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Saturday 14th June 1980- Round 12 from 30 years ago


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#1 Caveman

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Posted 09 June 2010 - 09:16 PM

This weekend is Round 12 against Brisbane. Way back 30 years ago we played Fitzroy also in Round 12, the date was Saturday 14th June 1980.

The Eastern Tigers broke their drought two weeks ago in the festival state against the Port of Adelaide mob. It has been a fair wait for the Eastern Tiger fans this 2010 season, but it was not as long as our between drinks for a first victory of the season- way back in 1980.

The bulldogs had lost the first 11 games of that 1980 season and finally we turned it around against a team who played finals football the year before- Fitzroy.

I was there as part of a crowd of 10,681 at the Junction Oval. The joy that afternoon was overwhelming, many times since that June day of 1980 when Footscray fans feel grumpy after a run of the mill win, I think back to that day and how relieving and joyful it was after such agony for so long. What compounded the 1980 drought was that we had lost the last three games of 1979 so it has been 14 straight defeats. Our previous victory was in Round 19 over Richmond at Footscray, the previous win prior to this was also at Footscray against St Kilda in Round 15

So after beating St Kilda in Round 15, on Saturday 14th July 1979, we amassed the sum total of 3.15.33 in a 122 point thrashing at Victoria Park the following Round 16 of Saturday 21st July.
Then a loss to Geelong at the Western Oval a week later. That Round 17 game was bad enough but on the same day- Fitzroy took the competition's Record score away from us at Waverley against Melbourne. That was totally shattering- we held that record for 13 months. Chris Evert and Greg Norman were married longer than Footscray and the record score.

Then to Round 18 at the Lakeside Oval. South Melbourne kick 30 goals against us- and one more. I was at this 89 point defeat with South Melbourne knocking 31.9.195 up against us.

Then the Richmond victory- the next year they won the Premiership by a (then) record margin. The last three games were losses to Carlton on August 18th on a cold wet day at Waverley, Fitzroy and Hawthorn comfortably beating us at the Junction Oval on August 25th and September 1st was the Hawthorn hiding at the Western Oval. I wasn't there against Fitzroy at the Junction in 1979, but went to all the other above mentioned games.

Surely 1980 under a new coach- the Richmond dual Premiership captain Royce Hart would change things around.

Well we had to wait until Round 12- Saturday 14th June 1980, our first senior win since thumping Richmond at Footscray on Saturday 11th August 1979.

They were terrible times to be a bulldogs fan. The ridicule from opposition fans was immense back then, for a 10 year old, it definitely tested your resolve.

So after every ordinary win these days (and all days since the end of 1982)- I never complain about a two bit win as being old enough to remember that era of late 1979 through to the mini revival of 1983, just consider- that really was the worst of times.


#2 Fossie 32

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Posted 14 June 2010 - 08:47 PM

Would have been magic to be there ;)

#3 Caveman

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Posted 14 June 2010 - 09:58 PM

To me, that victory at the Junction Oval of Round 12 1980 was a similar feeling as the scene from the Shawshank Redemption movie in which Tim Robbins raises both his arms in the air whilst in the water after finally departing that pipe that he had been travelling through.

#4 hilly84f1

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Posted 15 June 2010 - 06:04 PM

To me, that victory at the Junction Oval of Round 12 1980 was a similar feeling as the scene from the Shawshank Redemption movie in which Tim Robbins raises both his arms in the air whilst in the water after finally departing that pipe that he had been travelling through.


Caveman I take it Sundays result altho similar, wouldnt have quite given you the same feelings as that day in 1980!
Great Re-collections!
Hey did you get my email last week?

#5 Caveman

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Posted 15 June 2010 - 06:22 PM

Not quite the same jubilation though there are definitely some similarities.

Fitzroy Lions v Footscray Bulldogs Round Saturday 14th June 1980
Brisbane Lions v The Bulldogs Round 12 Sunday 13 June 1980

ok one was a designated away game in Melbourne the other is a 'sort of' home game in Melbourne

yet a few more similarites were

Both games were 60 odd point victories

A couple of larrkin like blokes kicked a few

Shane Loveless 8 in 80
Barry Hall 6 in 10


Yesterday was the exact 30th anniversary of the date- 14th June.

As for your email- yes I certainly got it, I will have a crack tonight at getting into that task. Just been busy to the eyeballs in the last four weeks with various situations, so major tasks have unfortunately been put on the back burner. Tonight is the night, so I suppose I had better get cracking on it.





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