Who Would Win: Essendon of 1985 vs Essendon of 2000
When Sheedy takes Essendon into the AFL Grand Final he always makes sure he has a designated enforcer. A physical act has turned the momentum of a Grand Final before and Sheedy knows it is better to give than receive. But did Sheedy have a tougher team in the 80s than he did in 2000, and who would win if Dean Wallis and Roger Merrett went at it?
One thing this imaginary game would have is two forward lines with a lot of marking power. Lloyd, Lucas, Hird and Barnard at one end and Salmon, Terry Daniher, Van Der Harr and Big Roger down the other end. The 1985 team kicked 26 goals in the Grand Final, the 2000 Grand Final team kicked 19 goals from its 40 scoring shots.
If you are playing against Salmon, who played as a forward a lot of the time for Sheedy, you need a defender with long arms to stop him. The 2000 team had Dustin Fletcher, probably the ideal opponent for Salmon. Wallis against Merrett is something that would entertain. The 1985 team also had Terry Daniher and Paul Van Der Harr, with Wellman and Solomon as their opponents.
Hird is a tough matchup, if he played as a forward then Harvey or Duckworth might be the best option. If Hird played in the middle then a matchup with Timmy could occur. That move of Hird onto the ball might have happened because Watson would be too good for Misiti.
Sheedy also had some great small forwards in both eras. Bewick might have been the best on these teams, but Ezard, Baker and Moorcroft were also very effective.
While there are a lot of even matchups all over the ground it is the ruck spot that would give the 1985 team the advantage. Barnes and Alessio were both veterans at this stage of their careers but they would have no chance against Madden.
The game would have a lot of marks and plenty of goals, maybe a few reports too, and at the end of it the 1985 Essendon side might be just a goal in front of the 2000 team.
2000 FF: D. Bewick, M. Lloyd, P. Barnard
1985 FB: M. Thompson, P. Weston, G. Foulds
2000 HF: M. Mercuri, S. Lucas, J. Hird
1985 HB: B. Duckworth, K. Walsh, M. Harvey
2000 C: M. Long, J. Misiti, B. Caracella
1985 C: B. Wood, T. Watson, N. Clarke
2000 HB: D. Solomon, S. Wellman, D. Wallis
1985 HF: P. Van Der Haar, T. Daniher, R. Merrett
2000 FB: M. Johnson, D. Fletcher, D. Hardwick
1985 FF: L. Baker, P. Salmon, A. Ezard
00 Foll: J. Barnes, J. Johnson, J. Blumfield
85 Foll: S. Madden, D. Williams, T. Elshaug
00 bench: S. Alessio, G. Moorcroft, A. Ramanauskas, C. Heffernan
85 bench: S. Carey, G. Hawker, (S. Heard, M. Neagle: in 85 only had 2 on bench)
One thing this imaginary game would have is two forward lines with a lot of marking power. Lloyd, Lucas, Hird and Barnard at one end and Salmon, Terry Daniher, Van Der Harr and Big Roger down the other end. The 1985 team kicked 26 goals in the Grand Final, the 2000 Grand Final team kicked 19 goals from its 40 scoring shots.
If you are playing against Salmon, who played as a forward a lot of the time for Sheedy, you need a defender with long arms to stop him. The 2000 team had Dustin Fletcher, probably the ideal opponent for Salmon. Wallis against Merrett is something that would entertain. The 1985 team also had Terry Daniher and Paul Van Der Harr, with Wellman and Solomon as their opponents.
Hird is a tough matchup, if he played as a forward then Harvey or Duckworth might be the best option. If Hird played in the middle then a matchup with Timmy could occur. That move of Hird onto the ball might have happened because Watson would be too good for Misiti.
Sheedy also had some great small forwards in both eras. Bewick might have been the best on these teams, but Ezard, Baker and Moorcroft were also very effective.
While there are a lot of even matchups all over the ground it is the ruck spot that would give the 1985 team the advantage. Barnes and Alessio were both veterans at this stage of their careers but they would have no chance against Madden.
The game would have a lot of marks and plenty of goals, maybe a few reports too, and at the end of it the 1985 Essendon side might be just a goal in front of the 2000 team.
2000 FF: D. Bewick, M. Lloyd, P. Barnard
1985 FB: M. Thompson, P. Weston, G. Foulds
2000 HF: M. Mercuri, S. Lucas, J. Hird
1985 HB: B. Duckworth, K. Walsh, M. Harvey
2000 C: M. Long, J. Misiti, B. Caracella
1985 C: B. Wood, T. Watson, N. Clarke
2000 HB: D. Solomon, S. Wellman, D. Wallis
1985 HF: P. Van Der Haar, T. Daniher, R. Merrett
2000 FB: M. Johnson, D. Fletcher, D. Hardwick
1985 FF: L. Baker, P. Salmon, A. Ezard
00 Foll: J. Barnes, J. Johnson, J. Blumfield
85 Foll: S. Madden, D. Williams, T. Elshaug
00 bench: S. Alessio, G. Moorcroft, A. Ramanauskas, C. Heffernan
85 bench: S. Carey, G. Hawker, (S. Heard, M. Neagle: in 85 only had 2 on bench)
