Dermott Brereton has long been the name linked with revving Hawthorn up in the rooms before the infamous ‘Line in the Sand’ brawl that erupted in 2004, but former Hawk John Barker says the “most aggressive” urgings came from coach Peter Schwab.
Barker and Essendon great Matthew Lloyd re-lived that day on 3AW’s Footy: Then and Now podcast.
It was a brutal tackle from Mark Johnson on Hawthorn ruckman Robbie Campbell just before the main break that set Schwab off, Barker recalls.
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“I think the most aggressive conversation came from our coach,” Barker said when asked what went on in the rooms at half-time that day.
“I know he pointed out that exact incident and said that, at some stage, we’ve got to stand for something.
“If there was a sniff of anything he wanted us to fly the flag.”
And the Hawks certainly didn’t waste any time in doing so, with a high hit from Chance Bateman on Jason Winderlich sparking brawls all over the MCG.
Lloyd admits the Bombers had little regard for the Hawks as a club at that time.
https://omny.fm/shows/3aw-is-football/matthew-lloyd-and-john-barker-haw-vs-ess-the-line/embed
“And we let them know about it through that period,” he said.
“I remember early in the game it might have been Mark Johnson or somebody said ‘put your hand up if you’ve ever been beaten by Hawthorn’ just to try and rub the nose in and win the mental battle nice and early, because none of us had lost to Hawthorn for a long, long time.”
An incredible 18 players fronted the tribunal after the match, with five players suspended for a total of 16 matches, and fines adding up to more than $70,000 handed out.
The Bombers came out on top, easily winning the match by 74 points before going on to win a final later in the year.
But it was the Hawks who went on to greatness, winning four of the next 12 premierships.
The Bombers haven’t won a final since.
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