Twenty-five years on and Roger Merrett can still clearly remember the burning desire he and his teammates had to win the 1984 Grand Final against Hawthorn.
They were determined to redeem themselves after the Grand Final thrashing they received the year before and to stop the Hawks from achieving back-to-back premiership success.
Merrett says his favourite memories of this time are the strong friendships formed between the playing group and the driving passion they shared to succeed.
“We’d been a struggling club for awhile but we worked though the struggle and came back and played finals but to then lose in 1983 was devastating,” he said.
“We were such a determined group of players and were hungry for success.
“The comeback in the last quarter of the 1984 Grand Final was nothing but powerful. It seemed like everything just went our way - everyone was chipping in.
“The feeling when we realised they had no chance of catching us and that we couldn’t lose was exhilarating.”
Merrett, who now lives in Queensland, is still in contact with many of his teammates - particularly Terry Daniher, Simon Madden and Garry Foulds - but thinks that still to this day that the whole team shares an intense connection.
“I catch up with some guys more than others but regardless of how often we are in contact I think we all share a very special bond,” he said.
“The rise and fall on the way to our Premiership wins (1984/85) was nothing but an experience and it’s something we can always remember together.
“I’m pretty much locked in for the reunion dinner in July and think it is going to be a terrific event to catch up with the guys that I shared something very special with.”
A celebration of the 1984/85 Premierships will be held at the Crown Palladium on Saturday 4 July.
Re-live the great moments and the characters, the stunning comeback that secured the 1984 Flag and the thumping win over the Hawks in 1985 to go back-to-back.
