History lesson for those who may not recall or are too young.
Lets go back to the end of 1996. Fitzroy were given the boot from the AFL and were swallowed up in a quasi merger with Brisbane.
We knew this was coming during the 1996 season- sad though it was (and still is)
Their last game ever played was against another 'F' team- Fremantle over there in Western Australia on Sunday 1st September 1996.
The Saturday night before the Fremantle v Fitzroy game was 'The Merger Match' between Melbourne and Hawthorn. The hawks won by a point, Jason Dunstall kicked his 100th goal for the season.
Anyway the merger didn't go ahead- both Melbourne and Hawthorn survived on their own. Now 17 years later Hawthorn are into another Grand Final.
At Round 22 1996 there were three 'F' teams, Fitzroy, Footscray and Fremantle.
At Round 1 1997 there was just one- Fremantle.
Fitzroy were gone and replaced in the competition by Port Adelaide operating under their other name as Port Power. Footscray had their name changed by an unelected incoming board to Western Bulldogs, without a vote on this issue by the members of the Footscray Football Club.
Anyway of those 16 clubs who competed in this 1997 season- come next Saturday night 14 of the 16 will have played in a Grand Final. There was 13 until today, however Fremantle have now left that club- the only two remaining are Richmond and the Western Bulldogs.
1997: St Kilda and Adelaide
1998: North Melbourne
1999: Carlton
2000: Essendon and Melbourne
2001: Brisbane
2002: Collingwood
2004: Port Adelaide
2005: Sydney and West Coast
2007: Geelong
2008: Hawthorn
2013: Fremantle
Richmond and Western Bulldogs -we are like the Neil Harvey and Arthur Morris from Bradman's 1948 invincibles tour of England. Neil Harvey and Arthur Morris are the last two surviving members of that much celebrated 1948 team. We are last two to make a Grand Final since Footscray had our name changed to Western Bulldogs.
Yet some still believe that it has been a success!
