Essendon was about to embark on its most dominant year when it ran on to the field for the first match of the 2000 season.

The round one game against Port Adelaide was the first event held at what was then known as Colonial Stadium.

Construction had begun three years earlier and a crowd of 43,012 were on hand for the historic occasion.

“It was a huge thrill for all of us, I’ll never forget the build up to it, it was huge,” Essendon forward Matthew Lloyd said. 

“I remember running out onto the ground and the roar of the Essendon crowd – we knew we were part of something pretty special.”

Lloyd had a chance to kick the first goal at the new venue but his shot was off target.

Instead the honour went to Michael Long.

“John Barnes keeps reminding me that he was the one that gave me the handball,” Long said.

“It was nice to be the first one to kick the goal and leave a bit of a mark there.”

Essendon went on to win the game by 94 points, with Lloyd kicking seven goals.

James Hird booted four, while Joe Misiti gathered 29 possessions.

The Bombers were coming off a Preliminary Final loss in 1999.

“We had a pretty big pre-season, we worked hard to make sure this wasn’t going to happen again,” Long said.

“In 2000 we were like a well oiled machine – ruthless, hard, tough.

“We could go through gear one, two and three if we needed to.

“When you can get your team at that moment in time to do that, it’s pretty special.”

Essendon lost just one home and away game in 2000 and won its three finals (including the Grand Final) by an average of 77 points.