The Western Bulldogs and their fairytale, drought-breaking premiership were obviously the story of the year in the AFL.
But in terms of shock value, the Bulldogs breaking the league’s longest current premiership drought did not top the list.
At the start of the year, could anyone have predicted these headlines?
1. HAWTHORN LET GO THE TOP TWO IN THEIR BEST AND FAIREST
Sam Mitchell won his fifth Hawks’ best and fairest award and Jordan Lewis was runner-up. Within eight days, the Hawks had traded Mitchell to West Coast and Lewis had joined Melbourne. And who did the Hawks recruit with the second-last pick in the national draft? A tall forward named Mitchell Lewis.
2. GRAEME ALLAN LASTS TWO MONTHS AS MAGPIES’ FOOTBALL MANAGER.
One of the AFL’s savviest operators left GWS, returned to Collingwood and then replaced Neil Balme as the Magpies’ football manager. But Allan then received a 12-month suspension for his role in the Lachie Whitfield saga and he resigned from the Pies. Given the speculation surrounding the future of coach Nathan Buckley, it was just what Collingwood did not need.
3. NORTH MELBOURNE CUT 1345 GAMES OF AFL EXPERIENCE.
You could understand the Kangaroos letting go one or two of their veterans. But Brent Harvey (432 games), Michael Firrito (275), Nick Dal Santo (322) AND Drew Petrie (316)? This followed a season where North were unbeaten after nine games and celebrated Harvey’s AFL games record. They fell away badly and finished eighth.
4. AFL COACH ACCUSES UMPIRES OF BIAS
Staying on North Melbourne, what was coach Brad Scott thinking? In one of the all-time worst cases of change-room Chinese whispers, Scott declared after a crucial loss to Hawthorn that an umpire had told North players they were not paying free kicks to Lindsay Thomas. Scott was fined $30,000 and North was penalised $50,000. What makes this so unusual is the tight media management that pervades the AFL – and coaches panning umpires is a big no-no.
5. FREMANTLE FALL OFF THE CLIFF
The evenness of the AFL is one thing, but minor premiers one season and 16th the next? Fremantle lost their first 10 games and only managed four wins for the season.
As the Dockers had a shocker, the Bulldogs became the story of the season …
6. YEAR OF THE DOGS
The Bulldogs lost captain Bob Murphy for the rest of the season in round three with a serious knee injury. It became a potent symbol of the Bulldogs’ resilience. They became the first team to win the flag from seventh spot, with coach Luke Beveridge memorably giving his premiership medal to a tearful Murphy. They ended a 62-year wait and joined Cronulla (NRL), Leicester (EPL), Cleveland (NBA) and the Chicago Cubs (MLB) as this year’s unlikely title winners.
Also …
ESSENDON’S YEAR FROM HELL
The Bombers finished last for the first time since 1933 after losing 12 players to doping bans stemming from their 2012 supplements debacle. The saga also cost Jobe Watson his 2012 Brownlow Medal and the season blew a $9.8 million-sized hole in Essendon’s bottom line. The only good news is that the club seemed to hold together and regained 10 of the banned players once their suspensions ended. Also, to no-one’s surprise, Stephen Dank’s appeal against his lifetime ban for doping offences was thrown out.
GARY ABLETT’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Ablett’s troublesome shoulder continued to bother him this year and he opted for surgery. He also raised eyebrows by requesting a trade back to Geelong, which Gold Coast predictably knocked back. The two-time Brownlow Medallist gave up the Suns captaincy and is no certainty to keep playing beyond next season.
DANGERWOOD
At Ablett’s old club, this season’s No.1 recruit was a spectacular success. Former Adelaide star Patrick Dangerfield won his first Brownlow Medal, combining brilliantly with Geelong captain Joel Selwood to become the AFL’s top midfield double act.
FRANKENSTEIN
While Gold Coast struggle, their expansion cousins the Giants had a breakout year. They made the preliminary finals and it took the Bulldogs to stop them. It is only a matter of time before the team christened the AFL’s Frankenstein are premiers.
TIGER TURMOIL
After three-successive elimination finals, Richmond dropped to 13th. That prompted a board challenge and, while the spill bid went nowhere, it highlighted growing rumblings at Punt Rd. Coach Damien Hardwick will start next season under massive pressure, although securing Neil Balme as football manager is a significant boost.
SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
The AFL worked out a long time ago that women constitute about 50 per cent of their fan base. While attitudes in the game toward women continue to form a broad spectrum, the female influence keeps growing. Next February, the AFL women’s league will have its debut season with an eight-team competition. Two or three years ago, that was nothing more than a pipe dream.
