Waverley, round five, 1983
Essendon was building towards a dynasty when it won an entertaining clash at Waverley in 1983.The Bombers controlled most of the first half before the Kangaroos, with Wayne Schimmelbusch and Gary Dempsey leading the way and Jimmy Krakouer dangerous in attack, booted eight goals in third term to grab a narrow lead. But with experienced heads like Terry Daniher in the side and Tim Watson and Simon Madden also contributing, the more-accurate Bombers steadied. Kevin Sheedy's men slotted 6.1 to a staggering 3.11 from the Roos and won by five points. Later that season North Melbourne took the round 16 but the Bombers had the last laugh, belting the Kangas by 86 points in the preliminary final.
Collingwood 10.16 (76) d Carlton 9.17 (71)
Waverley, round five, 1984
The arch rivals drew more than 68,000 fans to Waverley for this clash. In an always tight tussle Collingwood held on to score a gutsy five-point win with then Pie and now Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams the match-winner - his five goals on a day when majors were tough to come by were invaluable. Murray Browne had 29 disposals for the Pies and was judged best afield, Peter Daicos also had 29 while Tony Shaw had 25. For Carlton, Alex Marcou had 29 disposals but defenders Val Perovic and Bruce Doull were adjudged the Blues' best, the pair picking up votes from the men in white on the day. The Pies repeated the dose in a semi-final later that year, downing the Blues by 25 points, before a disastrous preliminary final loss to Essendon by 133 points.
West Coast 15.14 (104) d Hawthorn 13.14 (92)
Princes Park, round five, 1987
The euphoria of the Eagles' first-ever win in round one of their debut season had well and truly faded by the time they met Hawthorn at Princes Park in round five. Three successive losses, including an 87-point hiding by Carlton, left the new boys under no illusions about how tough this league was. A Hawks' side boasting Tuck, Dunstall, Brereton, Platten and DiPierdomenico appeared set to dole out further misery, but the upstarts from out west had different ideas. Led by 21-year-old Chris Mainwaring, who would win three Brownlow votes for his 26 disposals, West Coast went toe to toe with the star-studded Hawthorn side all day and despite six goals from Dunstall held on for a thrilling 12-point win - their first in Victoria.
Geelong 24.17 (161) d Richmond 11.16 (82)
MCG, round four, 1988
Gary Ablett Sr's love affair with the Richmond backline probably started on this day 22 years ago. Ablett seemed to save his best games for when the Cats played Richmond and this match was the first in which Ablett truly dominated the Tigers. The Cats kicked six goals in the first quarter to set up an emphatic 79-point win and Ablett finished with 10 goals for the day. The margin would have been much bigger but for a six-goal Richmond fightback in the final term. Ablett finished with the three Brownlow votes that day while teammate Mark Bairstow gave him plenty of supply with 30 touches.
Melbourne 17.11 (113) d Collingwood 10.17 (77)
Waverley, round six, 1991
Questions began to hover over the reigning premiers as they dropped their second game of the year, this time to Melbourne at VFL Park on Anzac Day. The Magpies had struggled to recapture their premiership form from 1990 and let themselves down with poor kicking for goal. By contrast Melbourne built on its recent good form. Darren Cuthbertson continued his brilliant start to his career by booting seven goals and Darren Bennett played a more than handy support role with a bag of five. New recruit Paul Williams was one of few shining lights for Collingwood in the 36-point loss.
Carlton 18.13 (121) d St Kilda 17.11 (113)
Princes Park, round six, 1992
Both teams had enjoyed decent starts to the season, with Carlton losing just one game to the Saints' two by the time they met in round six at Princes Park. Despite being roared on by 34,661 fans on their home ground, the Blues quickly fell behind as Tony Lockett got hold of the Carlton defence. With his side four goals down at half time, David Parkin sent Jon Dorotich down back to play on Plugger and the move proved a match-winner. Dorotich won just three disposals on the day, but his job in quelling the St Kilda spearhead earned him two Brownlow votes, with Stephen Kernahan and Luke O'Sullivan booting four goals each as the Blues swept to an eight-point win.
