Winter had set in across Melbourne.
It was 1998 and North Melbourne was on its way to the Grand Final. Essendon was looking to atone after an injury riddled 1997. And Kevin Sheedy wanted to draw a crowd.
So the Essendon Coach went after a couple Kangaroos officials.
“Mark Dawson and Greg Miller had been around for a few years, like myself, so we thought we’d create a bit of banter between the two clubs,” Sheedy said.
“We got about 72,000 so it was worthwhile upsetting everyone over a couple of pink and white marshmallows.”
Sheedy could sell games like a Real Estate agent can sell houses.
His then North Melbourne counterpart, Denis Pagan – himself now a Real Estate agent – didn’t know what to make of Sheedy’s claims that the two Kangaroos executives had a soft underbelly.
“All I know is when I woke up the next morning, I live in Moonee Ponds, and my front lawn was covered in marshmallows, and I thought gee what’s going on here,” Pagan said.
That was round 14 but the bout was just beginning.
Sheedy had announced publicly he wanted North Melbourne to finish in the top four so the Bombers didn’t have to travel in the first week of the finals.
He got his wish. The Roos finished on top while the Bombers grabbed eighth spot.
It set up the infamous MCG final that started with a Michael Long goal but ended with Kangaroos fans hurling marshmallows at the Essendon Coach.
“North beat us eventually but you know we got a great crowd which was fantastic,” Sheedy said.
“In the end there was no harm done. But I got thousands of marshmallows thrown on me that night.
“I know that the confectionary industry rang me up and thanked me on the Monday – (they said) what you’ve done for our industry is fantastic.”
That 1998 finals loss was the launching pad for three strong Essendon seasons and many more epic battles with North Melbourne.
There was a shootout between Matthew Lloyd and Wayne Carey in 1999. The number 18’s kicked 17 between them that day.
Then there was Qualifying Final annihilation in 2000. The Bombers kicked nine goals in the first quarter and 31 for the game to run out 125-point winners.
A year later the Bombers trailed the Kangaroos by 69 points down midway through the second quarter in their round 16 clash.
Essendon Captain James Hird urged his teammates to halve the margin by halftime. They more than accomplished that and then went on to win the game by 12 points.
Last season, it was the Kangaroos turn to overcome a deficit. They trailed by Bombers by 33 points early in the third quarter but stormed home. Just like 13 years earlier, the margin was two goals.
Now attention turns to the next instalment.
“Against North they are always big matches,” Sheedy said.
“We’ve got a big match coming up against the Kangaroos on Friday night and we want to make sure everyone understands that this is a quarter-final this time of year between two teams that are in the north-west of Melbourne.”
