Preliminary Final, 1999
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Venue: MCG | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date: Saturday 18 September, 1999 | Result: Win by 1 Point | ||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires: Coates, Harvey, Allen | Crowd: 80,519 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Goalkickers: Hamill, Whitnall 3, Brown, Koutoufides, Lappin 2, Allan, Camporeale, Manton, Massie 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Reports: Aaron Hamill for rough conduct (Kneeing Dean Wallis) - Not Guilty on appeal | |||||||||||||||||||
| Injuries: Nil | |||||||||||||||||||
Game Review
This match was expected to be a cakewalk for the Bombers. After all, with quality on every line – Fletcher, Wellman, Long, Alessio and Lloyd as the goal to goal line, how could you go wrong? Even though several members of Carlton’s great 1995 Premiership Team were still in the navy blue, Essendon – the minor premier – were widely tipped to march into the Grand Final against the Kangaroos. But what transpired on 18 September 1999 will go down in VFL/AFL history as one of the great finals of all time.
Carlton jumped the Bombers with the first two goals – one to Glenn Manton, who had been delisted by the Bombers in 1994 before being drafted by Carlton. Essendon’s Matthew Lloyd – himself the son of former Carlton player John Lloyd – got one back, before Aaron Hamill would kick the Blues further in front. By quarter time, Carlton had 6 different goalkickers, and led by 16 points – Essendon having peppered the Carlton defence for 3 behinds in the last few minutes.
The second quarter was one long stalemate. Hamill goaled after young Bomber Mark Johnson played on from a mark in the defensive 50 and turning it over before some 20 minutes without a goal. The Bombers were throwing away some gettable chances though – Lloyd shanked a shot from 15 metres out, straight in front, Michael Long hit the post and Dustin Fletcher took too little time to settle before kicking. Lance Whitnall kicked Carlton’s second goal of the term nearing halftime, and the Blues went in at the break 4 goals in front – defying all odds.
The third quarter was what most had expected to see from the Bombers. Darren Bewick sparked a quick succession of goals that left the Blues flat and behind only 9 minutes into the term. Essendon streaked to an almost three-goal lead before Carlton hit back. Matthew Allan scouted a pack for one of Carlton’s only two goals for the term – the other to Scott Camporeale two minutes before three quarter time. At the break, the Bombers – with 11 more scoring shots – were only 11 points in front. Stephen Silvagni took it upon himself to rev up the Blues for one big effort to deny their rivals a shot at a record-equalling 16th premiership.
Unfortunately for Carlton, Steven Alessio goaled for the Bombers two minutes in. Some teams may have rolled over and died at this point, but Carlton would not. They were inspired by Anthony Koutoufides, who was everywhere in the final term. Fraser Brown would jink left, jink right, kick a goal to give the Blues heart before Koutoufides took a big mark in the forward 50 and converted. Matthew Lappin added another goal minutes later (thanks to a mistake from his direct opponent Damien Hardwick) and Carlton would take the lead. Minutes later Koutoufides would take a massive mark in the goalsquare and put Carlton 7 points in front. It was at this point that Gerard Healy came up with one of the great pieces of commentary:
“They’ve got to match up Kouta here. He could rip their hearts out.”
It wasn’t over yet…Matthew Lloyd kicked 2 miracle goals in a minute to put Essendon back in front. Enter Matthew Hogg. The ex-Bulldog had spent the first half on the bench before coming on to tag Bewick in the third term. His fresh legs and delivery skills brought the ball to Aaron Hamill 50 metres out. He landed the goal and Carlton were back in front. A few minutes later, a clearence ended with Hogg again who found Lance Whitnall 50 metres out on a tight angle. After almost a minute scouting the options, Whitnall lined up to kick for goal. Drew Morphett rode the ball home:
“It starts right…it Swings Back…WHAT A GOAL!!!”
On ABC radio Tim Lane (a Carlton supporter) chimed in with "Arise Sir Lancelot".
Whitnall’s goal put the Blues 8 points up, 104-96. Koutoufides drove the Blues forward again from the centre bounce, but the Essendon defence held firm. Eventually, Alessio held a juggling mark over Camporeale on the wing, played on quickly and the ball found Mark Johnson, who outmarked Ben Nelson and goaled to bring the margin back to 2 points. Again, Koutoufides got the ball forward for Carlton, but again it was cleared. With 90 seconds left on the clock, Johnson threw the ball to Joe Misiti, who forwarded for Essendon. The ball spilt out of the pack – Mark Mercuri gathered – shot at goal – the ball rolled…rolled…across the goalsquare for one point. One point was the difference.
55 seconds left – the kickout was strongly marked by Bomber Barry Young. He sent the ball back inside 50 to a massive pack. Dean Rice cleared – straight to Dean Wallis, who had knocked Mil Hanna out in the 1993 Grand Final to set the Bombers on their way to victory in that match. Wallis tried to get around Fraser Brown, but couldn’t – Brown dragged him down with a tackle made from sheer determination. Justin Murphy picked up the loose ball, ran away from the Essendon forward line before kicking short to Brett Ratten who marked and passed it back to Murphy with 15 seconds left. Murphy was content to let the clock run down to 0, and there it was – CARLTON WERE IN THE 1999 GRAND FINAL!
Every player had played his part in the win, and the against-all-odds win ranks as one of Carlton’s greatest moments – it is certainly Carlton’s greatest non-Premiership moment. Not one person of the 80,519 present at the MCG that day will ever forget it.
Historical Post-script: At the end of season 2008, the last member of this team would finish up in the AFL, being Kris Massie (noting Fevola was only an emergency for this game). Massie had not been offered a contract by the Crows, Massie's second AFL team.
Team
| B: | 23 Dean Rice | 1 Stephen Silvagni (vc) | 15 Ben Nelson |
| HB: | 5 Andrew McKay | 43 Anthony Koutoufides | 21 Craig Bradley (c) |
| C: | 14 Michael Sexton | 7 Brett Ratten | 3 Kris Massie |
| HF: | 36 Aaron Hamill | 8 Lance Whitnall | 18 Justin Murphy |
| F: | 12 Matthew Lappin | 22 Glenn Manton | 29 Simon Beaumont |
| Ruck: | 24 Matthew Allan | 20 Fraser Brown | 16 Scott Camporeale |
| Interchange: | |||
| 33 Matthew Hogg, 39 Ang Christou, 30 Adam White, 31 Simon Fletcher | |||
| Coach: | David Parkin | ||
| Emg: | Brett Backwell | Brendan Fevola | Ron De Iulio |
| In: | Ang Christou | ||
| Out: | Adrian Hickmott (hamstring) | ||
Video
Video Clips From The Game
Links
Gallery
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Browny.jpg -
Koutas MarkSaving mark in the dying minutes. -
Fraser Brown The tackleBrowns game saving tackle with about 30 seconds to go. -
Johnson throwIn the last minutes, Johnson threw the ball and could have lost us the game. The commentators said it was athrow, but no free kick. -
Dean RiceDean Rice with the characteristic footy under his arm burns off an Essendon opponent. -
Justin Murphy PickupAfter Fraser Murphys great tackle, the ball was knocked free. Justin Murhy ran from about 20 Metres, picked it up, broke the tackle, and saved the game. -
Brown & Whitnall \'99.jpg -
Fraser - Final Siren.jpg -
Hamill \'99 Prelim.jpg -
J. Murphy - final siren \'99.jpg -
SOS \'99.jpg -
Koutoufides \'99.jpg -
\'99 Celebrations.jpgDean Rice, Matthew Hogg and Justin Murphy -
Bradley & Parkin \'99.jpg -
Allan & Brown \'99.jpg -
Kouta \'99.jpg -
Matthew Allan \'99.jpg -
The Big Steal.jpg -
1999 Prelim Final - Kouta flies over Fletcher & Hamill. -
Fraser Brown - the tackle 1999The tackle by Fraser Brown 1999 Prelim Final. Better quality. -
1999 Prelim - Manton wants to bury Bombers. -
1999 Prelim Final - No Blockbuster as Dons hold aces. -
1999 Prelim Final - pre-match stats. -
1999 Prelim Final - Match Preview Vs Essendon. -
1999 Prelim - Kouta's Blinder. -
1999 Prelim - Kouta's coup de grace. -
1999 Prelim - Match Stats Vs Essendon. -
1999 Prelim - Whitnall's cool under pressure. -
1999 Prelim. - Lance Whitnall. -
1999 Prelim. - Hamill: SOS's speech fires the Blues. -
1999 Prelim - Brown celebrates Whitnall goal. -
1999 Prelim - Sexton: win one of the greatest. -
1999 Prelim. - Against the Odds. -
1999 Prelim. - Match Details. -
1999 Prelim. - Blues Liberal dash of Magic. -
1999 Prelim. - Knockout Carlton wins the fight. -
1999 Prelim. SOS to the Rescue. -
1999 Prelim. - Dont Blame Dean (boo-hoo). -
1999 Prelim. - The Stats that matter (Kouta & Allan). -
1999 Prelim. - One more miracle to complete fairytale. -
1999 Prelim. - SOS's emotional plea. -
1999 Prelim. - Kouta's late grab for the spotlight. -
1999 Prelim. - Manton's Bombers comments. -
1999 Prelim. - Why'd Wallis take on Brown?? -
1999 Prelim. - A Houdini act in Blue. -
1999 Prelim. - David Parkin quote. -
1999 Prelim. - Whose the choker know??? -
1999 Prelim. - The Siren: The sweetest sound. -
1999 Prelim. - Game Snippets. -
1999 Prelim. - Carlton answers the SOS. -
1999 Prelim. - Unsung Blues spin. -
1999 Prelim. - Dons midfield tricks backfire. -
1999 Prelim. - Manton & Elliott: Right On. -
1999 Prelim. - Aaron Hamill interview. -
1999 Prelim. - Who's Hot: Kouta. -
1999 Prelim. - Carlton's win-win situation. -
1999 Prelim. - Stars of the day: Kouta & Brown. -
1999 Prelim. - Sheedy to Arma: cut throat final. -
1999 Prelim. - Parkin calming the troops. -
1999 Prelim. - Bombers lose their poise. -
1999 Prelim. - Kouta: Divine. -
1999 Prelim. - Kouta calls on divine intervention. -
1999 Prelim. - Result enough to make hard men cry. -
1999 Prelim. - Short way home the best option. -
1999 Prelim. - Tony Shaw: an unlikely supporter. -
1999 Prelim. - Memorable moment: Brown's tackle on Wallis. -
1999 Prelim. - No red faces in Blues camp. -
1999 Prelim. - Brown's Bear Hug. -
1999 Prelim. Final - Worst of Times. -
1999 Prelim. - Best of Times. -
1999 Prelim. - Singing their praises. -
1999 Prelim. - Bomber's Taunts come back to bite them. -
1999 Prelim. - Parkin just fantastic. -
1999 Prelim. - Kouta-fantastic. -
1999 Prelim. - Hamill to face the tribunal for kneeing. -
1999 Prelim. - Season rolls on for eternal underdogs. -
1999 Prelim. - David Parkin. -
1999 Prelim. - Anthony Koutoufides. -
1999 Prelim. - A shattered Kevin Sheedy. -
1999 Prelim. - Matthew Allan. -
1999 Prelim. - Brown & Wallis stand-off. -
1999 Prelim. - Hamill & Wallis watch a high ball. -
1999 Prelim. - Silvagni spoils Lloyd. -
1999 Prelim. - Kouta flies for a mark. -
1999 Prelim. - Ben Nelson. -
1999 Prelim. - Camporeale tackles Rioli. -
1999 Prelim. - Allan & Brown sing the song. -
1999 Prelim. - Allan & Silvagni fly for the ball whilst Nelson waits below. -
1999 Prelim. - Allan marks as Silvagni watches whilst Nelson waits below. -
1999 Prelim. - Bradley & Parkin embrace. -
1999 Prelim. - Bradley & Parkin embrace with Campo in background. -
1999 Prelim. - Fraser Brown celebrates victory. -
1999 Prelim. - Anthony Koutoufides goals. -
1999 Prelim. - Justin Murphy celebrates. -
1999 Prelim. - Hogg & Murphy embrace. -
1999 Prelim. - Whitnall & Brown celebrate goal. -
1999 Prelim. - Anthony Koutoufides marks strongly. -
1999 Prelim. - Hamill marks in front of Allan as Whitnall waits down. -
1999 Prelim. - A jubilant Nelson & Hamill embrace. -
1999 Prelim. - Yessssss says SOS. -
1999 Prelim. - Lance Whitnall kicks the winner. -
1999 Prelim. - Aaron Hamill takes a big grab. -
1999 Prelim. - Justin Murphy throws the ball in joy. -
1999 Prelim. - Kouta's KO. -
1999 Prelim. - SOS to Lloyd: out of my way boy. -
1999 Prelim. - Ratten & Allan in the rooms. -
1999 Prelim. - Craig Bradley. -
1999 Prelim. - Bradley & SOS embrace after the siren. -
1999 Prelim. - Footy Record Cover. -
1999 Prelim. - Beware the Blues. -
1999 Prelim. - Mental as Anything. -
1999 Prelim. - Teams as selected. -
1999 Prelim. - Match Preview Vs Essendon. -
1999 Prelim. - A happy Craig Bradley. -
1999 Prelim Final - Brett Ratten. -
1999 Prelim Final - Kouta flies for a mark in front of Steve Alessio. -
1999 Prelim Final - Fraser Brown celebrates a Lance Whitnall goal. -
1999 Prelim Final - Kouta shoots for goal. -
1999 Prelim. Final - Aaron Hamill.
