hindsight is such a disappointing note.

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

@@Azaxx Early 2000s Port Adelaide were also one of the best teams to only ever win 1 flag in the time they spent at the top. They always had the better home and away seasons than Brisbane (besides 2001), but Port always shat the bed in the first week of finals, whereas Brisbane became a whole different beast in finals. Had it been Port that took the 3peat in those times, it would be Brisbane that would be largely forgotten about today

[@Azaxx]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage Agreed, Brisbane's H&A season wasn't particularly impressive for the incredible 3-peat that they ended up scoring. A good comparison to Brisbane would be the recent Hawthorn 3-peat, where most teams would fear facing Hawthorn with how good they were in both the H&A season and the finals buff they seemingly had.

[@AdamSandaver]

sad we have to resort to 20 plus year old highlights to get a thrill as Bombers supporters.

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

Nothing sad about it, it'll forever be a part "of the story"

[@AdamSandaver]

@@TheAlmightyClipse says the millennial who’s happy they “participate “ every week while having “learnings” week in week out. Get real mate. Games about winning premierships.

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

Lighten up princess!!! I'm sure there are plenty of clubs that have gone through premiership droughts longer than the one we're going through.

[@jezzalanko]

@@TheAlmightyClipse Fremantle, st Kilda, gold coast, north and Carlton have longer draughts so at least we are not alone haha

[@lucindairis8085]

I love Kevin Sheedy being Vocal. Actions speak louder than words

[@tcbgarage2845]

I remember Essendon was good that year. But I didn’t remember how dominant they where. So many big wins. Don’t think footy will ever be this good again.

[@guodade2239]

During that 2000 season, I was surprised that Essendon were so dominant because I had not experienced anything like it, or known of anything like it in my experience following football. The only thing remotely comparable within my experience were West Coast in 1991, who had been just as dominant in the first eleven rounds as Essendon throughout 2000. Carlton in late 1995, whom I had thought would be unbeaten in 1996 until I watched Fremantle end their eighteen consecutive wins in the third round, might also be comparable but they lost their chance of an unbeaten record relatively early and won three games by under ten points. In 2000, I was caught between thinking Essendon would fall away as the 1991 Eagles did, and thinking the Bombers would beat North Melbourne’s 1910s VFA record of 49 straight wins (a record for all the major football competitions). I actually brought up the question of Essendon reaching 49 straight on talkback radio as early as the tenth round (mid-May), and the host did not know of the record nor whether to defend or rebut the idea that Essendon were likely to surpass it. By July, I was sure that there was no way Essendon would be stopped before passing 49 straight, as you might gather at www.newspapers.com/image/121717445 from the end of that month. By then Essendon had won 27 consecutive home-and-away games and no opponent had come within two goals. More recently, I discovered that ‘Australian’ football writer Michael Davis implicitly said Essendon were likely to beat 49 wins in a row, as you can see from the article copied by myself at 3.bp.blogspot.com/-PRfjj42dUp0/USy31XWERMI/AAAAAAAAAuY/eIFBgsegepY/s1600/Old+VFA+record.gif where Davis said Essendon were certain to finish undefeated in 2000 and would be likely to do so again in 2001 (thus passing North’s 49 straight in the Grand Final). With hindsight, it has become clear to me that the critical difference between the 2000 Bombers and the 1991 Eagles is that in 1991 a cooler and wetter climate, no closed roof stadiums, and limited artificial drying of grounds made it much more difficult to dominate the competition. A climatic “magic gate” in 1997 and 1998, alongside the shift from Waverley to the closed roof Docklands meant Essendon were spared many obstacles to maintaining its dominance that the 1991 Eagles did have to face when the weather abruptly broke up at the beginning of June. Ever since analysing the issue during the late 2000s and early 2010s, I have been convinced that these changes have made an undefeated (and also a winless) season much less improbable than they were in my childhood of the 1980s and 1990s.

[@robives9155]

It's so sad how footy will never be this good ever again.

[@benrush7090]

Best team in history. 21 -1 during the season & people forget Essendon made a ton of mistakes in the last quarter after leading the bulldogs by 20 pts from memory. Won the Ansett cup & dominated the finals. 28-1 in total.

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Bro really thinks wins in the meaningless pre-season mickey mouse cup actually count towards Essendon 2000's win/loss record 😭

[@benrush7090]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage Not officially doofus. 2000 ansett cup final was played with the intensity of a real final if you bother to watch it. Both teams had full squads and went after each other. The ansett cup wasn't always meaningless and plenty of the finals could be considered great games. 1993 the final had 73,000 people attend, some mickey mouse comp.

[@duaineturvey1783]

Late 90s early 2000 was an awesome era for the bombers in my time.... I remember watching the 93 baby bombers win the grand final then in 96 Tony Lockett kicked a last minute point in the prelims against the bombers to break all bombers hears everywhere.... then in 1999 we made the prelims again and lost by 1 point against Carlton.... then this year 2000 was amazing..... and couldn’t follow it up against Brisbane in 2001 made the grand final and got out to a 26 point lead but lost the final by 26 points.... more heartbreak. Since then our finals record has been very poor

[@danielclarke6209]

Memories. I attended many of these games. back then, children only had to pay $2

[@zingleraster9124]

The most dominant team ever!!!

[@ChipMyers1993]

Back when footy was watchable

[@BrandonSG13]

Shame that a team being this good caused the super flood to start in the AFL... :( And I wasn’t even born so I didn’t get to enjoy our glory :(

[@Jack-xr6yh]

Same mate

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

It was bloody awesome!!!! First full year of watching the dons!!!! Up the mighty bombers!!!

[@guodade2239]

There is little doubt in my mind that the dominance of Essendon in 2000, under new playing conditions of a closed roof stadium and a drier climate due to poleward expansion (totalling about eight degrees of latitude since 1965) of the dry limb of the Hadley Cell, led to the sort of tactics that are criticised (and not wrongly) today. What made Essendon able to sustain its dominance in 2000 was that a closed roof stadium and a drier climate (plus widespread artificial drying of grounds) very substantially diminished the pool of players able to play in the AFL. The pool diminished because the advantage of being tall and the disadvantage of being short was mitigated under conditions of heavy grounds and high winds that were frequent in the pre-1997/1998 “magic gate” climate but virtually absent under the conditions established by the closure of Waverley and opening of Docklands. With a smaller pool of players, a team that previously had an advantage in talent was likely, although not certain, to have that advantage magnified. The super flood is in this context understandable as an effort to lessen variations in talent that had been widened by global warming and Docklands. By reducing scoring, a relatively less talented team is less certain to be overwhelmed by a more talented one. If these new tactics had not been developed, Essendon probably would have beaten North Melbourneʼs old VFA record of 49 straight victories, and even if Essendon had not done this, it is likely that teams finishing 25-0 or 0-22 would not be uncommon.

[@petermcculloch4933]

Take heart Bomber fans.The most crushing defeat (the '99 prelim. final) launched the dominant 2000 season.

[@SteveggStevegg]

A team of champions. Ahhh those were the days.

[@Spartanwoody]

Maybe they can show this the the 2024 Bombers on how not to fumble the F*cking ball!

[@OhAeroHD]

The last time we were probably consistent too

[@jordancole9374]

Ugh, look at all the kicks and handballs to advantage. so silky smooth, none that these days.

[@lachienealethegoat1091]

Knowing my luck i would of gone to the only game they lost

[@yommmrr]

The best time ever to be a bombers fan.

[@desiolle2874]

loved all of it but needed more Dean Rioli...both tough and silky...pretty rare combo

[@eshaylad9570]

This team should of won 2 or 3 premierships in this era

[@paultyson4389]

Now that is power packed football at its very best. Maybe the best side ever.

[@simonayers8033]

The team of the century. Prove me wrong ⚫️🔴⚫️

[@Reginaldinho712]

Man.. Ramanauskas and Caracella are two of the classiest footballers to ever play and they hardly get spoken about

[@rarebee3743]

24 years now boys

[@lucindairis8085]

Brilliant Football Bombers ❤🌹

[@jackcleary8860]

wish we were this good now

[@Yalbou]

With the team essendon had they should of won 3 grand finals, 1999 2000 and 2001. It was a real shame they only won 1. I believe this was always a fault of sheedy. He was amazing at building great teams, but struggled at keeping them motivated and focused long term. Btw afl stopped being amazing after 2004 and is a shadow of itself. Best period of afl is lates 80s up to early 00s

[@jaydemartin2622]

And also Mercuri dropped off big time after 99 season. Very sad what happened to his brother at start of 2000. It affected his footy even though he was still reliable he was only a shadow of himself after 99

[@tenzingbugg8257]

the good old glory days. how i wish i was alive to witness this :(

[@thecrazygingey3692]

Wish I was alive for this. I've heard people say this was the greatest team of all time, shame I couldn't be there to decide for myself

[@OGTrollTroll8]

I was there bro. I thought Essendon was a beast back then. But then Brisbane Lions came along

[@keatesy_]

Best season of all time by a team noone even close but Brisbane best team over a few years

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Essendon's 1984/1985 team was much better than their flash in the pan 2000 side

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

First full year of barracking for the Dons!!! I cried when we lost to the Western Bulldogs!!! But boy was it amazing winning the flag against the Dees... Talk about climatic!! Up The Dons!!

[@chrisd_85]

I started seriously following essendon in 1996 as an 11 year old and had my heart broken when tony lockett kicked that point after the siren to deny us a grand final berth. We were pretty average in 97 and 98 but then season 1999 came and it was such a joy as i had never seen essendon play that well over a season up until that point. I went to the qualifying final win over sydney (69pt win) and remember thinking we are one win away from a grand final. I went to the MCG on sep 18 1999 thinking it would just happen and we would smash carlton. The final siren is something i will never forget and hope to never experience again. Just utter devastation. A whole season of brilliance wasted. Everyone knew we would have beated north the following week. We had thrown away a premiership. I was stating to think id never see my beloved bombers make a grand final, let alone win! Season 2000 was pure bliss. As a 15 year old teenager, going to high school the following monday after that weekends footy was always a joy as my school mates would be so envious of me being a bombers fan. Winning 21 of 22 games, then smashing north in the QF, there was a sense of deja vu about the prelim against carlton. But also a sense of calm. That this time, there would be no heartache. No upset. At 3tr time and with a 54pt lead, i quietly said to myself 'weve done it! Im finally going to see essendon play in a grand final' The week leading up to the game was just pure joy and fun. I went to the final training session on the friday and on GF day, went to my best mates house (who was also a bombers fan) to watch the game. it was a celebration of a mighty season. Heading into 2001 there was a feeling of invincibility. No one can touch us! Who is going to stop us winning the flag for 2001? The answer seemed to be an emphatic NO ONE after round 16 when we had come back from 69pts down to beat north and sit 14 wins & 2 losses on top of the ladder. But then the wheels began to fall off. We dropped our next 2 games in a row (something we hadn't done since rounds 7 & 8 of 1999), then won our next 3 of our last 4 to finish the H&A season 17 & 5, which was a far cry from 21 & 1 but still a mighty effort considering injuries we had to key players throughout the season. The finals began with a 70pt thumping of richmond and into a 3rd straight prelim. Then at HT in the prelim against the hawks, were 36pts clear and looking like romping away to another GF. But injuries, and lack of run almost cost us the game. The margin was wittled down to 3pts with 3min to play. We kick the next 2 goals and win by 9pts (76 to 67) and just scrap in. This time, im hoping we can win as opposed to 12 months earlier when im very confident. Brisbane have won 15 games in a row leading into the GF and look every bit as dominant as we had in 2000. Its a warm day, about 27c which suits brisbane game plan and there running players. This is the biggest concern heading into the game. Can essendon stop brisbane's midfield from dominating. We go in with underdone players, no bigger then james hird. However none of this seems to matter just before HT. Brisbane start the game well and open up a 16pt lead (2.5.17 to 0.1.1) 20min into the first qtr. Were lucky were not 5 goals down already! The signs arnt good. However we settle and before you can blink, were in front! (2.6.18 to 3.2.20) brisbane get the last goal of the qtr and go into qtr time with a 5pt lead (3.7.25 to 3.2.20) The second qtr is an armwrestle with scores reading 4.9.33 to 5.4.34 with 5min to play before half-time. its been a relatively scrappy low scoring first half with essendon able to nuturalise brisbane's run and counter attack themselfs. The bombers move up a gear kicking the next 3 goals to open up a game high 20pt lead (4.10.34 to 8.6.54) but brisbane kick 1 just before HT. First 10min of 3rd term is all essendon (10 inside 50's to 3) but they cant put it on the scoreboard. Barnard has a shot on the run from 50 that goes out of bounds, lucas has a ping on his right foot from 45 but kicks it on the full and jason johnson misses a golden opportunity to pass it quickly to alessio on his own in the goal square. The ball is punched through for a behind. Scores read 5.10.40 to 8.7.55 but you get the feeling this was essendons moment. If they had of kicked even just 2 goals, that would have opened up a 4 goal lead.

[@theeviking7395]

There are multiple reasons why this can't happen today.

[@peppfn]

Cut to now when Essendon are the most unreliable team

[@freodockers3698]

More like my Freo dockers 🙁😂

[@peppfn]

as well

[@peppfn]

I go for Saint Kilda

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

I'm absolutely dying to get my hands on a "Speed Kills TAC Guernsey" from 2000 Up the Dons!!!

[@paulhealey7499]

Winning without entertaining is a waste, entertaining without winning is also a waste. This bomber side in 2000 managed both with much class and style

[@tyranta.devillier1791]

passion is the only difference.

[@Timo_-dh6rt]

another difference is back then they weren't scared. Now all we do is just handball and handball. What we should be doing is running straight throw the midfield and kick into inside 50. Like they are doing.

[@brobh1636]

AFL is awesome nice bro

[@TJ_Beam]

The greatest single season team of all time. We should’ve been a dynasty 😢

[@louquay]

Best team of all time

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Best season by a team of all time. To call them the best team of all time is questionable

[@williammicelotta2205]

FLAGDONS2021 COME ON BOYSS 🔴⚫🔴⚫🔴⚫🔴⚫🔴⚫🔴⚫🔴⚫🔴⚫

[@berkvzn]

Don't be ridiculous

[@williammicelotta2205]

@@berkvzn sorry for believing

[@berkvzn]

@@williammicelotta2205 you think Essendon can win a flag, let alone matches with the current crop of players?

[@williammicelotta2205]

@@berkvzn I understand we are having a difficult run. But I believe if our coach can work with our players and we can get some good pick ups I think we can be contenders look how bad Richmond were and now look 2 grandfinal wins and they could win another it's possible I just hope

[@berkvzn]

@@williammicelotta2205 the only difference is, we are not Richmond. We do not have many talented players, we have very poor management and a terrible coach. We're winning the spoon for the next 3 years watch.

[@tyranta.devillier1791]

salary cap caught up with us

[@skaixx1864]

3:10 if Toby greene did that, the footy media would ask for his head -wce fan

[@lukeferrari2199]

Skaixx and ifFlying Ryan did it everyone would be cheering for it -Tigers fan

[@freodockers3698]

Luke Ferrari lol so true -Freo fan

[@f3rdi881]

Luke Ferrari spot on he kicks Gawn in the head and gets mark of the year.

[@skaixx1864]

@@lukeferrari2199 thanks for strengthening my point... lol

[@lukeferrari2199]

@@skaixx1864 ur welcome mate

[@jaydemartin2622]

Those years from 1999-20001 we should have won 2 GFs at least. We got dudded in 2002 because of salary cap pressure. Hardwick, Caracella and Heffernan gone. And the Brisbane Lions rorted the system by having living away from home allowance. They picked up Caracella in 2002 and didn’t even have to offload anyone. There 3 peat is a crime against fairness

[@benrodriguez69]

You choked in 99 prelim and then again in 01 grand final after being up by 3 goals at half time. End of story

[@jaydemartin2622]

@@benrodriguez69 Hirdy didn’t play in 99. If he plays we go undefeated. 2001 we lost because Brisbane were injecting IV fluids at half time.They were found out after 2002 season. The 2001 and 2002 Premierships they won should be stripped but the AFL let them off the hook because they wanted the game to grow in QLD

[@cloudhigh6582]

​@@jaydemartin2622 That's why Hawthorn's 3 peat is the greatest of all time.

[@markashley425]

Best ever

[@ideaphile]

When we had a side.

[@pavementpounder7502]

Back when they didn't fuff about in f50 trying to get side on so they can kick a checkside snap.

[@rarebee3743]

20 in a row premiership.... 20 years later well you know the story

[@gamblore5148]

Just as well they don't show much of Lloyd's set shots - this video would be 2 hours long... seriously though the bombers were amazing that year.

[@lucindairis8085]

Go Bombers ❤🌹

[@logik1677]

With Hird not there, we lost the heart and soul of Essendon

[@logik1677]

When he comes back, Essendon will be Essendon again

[@cmhyperviper1174]

The days when AFL was strong. The current era of AFL is really weak

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

The competition was actually very weak in 2000. Carlton were the only real threat to Essendon that year, but then Kouta's knee injury (along with heaps of other injuries to key Carlton players) meant that Essendon had no competition at all

[@jezzalanko]

I actually think we have never recovered from this season besides the one loss to the flood I mean we averaged a 50 point margain against everyone and since then we had 5 to 7 years of top ups until sheedy left and then 5 years when teams start to challenge for a flag they get hit with sanctions and lose 2 years of draft picks then we have to start over again now our key posts are in there 30s and our key forward wants out we have so many injuries on our list no one is healthy it's a bit of a mess I mean 2020 hasn't really helped as players would have had to do 2 preseasons. Atleast Ridley, McGrath and merrett look good plus draper and zert Thatcher looks ok as well means there something there to restart. Essendon want to play like this again run and carry is what won us 2000, but we don't have a hird, mercuri, Lloyd, Johnson, Fletcher Wellman, caracella, long, misiti in our team so it doesn't work.

[@taliamason7986]

Letting Caracella walk was a huge mistake

[@dougieboxell6505]

lots of positives there tho, mate. i wouldn't take too much out of this year, the corona disruptions were bound to affect some clubs, essendon's probably one that didn't cope with the 3 months off, the travelling/no home ground advantage, and of course the re-scheduled game against Melbourne (as if we wanted a bye in round 3). Injuries have been bad this year, but we've got all our best back barring orazio and ambrose (could he get a spot with ridley tho?), and of course losing zahar and mcgrath hurt, but it's a lot better than it was a month ago. I'm not saying we can replace those names, it was literally one of the greatest teams ever, but I'd say we have a lot to look forward to. Hurley and hooker will play for a while yet, don't worry, and as for Joey......I still expect him to go, but can you blame him? 2 years out of the game, he can't be the only one at fault.

[@jezzalanko]

@@dougieboxell6505 yeah I understand the positive we have had a bad run of injuries/disruptions and I suppose the improvement in players like Langford, larvarde (before injury), McGrath took another step forward in development and Ridley (who is becoming a mainstay for the next 10 years). So there are positives but it's really frustrating we have no leadership when things don't go our way i.e. losing center clearences, or when a player has a brain fade i.e. McKenna giving away a 50 because Heath got in his head if we had good onfield leadership I would have publicly cracked it at him then the next center bounce they should have caused a scuffle get in there heads and make the opponent work for every possesesion atleast show a bit of heart and passion instead of dropping there heads or Hurley yelling a f bomb when he loses a one on one. No teams fear us anymore and it won't change until our leaders emerge the last couple players who had great onfield leadership were Watson and Goddard (althou he hates pretzels). We also need to fix our forward 50 entries and have a bit of size and present in the middle of the ground. It's just a frustrating time for football and life in general.

[@dougieboxell6505]

@@jezzalanko that's fari enough, it is frustrating. I think those younger players will give us a lot of leadership in years to come. Forward 50 work in general killed us last week against eagles, despite being so efficient against hawks and tigers before that. We've got a lot to look forward to.

[@eddielong8663]

As a Bulldogs supporter, it still gives me a small bit of satisfaction, knowing that my team left a skidmark on what could've been the most perfect season ever for any one club 🖕😝. Petty, I know. But if I was a Bombers supporter today, I'd happily trade a heartbreaking end to Season 2000 in exchange for multiple success over the last two decades, along the lines of the Lions, Cats, Hawks and Tigers. Just saying. It's a much more humble club than it once was and they've been through enough karma now. I'd honestly like to see them back on top like the olden days. Same with the Blues. Seems bizarre when you think how there's little-to-no build-up anymore whenever the two teams face-off.

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

Still won the flag... Little chihuahua 🖕 "See the Bombers fly up up" 🎶🎶

[@planetX15]

@@TheAlmightyClipse Don't you like Chihuahuas?

[@jaydemartin2622]

It was a loss we needed to have

[@jasonking7736]

Players weren't as big built back then compared to now, they just went harder after the ball and they could all run!

[@jaydemartin2622]

The Lions players were massive. But they cheated for years on the drips at halftime and after the game. They need to have there GFs taken off them 2001-2003

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

​@@jaydemartin2622 don't be daft mate. Saline drips doesn't warrant stripping of premierships

[@duaineturvey1783]

Bombers still have equal most amount of premiereships with Carlton..... both 16 a piece...... followed by Collingwood with 15 (I think)

[@sportingvideos2012]

Was Bruce ever not commentating

[@Robert-mn8gc]

The Brad Scott lead Team should be made 2 watch this once a week b4 the start of the 2024 season 👍 😅

[@benbraden3244]

This essendon team would destroy the 2017-2021 tigers

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Richmond's pressure wouldn't let that Essendon team breathe. Nowadays, you can't just waltz up and down the corridor with no pressure like you could back then

[@benbraden3244]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage u act like essendon got smashed last year hahahaha. We lost to u guys by 12 and its because Grimes and lynch flop. And then 2019 we lost by 9. What do u mean we can't breath we put pressure on you every time

[@benbraden3244]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage and that essendon team went 20-1 and lost their last game by 3. We would flog yous

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

@@benbraden3244 if it wasn't for Richmond's inaccurate goal-kicking and Essendon's extremely accurate goal-kicking, the Bombers would've copped a hiding last year. The margin was quite big until we put the cue in the rack, and then you guys finally got within 2 goals of us with 10 seconds to go. You lot actually lost by 23 points in the 2019 game, but it was only that close after we put the cue in the rack. Essendon's 2000 team lost 1 game to a tactic that was very rare at the time. Richmond have all sorts of tactics up their sleeve that would bamboozle the 2000 Bombers. I'd also back Richmond's midfielders and backline over 2000 Essendon's midfield and backline

[@bullmadden9611]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage gtfo off no way Richmond's team of 2 years ago could come anywhere near essendon with this little cupcake era soft free kicks

[@anguskerr7665]

Often wonder why opposition players didn’t tactically take out hirdy.

[@masonblake4146]

I’m a dons supporter and I’ll be honest you never see this footy been played we always handball

[@Macto5]

Give us another Fletcher, Lloyd or Hird and we'll be back. Bombers are due for some time in the sun...

[@danielmargrie3084]

wow

[@RileyB291]

I wished Essendon played like this now 😭

[@orbz2614]

Yes same

[@huntergaming7230]

Only if they did

[@MrRichmondVFX]

Nah Ive had enough of essendon dominating teams im glad they dont dominate richmond any more.and Bombers are really good

[@RileyB291]

We haven’t dominated the league for nearly 20 years lol

[@timlindquist5224]

I still think the best team ever! A bit bias though!

[@robives9155]

They should have won more flags.

[@Deadlynugget101]

The AFL is so boring these days.

[@3kmek937]

not really

[@Deadlynugget101]

3kmek I really is, you rarely see anyone kick more than like 4 goals in a quarter. Free kicks happen incredibly often because they’ve added so many rules.

[@seanmcdonald3286]

If only footy could be played like this again. The current state of the game...it's barely watchable. Stupid rule changes, and filled with players who can run 20km a game but cant even kick a set shot from 30m out.

[@WintonRoad2018]

🔴⚫️🔴⚫️🔴⚫️🔴⚫️🔴⚫️🔴⚫️

[@aussiegaming8156]

Lucky this doesn’t happen very often Having a team dominate every game is boring for most of the competition

[@RileyB291]

Oi, watch your words mate, this is Essendon

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

Thankfully the last time a team only dropped 1 game in the H&A season, they ended up choking the grand final

[@RileyB291]

Yeah lol

[@cooper8642]

@@mabiorcholappreciationpage Yeah, ended up choking the Grand Final to THE MIGHTY HAWKERS!!!!! We'reeeee a team team at Hawwwwthorn! We'reeeee the mighty fighting Hawks! We love our club, and we play to win! Riding, the bumps with, a grin (at Hawthorn)! Come, what may you'll find us striiiiiving! Teammmwork is the thing that talks! One for all and all for one, is the way we play at Hawthorn! We areeee, the mighty fighting HAWWWWWKS! (Sorry, I just love that song, it just feels like a classic!)

[@thecrazygingey3692]

@@cooper8642 you sure are a team team

[@tyranta.devillier1791]

we don't need to copy Richmond's style, they copied ours.

[@mabiorcholappreciationpage]

What are you on about? The current Richmond gamestyle is a variant of the 2016 Bulldogs gamestyle

[@JennyWise-qb5nt]

Haha 5 seconds in front row of the cheer squad. Right of the screen is pretty much all one family. Well not anymore

[@JennyWise-qb5nt]

I'm over the r in cracker.

[@lukejohnston7785]

Such a waste unfortunately. This team should have had a minimum two premierships. Go bombers