By Paul Daffey
IF THE 1990 Grand Final is remembered for one thing other than Collingwood breaking its premiership drought, it's the brawl that erupted at the end of the first quarter.
In the out-takes of The Final Story 1990, the third in the three-part series of documentaries on AFL Grand Finals, two of the participants explain their version of a specific event within the brawl with rare candour.
The versions of Mark Harvey, Essendon's former champion defender, and Graeme 'Gubby' Allan, Collingwood's former football manager, essentially concur.
They speak of Allan hitting Essendon runner Peter Power — "I happened to whack in," Allan says — and then a figure in a black and red bomber jacket coming over the top and throwing haymakers at Allan.
Harvey tells of the jacketed figure's false teeth falling on to the MCG turf. Then the figure snapped up his teeth and stormed off to the Essendon huddle.
Harvey says it was difficult to hear Kevin Sheedy, the Essendon coach, during the huddle because he had dirt and grass between his teeth and gums.
He struggled to take the coach seriously when his mouth was so compromised.
"That was the reason we lost the 1990 Grand Final," he says.
Sheedy says in the out-take that he thought a spectator was laying into Power, so he acted on the spur of the moment to help him out.
He's just thankful a camera didn't manage to capture the event.
Peter Dickson, the writer and producer of The Final Story 1990, says the candour of those involved in the brawl was typical of his interviews with former Collingwood and Essendon figures.
He says the passing of time has enabled them to open up. They contribute to a documentary that Dickson describes as "very emotional".
Collingwood famously won the match by 48 points. The victory changed the Magpies players' lives forever.
The Final Story 1990 will be broadcast on Channel 7 at 11am on Sunday, (7Mate in Sydney and Brisbane)
