As Essendon prepares to travel to Launceston’s UTAS Stadium for its round 14 clash with Hawthorn, it will be just the second time in VFL/AFL history that the club has played a match for premiership points on Tasmanian soil.

There had been a number of occasions in the past where the Bombers had played matches on the Apple Isle - including the first ever match against a Tasmanian representative team in 1882 in front of the Governor, and a match against another representative side in 1926 - but never for premiership points.

The perfectly manicured surface that will greet the Bombers and Hawks on Sunday in ‘Launy’ will be far removed from the slippery mud heap that Essendon had to navigate at North Hobart Oval in round 17, 1992, when eighth-placed Fitzroy hosted Kevin Sheedy’s Bombers, sitting ninth with eight wins and seven losses in a crucial late-season match for both clubs who were desperate to stay in touch with the top six.

Both teams had won two of their previous three matches, but the Lions deserved favouritism having beaten the Bombers by 52 points at the MCG in round two.

In the only other match at the North Hobart venue in 1992, Robert Shaw’s side had performed mission impossible by stunning the previous year’s runner-up West Coast with a 16-point victory in round seven. And there was added concern for Sheedy, given five of his players were coming off a short break after representing Victoria just a few days earlier.

Channel 7 commentator Gerard Healy suggested Essendon had entered a “foreign land” that Sunday, while co-commentator Drew Morphett sensed the match was a “mid-season mini-final”.

The sun was shining brightly and a crowd of 10,265 had filled the terraces, with red and black colours prevalent throughout. But according to Gary O’Donnell, playing in his 107th match that day, the fine conditions beamed into Victoria via Channel 7’s broadcast were in stark contrast to what the players experienced from the moment they ran on to North Hobart Oval.

“It was a typical freezing Hobart winter day,” O’Donnell recalled in 2021.

“Ken ‘Bettsy’ Betts, our property steward, had forgotten to pack any dressing gowns or blankets, so the players had to use our own tracksuit top - that is, if we had thought to bring any with us. It was a very fresh day, and ground conditions were very heavy. It was a tough slog.”

Having played their previous two matches on the spacious MCG, the Bombers had to adjust to the much smaller confines of North Hobart - an intimidating venue given the design of the terraces.

“The crowd was close to a full house,” O’Donnell said.

“There was a higher terrace on the broadcast side of the ground which gave an amphitheatre feel to it, over what was a smallish arena compared to the likes of the MCG and Waverley.”

The conditions, size of the ground and a vocal and enthusiastic crowd which felt as if it was enveloping the players, combined to produce a cauldron-like atmosphere that increased in volume as the game drew to its dramatic finale.

Paul Salmon had kicked five goals for Victoria on the Tuesday. Against the Lions, opposed to hometown favourite Alastair Lynch at full-back, Salmon kicked two early goals, including a gem from the boundary, to give the Bombers an early break.

Bradley Plain and Darren Bewick were busy, while teenagers Glenn Kilpatrick and Paul Hills provided plenty of dash, helping Essendon to a nine-point quarter-time lead.

Greg Anderson snapped a great goal from the pocket early in second term, but the Bombers missed a number of gettable chances. When Michael Werner missed a set shot after the half-time siren, Essendon went to the main break leading by 12 points.

Fitzroy had the better of the third term, kicking four goals to two to take a one-point lead into the final quarter.

Gavin Wanganeen and Werner missed early chances for Essendon at the start of the last term, until a desperate save by Dean Wallis - who still had hair back then - stopped a certain Fitzroy goal. Moments later, Wallis bombed a huge goal on the run to bring the crowd to life.

The match was desperate, with pressure at every contest. Dangerous Fitzroy forward Richard Osborne had kicked a game-high seven goals when the two sides met in round two, but David Flood was performing a fine negating role this time around. Flood took a crucial mark against Osborne, who managed just five kicks and one goal for the day, deep in defence to quell a Fitzroy advance.

The Lions led by eight points nearing the time-on period when Bewick, who was providing vital run and carry, bombed a massive torpedo goal on the run to cut the margin to two.

Mark Harvey then took a ‘hanger’ at half-forward. With seven minutes remaining, O’Donnell marked 15 metres out from goal on a 45-degree angle, but missed what he should have kicked. Fitzroy’s Joe Cormack then had the chance to be the hero when he took a gutsy mark 25 metres out, but he also missed as the margin reached three points in the Lions' favour.

Throwing caution to the wind, Essendon then took the ball the length of the field. Chris Daniher plucked a strong mark on the wing and kicked long, where Wallis roved in the pocket and centred to O’Donnell, who took a strong mark 25 metres out directly in front.

With three-and-a-half minutes remaining, O’Donnell coolly slotted the go-ahead goal. Amid the desperation of the last few moments, where both teams fought gallantly to gain an advantage, the siren was initially drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

Before long, however, everyone realised that the Bombers had held on to secure a much-needed victory - 11.14 (80) to 10.17 (77). The jubilant Essendon players then had to make a mad dash for the dressing room, as hundreds of supporters flocked on to the field to congratulate their heroes.

“We’d struggled all day and were down at three-quarter time, then we got in front late to win,” O’Donnell, who gathered a team-high 24 disposals, remembered fondly.

“Bewick’s great torpedo goal put us within reach, then I put us in front after Wally’s (Wallis) excellent centred kick from the boundary. It was an exciting finish.

"Funnily enough, we later played a pre-season game against Carlton at North Hobart in 1993, where the temperature was in the high 30s. It was particularly hot that day, so we certainly got the two ends of the spectrum from our two visits there. Thankfully, we didn’t need dressing gowns that day against the Blues."

The Fitzroy-Essendon clash was the fifth and final VFL/AFL game ever played on North Hobart, meaning the Bombers hold a 100 per cent winning record in Tasmania. This week, against Hawthorn, Bombers supporters are hopeful that the club can create a similar winning record at UTAS Stadium.