Essendon-great, Simon Madden, was among those joining past players, staff and volunteers who turned back the clock for the ‘First XVIII VFL’ function held at Windy Hill over the weekend.

The highlights for the afternoon were the vintage ‘peanut man’ making his return, Boon Spa Lemonade, a reprint of a Record from 1984, as well as the 1984/1985 premiership cups in attendance.

“We’ve had a little bit of re-living the past,” Madden said.

“If you look around the room, the people are relaxed and there’s a bit of the old-world feeling about the way it used to be during a game and even after the game.

“Just the mixing of people and having a good time has been fantastic.”

Madden said the afternoon was a enjoyable experience, during which he and others in attendance were able to share a trip down memory lane.

“We had some replays of the ’84-’85 premierships, and it’s just a real feeling of the old days that we have great memories of.”

“There are a lot of people here that have been involved with the club for a long time, so it’s been lot of reliving old stories, and even the younger people hearing those old stories was great.”

“We had some kids here and their Mum’s and Dad’s were telling some old stories to their children, and for the kids to understand that and link the past to the present– even looking back at the heritage to help the future is always important.”