Our Most Devastating Loss Ever

[saint64]

As bad as last night's loss was, underscoring as I think it did that we are no where near the premiership threat that we thought we were this year, the Saints have had much darker days.

I think many people would nominate our 97 GF loss as our must gut-wrenching defeat, but my candidate for our most devastating loss ever is the 2005 Preliminary Final loss to Sydney. After all the hope and hype around the Saints at the end of 2003 and the first half of 2004, our creditable finals performance in 2004, and our great win against Adelaide in the first round of the 2005 finals, the cards seemed to finally be falling in to place for us. We seemed to have the game under control half way through the third quarter, and with the prospect of Kosi returning for the GF, and playing the Eagles who we had a good record against in Melbourne, it seemed that it was finally going to be our time.
What happened in those last few minutes of the third quarter was completely soul-destroying.

Anyone have any other candidates for our most devastating loss ever?

[saintsrus]

No other game will come close to the 97 Gf

[bobmurray]

The 1971 Grand Final was devestating....

20 points up at three quarter time and lost by 8 points.....

Should have won it......

[cowboy18]

Anyone have any other candidates for our most devastating loss ever?

Good lord.

edit: Should clarify, I appreciate points made about the finals but those games that are final and absolute - very hard to rate H&A efforts.


71GF
97 GF
04 PF
05 PF
91 final against Geelong

H&A?
The collective losses leading to us missing out in 78 after the "animals" debacle.
The Watson Hawthorn game.
The two were we just missed out breaking the Princes Park hoodoo in the late 80s/early 90s (Winmar's game incl.)
The doggies game when Templeton kicked 15.9
Most of the late 70s/80s were devastating (for me anyway, I had rosier glasses then and assumed the big wins were just around the corner) - I took our losses rather badly!


And that's without trying.

[saint64]

Anyone have any other candidates for our most devastating loss ever?

Good lord.

edit: Should clarify, I appreciate points made about the finals but those games that are final and absolute - very hard to rate H&A efforts.


71GF
97 GF
04 PF
05 PF
91 final against Geelong

H&A?
The collective losses leading to us missing out in 78 after the "animals" debacle.
The Watson Hawthorn game.
The two were we just missed out breaking the Princes Park hoodoo in the late 80s/early 90s (Winmar's game incl.)
The doggies game when Templeton kicked 15.9
Most of the late 70s/80s were devastating (for me anyway, I had rosier glasses then and assumed the big wins were just around the corner) - I took our losses rather badly!


And that's without trying.

That's a good list cowboy 18. Personally I wasn't devastated by our 91 final loss because I thought we played really well that day - just got pipped at the end in what was widely regarded as the best final of that series. I was more disappointed after our 92 finals loss to the Bulldogs - given our great showing the week before against Collingwood.

I'm too young to remember '71 . I didn't really start following footy until the next year. I remember the Templeton match where we were overrun in the last quarter.

It would be interesting to hear how people felt after our '65 GF loss.

Our 2004 PF loss was disappointing - but again I wasn't devastated as I thought we put up a good performance - and our second half of the season hadn't been that good anyway.

There was a game against the Kangaroos in the H & A in about 2003 where they kicked about 5 quick goals before three quarter time that was disappointing.

Games where Essendon treated us as their bunnies in the 1990s/early 2000s were humiliating.

[cowboy18]

Those Essendon games... more ritual humiliation than devastation. The game where Sheedy blew us away at Moorabbin with a couple of extra defenders definitely springs to mind.

I guess the devastation comes from the emotional investment in the win - that's driven in part by their identity (e.g. I hate the swans and the blues), the consequences for our season and the way they lose.

For last night's effort I think I half expected it - we just don't match up well against them and don't seem to play to our strengths. They way we lost seems awful but I guess I still see a little light there.

[St.Kenny]

Agree the Essendon floggings were always the worse. remember the Moorabbin game well as we were expected to win. With Sheedy gone maybe we re a chance again.

[perfectionist]

The 1971 Grand Final was devestating....

20 points up at three quarter time and lost by 8 points.....

Should have won it......

Would have too, if Cowboy only knocked out Peter Hudson and not you too! (Perhaps Gary Colling instead!)

PS For those who doubt the value of a marking full back rather than one who is "brave", our premiership tally would be nil if not for your pack mark with ten seconds to go in the '66 GF.

[BringBackMadDog]

I don't remember what year it was but... Carlton at Princes Park, we hadn't won there for ever and we were up by a few golas at the 28 minute mark in the last qtr. We were all dancing in the terraces thinking the game ws won, the carlton scum were slowly filing out of the ground, for some reason the quarter went for 37 minutes and the little turd Fraser Murphy kicked a goal to snatch it from us. The siren went soon as the flags were waved. Still haven't got over that one

[perfectionist]

Personally I wasn't devastated by our 91 final loss because I thought we played really well that day - just got pipped at the end in what was widely regarded as the best final of that series.

Must disagree. No doubt the best game of the series, because they were the two best teams of the series. Tony Lockett played his best game ever for the Saints although strangely was off target with 9 goals 7(?) behinds. Brownless played his best game ever for Geelong and kicked 8 goals 1 behind. But that wasn't the reason we lost. Both Grant and Burke were off injured at half time, not to return (only 20 men in those days). We ran out of puff. Burke got injured because Ablett elbowed him in the head, it cost us a flag and Geelong too, as it turned out, as Ablett was suspended.

But my memories of this game are only hazy!

[Bernard Shakey]

That was the reason Burkie wore a helmet for the rest of his career. I will never forgive that mongrel Ablett.

[terry smith rules]

the 98 hawthorn capitulation

went from flag favourites to scarred for 2-3 years afterwards

[starsign]

good thread!
there was one not far back where we surrendered a humungous 3/4 time lead of 40 or 50 points or something (maybe 60... yeah 10 goals I recon) to Hawthorn ...shee! think its some kinda record still
only the sainters could hold that one !

earlier game comes to mind when i was a kid down at the junction oval
Our Gun FF Bill Stephenson had 8-10 goals b4 1/2 time all from great grabs,then fell down and did his knee....mere cartilage
Great one grabber he was with hands as big as dinner plates...dont think he ever played again....no total knee recons like today , once you did one you were buggered for good

bit brain dead cos i've been meditating trying to expel bad memories of the past... and it must be starting to work...less im getting oldtimers disease or whatever its called again!
threads like this aren't helping either, cos after 56 or so years of following the Mighties theres plenty of pain still residing in me somewhere
LOL ...
but also been training myself to concentrate on the posatives rather than negs lately....
66GF was tops, i was 21 and went with my dad
only time I ever saw the old man cry
After the siren tears were pouring down his cheek
"only wish my dad hadda lived to see this day son" he said
Pa had a grocers shop in Prahran never missed a game till he died at 96 never having seen them win a flag!
( so you recon your a long suffering Sainter!!)
Pa witnessed none in his 96 years
Dad one in 84yrs
Me one plus all the losses since....still a chance for 2 tho !

72 or whenever v Hawks was a pretty crook one
we had a handy lead at 3/4 time and Jeans who was forever being criticised for being too defensive didnt put a loose man down back for about the only game ever and bloody Keddie kicked a 3 or 4 out of the part his jock strap didnt cover, much like Jarman.... to topple us ....that was a bad drive home from the G! didnt even have a traveller!

[bozza1980]

Losing to the cats by 20 goals at Kardinia Park in 2002 or 03 was a terrible day.

Losing to Essendon last year or even the draw against the Bulldogs last year when our season was on the line were horrible.

Losing the Elim Final to Melbourne in 2007 or the Prelim Final in 2005.

Much more horrible than Saturday night's debacle.

[evertonfc]

- Losing to Geelong by 122 points in 2002.
- Disgracefully falling apart against Sydney and Melbourne in the 2005 & 2006 finals.
- Hawthorn loss in 1999 that scarred the club eternally.
- Flogged by Essendon in 2003 in a pathetic effort.
- Jason Blake doing his best work against Collingwood last year.
- Every match against Port Adelaide since 2001, bar the 2004 GF. That includes our 'win' against them in Tassie, only saved by a Motlop choke.

I could go on forever, but they all stick in the memory.

Disgustingly, I've almost made peace with 1997 as a kind of 'well, at least we made it' atttitude.

Kind of feels like mediocrity is allowed around the club at the moment, so maybe I shouldn't feel bad about it.

[ratismeat]

God, do we even have to mention this stuff. 97 for me.

[thequarry]

97 tops it.

Otherwise 2005 Preliminary vs Sydney.

A year that had just about everything - Roo's injury #1, Gehrig's suspension, up and down form until the loss to the Bombers in Round 13, the Dogs' game the next week - Roo's injury #2, Kosi's performance, the Dogs' comeback, Milne's snap to put us back in front; smashing Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood over the next several weeks, Umpiregate/Whispers in the Sky (with Kosi injured again)...to be backed up by our biggest winning margin ever, and then arguably our most gutsy win ever against Adelaide. And I was sitting there at three quarter-time of a preliminary final thinking that after all that, we just had to hang on, maybe kick 2 or 3 goals (it was low scoring to that point) and we'd be in a Grand Final.

[cowboy18]

Here's a reality check for those lamenting yesterday's "worst loss ever".

Enjoy,


Oh, and if you do read the above

Beyond Blue.
http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?
beyondblue info line 1300 22 4636

[saint66au]

Victoria Park 1980

Collingwood 31.21.207
St Kilda 3:11: 29

[desertsaint]

MCG Sep 24 1966 - Baldock losing his jumper and throwing on the first thing he could find...

[Otiman]

Every game we go in as favourites and lose is a devastating loss, just as it's a sweet victory when we go in as underdogs and win (e.g. last week).

[Moccha]

For last night's effort I think I half expected it - we just don't match up well against them and don't seem to play to our strengths. They way we lost seems awful but I guess I still see a little light there.

They had no one playing for them. It was basically their 2nd 18.

[Antiquera]

I see this thread comes from a few months back , and seems to give a good reality check every now and then .

Gee there must be some 3rd gen. pain in what starsign posted.
But at least some of the oldies have tested 66' glory . I was relegrated to milking the cows that afternoon while my brother(maggie supporter) and Dad drove up to see the match !

As the final siren went off , the cows never knew what happenned , but dad found out the next morning when they finally let their milk down.

I got to my chance to see 71' but the last 1/4 was unbareable.

The rest are a blurr but it hurts going down in the finals .

We probably inject a fair amount of suffering on our kids by this gen. tradition but you cannot help but love our team and live in hope that the success is just around the corner.

[mick13]

It'll only make it that much sweeter when it happens lolol.