It was a case of history repeating for the Eagles when they fell short in their 1994 season opener against reigning premiers Essendon. In an almost identical finish to the classic round 16 meeting of 1993, Paul Salmon bobbed up to kick the winning goal after a poor day.

The Essendon forward was included despite an injury-interrupted pre-season but struggled to have an influence, both up forward and when thrown into the ruck. But with under two minutes remaining, Salmon clutched onto a mark in the goal square, despite the best efforts of Ashley McIntosh, to deliver the four points to the Bombers.

Played in oppressive 30-degree heat, the Bombers fought back from a 33 point deficit during the third term to start their premiership defence with a narrow three point win against the side many predicted pre-season to be premiership favourites.

The win was even more meritorious for the reigning premiers, given the eight players missing from their 1993 premiership triumph over Carlton. Norm Smith medallist Michael Long was expected to miss the year with a knee injury, captain Mark Thompson was out with a calf injury and midfielder Joe Misiti missed through illness. Stephen Alessio had been controversially suspended for five weeks for stomping on the back of Hawthorn rover John Platten during the Fosters Cup, while Sean Denham, Dean Wallis, Paul Hills and Chris Daniher were also all unavailable.

As well as Paul Salmon, veteran Tim Watson played despite limited preparations, while the Bombers had also had to deal with the fallout of Derek Kickett who walked out on the club after playing every game in 1993, only to be dropped for the Grand Final.

Conversely, the Eagles’ build-up to the 1994 season had been mostly seamless, with the club looking to bounce back from a disappointing 1993 campaign. Following the announcement of a second team from WA – the Fremantle Dockers – joining the competition from 1995, the Eagles hierarchy spent much of the summer locking away potential Fremantle targets Peter Sumich and Peter Matera to long-term contracts. The club also welcomed back Brownlow runner-up Craig Turley over the summer, after he had announced his retirement early in the 1993 season.

Turley was instantly recalled to the Eagles line-up for the opening game, alongside draftees Brett Spinks and Shane Bond who both made their debuts in a new-look forward line. Peter Sumich took his place at full-forward, despite doubts over a hamstring strain, but Chris Mainwaring was unable to recover from his own hamstring problem and was left out of the side.

With so many premiership stars missing, the Bombers also had a host of new players, including former Eagle Dale Kickett. Kickett had returned to WAFL ranks in 1993 after just one year with the Eagles, but was picked up by the Bombers after a breakout season at Claremont. Ben Doolan also made his club debut after switching across from the Swans, while Che Cockatoo-Collins and Robert Stevenson were selected for their AFL debuts.

And it would be Cockatoo-Collins who would ignite the Bombers early in the game and again in the third quarter fightback. The first gamer had the opening goal of the game as Essendon dominated much of the early exchanges and could have finished the quarter with three, if not for poor finishing. The dynamic forward was proving too elusive for McKenna, who was moved onto Kickett, with Worsfold given the task of minding the youngster.

At the other end, the Eagles were made to make the most of the few chances they had. Shane Bond had the daunting challenge of lining up in the forward pocket opposed to reigning Brownlow medallist Gavin Wanganeen, but goaled with his first kick in league football to get the Eagles going. Shortly after, Craig Turley marked his return to football with a running goal, to have the Eagles within touching distance of the Bombers at the first change.

In the second quarter the match swung West Coast’s favour on the back of Peter Matera and Peter Sumich. Sumich had been wayward early, registering behinds with his first three shots on goal, but put the Eagles in front with a brace in a matter of minutes. The second – a remarkable snap goal from the boundary on the wrong side for a left footer – was matched by Matera on the brink of half-time, who kicked a long-range snap from the other pocket, to have West Coast in front by nine points at the major break.

Sumich’s purple patch continued into the second half as the Eagles took charge. The Eagles booted the opening four goals for the term – three to Sumich – to build a commanding 33 point advantage. Dean Kemp and Peter Matera were winning plenty of the ball through the centre, Spinks was providing a strong target at half-forward and the defence was miserly.

Glen Jakovich was proving too strong for Glenn Manton and James Hird at centre half back, while Darren Bewick and Dale Kickett and were non-existent opposed to David Hart and Guy McKenna. Salmon couldn’t take a trick, dropping marks and fumbling balls, even managing to prevent a certain Michael Symons goal from going through on the goal line.

In a bid to resurrect his side, Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy threw the magnets around. David Flood replaced Dustin Fletcher at full-back on Sumich, Fletcher moved into the forward line, Salmon went into the ruck, Hird was placed behind the ball and David Calthorpe went into the middle. The response was almost immediate, with the spark coming from Cockatoo-Collins.

The small forward cleverly kept a long ball into Essendon’s forward line in play, and from deep in the pocket, curled home a miraculous goal. Cockatoo-Collins’ second major of the afternoon with under five minutes remaining in the quarter broke a run of seven unanswered goals from West Coast, and there was still time for the Bombers to make further inroads into the Eagles lead.

Mark Mercuri and Dustin Fletcher both goaled to make it three in as many minutes for the Bombers and reduce the Eagles lead to 15 at three-quarter time. In a blink, the Bombers had the lead when they opened the final term with another three goal burst. Glenn Manton broke free to kick two either side of a David Calthorpe major, to set up a thrilling finish between the premiers of the two previous seasons.

Chris Lewis hit the post to register the Eagles’ first score in over a quarter before West Coast grabbed back the lead with a long running goal from defender David Hart. The Eagles peppered the goals but couldn’t find a major, with Sumich, Matera and Lewis (twice) all missing. Lewis was causing havoc for the Bombers defence in the final term, but couldn’t capitalise on the scoreboard.

The string of behinds had crept the Eagles lead up to eight, but the Bombers were back within two when Cockatoo-Collins kicked his third goal. Essendon then had the lead when Peter Matera remonstrated with Mark Harvey, who collected the Eagles wingman at the next centre bounce, gifting a 50m penalty to Peter Somerville who kicked the simple goal.

Brett Heady was another who got busy in the final term. The half-forward spent most of the day on the bench but he restored the Eagles lead with six minutes to go after a strong contested mark on Wanganeen. Ultimately, Paul Salmon would be the difference at the final siren with his only goal for the afternoon. Twice in the dying seconds the Eagles pumped long balls deep into the forward line, but James Hird was on hand to take the saving mark on the final siren and ensure a thrilling win to the Bombers.

Despite another last-gasp win against the Eagles, there were no jacket-waving histrionics from Sheedy who acknowledged his side had made the most of their last quarter opportunities. The Bombers booted 6.1 to 2.7 in the final term, with the Eagles hitting the post on three occasions.

David Hart was the Eagles’ best with a game-high 31 disposals, whilst also quelling the influence of Darren Bewick, who managed just 13 disposals and a point. Dean Kemp collected 31 in the midfield, while Peter Matera finished with 25. Peter Sumich finished with 5.4, as the Eagles only multiple goal scorer, but had his influence nullified after being matched by Flood.

Cockatoo-Collins was the leading goal scorer for Essendon with three from 21 possessions, while Calthorpe and Manton finished with two apiece. Mark Mercuri led the ball winners for the Bombers with 28, while Gavin Wanganeen had 25 out of defence and centreman Gary O’Donnell finished with 24.

For Mick Malthouse, his 100^th game as coach of West Coast produced a disappointing result, as he was left to ponder the Eagles preparation for the game. “I don’t know whether we had a hard enough lead-up. We struck a side that had played three hard games to win a [pre-season] premiership. I don’t know whether it was for us or against us being fresh.”

“I don’t think we had the game under control. A game goes for 120 minutes.”