Round 7, May 18th, 1974 at Windy Hill
It was Essendon, sixth on the ladder playing the reigning premiers Richmond third. For Essendon Max Crow was selected for his first game with veteran Don Gross who as it turned out was playing his last game. It was a close game all day but the most memorable part of the game was a half time brawl. It happened as the teams left the ground. A verbal joust between players and on field staff ended up in an ugly brawl with players wrestling and a number of punches being thrown. So fierce was the brawl that police intervened. As a result of a VFL investigation four Essendon players and staff were reported. They were - player Ron Andrews suspended for 6 weeks, player John Cassin not guilty, runner Laurie Ashley: suspended for 6 weeks andfitness adviser Jim Bradley: suspended for 6 weeks
For the record Richmond 16-19-115 defeated Essendon 15-15-105. Richmond player Kevin Sheedy kicked 3 goals and was best on ground. Other familiar names for Richmond were Brian Wood and Kevin Morris who kicked a goal each. For Essendon, debutant Max Crow kicked four goals. Essendon’s season didn’t improve following that violent day at Windy Hill.
Round 7 (14 May) 1977 at Waverly Park.
In a football season where a lot of fresh faces debut for Essendon, a 15-year-old by the name of Tim Watson played his first game in this round in 1977. Originally selected on the bench, Tim started on the ground when wingman Ian Marsh withdrew. The match was a tied result - 99 points apiece - but those lucky enough to attend saw the start of a fantastic career. As most Essendon supporters now know, the team was dubbed ‘The Baby Bombers’ after selecting a lot of unknown kids who struggled at the time. Iin years to come were the backbone of Essendon’s great sides of the 1980s.
The team
B: Denis Scanlon Robin Close Russell Muir
HB: Greg Bell Ron Andrews Colin Boyd
C: Tim Watson Neville Fields Shane Heard
HF: Stephen Robins Paul van der Haar Ken Roberts
F: Brian Walsh Gary Foulds Stephen Taubert
Rucks: Simon Madden Ken Fletcher Andy Wilson
Bench: Don Mattson Wayne Primmer
On the backline for Richmond was none other then Kevin Sheedy.
