History of the Essendon football club

Tough Times

If the 1930's had started with high hopes that soon turned sour, the 1970's were all too similar. After the on and off success of the 1960's under Coleman, the 1970's saw a period where wins were hard to come by and coaches were swapped regularly as the board tried to find a winning combination. The situation of internal strife became obvious as the 1970 season opened with 5 players sitting out of the opening game in a strike to gain greater payment for their services. By the end of the year Essendon finished tenth and Coleman's replacement, Jack Clarke, was told he was not to be given the coaching job in 1971. The act of getting rid of Clarke did nothing to improve the team and his replacement, former star rover John Birt, was given marching orders after another poor showing by the club. The purchase of Des Tuddenham from Collingwood for $12,000 took Essendon into the finals in 1972, the first time that the final five was used. The Bombers went down to Fitzroy in the first final to be played at Waverly and the season was over. Tuddenham was captain/coach, much to the dismay of many who suggested that the game was too quick for a playing coach, but Tuddy took the Bombers to another finals appearance in 1973 only to yet again go down to St.Kilda in an elimination final.

1974 saw the bombers miss the finals in what was to become an all too familiar ladder position. One point of note from the year was the "Brawl of Windy Hill" between Essendon and Richmond. Not only players, but officials from both teams fought each other as the half-time siren sounded during the round 7 clash. Police were forced to step in to try and sort out the fighting which led to VFL charges laid against four players, a Richmond official, an Essendon Runner and staff member.

Other than more fights, the only other notable points from the seventies are those which refer to individuals rather that the club. Graham Moss won the Brownlow in 1976 only to leave the club one week later to return to Perth. The recruiting during the late 1970's proved to be the start of the revival of Essendon's fortunes, with Tim Watson, Paul Van Der Haar, Merve Neagle and both Danniher brothers, Neale and Terry as well as Glen Hawker and Roger Merritt picked up during the 1977-1978 years. With this group of youngsters, the Dons once more made the finals in 1979 only to once again lose an elimination final.

The 1980's started with much higher hopes that the bad days of the 1970's were behind us, but the Barry Davis coached side of 1980 fell apart during the fourth round. New recruit Phil Carmen head-butted boundary umpire Graham Carbery and was given a 16 week suspension on top of the 4 weeks for hitting Gary Sidebottom in the incident that started it all. His sentence was the highest since 1945. Despite Carmen getting what most people felt was well deserved, he took the case to the Supreme Court to try and have the suspension either thrown out or lightened, a bid that failed and eventually saw the club suffer adversely through the constant media attention. The only two real highlights of the year were the form of both Tim Watson and Merve Neagle. They finished third and second in the Brownlow, obviously handing the award to Kelvin Templeton as they took too many votes off each other.

Next: Back on Top

Relive the great games and inspiring stories behind the greatest Australian football club

Tim Watson - The Bomber from the bush VHS
A look at the brilliant career of one of a true favorite. The second youngest player to ever take to the field in a senior match his story lived up tot the hype surrounding him as a child prodigy.

Terry Daniher - VHS
Laid back, relaxed and a dual premiership captain. A country boy through and through, TD was genuine superstar who held down centre half forward during one of Essendon's great periods.

All original images on this site remain the property of Danny Bishop and cannot be used without prior approval. Any tradmarks remain the property of their respective owners. It doesn't look like the AFL have the best interests of fans at heart, so make sure you're a member of your club so you can have a say. Go Bombers. ©2004-2005.