""And what about Adam Ramanausaks – he played all 24 games,"" Jackson said to the loud applause of the1200 Essendon supporters in attendance. ""It has now been two full seasons since Rama has been able to ply his trade at a level he and the club would hope. With a full pre-season and a bigger stronger Rama, we look forward to many games in 2005 like that last game against Geelong.""
Jackson also read the following quote from the end-of-season report from the club’s head physiotherpaist Bruce Connor.
""Adam Ramanauskas played every match in 2004. It is an absolute credit to him as the hurdles he has had placed in front of him and the ongoing disabilities he quietly carries are way beyond the norm in the sporting environment. I have the utmost admiration for him.""
Below is Peter Jackson’s full speech from last Wednesday night’s Crichton Medal.
""Round 22 in 1992 was a significant game for the Essendon Football Club. It was played at VFL Park and Essendon lost to Geelong by 56 points. Geelong finished the home and away season on top of the ladder and was later beaten by West Coast Eagles in the Grand Final. Essendon finished the home and away season in eighth position, the same as in 2004 except that only a top six existed in those days.
That is a game not many Essendon supporters will remember or think about, let alone consider significant. But there were some things that happened that day that made it very significant. Firstly, Terry Daniher and Simon Madden played their last game for the club in that game. Further, Tim Watson made a brief re-appearance to join Simon and Terry in a lap of honour to be acknowledged for his ""premature"" retirement at the end of 1991.
Secondly James Hird played his fourth game for Essendon Football Club and Joe Misiti his second. Mark Mercuri did not play in that game but two weeks before played his third game against Melbourne. David Calthorpe played his second game against Melbourne. Steve Alessio played five games for the whole season. Dustin Fletcher was doing Year 11 and playing for Essendon Grammar.
The final point of significance from that game is that with Simon Madden and Terry Daniher’s pending retirement, it left only four players from the incredibly successful team that won back-to-back premierships in 1984 and1985 ready to tackle the 1993 season. They were Mark Harvey, Paul Salmon, Mark Thompson and Alan Ezard. We now know of course that Tim Watson came out of retirement to play again in 1993, meaning there were five players from the 1985 team in the line-up for 1993.
I imagine after that game against Geelong that Essendon supporters were a pretty disillusioned lot. Many would have thought it was the final drawing of the curtain on an era. How could the club possibly replace players of the calibre of Watson, Madden and Daniher. No doubt a slide down the ladder beckoned.
There were a few other players of significance in that game against Geelong. Gavin Wanganeen played 21 games that season and was regarded then as a promising young player. He played just his 39th game against Geelong. He was 21 years old. Michael Long played 17 games and although we knew he had ability, we had not yet witnessed his sustained brilliance.
Of course we know the history since that game against Geelong. Essendon Football Club won the grand final next year in 1993. Michael Long won the Norm Smith Medal. Gavin Wanganeen won the Brownlow Medal and players like Hird, Misiti, Mercuri, Fletcher and Calthorpe were significant in that win.
Those players went on from there. James Hird became a superstar, Mark Mercuri won a Crichton Medal, became an All Australian and was runner up in the Brownlow Medal. Joe Misiti became a 200-plus game champion for the club. Fletcher won a best and fairest and was an All Australian. David Calthorpe won an EJ Whitten Medal in a state-of-origin game.
Fast forward to the semi-final in 2004, Essendon’s last game in 2004. Essendon was beaten by Geelong again. Geelong was then very unlucky not to have beaten the reigning premiers and played in a Grand Final in 2004.
How significant will Essendon’s last game in 2004 prove to be?
Three club greats ended their careers after the 2004 semi-final. Joe Misiti and Mark Mercuri who played their first games back in 1992 were two of those greats. Sean Wellman was the third.
Brent Stanton played his 15th game for Essendon in that game against Geelong. Other young players have performed well at various times during the 2004 season. Kepler Bradley (five games), Ricky Dyson (11 games), Jason Laycock (four games), Jobe Watson (seven games), Jason Winderlich (six games) and Nathan Lovett-Murray, who surprised everyone, with 20 games.
Like Long and Wanganeen in 1992, there are other players from the 2004 season that also have great significance in terms of 2005.
Adam Mcphee, the most improved player in the competition, has played 70 games and is still only 21 years old. David Hille has played 72 games but is still only 23 years old. Mark McVeigh took a significant step in his career during the latter part of 2004 and could develop into one of the competition’s better mid-fielders in 2005. Dean Rioli played only 13 games in 2004. If Dean can get his body fit he can be a superstar for this club. A forgotten player, Joel Reynolds, played only three games and still has great potential.
And what about Adam Ramanausaks – he played all 24 games.
Let me quote from the head physio Bruce Connor’s end of year report:
""Adam Ramanauskas played every match in 2004. It is an absolute credit to him as the hurdles he has had placed in front of him and the ongoing disabilities he quietly carries are way beyond the norm in the sporting environment. I have the utmost admiration for him.""
It’s now been two full seasons since Rama has been able to ply his trade at a level he and the club would hope. With a full pre-season and a bigger stronger Rama, we look forward to many games in 2005 like that last game against Geelong.
The parallels between the last game against Geelong in 1992 and the last game against them in 2004 are fairly obvious, not the least of which is the uncertainty about the future. Uncertainty that did exist then and will now exist in the minds of many Essendon supporters. Some are very concerned for the immediate future because there will be only eight players in 2005 from the all-conquering 2000 team. Just like there were only five in 1993 from the 1985 all-conquering team.
Just like then, supporters possibly can’t see the superstars and heroes of tomorrow in the 2004 team. But good judges around Essendon can! People that have the experience and the success to justify their judgements.
If we are to succeed in 2005 it won’t just happen, we must make it happen as we did in 1993.
Looking back on 2004, we can’t be competitive throughout a season when in total we lose 150 games due to injury. Some of those injuries were unavoidable. But we know we need to get on top of the soft tissue injuries we incurred in 2004. Whereas we have been at the forefront in minimising hamstring injuries in previous years, we had an unacceptable number in 2004. There is no general answer – there are specific and individual reasons for them all but in the end, there were too many.
We need to develop our on-field leaders, and to this end, are working with the leadership group of 10-12 players to undertake a study tour of Japan in December. The leaders themselves are funding the vast majority of the cost of that tour and that in itself is a credit to their commitment and leadership.
Above all of course, we need to develop the playing list. Not through wholesale changes to the list, but through skills and personal development, so that we discover in this young and talented group the next Watson, Daniher, Madden, Long, Wanganeen, Hird, Misiti, Mercuri and Wellman.
Ladies and gentlemen, believe us, they are there, and you will look back in say 2008 and say, gee, I saw him play in 2004 and I knew he would be great.
At the beginning of 1993, respected football commentator Mike Sheahan picked Essendon to plumb the depths. I wonder whether the parallels between 1992 and 2004 will extend to that level again! I hope so. I would love for the Essendon Football Club to prove the pundits wrong yet again.
