1999 AFL First Preliminary Final
Encyclopedia
The 1999 AFL First Preliminary Final was an Australian rules football
match contested between the Essendon Bombers
and the Carlton Blues at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
on 18 September 1999. It was staged as part of the 1999 AFL finals series to determine which of the two clubs would qualify for that season's Grand Final
.
Essendon entered the match as heavy favourites, but Carlton recorded a narrow upset
victory by one point. The match has become one of the most significant moments in the traditional rivalry
between the Carlton and Essendon Football Clubs.
Essendon had been the best team throughout the season. The club finished the home-and-away season as the minor premiers, with a win-loss record of 18–4. Essendon comfortably beat eighth seed by 69 points in the qualifying final, earning a bye in the second week of the finals to advance directly to the preliminary final. Entering the match, Essendon had won eight matches in a row.
Carlton, during the home-and-away season, had struggled to reach the finals. After its Round 16 match, a 76-point loss against Essendon, Carlton sat tenth on the ladder, and coach David Parkin
publically called his side a "B-grade team". Eventually, Carlton finished sixth with a win-loss record of 12–10. In its qualifying final at the Gabba
, Carlton was comprehensively beaten by third seed by 73 points; but Carlton was not eliminated because the seventh and eighth seeds had both lost their qualifying finals. In the semi-final the following week, Carlton defeated fifth seed by 54 points to progress to the preliminary final; West Coast was the home team, but due to a contract between the AFL and the Melbourne Cricket Club
, the match was played at the M.C.G.
in Melbourne, instead of Subiaco Oval
in Perth.
The winner of the preliminary final would progress to the Grand Final
on 25 September, against the Kangaroos
, who had won the Second Preliminary Final the previous night.
Because of their respective form-lines, Essendon was an overwhelming favourite to win the preliminary final and progress to the Grand Final. On the morning of the match, bookmakers were offering odds of $1.18 for an Essendon victory and $4.25 for a Carlton victory.
, and by 1999 it was one of the most celebrated rivalries in the league.
Carlton stirred up the rivalry twice in the week leading up to the match. After the semi-final win against West Coast, Carlton defender Glenn Manton
, who began his career with Essendon but had just played his 100th game for Carlton, told his team-mates "I hope we stick it up the Bombers next week" in a post-game speech in the dressing rooms, which happened to be televised. Then, during the week, Carlton president John Elliott
attacked Essendon in media for having "cheated" its way to the 1993 premiership – a reference to the fact that Essendon had recently been found guilty of breaching the league's salary cap
during that time.
The gameplay was more even in the second quarter, but only two goals were kicked, both by Carlton: one to Aaron Hamill
early in the quarter from a turnover, and one to Lance Whitnall
late in the quarter. Essendon had more scoring shots in the quarter, but scored only 0.5 to Carlton's 2.1, to trail by an inaccurate 3.10 (28) to 8.4 (52) at half time.
Carlton had the better of the midfield match-ups throughout the first half, particularly the match-up between Scott Camporeale
and Darren Bewick
; Camporeale provided much of Carlton's midfield drive, while Bewick did not have an influence. Carlton's Brett Ratten
was also prominent, breaking the tag of Joe Misiti
. Carlton also used the unexpected tactic of playing defender Glenn Manton as a defensive full-forward on Dustin Fletcher
, which resulted in Fletcher's influence being reduced; but, it resulted in defender Stephen Silvagni
matching up on Essendon full forward Matthew Lloyd
, which worked in Essendon's favour.
on a kick-in
led directly to a goal to Michael Long. This was the start of a fifteen minute period of play which was dominated by Essendon. Essendon hit the lead after only nine minutes, and over the fifteen minutes the Bombers went inside-50 eleven times and kicked six goals, while Carlton went inside-50 only once for no score. Essendon had more opportunities to extend the lead shortly afterwards, but Lloyd, Fletcher and Dean Rioli
all missed set-shots from inside 50m. Carlton was able to break Essendon's run with late goals, but overall Essendon kicked 7.7 to Carlton's 2.2 in the third quarter, and led 10.17 (77) to 10.6 (66) at three-quarter time.
Essendon's resurgence and dominance in the third quarter came when the team began to win in the midfield, particularly through the efforts of Michael Long and Darren Bewick. After the match-up between Camporeale and Bewick had favoured Carlton in the first half, Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy moved Chris Heffernan
onto Camporeale, which both limited Camporeale's influence and freed up Bewick. Dean Rioli kicked two goals during Essendon's revival.
kicked the opening goal of the final quarter to extend the lead to 17 points, before Carlton kicked the next four goals – to Fraser Brown
, Anthony Koutoufides
, Matthew Lappin
, and Koutoufides again – to take the lead by seven points. Koutoufides sparked the Carlton revival, moving into the midfield for the final quarter, and winning several clearances. Additionally, after Bewick had been influential in the midfield in the third quarter, retiring Carlton defender Matthew Hogg
(who had spent much of the match on the bench
) was moved onto him, limiting him to only one disposal in the final quarter.
Lloyd kicked the next two goals, for a personal match tally of five, to regain the lead for Essendon by less than a goal. Carlton scored the next two goals after that – the first to Hamill, the second to Whitnall from outside 50m, and in both cases assist
ed by Hogg – to regain the lead by 8 points early in time-on. Essendon attacked hard, but its forward thrusts were repeatedly repelled by Carlton's defence, including Koutoufides, who had dropped back. With 2:18 remaining on the timekeepers' clock, Mark Johnson
kicked a goal for Essendon, to narrow the margin to two points.
With 55 seconds remaining, Mark Mercuri
gathered the ball from a broken marking contest 25m in front of the Essendon goals; his quick, bouncing snap shot for goal narrowly missed to the left, reducing the margin to one point. Bradley's kick-in was marked strongly on Essendon's right half-forward flank by Essendon's Barry Young
, who kicked the ball back to the goal-face. It was cleared hurriedly by Carlton's Dean Rice
, but Rice's kick went straight to Essendon's Dean Wallis
, who was unmarked in the centre circle. With 38 seconds remaining, Wallis advanced and tried to baulk around Fraser Brown, but Brown tackled him to the ground and the ball spilled free. Carlton cleared the ball forward, ending with a mark to Justin Murphy, who was able to run out the clock
preparing for a set shot. Murphy had the ball in his hands when the siren sounded, and Carlton won by one point.
Koutoufides was instrumental to Carlton's victory in the final quarter. He moved into the midfield at the start of the quarter, won clearances, and drifted forward to kick two goals. After his second goal, he started dropping into the backline after contesting the centre bounces, where he took three contested marks to repel Essendon's attacks. He had ten kicks, two handpasses, six marks and two goals for the quarter; in a special analysis done for the game, Koutoufides would have earned 127 Champion Data ranking points for the quarter. After the match, club legend (and later, president) Stephen Kernahan
described Koutoufides' performance as "the greatest quarter of football ever played". Years later, it is still regarded as one of the greatest ever individual performances in finals matches.
Fraser Brown's tackle on Dean Wallis is widely remembered as the decisive single moment of the match. Brown later said that he had anticipated that Wallis would try to baulk around him, and was fortunate enough to guess the direction correctly.
After Carlton had surrendered the lead in the third quarter, vice-captain Stephen Silvagni delivered an impromptu three-quarter time address to his team-mates. Silvagni took almost the entire three-quarter time break, and coach David Parkin
had little time left to deliver his coach's address. Parkin later described it as "the most emotional and appropriately-timed inspirational talk" he'd ever heard a player deliver.
Essendon was left to lament its inaccuracy in front of goals. Essendon had 33 scoring shots to Carlton's 24, but lost the match. Mark Mercuri and Blake Caracella
, normally very accurate goalkickers, scored 0.7 between them.
the following week against the Kangaroos
. Essendon became the first minor premiers to miss the Grand Final since 1983
. It was Essendon's second one-point loss in a preliminary final in just four years, after the Sydney Swans
defeated them in 1996
, courtesy of an after-the-siren behind to Tony Lockett
.
In the lead-up to the Grand Final during the week, Aaron Hamill was cited on video evidence for kneeing Dean Wallis in the head while the latter was on the ground during the third quarter. Hamill was found guilty and the AFL Tribunal
initially suspended him for two matches, which would have seen him miss the Grand Final. Carlton then successfully appealed the suspension, using the testimony of biomechanics experts to convince the appeals board that the contact was accidental; years later, Hamill admitted to kneeing Wallis deliberately, and described the biomechanics testimony as "a tactic to bore the hell out of the appeals board". Wallis was reported on the day for striking Michael Sexton
in the first quarter, but was cleared by the tribunal.
In the Grand Final, Carlton was unable to keep up with the Kangaroos through the game, trailing by 20 points at half time, then 43 points at three-quarter time. The final score was Kangaroos 19.10 (124) d. Carlton 12.17 (89).
Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy forced the losing preliminary final team to attend the Grand Final as spectators as a motivational tactic, an experience described by midfielder Joe Misiti as the worst experience of his life. Essendon went on to dominate the 2000 AFL season, with an all-time record win/loss record of 24–1 for the season (including finals), winning the premiership, the minor premiership, the pre-season competition, and winning a preliminary final rematch against Carlton by 45 points.
. Across the previous twenty years, the results of the rivalry – including the 1993 Grand Final, the close games and the controversies – had overwhelmingly favoured Essendon. However, the 1999 Preliminary Final result was seen as such a triumph for Carlton that it has become the defining event of the rivalry.
The fact that Carlton went on to lose the Grand Final to the Kangaroos is typically seen as irrelevant in the context of this game and the rivalry; by preventing the highly fancied Bombers from winning the premiership, the win is compared with and often treated like a premiership by Carlton fans. In 2007, Herald Sun
columnist Trevor Grant humourously referred to the win as Carlton's "prelimiership". Coach David Parkin has commented that he is asked about this match at least as often as any of the Grand Finals he coached during his long career.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
match contested between the Essendon Bombers
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and the Carlton Blues at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
on 18 September 1999. It was staged as part of the 1999 AFL finals series to determine which of the two clubs would qualify for that season's Grand Final
1999 AFL Grand Final
The 1999 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between and , held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1999. It was the 103rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the...
.
Essendon entered the match as heavy favourites, but Carlton recorded a narrow upset
Upset
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
victory by one point. The match has become one of the most significant moments in the traditional rivalry
Carlton–Essendon AFL rivalry
The rivalry between the Carlton and Essendon football clubs is one of the most celebrated rivalries in the Australian Football League.- The Birth of the Modern Rivalry :...
between the Carlton and Essendon Football Clubs.
Background
The 1999 AFL season was contested by sixteen clubs between March and September 1999. The top eight clubs qualified for the finals series, which was conducted under the McIntyre final eight system.Essendon had been the best team throughout the season. The club finished the home-and-away season as the minor premiers, with a win-loss record of 18–4. Essendon comfortably beat eighth seed by 69 points in the qualifying final, earning a bye in the second week of the finals to advance directly to the preliminary final. Entering the match, Essendon had won eight matches in a row.
Carlton, during the home-and-away season, had struggled to reach the finals. After its Round 16 match, a 76-point loss against Essendon, Carlton sat tenth on the ladder, and coach David Parkin
David Parkin
David Parkin is a former Australian rules footballer and four-time premiership coach.- Pre-football career :He attended Melbourne High School and during his time there, was the school vice-captain and captain of football....
publically called his side a "B-grade team". Eventually, Carlton finished sixth with a win-loss record of 12–10. In its qualifying final at the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
, Carlton was comprehensively beaten by third seed by 73 points; but Carlton was not eliminated because the seventh and eighth seeds had both lost their qualifying finals. In the semi-final the following week, Carlton defeated fifth seed by 54 points to progress to the preliminary final; West Coast was the home team, but due to a contract between the AFL and the Melbourne Cricket Club
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club is a sporting club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is regarded as the oldest sporting club in Australia....
, the match was played at the M.C.G.
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in Melbourne, instead of Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia...
in Perth.
The winner of the preliminary final would progress to the Grand Final
1999 AFL Grand Final
The 1999 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between and , held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1999. It was the 103rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the...
on 25 September, against the Kangaroos
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
, who had won the Second Preliminary Final the previous night.
Because of their respective form-lines, Essendon was an overwhelming favourite to win the preliminary final and progress to the Grand Final. On the morning of the match, bookmakers were offering odds of $1.18 for an Essendon victory and $4.25 for a Carlton victory.
Rivalry
In 1999, there was already an existing, strong rivalry between Carlton and Essendon. Together with and , they made up the AFL's "Big Four" – the four most successful Melbourne-based clubs on-field and off-field through the league's history – and as a result there was a natural rivalry between the successful clubs; but, the Carlton–Essendon rivalry particularly intensified after the appointment of Kevin Sheedy as Essendon coach in 1981; it was intensified further by Essendon's upset victory against Carlton in the 1993 Grand Final1993 AFL Grand Final
The 1993 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1993. It was the 97th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
, and by 1999 it was one of the most celebrated rivalries in the league.
Carlton stirred up the rivalry twice in the week leading up to the match. After the semi-final win against West Coast, Carlton defender Glenn Manton
Glenn Manton
Glenn Manton is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and Essendon. He usually played in defence but was occasionally used up forward.-AFL Career:...
, who began his career with Essendon but had just played his 100th game for Carlton, told his team-mates "I hope we stick it up the Bombers next week" in a post-game speech in the dressing rooms, which happened to be televised. Then, during the week, Carlton president John Elliott
John Elliott (businessman)
John Dorman Elliott is a former president of the Liberal Party, and former president of Carlton Football Club. In 2003 he was found guilty of trading while insolvent and in 2005 declared bankrupt...
attacked Essendon in media for having "cheated" its way to the 1993 premiership – a reference to the fact that Essendon had recently been found guilty of breaching the league's salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
during that time.
First half
Carlton kicked to the Punt Road end of the ground in the first quarter. Carlton started strongly, and kicked the first two goals of the match before Essendon kicked its first. Carlton continued to win strongly out of the midfield, and led by more than three goals towards the end of the quarter. A few late behinds to Essendon narrowed the margin to 16 points, the score 6.3 (39) to 3.5 (23).The gameplay was more even in the second quarter, but only two goals were kicked, both by Carlton: one to Aaron Hamill
Aaron Hamill
Aaron "Sammy" Hamill is a former professional Australian rules footballer who is best known for his time at the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League when he briefly captained the club....
early in the quarter from a turnover, and one to Lance Whitnall
Lance Whitnall
Lance Whitnall is a former Australian rules footballer, and the ex-captain of the Carlton Football Club.-Early career :...
late in the quarter. Essendon had more scoring shots in the quarter, but scored only 0.5 to Carlton's 2.1, to trail by an inaccurate 3.10 (28) to 8.4 (52) at half time.
Carlton had the better of the midfield match-ups throughout the first half, particularly the match-up between Scott Camporeale
Scott Camporeale
Scott Camporeale is a former Australian rules footballer who spent the majority of his AFL career with the Carlton Football Club.-AFL career:...
and Darren Bewick
Darren Bewick
Darren Bewick is a former dual premiership Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the AFL. Bewick was known for his game breaking pace and goal sense in the forward 50. His ability to take high flying marks was a spectacle amongst Bomber fans, not to mention his...
; Camporeale provided much of Carlton's midfield drive, while Bewick did not have an influence. Carlton's Brett Ratten
Brett Ratten
Brett "Ratts" Ratten is a former Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League....
was also prominent, breaking the tag of Joe Misiti
Joe Misiti
"Smokin" Joe Misiti is a former Australian rules football player of Italian descent who played for the Essendon Football Club. Originally from Keilor Park, he made his Australian Football League debut in 1992 and retired at the end of the 2004 premiership season with 236 games to his credit...
. Carlton also used the unexpected tactic of playing defender Glenn Manton as a defensive full-forward on Dustin Fletcher
Dustin Fletcher
Dustin Fletcher is an Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club. He is renowned as one of the finest defenders in the AFL, and has played at full-back for his team for many years. He is the son of former Bombers captain Ken Fletcher...
, which resulted in Fletcher's influence being reduced; but, it resulted in defender Stephen Silvagni
Stephen Silvagni
Stephen Silvagni is a former Australian rules footballer for the Carlton Football Club.During his long VFL/AFL career, from his debut in 1985, until his retirement in 2001, he gained the reputation as one of the greatest ever full-backs to play the game and was named as full-back in the AFL Team...
matching up on Essendon full forward Matthew Lloyd
Matthew Lloyd
Matthew James Lloyd is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and was the captain of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League...
, which worked in Essendon's favour.
Third quarter
After two minutes, an error from Craig BradleyCraig Bradley
Craig Edwin "Braddles" Bradley is a former South Australian Australian rules footballer and first class cricketer. He is currently a part-time assistant coach at the Carlton Football Club, the club he represented 375 times in the VFL/AFL....
on a kick-in
Kick-in
In the sport of Australian rules football, a kick-in occurs when an opposition team scores a behind, with a defender kicking the ball out from the defensive goalsquare. The team kicking in may elect any one of its players to take the kick-in. The man on the mark stands five metres in front of the...
led directly to a goal to Michael Long. This was the start of a fifteen minute period of play which was dominated by Essendon. Essendon hit the lead after only nine minutes, and over the fifteen minutes the Bombers went inside-50 eleven times and kicked six goals, while Carlton went inside-50 only once for no score. Essendon had more opportunities to extend the lead shortly afterwards, but Lloyd, Fletcher and Dean Rioli
Dean Rioli
Dean Rioli is an indigenous former Australian rules football player who spent his whole professional career with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League....
all missed set-shots from inside 50m. Carlton was able to break Essendon's run with late goals, but overall Essendon kicked 7.7 to Carlton's 2.2 in the third quarter, and led 10.17 (77) to 10.6 (66) at three-quarter time.
Essendon's resurgence and dominance in the third quarter came when the team began to win in the midfield, particularly through the efforts of Michael Long and Darren Bewick. After the match-up between Camporeale and Bewick had favoured Carlton in the first half, Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy moved Chris Heffernan
Chris Heffernan
Chris Joel Heffernan is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League .Known affectionately as "The Heff", Chris began his career in 1997 with the Essendon Football Club...
onto Camporeale, which both limited Camporeale's influence and freed up Bewick. Dean Rioli kicked two goals during Essendon's revival.
Final Quarter
Essendon's Steven AlessioSteven Alessio
Steven Alessio , is a former Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club.Of Italian descent and named in the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century in 2007, Alessio made his debut in 1992, and was renowned as one of Essendon's great ruckmen...
kicked the opening goal of the final quarter to extend the lead to 17 points, before Carlton kicked the next four goals – to Fraser Brown
Fraser Brown
Fraser Brown is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.Originally from Lilydale, Victoria and known for his fierce style of play, Brown's highest achievements in football were playing in the 1995 premiership and winning the 1998 Carlton best and fairest.Brown will...
, Anthony Koutoufides
Anthony Koutoufides
Anthony Koutoufides is a former Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club. One of the most powerful and athletic players of all-time, he played in almost every position and was often called the prototype of the modern footballer.Of Greek and Italian descent, Koutoufides has been...
, Matthew Lappin
Matthew Lappin
Matthew Lappin is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League . He was an assistant coach with the Carlton Football Club from 2007–2010, deciding not to renew his contract for 2011....
, and Koutoufides again – to take the lead by seven points. Koutoufides sparked the Carlton revival, moving into the midfield for the final quarter, and winning several clearances. Additionally, after Bewick had been influential in the midfield in the third quarter, retiring Carlton defender Matthew Hogg
Matthew Hogg
Matthew Hogg is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Footscray and Carlton.Hogg started his career at Footscray after being recruited from East Keilor. Carlton then picked up Hogg at pick 18 in the 1991 National Draft. He usually played as a tagger for the Blues but was also known...
(who had spent much of the match on the bench
Interchange (Australian rules football)
Interchange is the term used to describe a team position in Australian rules football, consisting of the players who are off the ground at any time...
) was moved onto him, limiting him to only one disposal in the final quarter.
Lloyd kicked the next two goals, for a personal match tally of five, to regain the lead for Essendon by less than a goal. Carlton scored the next two goals after that – the first to Hamill, the second to Whitnall from outside 50m, and in both cases assist
Assist
-Sports:Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team:*Assist , a pass by a player that facilitates a basket by another...
ed by Hogg – to regain the lead by 8 points early in time-on. Essendon attacked hard, but its forward thrusts were repeatedly repelled by Carlton's defence, including Koutoufides, who had dropped back. With 2:18 remaining on the timekeepers' clock, Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson (footballer)
Mark 'MJ' Johnson is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Fremantle in the AFL.-Early life:Johnson is commonly known as "Mr...
kicked a goal for Essendon, to narrow the margin to two points.
With 55 seconds remaining, Mark Mercuri
Mark Mercuri
Mark Mercuri was a professional Australian rules football player for Essendon. He played in the 1993 Grand final winning team which defeated Carlton...
gathered the ball from a broken marking contest 25m in front of the Essendon goals; his quick, bouncing snap shot for goal narrowly missed to the left, reducing the margin to one point. Bradley's kick-in was marked strongly on Essendon's right half-forward flank by Essendon's Barry Young
Barry Young (footballer)
Barry Young is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond, Essendon and Hawthorn in the Victorian/Australian Football League ....
, who kicked the ball back to the goal-face. It was cleared hurriedly by Carlton's Dean Rice
Dean Rice
Dean Rice is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton and St Kilda in the VFL/AFL. His uncle Colin captained Geelong....
, but Rice's kick went straight to Essendon's Dean Wallis
Dean Wallis
Dean Wallis is a former Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club of the AFL.Originally from Nhill, due to his physical style of play Wallis became known as one of the leagues toughest players...
, who was unmarked in the centre circle. With 38 seconds remaining, Wallis advanced and tried to baulk around Fraser Brown, but Brown tackled him to the ground and the ball spilled free. Carlton cleared the ball forward, ending with a mark to Justin Murphy, who was able to run out the clock
Running out the clock
In sports, running out the clock refers to the practice of a winning team allowing the clock to expire through a series of pre-selected plays, either to preserve a lead or hasten the end of a one-sided contest.- American football :...
preparing for a set shot. Murphy had the ball in his hands when the siren sounded, and Carlton won by one point.
Notable moments
Two moments in the match are best remembered: Anthony Koutoufides' final quarter, and Fraser Brown's last-minute tackle on Dean Wallis.Koutoufides was instrumental to Carlton's victory in the final quarter. He moved into the midfield at the start of the quarter, won clearances, and drifted forward to kick two goals. After his second goal, he started dropping into the backline after contesting the centre bounces, where he took three contested marks to repel Essendon's attacks. He had ten kicks, two handpasses, six marks and two goals for the quarter; in a special analysis done for the game, Koutoufides would have earned 127 Champion Data ranking points for the quarter. After the match, club legend (and later, president) Stephen Kernahan
Stephen Kernahan
Stephen Scott Kernahan is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career with the Carlton Football Club of the Australian Football League and the Glenelg Football Club of the SANFL from 1981 until 1997...
described Koutoufides' performance as "the greatest quarter of football ever played". Years later, it is still regarded as one of the greatest ever individual performances in finals matches.
Fraser Brown's tackle on Dean Wallis is widely remembered as the decisive single moment of the match. Brown later said that he had anticipated that Wallis would try to baulk around him, and was fortunate enough to guess the direction correctly.
After Carlton had surrendered the lead in the third quarter, vice-captain Stephen Silvagni delivered an impromptu three-quarter time address to his team-mates. Silvagni took almost the entire three-quarter time break, and coach David Parkin
David Parkin
David Parkin is a former Australian rules footballer and four-time premiership coach.- Pre-football career :He attended Melbourne High School and during his time there, was the school vice-captain and captain of football....
had little time left to deliver his coach's address. Parkin later described it as "the most emotional and appropriately-timed inspirational talk" he'd ever heard a player deliver.
Essendon was left to lament its inaccuracy in front of goals. Essendon had 33 scoring shots to Carlton's 24, but lost the match. Mark Mercuri and Blake Caracella
Blake Caracella
Blake Caracella is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League .-Essendon career:Selected by Essendon in the 1995 National Draft at pick 10, Caracella finally debuted with the Bombers in 1997...
, normally very accurate goalkickers, scored 0.7 between them.
Aftermath
Carlton progressed to the 1999 AFL Grand Final1999 AFL Grand Final
The 1999 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between and , held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1999. It was the 103rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the...
the following week against the Kangaroos
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
. Essendon became the first minor premiers to miss the Grand Final since 1983
1983 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1983.-Attendance:A total of 3,631,042 people attended VFL matches during the 1983 season, an average of about 26,312 per game . A combined total of 420,439 attended finals matches in 1983, an average of 70,073 per finals match...
. It was Essendon's second one-point loss in a preliminary final in just four years, after the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
defeated them in 1996
1996 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1996.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Lighting Premiership:...
, courtesy of an after-the-siren behind to Tony Lockett
Tony Lockett
Anthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans...
.
In the lead-up to the Grand Final during the week, Aaron Hamill was cited on video evidence for kneeing Dean Wallis in the head while the latter was on the ground during the third quarter. Hamill was found guilty and the AFL Tribunal
AFL Tribunal
The AFL Tribunal is the disciplinary tribunal of the Australian Football League .-Points system:Source: AFL Tribunal 2011 Guidebook...
initially suspended him for two matches, which would have seen him miss the Grand Final. Carlton then successfully appealed the suspension, using the testimony of biomechanics experts to convince the appeals board that the contact was accidental; years later, Hamill admitted to kneeing Wallis deliberately, and described the biomechanics testimony as "a tactic to bore the hell out of the appeals board". Wallis was reported on the day for striking Michael Sexton
Michael Sexton
Michael Sexton is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Blues between 1990 and 2000.A defender, Sexton was a member of Carlton's 1995 premiership team and an All Australian in both 1996 and 1997. He was recruited from the Sandhurst Dragons.Sexton is member of the AFL...
in the first quarter, but was cleared by the tribunal.
In the Grand Final, Carlton was unable to keep up with the Kangaroos through the game, trailing by 20 points at half time, then 43 points at three-quarter time. The final score was Kangaroos 19.10 (124) d. Carlton 12.17 (89).
Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy forced the losing preliminary final team to attend the Grand Final as spectators as a motivational tactic, an experience described by midfielder Joe Misiti as the worst experience of his life. Essendon went on to dominate the 2000 AFL season, with an all-time record win/loss record of 24–1 for the season (including finals), winning the premiership, the minor premiership, the pre-season competition, and winning a preliminary final rematch against Carlton by 45 points.
Legacy
The 1999 Preliminary Final caused a significant shift in the dynamic of the rivalry between Carlton and EssendonCarlton–Essendon AFL rivalry
The rivalry between the Carlton and Essendon football clubs is one of the most celebrated rivalries in the Australian Football League.- The Birth of the Modern Rivalry :...
. Across the previous twenty years, the results of the rivalry – including the 1993 Grand Final, the close games and the controversies – had overwhelmingly favoured Essendon. However, the 1999 Preliminary Final result was seen as such a triumph for Carlton that it has become the defining event of the rivalry.
The fact that Carlton went on to lose the Grand Final to the Kangaroos is typically seen as irrelevant in the context of this game and the rivalry; by preventing the highly fancied Bombers from winning the premiership, the win is compared with and often treated like a premiership by Carlton fans. In 2007, Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
columnist Trevor Grant humourously referred to the win as Carlton's "prelimiership". Coach David Parkin has commented that he is asked about this match at least as often as any of the Grand Finals he coached during his long career.
Scorecard
Teams
Footnotes
- 1. The contract then in place between the AFL and the MCC required that one finals match be played at the M.C.G. each week during the finals. Brisbane and West Coast had both earned the right to host a semi-final, so the semi-final of the lower-seeded team (West Coast) was moved to Melbourne.
- 2. The First and Second Preliminary Finals are named based on the teams competing in them, not based on the chronological order in which they take place. See McIntyre final eight system for more information.
- 3. At the time, Carlton, under Elliott's guidance, had also been breaching the salary capCarlton Football Club salary cap breachThe Carlton Football Club salary cap breach was the breach of the Australian Football League's salary cap by the Carlton Football Club, primarily in the late 1990s and early 2000s...
, much more extensively and systematically than had Essendon, but this was unknown at the time. The scandal was not revealed until three years later, at the end of the 2002 season. - 4. History shows that in 1999, Matthew Lloyd was Essendon's best forward, and Stephen Silvagni was Carlton's best defender. However, Silvagni had a weakness against Lloyd's strong leading style of play, so Glenn Manton was Carlton's usual preferred match-up for Lloyd.
- 5. Champion Data ranking is a statistical method developed during the 2000s and best known for its use in the SupercoachSupercoachSupercoach is an online Australian Football League fantasy football game in which the competitor takes on the role of coach and selector and guide his or her hand-picked team to glory against other teams. Supercoach is run by the Herald Sun in Melbourne...
fantasy footballFantasy footballFantasy football can refer to:* Fantasy football * Fantasy football * Fantasy football * Fantasy football * Fantasy Football League, a British television show...
competition. A score of 127 is considered to be an excellent score for an entire match, so for Koutoufides to have earned this score in just the final quarter highlights his dominance.