The Last Finals Hurrah

Monday 1 May 2006

They were the fairytale team of 1986 – the underdog Fitzroy Lions.

After finishing ninth the previous year, new coach David Parkin replaced the highly respected Robert Walls and rushed his side all the way to the preliminary final.

Heavyweights Essendon and Hawthorn had dominated the VFL for the past four years, and the battling Lions caught the imagination of every neutral observer.

After finishing fourth on the table with a 13-9 record, Fitzroy disposed of back-to-back premiers Essendon with a thrilling one-point win in a titanic Elimination Final. The muscular Michael Conlan was the hero.

A week later the brave Lions were at it again, ruining glamour side Sydney’s grand final prospects with a 13-16-94 to 13-11-89 triumph in the first semi-final.

The Lions booted the first three goals of the preliminary final against the Hawthorn machine and history beckoned, but the powerful Hawks eventually ground their way to a 16-14-110 to 7-12-54 victory.

They would beat Carlton by 42 points to win the premiership the following week.

The last Fitzroy finals team played on 20 September, 1986.

The team was:

Barwick, Doug
Blakey, John
Clayton, Scott
Conlan, Mick
Dwyer, Mark
Harris, Leon
Harris, Bernie
Hinchen, Graeme
Lokan, Bill
McGrath, Craig
McIvor, Scott
Osborne, Richard
Pekin, Tim
Pert, Gary
Quinlan, Bernie
Reeves, Michael
Rendell, Matt
Roos, Paul
Thornton, Ross
Turner, Dean