Essendon's 2000 grand final team

[mark_johnson#1]

does anyone know how the team lined up at the start of the grand final in 2000
i just watched it on fox footy and just reminded me that we would of absolutley murdered anyone of brisbanes premiership winning teams

 

[Carlton God]

Yeah you did such a great job of 'murdering' them a year later when the only difference was about three players.

 

[Syd Kennets]

Yeah you did such a great job of 'murdering' them a year later when the only difference was about three players.

Thats a really good point.

I think our team in 2000 was streets ahead of any other teams that year, as evidenced by the 24-1 record, however, the competition was so terribly bad that season aswell. other teams got scared and barely came out of there shells against Essendon.

 

[Fraser]

does anyone know how the team lined up at the start of the grand final in 2000
i just watched it on fox footy and just reminded me that we would of absolutley murdered anyone of brisbanes premiership winning teams

If the 2000 team was that good, why didn't they go onto win another 2 flags?

 

[mark_johnson#1]

If the 2000 team was that good, why didn't they go onto win another 2 flags?

two words


salary cap

 

[Caj]

MJ#1 how exactly did the salary cap stop the bombers winning in 2001?

Which premiership players did they lose??

 

[MOJOE]

Injuries played a major role in our GF loss of 2001 - everyone knows it - why harp on about it. We lost to the greatest side of the modern era. At least we didnt lose to Collingwood...

 

[Dry Rot]

Thats a really good point.

I think our team in 2000 was streets ahead of any other teams that year, as evidenced by the 24-1 record, however, the competition was so terribly bad that season aswell. other teams got scared and barely came out of there shells against Essendon.

Um, what about Round 21? One team wasn't scared and came out of its shell.

I can still remember that Friday night. The Drummoyne Sports Club in Sydney was jumping, a real buzz. I turned up in my Bulldogs kit and could only spot two other Doggies in the main bar with the big screen. The room was full, but there were only a few Dons scarves.

The teams came on to the field, and there was an ugly transformation of the room, something akin to be caught in a Nurenberg rally. All over the room, virtually everyone became red and black. Blokes were pulling on sleeveless Bombers jumpers, red & black scarves and beanies appeared from nowhere.

We were playing a team that was unbeatable, which had won all their pre-season games, the final and 20 home and away games in row. They were a terrific team.

They never looked like being beaten all season. And their supporters were pretty cocky, they thought we'd get within 40 points if we were lucky.

It was a great game. We won it when Libba tackled Lucas.

The club was pretty subdued. But after the game quite a few Bombers fans came up and shook my hand, despite their disappointment about the record.

All the Bombers people I've met in Sydney have been OK.

 

[Powerstufff]

If the 2000 team was that good, why didn't they go onto win another 2 flags?

two words: salary cap

Yes but that implies the Bombers weren't at fault. They were. A great team was torn apart due to badly mismanaged contracts, both in length and amounts. They planned on a salary cap increase that never came. Gave us Hardwick, for which we will always be grateful.
Bombers were still superb in 2001 but faltered in finals (yes I know, this was our first double choke) almost going down to Hawthorn and then becoming the emergent Lions first GF conquest.

 

[Dave]

. They planned on a salary cap increase that never came.

I wonder why.....

 

[Walsh Bay]

I only saw Essendon once that season and didn't see what the fuss was about...

 

[VEEBEE]

two words


salary cap

without a doubt the best football team of all time,never has a team dominated the rest of the league so easily .the lions have been fantastic over the last four seasons ,but mainly played to theyre best in the finals,the 2000 bombers did it all season ,and if not for salary cap pressure whould have won the next three grand finals.

 

[Pessimistic]

Could it be said that the pressure of achieving so high in 2000 'burnt out' the team by the end of 2001 ?

 

[theGimp]

Could it be said that the pressure of achieving so high in 2000 'burnt out' the team by the end of 2001 ?

Possibly, I could be wrong but I think our line up for the following years grand final had 9 different players from the year before. Thats a fair chunk.
Im still a bit more than annoyed that we didnt get more flags from that team.

It will still be hard to beat that year, Watched the Bombers dominate week after week then win all finals by a mile. This followed by the Aussie cricket team that just couldnt lose every game they played in.

Ahh... happy days.

 

[Marns]

does anyone know how the team lined up at the start of the grand final in 2000
i just watched it on fox footy and just reminded me that we would of absolutley murdered anyone of brisbanes premiership winning teams

get over it mate, no, u wouldnt have murdered any of brisbanes sides because u didnt (2001 ring a bell?).
Stop living in the past.

 

[Borry]

Thats a really good point.

I think our team in 2000 was streets ahead of any other teams that year, as evidenced by the 24-1 record, however, the competition was so terribly bad that season aswell. other teams got scared and barely came out of there shells against Essendon.

Werent Brisbane good enough to work out how to beat your side a year later.

 

[itsintheblood]

does anyone know how the team lined up at the start of the grand final in 2000
i just watched it on fox footy and just reminded me that we would of absolutley murdered anyone of brisbanes premiership winning teams

You smoking your underpants or something. Take this trash to the essendon board and play with yourselves there.

 

[Darealrath]

Yeah you did such a great job of 'murdering' them a year later when the only difference was about three players.

But we murdered them in 2000, when they had pretty much the same team as 2001...

Our 2000 team would have beaten any other team i've ever seen, including our 2001 team, by quite a lot.

 

[theGimp]

get over it mate, no, u wouldnt have murdered any of brisbanes sides because u didnt (2001 ring a bell?).
Stop living in the past.

Far canal, for a well educated Melbourne supporter you would think you could understand a simple sentence. The question was asked of the 2000 team.

You know the one, the ones that tore your mob a new one and made Michael Long your most feared tough guy ?

Maybe you should read more carefully before frothing at the mouth.

 

[theGimp]

You smoking your underpants or something. Take this trash to the essendon board and play with yourselves there.

Hee hee.. Dont knock it till you try it IIB.

Im backing him on this one, our 2000 team was better than any Brisbane team.
At least over an entire season.

 

[Dave]

I only saw Essendon once that season and didn't see what the fuss was about...

Missed round six did we?

 

[waspy]

Not sure of the lineup but i know the team:
Mark Johnson
Mark Mercuri
James Hird
Sean Wellman
Dean Solomon
Darren Bewick
Adam Ramanauskas
Damien Hardwick
Michael Long
Jason Johnson
Paul Barnard
Matthew Lloyd
Dean Wallis
John Barnes
Joe Misiti
Scott Lucas
Chris Heffernan
Steven Alessio
Gary Moorcroft
Dustin Fletcher
Justin Blumfield
Blake Caracella

I'm only guessing but they would have lined up something like this:
B: M.Johnson, Fletcher, Hardwick
HB: Solomon, Wellman, Wallis
C: Ramanauskas, Misiti, Long
HF: Caracella, Lucas, Hird
F: Barnard, Lloyd, Mercuri
R: Barnes, J. Johnson, Heffernan
I: Blumfield, Alessio, Moorcroft, Bewick

Pretty awesome but a lot of those players are currently playing much worse than they played that year (Heffernan, Mercuri etc.) so the team might look worse than it really was.

 

[Darealrath]

I think Blumfield started on in place of Barnard. God i loved that backline we had.

 

[ant555]

If the 2000 team was that good, why didn't they go onto win another 2 flags?

I am not going to detract anything from brisbanes performance, they have to be rated highly. As for us not winning 2 or 3 i think you can look at a few injuries costing us heaps at the end of 99 and and several players being only 70 to 80% fit in the 2001 GF.Brisbane where too good for us on that day but we hung in the game for a long time despite the fact that Hird was virtually useless that day ,Barnes wasnt fit and Fletcher was struggling with injury as well.

 

[itsintheblood]

Hee hee.. Dont knock it till you try it IIB.

Im backing him on this one, our 2000 team was better than any Brisbane team.
At least over an entire season.

I'd back the lions team of last year till the cows come home gimpy.