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BFNL REWIND - Early 2000's Finals in review
News
BFNL REWIND - Early 2000's Finals in review
Published on:
04 March 2025
There's a fair way to go before this season's finals kick off but it's alway good to look back and see what happened in early spring in past Augusts and Septembers.
In the Sydney Olympics year of 2000 our finals were played as normal in late August and into September.
In contrast the AFL grand final had been played on Saturday September 2nd, 2000 to avoid a clash with vital Olympics finals. Essendon had won the grand final on September 2nd and in my estimation it's always great to remind Red and Black supporters that's the last time their boys have claimed an AFL flag.
Yep, 25 long seasons back. My Cats have won four since 2000.
The BFNL's final round in 2000 had been kick-started two days earlier with a Friday night match under lights at Princes Park when the Flat belted Maryborough: 17.18 to 6.8.
Eaglehawk clinched third spot and a finals double chance with a 33-point win over Gisborne at the Graveyard, That match was played the day after the AFL grand final and I remember arriving at the Gardiner Reserve ground in time for a Fresh-FM broadcast while my wife drove the car back to Bendigo.
So the stage was set for the first round of the 2000 finals.
Out of the race were Maryborough, Sandhurst, Square, Kyneton and Lockington-Bamawn United. It was the LBU Cats final BFNL season and they'd ended their time in the BFNL following a 19-goal belting from Sandhurst at the QEO.
Castlemaine had finished the home and away season a game clear on top of the ladder so the Magpies had the weekend of September 9-10 off.
The Sunday qualifying final was the pick of the two early play-offs as far as closeness of scores was concerned.
The Derrick Filo-coached Roos bounced out of the blocks to lead Eaglehawk, coached by Barry Hayes, by two goals at quarter-time.
And then the Two Blues fought back. They drilled five goals in a busy second term to grab a 9.5 (59) to 8.3 (51) lead.
The Roos regained the ascendancy by three quarter-time adding 4.4 to one, solitary goal before eventually running out 23-point winners: 16.11 (107) to Eaglehawk's 13.6 (84).
"Hollywood" Dave Lancaster drilled six majors and moved to 97 for the 2000 season. Shannon Milward, playing coach Filo, Simon Jorgensen, Noel Shelton and Ian Phillips, who was the Pyramid Hill spearhead in the LVFL by 2004, all played solid games.
Also in the best for the Green and Whites were Dallas Slingo, Brett Rogers and evergreen Ronnie Wicks who had won the Michelsen Medal in 1993.
Wicks and Filo are both members of the BFNL Hall of Fame: Filo in 2019 (and he'd won the Michelsen in 1991) and Wicks' induction five years earlier into the H of F in 2014.
In the best for Eaglehaw in that final were centreman Langan, Travis O'Connell, and Lucas Matthews, who went on to finish joint winner of the Michelsen one season later --- in 2001 ---- with the Maine's Paul Eyles.
Damien Lock and Sam Gill also deserved spots in Eaglehawk's best for the day.
There was a sensation in the Saturday elimination final when a male streaker raced onto the field midway through play. He made his escape on the swimming pool side of the QEO.
I don't recall much of this break in play although I think all of us in the press box remarked how carefully he climbed up and over the barbed wire on the top of the fence separating the QEO from the Faith Leech swimming pool. An unclothed body and barbed wire don't marry up very well.
I've checked through a lot of records and match reports so we scribes still believe that in that 2000 final it was the first time a streaker had made an appearance at a BFNL match: home-and-away or finals.
The incident didn't upset South Bendigo's concentration though as the Bloods belted Gisborne: 18.12 (120) to 8.18 (66).
The Graveyard Dogs' playing coach Glenn Nugent twice made bad 'blues' kicking off after a point had been scored. Unfortunately for Gisborne, Nugent delivered the ball directly to South opponents.
However there was one bright light for the Dogs. Spearhead Steven 'Revenue' Reaper booted three of Gisborne's eight goals to take his 2000 tally to 104.
At the other end of the QEO South full-forward David McCormick snagged seven goals to advance to 87 for the season. Phil Hetherington contributed three majors and Lloyd Maxted two.
Luke Sims was outstanding for the Bloods with other fine contributors Stephen Blake, Mark Keck, John Hardinge and Simon Cluff.
David Power, hard running backman Rodney Sharp, Nick Curcio and Shaun Cassidy battled hard for the Gardiner Reserve Dogs.
Gate takings were reasonable for the first week of the finals --- $5800 for the elimination final and even better at $9600 for the qualifying.
As the second week of the 2000 finals loomed South, under coach Simon 'Snake' McLean, was gearing up for a big, sudden death first semi against Eaglehawk.
Kangaroo Flat was hoping to secure the first-up grand final berth as the Roos prepared for the face-off against top team Castlemaine in the second semi showdown.
