SATURDAY'S preliminary final between West Coast and Melbourne will be the second time they've met at that stage of a season, and 24 years after the first. The Eagles kicked nine second-half goals to the Demons' two in 1994 to turn a 12-point lead into a 65-point cakewalk, and went on to beat Geelong by 80 points in the Grand Final. Two players, West Coast's Brett Heady and Melbourne's Andy 'Chopper' Lovell, relayed their memories to AFL.com.au this week.
WEST Coast was only eight years into its AFL existence when it hosted a Melbourne side riding big-time momentum in a 1994 preliminary final at the WACA.
Mick Malthouse's Eagles were premiership favourites, having won their inaugural flag two years earlier and after finishing a game clear of Carlton on top of the ladder in the home and away season.
They had four All Australians that year in brilliant wingman Peter Matera and defenders Glen Jakovich, Guy McKenna and David Hart.
"We were the first side (along with Brisbane) to enter what was formerly the VFL, so the difference between being in Perth and Melbourne was quite dramatic," West Coast forward Brett Heady said.
"We'd get booed and hissed at and things thrown at us over there, then you'd come back here and it was a bit 'rock-starry' – the state just embraced it so much.
MEGA-PREVIEW: West Coast v Melbourne
"When we won our first final (in 1990), there were 12,000 or 13,000 people at the airport to meet us … you couldn't go anywhere on the streets without being stopped and asked for autographs."
However, the new McIntyre final-eight system started in 1994, and eighth-placed Collingwood went within two points of causing a titanic upset against the Eagles.
In fact, the Magpies would almost certainly have won if Mick McGuane hadn't spilled a difficult mark right in front of goal in the dying seconds.
Then-West Coast captain, and now Essendon coach, John Worsfold infamously confronted McGuane with a choking gesture that sparked verbal warfare and required the teams to be separated.
That victory advanced the Eagles to the preliminary final, while the seventh-ranked Demons beat the Blues by 27 points before thumping the Western Bulldogs by 79 on the back of 10 Garry Lyon goals.
Lyon and a 22-year-old by the name of David Schwarz kicked a combined 139 majors that season.
"We had some real confidence going in, our form line was really strong and we gave ourselves a real chance," Melbourne midfielder Andy Lovell said.
"But in the end, they were just too good. I reflect back and they had stars on every line, and their level of talent was greater than ours."
Sizzling start
The match-ups were glorious. Jakovich went to Schwarz. Matera and fellow All Australian Stephen Tingay faced off on the same wing. It went on and on.
West Coast was in charge from the outset, but initially failed to reflect that dominance on the scoreboard with a 4.7 opening term. Enter Heady.
The Eagle booted three of his side's seven first-half goals, then doubled his tally in the match-winning third quarter, where West Coast piled on 6.7 to one behind to establish a nine-goal buffer.
One commentator even called Heady "the difference" after he soccered through his sixth major from the top of the goal square.
It was one of four times in his career he kicked at least that many – and the most he ever managed in a final.
Melbourne had booted five goals to three in the second term to slash the margin to 12 points at half-time and threaten a boilover, but its resistance fell away dramatically.
Lovell still rues a missed set shot from about 40m that could have brought his side even closer.
"It was a beautiful day, quite sunny, and perfect for small forwards to get involved," Heady said.
"It was definitely a lot hotter (competitive) early than the scoreline showed. We managed to get some late goals in the first quarter.
"We controlled a lot of that quarter, but we kicked a lot of points, and when you miss your opportunities in the AFL, it often comes back to bite you. I think that's what happened in the second quarter."
The Backstreet Boys
If there was one thing West Coast was better at than football, it was sledging. Just ask McGuane.
This particular afternoon was no different, with the Eagles getting into the Demons' heads from the first bounce, even if it was lighthearted.
"We thought we were coming up against the model boys from Melbourne; blokes like Andy Lovell and Stephen Tingay, who liked to get tips in their hair," Heady said with a laugh.
"Throw it in there that we thought we were playing the Backstreet Boys (popular boy band in the 1990s); guys with big hairdos and tips through it.
"There was a bit of feistiness, particularly in the first half, and as footballers do, once they get on top they tend to rub it in more and that continued into the second half, when we ran away with the game."
Mainwaring (29 disposals), Dean Kemp (25), Don Pyke (21), Chris Lewis and McKenna (both 20), and Peter Sumich (three goals) were prolific for West Coast.
Lyon (three goals), Lovell (25), Kevin Dyson (23), Jason Norrish (22) and Todd Viney (21) did their utmost for the Demons.
Lovell, who spent his 20th year as a coach overseeing Gold Coast's backline this season, coincidentally joined the Eagles for the 1996 season and became good friends with Heady and Kemp.
Andy Lovell was an assistant coach at Gold Coast this year. Picture: AFL Photos
He didn't waste his chance to get one back on Heady, even if it is 24 years later.
"They did call us the Backstreet Boys, but Brett can put a bit of mayo on that stuff," Lovell said.
"After I went to the Eagles, Brett, Dean Kemp and I used to surf a bit. But Brett didn't surf – he boogie-boarded – so Kempy used to give it to him for riding an Esky lid."
The last great ignominy
The beaten and battered Melbourne footballers didn't need anything more to go wrong after their premiership dream was extinguished.
Unfortunately, that hope was quickly dashed post-match.
"I remember the team bus didn't turn up to take us back to the hotel, so we had to walk from the WACA back to the hotel in the city in our gear," Lovell said.
"It was about 2-3km from the ground, so it was just another kick in the guts.
"We're walking past bars full of West Coast supporters and we're in our kit, because the bus didn't turn up. What a great way to finish the day."
The Eagles, on the other hand, picked up a week later where they left off against the Demons to crush Geelong by 80 points in a lopsided Grand Final to win their second flag.
Fifteen West Coast footballers backed up from the 1992 premiership that day, including Heady, who is now a father to Madison, 16, and Josh, 11, and runs his own business, Urban Glass Fencing.
Many of them will be at Perth's new football home to cheer on the latest batch of Eagles on Saturday, when they face Melbourne again.
"I'm a life member, so we get season tickets and invited to corporate days," Heady said.
"They've given us some awesome seats at Optus Stadium, up on a terrace and by the bars and food areas.
"All the boys are coming back to the footy, because you can stand up there and talk and watch the game and it's become a lot more social because of that – and it's an awesome spectacle."
1994 Preliminary Final
WEST COAST 4.7 7.9 13.16 16.21 (117)
MELBOURNE 1.0 6.3 6.4 8.4 (52)
GOALS
West Coast: Heady 6, Sumich 3, Ball 2, Evans, Hynes, Kemp, Lewis, Wilson
Melbourne: Lyon 3, Charles 2, Hopgood, B. Lovett, G. Lovett
Umpires: Sawers, Kennedy, Rich
Official crowd: 34,317 at the WACA
