WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.379 I want you to imagine just for a moment being 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:05.400 completely immersed in a live sporting event. 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:08.060 Oh, well, okay. Yeah. Picture yourself sitting 00:00:08.060 --> 00:00:10.980 in the sprawling stands of a colossal stadium 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:15.539 surrounded by, I mean, over 42 ,000 screaming 00:00:15.539 --> 00:00:19.199 fans. That is a lot of noise. It is. The crisp 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:21.899 winter air is biting, but you hardly even notice 00:00:21.899 --> 00:00:23.780 it because the tension on the field is just so 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:26.980 thick. Right. So incredibly heavy that the actual 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:29.960 game unfolding on the grass in front of you suddenly 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.780 becomes, well, entirely secondary. It stops being 00:00:32.780 --> 00:00:34.820 about the score. Exactly. It stops being about 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:37.960 points on a scoreboard. It transforms right before 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:40.799 your eyes into a boiling physical vendetta. Yeah, 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:43.929 a real clash. Welcome to this deep dive. Today 00:00:43.929 --> 00:00:46.469 we are exploring one of the most infamous chaotic 00:00:46.469 --> 00:00:48.909 spectacles in the history of Australian rules 00:00:48.909 --> 00:00:51.130 football. The Lion in the Sand, Matt. The Lion 00:00:51.130 --> 00:00:54.210 in the Sand. We're examining the 2004 clash between 00:00:54.210 --> 00:00:57.189 two fierce rivals, the Hawthorne Hawks and the 00:00:57.189 --> 00:00:59.770 Essendon Bombers. And whether you follow the 00:00:59.770 --> 00:01:02.170 sport religiously or you're just someone fascinated 00:01:02.170 --> 00:01:05.030 by the psychology of sports rivalries and enforcer 00:01:05.030 --> 00:01:07.269 culture. And there's a lot of psychology there. 00:01:07.349 --> 00:01:10.090 Oh, tons. This deep dive into the Hawthorne versus 00:01:10.090 --> 00:01:12.319 Essendon brawl will leave you... you with plenty 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:14.459 of aha moments. It's going to leave you completely 00:01:14.459 --> 00:01:17.260 captivated. It truly is a remarkable case study 00:01:17.260 --> 00:01:22.439 in how pressure and pride can completely short 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:24.140 circuit professional discipline. Absolutely. 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:27.159 Our primary source for this session is a highly 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:29.659 detailed historical breakdown of this round 11 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:32.200 match, which took place at the Melbourne Cricket 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.260 Ground. Commonly known as the MCG. Right, the 00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:38.340 MCG, on June 5th, 2004. And for those who aren't 00:01:38.340 --> 00:01:40.859 familiar, the MCG is a legendary stadium. Just 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:43.780 a true coliseum of world sports. Massive venue. 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:46.180 The goal of our deep dives today is to really 00:01:46.180 --> 00:01:49.140 examine how a surprisingly lopsided, seemingly 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:52.079 standard footy match spiraled entirely out of 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.159 control into a sprawling five -minute street 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:56.260 fight. Involving almost every player on the ground. 00:01:56.500 --> 00:01:59.060 Yeah, almost every one. But we also want to look 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:01.239 at the severe ripple effects this single violent 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:03.500 afternoon had on both of these organizations 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:06.109 for the next decade. OK, let's unpack this by 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:08.229 stepping back in time a little bit, because to 00:02:08.229 --> 00:02:11.229 understand why things exploded so violently in 00:02:11.229 --> 00:02:14.370 2004, we have to look at the bad blood that had 00:02:14.370 --> 00:02:16.650 been simmering for a really long time. It was 00:02:16.650 --> 00:02:19.789 a long time. How far back does this animosity 00:02:19.789 --> 00:02:22.569 actually go? Well, you have to rewind to the 00:02:22.569 --> 00:02:25.590 1980s to find the real roots of this hostility. 00:02:25.669 --> 00:02:28.490 The 80s. During that decade, the Hawthorne Football 00:02:28.490 --> 00:02:31.710 Club was experiencing an absolute golden era. 00:02:32.090 --> 00:02:34.169 To give you a sense of their dominance in what 00:02:34.169 --> 00:02:36.629 was then the VFL. The Victorian Football League, 00:02:36.650 --> 00:02:39.430 right? Exactly. The VFL, which later expanded 00:02:39.430 --> 00:02:42.530 into the national AFL we know today. Hawthorne 00:02:42.530 --> 00:02:46.550 made every single grand final from 1983 to 1989. 00:02:47.050 --> 00:02:50.580 Wow. And then again in 1991. Making a championship 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:52.860 game seven years in a row is I mean, that's an 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:55.259 absurd level of sustained excellence in any sport. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.139 It really is unparalleled. They won five premierships, 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:00.080 which is the Australian rules term for winning 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:02.319 the championship title in that specific window. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:04.319 Incredible. But here is the crucial sticking 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:06.900 point for our story today. They came up against 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:09.560 Essendon three times during that incredible run. 00:03:09.699 --> 00:03:13.139 Ah, OK. In 83, 84 and 85, right? You got it. 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:14.879 Hoffman took the first one. But then what happened 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:17.580 in those next two? Well, Essendon delivered these 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:20.740 stinging. Back -to -back grand final victories 00:03:20.740 --> 00:03:24.740 over Hawthorne in 1984 and 1985. Ouch. Yeah. 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:28.400 And the style of play back in that era is a vital 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.419 piece of context here. Throughout the 1980s, 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:34.520 the sport was incredibly raw. Players wore very 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:37.599 little padding, if any at all. Just brutal. And 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:39.939 both of these clubs played a bruising, attacking 00:03:39.939 --> 00:03:42.849 brand of football. It was an era where biffs, 00:03:43.009 --> 00:03:45.590 bumps, and outright physical brawls were just 00:03:45.590 --> 00:03:48.069 a regular, almost expected feature when these 00:03:48.069 --> 00:03:50.090 two teams met. Just part of the game. Exactly. 00:03:50.610 --> 00:03:53.430 That historical context established a deep -seated 00:03:53.430 --> 00:03:55.949 baseline of physical intimidation and, frankly, 00:03:56.009 --> 00:03:58.110 mutual disrespect between the two clubs. So there's 00:03:58.110 --> 00:04:01.009 this lingering shadow of 1980s brutality hanging 00:04:01.009 --> 00:04:03.569 over them. But let's jump forward to the lead 00:04:03.569 --> 00:04:06.610 -up to this specific match on June 5, 2004. Right. 00:04:06.669 --> 00:04:08.909 The dynamic between the two clubs had shifted 00:04:08.909 --> 00:04:11.580 drastically by then, hadn't it? Completely flipped. 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:15.020 Moving into the 1990s and the early 2000s, Essendon 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:16.839 had essentially become the bullies of the competition. 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:19.680 They were the top dogs. Yeah. They won premierships 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:24.920 in 1993 and 2000, and they had built a staggeringly 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:27.680 dominant record over Hawthorne. How dominant 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:30.199 are we talking? Well, going into round 11 of 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:33.720 the 2004 season. Essendon had won nine of the 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:35.819 previous ten meetings between the two clubs. 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:37.920 Nine out of ten. And they weren't just edging 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:41.360 them out in close games. They were crushing Hawthorne 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.800 by an average margin of 39 points per game. Man. 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:48.019 To put that into perspective for anyone new to 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:52.060 the sport, a 39 -point average margin means Essendon 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:54.040 was basically treating Hawthorne like a training 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:56.420 drill. Very much. They were completely outclassing 00:04:56.420 --> 00:04:58.360 them. And the league standings reflected that 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:01.480 reality. In Australian rules football, the standings 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:04.459 are referred to as the ladder. Going into this 00:05:04.459 --> 00:05:06.800 match, Essendon was a top four contender sitting 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.860 near the very top of the ladder with a 7 -3 win 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:12.959 -loss record. They were heavy, undeniable favorites. 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:15.379 Undeniable. Hawthorne, on the other hand, was 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:17.079 sitting at the absolute bottom of the ladder. 00:05:17.259 --> 00:05:19.439 They had only managed two paltry wins for the 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:22.430 entire season up to that point. Oof. So you have 00:05:22.430 --> 00:05:25.589 a proud club, Hawthorne, being consistently battered 00:05:25.589 --> 00:05:28.230 on the scoreboard, facing a team that has physically 00:05:28.230 --> 00:05:31.230 and mentally intimidated them for a solid decade. 00:05:31.509 --> 00:05:33.829 They are the clear underdogs. Which brings us 00:05:33.829 --> 00:05:37.129 to halftime of the 2004 match. Essendon is leading 00:05:37.129 --> 00:05:39.870 comfortably. The Hawthorne players trudge down 00:05:39.870 --> 00:05:42.350 into the locker room, exhausted and losing yet 00:05:42.350 --> 00:05:45.189 again. What exactly happened down there to change 00:05:45.189 --> 00:05:47.970 the entire trajectory of the afternoon? This 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:50.410 is where verified history and locker room mythology 00:05:50.410 --> 00:05:53.519 kind of intersect. Hawthorne had a club director 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.680 named Dermot Brereton. OK. Now, Brereton was 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.740 not just a suit. He was a star player, an absolute 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:02.939 legend for the Hawks during those brutal 1980s 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:05.019 clashes we just talked about. Oh, he knows the 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:07.740 history firsthand. Oh, deeply. He was known for 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:10.279 his toughness. Yeah. So Brereton decides to address 00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:12.560 the players in the locker room. It was widely 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:15.000 reported that he specifically directed the players 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.600 to, quote, draw a line in the sand, end quote, 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:20.060 and take a physical stand against the bombers. 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:24.600 Basically telling them to. That was the unmistakable 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:28.000 message. Now, Britton later denied using the 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.939 exact phrase, draw a line in the sand, but he 00:06:30.939 --> 00:06:33.139 fully admitted to advising the senior players 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:36.639 to not stand for any physical intimidation that 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.240 Essendon might try to impose on them in the second 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:41.879 half. He admitted that. Yes. His exact admitted 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:44.680 phrasing was telling them to fly the flag for 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:47.639 yourself. Fly the flag. What's fascinating here 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:50.699 is the psychology of the enforcer mindset. And 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:53.720 how past dominance by one team can create an 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:56.220 intense psychological pressure cooker for the 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:58.360 underdog. Right. When a group of professional 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:01.079 athletes feels humiliated, not just losing points, 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:03.079 but feeling physically bullied over a span of 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:06.490 years, the frustration compounds. Eventually, 00:07:06.589 --> 00:07:08.889 the primary goal of the game shifts. It's no 00:07:08.889 --> 00:07:11.449 longer about winning. Exactly. It stops being 00:07:11.449 --> 00:07:14.009 about executing strategy to win the match, and 00:07:14.009 --> 00:07:16.029 it devolves into a desperate need to reclaim 00:07:16.029 --> 00:07:19.250 respect and dignity by any means necessary. That 00:07:19.250 --> 00:07:22.149 psychological pressure cooker blew its lid almost 00:07:22.149 --> 00:07:24.970 immediately. I want to understand the play -by 00:07:24.970 --> 00:07:27.069 -play of how this erupted, because the sequence 00:07:27.069 --> 00:07:29.829 of events is just surreal. It's intense. We are 00:07:29.829 --> 00:07:31.930 in the first two minutes of the third quarter. 00:07:32.050 --> 00:07:34.610 The teams are back on the field. Hawthorne's 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:37.129 Mark Williams kicks a goal, cutting the Essendon 00:07:37.129 --> 00:07:40.589 lead down to 26 points. What happens next? Walk 00:07:40.589 --> 00:07:43.069 me through that moment. After a goal is scored, 00:07:43.329 --> 00:07:45.370 the ball is taken back to the middle of the field 00:07:45.370 --> 00:07:48.110 for a center bounce to restart play. Like a tip 00:07:48.110 --> 00:07:50.810 -off in basketball. Right, but far more chaotic, 00:07:50.930 --> 00:07:53.430 with players crashing into each other to win 00:07:53.430 --> 00:07:55.870 the ball out of the air. The ball goes down, 00:07:55.970 --> 00:07:58.329 and players are vigorously trying to gain possession 00:07:58.329 --> 00:08:01.149 in what's called a stoppage, a congested area 00:08:01.149 --> 00:08:04.069 of play. Okay, lots of bodies. Essendon's Mark 00:08:04.069 --> 00:08:07.230 Johnson attempts to join this stoppage, but he 00:08:07.230 --> 00:08:09.610 is forcefully, aggressively removed by a number 00:08:09.610 --> 00:08:11.750 of Hawthorne players. This wasn't just a standard 00:08:11.750 --> 00:08:14.350 bump to clear space, was it? Not at all. It was 00:08:14.350 --> 00:08:17.029 intensely aggressive, and it immediately led 00:08:17.029 --> 00:08:19.589 to wrestling and what are known as jumper punches. 00:08:19.810 --> 00:08:21.649 Jumper punches. Yeah, this is a tactic where 00:08:21.649 --> 00:08:24.430 a player grabs the thick collar or fabric of 00:08:24.430 --> 00:08:27.300 an opponent's jersey, their jumper. and uses 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:30.639 that grip as leverage to throw short, sharp punches 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:34.500 to the chest or face. Suddenly, out of nowhere, 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:38.980 you have approximately 16 giant athletes tangled 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:41.919 up in a wrestling match right in the center square. 00:08:42.259 --> 00:08:44.879 Unbelievable. The television commentators noted 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:46.600 on the broadcast that the spirit was bubbling 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:48.840 over a little. Bubbling over turned out to be 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:51.500 the understatement of the decade. Let's look 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:53.539 at the catalyst that turned this from a scuffle 00:08:53.539 --> 00:08:56.639 into a riot. Okay. A free kick is awarded to 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:58.960 Hawthorne. They kick it forward, but Essendon's 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.720 Mark Bolton intercepts it. Bolton clears the 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:04.159 ball along the southern side of the ground, aiming 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:08.360 for his teammate, Jason Winderlich. Paint a picture 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:10.299 of what happens to Winderlich here. In Australian 00:09:10.299 --> 00:09:12.639 rules, catching a kicked ball that has traveled 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.820 over 15 meters is called taking a mark. If you 00:09:15.820 --> 00:09:17.659 take a mark, you earn a free kick and the play 00:09:17.659 --> 00:09:20.299 stops. Got it. But leaping into the air to catch 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:22.799 a ball. leaves a player incredibly vulnerable 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.120 because their eyes are locked on the sky, not 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:27.399 on the defenders running at them. Winderlich 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:29.539 attempts to take a mark close to the ground. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:32.960 As he does, Hawthorne's chance Bateman comes 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:35.299 charging in and delivers a devastating knock. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:39.179 The reports suggest it was a knee or a hip connecting 00:09:39.179 --> 00:09:41.399 directly with Winderlich's head. A completely 00:09:41.399 --> 00:09:44.860 brutal hit. It was. A free kick is awarded to 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:48.029 Winderlich, but he is badly split open. He's 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:49.950 bleeding profusely and has to be forced from 00:09:49.950 --> 00:09:51.669 the ground under the blood rule. Which means? 00:09:51.870 --> 00:09:54.169 The blood rule mandates that any bleeding player 00:09:54.169 --> 00:09:57.049 must leave the field immediately to receive medical 00:09:57.049 --> 00:09:59.610 attention. And the sight of their teammate bleeding 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:02.570 on the grass is the exact moment the match descends 00:10:02.570 --> 00:10:06.409 into total unhinged chaos? Complete chaos. We 00:10:06.409 --> 00:10:08.049 aren't talking about a little push and shove 00:10:08.049 --> 00:10:11.009 anymore. The sources describe a sprawling, violent 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:13.830 scene erupting on the Great Southern Stand side 00:10:13.830 --> 00:10:16.289 of the center square. Can you elaborate on the 00:10:16.289 --> 00:10:19.870 scale of this? It is hard to overstate how surreal 00:10:19.870 --> 00:10:22.169 this looked on television. You have elite professional 00:10:22.169 --> 00:10:25.149 athletes abandoning the ball entirely. Just forgetting 00:10:25.149 --> 00:10:28.190 the game completely. Players are tackling each 00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:31.009 other to the turf, throwing heavy, closed -fist 00:10:31.009 --> 00:10:33.850 punches, wrestling intensely, and dragging each 00:10:33.850 --> 00:10:36.250 other by the Guernseys. Who is starting it? The 00:10:36.250 --> 00:10:38.690 sources specifically highlight Hawthorne's Richie 00:10:38.690 --> 00:10:42.330 Vandenberg and Lance Pcioin as being particularly 00:10:42.330 --> 00:10:45.409 active aggressors in this initial explosion. 00:10:45.730 --> 00:10:48.450 And Essendon didn't back down. No, they were 00:10:48.450 --> 00:10:51.269 immediately met by Essendon's Adam McPhee, Mark 00:10:51.269 --> 00:10:53.730 Johnson, and Justin Murphy, who were more than 00:10:53.730 --> 00:10:56.440 eager to retaliate. The visual of this is wild. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:10:59.019 A professional sporting event simply stopped. 00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:01.500 You have trainers whose job is to hand out water 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:03.799 and tape ankles rushing onto the field, desperately 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:07.000 trying to physically drag their own massive players 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.259 away from the opposition. It reached a point 00:11:09.259 --> 00:11:12.620 of absolute absurdity. Essendon's head physiotherapist, 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:15.200 a man named Bruce Connor, literally had to restrain 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.039 his own player, Adam McPhee. The physio was restraining 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:20.320 the player? Yes. Connor had to physically battle 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:22.519 McPhee and give him marching orders off the field 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:24.940 just to treat a bleeding gash above his eye. 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:27.759 But amidst all of this sprawling chaos, there 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:30.440 is one specific incident that the sources point 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.899 to as the most shocking. And it happened while 00:11:33.899 --> 00:11:36.919 Jason Winderlich... The player whose head injury 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:39.519 sparked this whole thing was being helped off 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:41.620 the ground. Yeah, this was bad. What did Campbell 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:44.379 Brown do? So Winderlich is being supported by 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:48.320 trainers. He's clearly dazed, bleeding, and defenseless, 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:50.879 slowly making his way toward the bench. Right. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:54.019 As he's walking off, Hawthorne's Campbell Brown 00:11:54.019 --> 00:11:56.379 runs past and strikes him. Hitting a wounded, 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.179 escorted player is crossing a massive line, even 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:01.700 in a brawl. It sent shockwaves through the stadium. 00:12:02.839 --> 00:12:05.720 Matthew Lloyd, the star Essendon forward, would 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:07.600 later describe Brown's strike as one of the most 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.740 disgusting things I've seen on a football field. 00:12:09.940 --> 00:12:12.860 That's a strong statement. Very. And the Channel 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:15.480 10 commentators were in absolute disbelief. They 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:18.539 were calling it the 1980s revisited. They said 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:20.539 it was unbelievable, noting that they hadn't 00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:22.419 seen those sort of scenes for a long time in 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:24.720 AFL football. It was a five -minute melee that 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.519 completely hijacked the sport. What does this 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:30.019 all mean for the actual match once the dust final 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:33.179 settled? Eventually, the umpires managed to separate 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:35.759 the players and restore some semblance of order. 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:39.080 But how did the two teams respond to the violence 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:42.759 once the whistle blew to resume play? While Hawthorne 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:44.480 might have felt they won the physical fight, 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:46.740 or at least prove they could fly the flag like 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:49.940 Brereton asks, Essendon absolutely won the mental 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:52.860 battle. They didn't lose focus. Not at all. They 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:54.500 managed to regain their composure remarkably 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:57.580 well. After the brawl, they punished Hawthorne 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:00.299 in the most effective way possible. On the scoreboard. 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.620 Best revenge. Exactly. They kicked nine of the 00:13:03.620 --> 00:13:06.759 next ten goals, extending their lead to 74 points 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:09.000 for three -quarter time. To channel all that 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.419 adrenaline back into clinical scoring is impressive. 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:14.559 I see here that Essendon maintained that heavy 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:17.360 margin to win the game. They kicked 24 goals 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.240 and 10 behinds. That's right. For our international 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:23.019 listeners, a goal is worth six points, and a 00:13:23.019 --> 00:13:24.899 behind which is when the ball misses the main 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:26.960 post but goes through the outer posts is worth 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:30.340 one point. So Essendon scored a total of 154 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:33.220 points to Hawthorne's 80. And Matthew Lloyd. 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:37.039 The Essendon player, who was so visibly disgusted 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:39.960 by Campbell Brown's actions, answered in the 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:42.700 best way possible for a forward. He kicked an 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:45.120 incredible seven -goal haul in that match. But 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.019 the final siren was really just the beginning 00:13:47.019 --> 00:13:49.960 of the story. You can't have a 16 -player street 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.240 fight on national television without the league 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:54.600 stepping in. Oh, definitely not. The very next 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:57.399 week, the AFL Tribunal essentially turned into 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:00.299 a chaotic courtroom. The tribunal is the league's 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:02.879 judicial system for handling on -field offenses. 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:06.399 And on the 8th and 9th of June, it was a bloodbath. 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:10.070 I can imagine. A record 18 players faced a completely 00:14:10.070 --> 00:14:13.429 unprecedented 26 charges. Some were reported 00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:15.870 on the field by the umpires, others were cited 00:14:15.870 --> 00:14:18.629 by the video reports officer, and some came from 00:14:18.629 --> 00:14:20.970 a dedicated investigation by the AFL's investigations 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:23.009 officer. Let's look at the damage for Hawthorne 00:14:23.009 --> 00:14:25.029 first because they took the brunt of the suspensions. 00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:28.230 Richard Vandenberg was hit incredibly hard. He 00:14:28.230 --> 00:14:30.149 was suspended for three matches for striking 00:14:30.149 --> 00:14:33.269 Adam McPhee and another three matches for kneeing 00:14:33.269 --> 00:14:35.690 McPhee. That's a severe six -match suspension 00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:39.320 for one player. Lance PCN was suspended for four 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:42.120 matches for striking. Campbell Brown, for his 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:44.799 infamous strike on the injured Winderlich, was 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:48.220 also suspended for four matches. And Simon Beaumont 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:50.940 got one match for misconduct. So that is four 00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:53.220 Hawthorne players suspended for a combined total 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:56.919 of 15 matches. Did Essendon escape the tribunal 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:00.019 entirely? Not quite. Essendon's Justin Murphy 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:02.580 was suspended for one match for headbutting Simon 00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:05.659 Beaumont. Headbutting, wow. Yeah. In total, across 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:08.840 both teams, five players were suspended for 16 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:11.919 matches. But the financial penalty is what really 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:13.960 highlights the sheer scale of the league's anger. 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:15.960 Players involved in the melee were fined a combined 00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:20.779 total of $70 ,700. $70 ,700. That was the highest 00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:22.720 amount distributed from a single match in the 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.259 history of the sport. The tribunal chairman didn't 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:27.759 mince his words either. He stated that the brawl 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.669 brought football into disrepute. The AFL was 00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:32.809 sending a very clear, very expensive message 00:15:32.809 --> 00:15:35.769 that this sort of 1980s -style street fight had 00:15:35.769 --> 00:15:38.409 no place in the modern professional game. The 00:15:38.409 --> 00:15:41.509 immediate aftermath is severe. I'm looking at 00:15:41.509 --> 00:15:43.330 the stats for the rest of that year, and the 00:15:43.330 --> 00:15:46.450 2004 season is effectively ruined for both teams. 00:15:46.750 --> 00:15:48.929 Hawthorne only won four games the entire year. 00:15:49.149 --> 00:15:52.190 They barely avoided the wooden spoon, which is 00:15:52.190 --> 00:15:55.110 the dreaded unofficial title given to the team 00:15:55.110 --> 00:15:57.889 that finishes dead last. And nobody wants that. 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:00.950 No. They only avoided it by having a slightly 00:16:00.950 --> 00:16:03.629 better percentage than the Richmond Tigers, meaning 00:16:03.629 --> 00:16:06.769 their ratio of points scored versus points allowed 00:16:06.769 --> 00:16:09.370 was just fractionally less terrible. And while 00:16:09.370 --> 00:16:11.669 Essendon won the match and finished much higher 00:16:11.669 --> 00:16:13.970 on the ladder, the Brawl didn't propel them to 00:16:13.970 --> 00:16:16.429 glory either. They seemed to lose their momentum 00:16:16.429 --> 00:16:18.830 entirely. Did they? Yeah, they only won four 00:16:18.830 --> 00:16:21.210 more matches in the regular season. They limped 00:16:21.210 --> 00:16:23.370 into the playoffs in eighth place and were knocked 00:16:23.370 --> 00:16:25.590 out by Guilong in the second week. Here's where 00:16:25.590 --> 00:16:28.230 it gets really interesting. You would think that 00:16:28.230 --> 00:16:31.429 this match cemented Essendon's dominance and 00:16:31.429 --> 00:16:34.090 Hawthorne's misery for the foreseeable future. 00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:36.509 You'd think so. But the ultimate irony of the 00:16:36.509 --> 00:16:39.009 line in the sand match is that it marks the exact 00:16:39.009 --> 00:16:41.730 point where the fortunes of these two clubs completely 00:16:41.730 --> 00:16:44.629 flipped. Tell me about this role reversal. It 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:47.149 is a stunning shift in momentum. Let's look at 00:16:47.149 --> 00:16:49.909 Essendon first. Following the 2004 season, they 00:16:49.909 --> 00:16:52.730 plummeted down the ladder. In 2005, they dropped 00:16:52.730 --> 00:16:55.169 to 13th place, missing the playoffs for the first 00:16:55.169 --> 00:16:58.629 time since 1997. Wow. In fact, they wouldn't 00:16:58.629 --> 00:17:01.230 win another final series for years, and they 00:17:01.230 --> 00:17:03.509 went on a miserable losing streak against Hawthorne 00:17:03.509 --> 00:17:07.289 from 2005 all the way to 2009. Wait, so Hawthorne 00:17:07.289 --> 00:17:10.289 goes from being battered physically and on the 00:17:10.289 --> 00:17:12.650 scoreboard finishing second to last to suddenly 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:15.329 dominating the rivalry. Yes. How did they turn 00:17:15.329 --> 00:17:17.200 that rock bottom? a moment around. They used 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:19.420 the embarrassment of 2004 as a foundation to 00:17:19.420 --> 00:17:21.799 completely rebuild their culture. They hired 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:24.099 a new visionary coach named Alistair Clarkson. 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:26.079 Under Clarkson, they started a steady climb. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.420 They reached the semifinals in 2007, won the 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:32.180 premiership in 2008, and then launched a historic 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:34.819 dynasty, winning three consecutive premierships 00:17:34.819 --> 00:17:38.279 in 2013, 2014, and 2015. That is staggering. 00:17:38.700 --> 00:17:41.599 But the rivalry itself wasn't dead, was it? It 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:44.059 was just lying dormant, waiting for another spark. 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:47.259 Just waiting. And that spark came half a decade 00:17:47.259 --> 00:17:51.180 later. Round 22, 2009. Both teams are battling 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:53.920 for eighth place on the ladder, desperate to 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:56.559 make the playoffs. And we get the violent sequel 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:00.440 to 2004. Set the scene for me. Essendon's captain 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:03.000 at this time is Matthew Lloyd. The same Matthew 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:04.960 Lloyd. The exact same Matthew Lloyd, who was 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.640 so disgusted by Hawthorne's violence five years 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:11.509 prior. During this 2009 game, Lloyd had received 00:18:11.509 --> 00:18:15.009 a vicious halftime spray from his coach, which 00:18:15.009 --> 00:18:17.529 is essentially a locker room dressing down where 00:18:17.529 --> 00:18:20.009 the coach screams at the players for poor performance. 00:18:20.190 --> 00:18:22.890 Okay, so he's fired up. Very. Lloyd wanted to 00:18:22.890 --> 00:18:24.710 make a statement against Hawthorne, who were 00:18:24.710 --> 00:18:27.259 the reigning 2008 premiers. So the roles are 00:18:27.259 --> 00:18:29.299 totally reversed. Hawthorne are the champions. 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:31.579 Essendon are the frustrated team trying to prove 00:18:31.579 --> 00:18:33.960 themselves. Exactly. At the start of the third 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:36.339 quarter, Lloyd runs off the line and delivers 00:18:36.339 --> 00:18:39.039 a brutal head -high shirt front to Hawthorne 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:42.119 midfielder Brad Sewell. A shirt front is an incredibly 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:46.019 aggressive front -on physical bump. It's a massive 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:48.819 hit, it knocks Sewell out cold, and it instantly 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:51.359 sparks another sprawling brawl between the two 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:53.980 teams. History repeating itself. If we connect 00:18:53.980 --> 00:18:56.319 this to the bigger picture, it shows how deeply 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:59.960 sports grudges embed themselves in a club's DNA, 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.039 holding over years, just waiting for the right 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.259 moment to ignite. But the true poetic irony of 00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:08.819 this 2009 rematch comes from the press conferences 00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:11.240 afterward. I love this part. Campbell Brown, 00:19:11.420 --> 00:19:13.920 the Hawthorne player, who Lloyd publicly called 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.539 disgusting back in 2004 for hitting a wounded 00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:19.200 player, took full advantage of the role reversal. 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:22.420 He really did. After the 2009 brawl, Brown gets 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:24.420 in front of the microphones and publicly declares 00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:26.480 that Matthew Lloyd is one of the biggest snipers 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:28.980 in the sport. It is an absolute masterclass in 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:30.859 holding a grudge. The symmetry is incredible. 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:34.319 In 2004, Essendon was the dominant force, Hawthorne 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:35.960 lashed out aggressively, and Lloyd condemned 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:38.619 them. Five years later, Hawthorne is the dominant 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:41.299 reigning premier. Essendon is struggling. Lloyd 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:43.279 lashes out aggressively and Brown condemns him. 00:19:43.380 --> 00:19:46.119 It is a perfect closed loop of sports rivalry. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.559 It really is. So to quickly wrap up this incredible 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:52.670 journey for you. We started with a deeply rooted 00:19:52.670 --> 00:19:56.349 1980s rivalry that led to a frustrated locker 00:19:56.349 --> 00:19:59.170 room speech in 2004. That's right. That instruction 00:19:59.170 --> 00:20:02.289 to fly the flag ignited a historic, terrifying 00:20:02.289 --> 00:20:05.769 five -minute brawl at the MCG. It resulted in 00:20:05.769 --> 00:20:09.009 unprecedented tribunal charges, colossal financial 00:20:09.009 --> 00:20:12.450 fines, and ultimately a complete decade -long 00:20:12.450 --> 00:20:14.750 reversal of fortunes for both the Hawthorne and 00:20:14.750 --> 00:20:17.009 Essendon football clubs. This raises an important 00:20:17.009 --> 00:20:19.690 question, one that extends far beyond just Australian 00:20:19.690 --> 00:20:23.029 rules football. We see here the extreme, dangerous 00:20:23.029 --> 00:20:25.210 tension between maintaining professional discipline 00:20:25.210 --> 00:20:28.190 and unleashing raw aggression in a team environment. 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:30.509 And that leaves us with a final thought for you 00:20:30.509 --> 00:20:32.690 to chew on today. Does hitting rock bottom in 00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:34.849 such a public, undisciplined and violent way 00:20:34.849 --> 00:20:37.509 actually serve as the necessary catalyst for 00:20:37.509 --> 00:20:39.789 true cultural reform within an organization? 00:20:40.190 --> 00:20:42.309 It's a great point. Hawthorne embarrassed themselves 00:20:42.309 --> 00:20:45.769 on a national stage in 2004. They were fined, 00:20:45.769 --> 00:20:48.869 suspended and ridiculed. But that very embarrassment 00:20:48.869 --> 00:20:51.069 forced them. to look in the mirror, paving the 00:20:51.069 --> 00:20:52.910 way for a coaching change in one of the greatest 00:20:52.910 --> 00:20:56.630 modern dynasties in the sport? Is total undeniable 00:20:56.630 --> 00:20:59.470 organizational failure sometimes the only way 00:20:59.470 --> 00:21:02.109 to truly wipe the slate clean and build a champion? 00:21:02.650 --> 00:21:05.450 It's a fascinating paradox to consider. The worst, 00:21:05.490 --> 00:21:07.690 most shameful moment in a club's modern history 00:21:07.690 --> 00:21:10.690 might just be the exact foundation of their greatest 00:21:10.690 --> 00:21:12.910 success. Something to think about the next time 00:21:12.910 --> 00:21:15.829 you see a team or even a company completely implode 00:21:15.829 --> 00:21:18.150 under pressure. Thank you for joining us as we 00:21:18.150 --> 00:21:20.269 unpack the line in the sand match. Keep exploring, 00:21:20.470 --> 00:21:22.450 keep questioning, and we will catch you next 00:21:22.450 --> 00:21:23.650 time for another deep dive.