Over the course of the past month, the Essendon Football Club, in conjunction with Fox Sports and Kayo, have provided their ardent supporters with a brilliant lens to view their storied past.
Throughout the course of seven half-hour instalments and a singular 60-minute special, the stitches of the Dons' rich tapestry have been held up to the light in the docuseries 'The Bombers: Stories of a Great Club'.
Despite being a footy disciple that prays at an altar away from Windy Hill, the tales, tidbits and illuminating talks were still wonderfully engrossing as an outsider.
Since the first pair of episodes aired on Tuesday October 19 until the series' completion seven-days ago, I have sat and let the Bombers' history blitz me each week while recording my wandering thoughts along the way.
So, with the shooting and interviewing now wrapped and Ben Rutten's 'Baby Bombers' back on the training track, here are my final set of questions from the last pair of episodes.
As there have been many significant moments signposted throughout the eight episodes of this outstanding series, there are naturally going to be a plethora of ‘sliding doors' moments that crop up over the course.
While less pondered matters such as alternative legacies, jumper swaps and missed apologies have been raised within this collection of weekly reviews, this latest query is one that is sure to have crossed the minds of many Dons fans.
When the final siren sounded on the 29th of September 2001, Essendon's latest premiership defence came to an official close.
Although Kevin Sheedy's side had been soundly beaten by Leigh Matthews' Lions throughout the second-half of that season's decider, there remained a view that the Bombers would be back vying for the flag in 2002.
And with names like James Hird, Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas, Dustin Fletcher, Mark Mecuri and the Johnsons set to return after a summer of licking their wounds, this belief appeared grounded in reality.
Still, more than 20-years on from Brisbane's maiden premiership, every single one of Essendon's runs since 2001 have seen them trip on hurdles well before the last leap ahead of the finish line.
As much has already been made of the Bombers longstanding inability to progress past the first week of the finals, the previous chatter surrounding the club's missed dynasty has naturally died off.
However, when the now dusty petri dish is placed back under the microscope, the remnants of this missed opportunity are still impossible to miss.
Should you raise the Bombers' 1999 campaign with any of their many members, an array of ugly emotions are sure to follow suit.
Despite the pain of their one-point preliminary final loss to arch-rivals Carlton still lingering today, those involved with the infamous defeat claimed that falling short was actually what allowed them to fly higher 12-months later.
Essendon's near undefeated 2000 season may have seen them end the year with a 96 per cent win-rate from their 25 appearances, but according to that year's Coleman Medallist, the Dons' unparalleled results only arose due to Sheedy's willingness to hold his troops to account.
“We had two or three days drowning of drowning our sorrows [after the loss in 1999], and about the Wednesday of grand final week, Kevin Sheedy sends the message out saying, ‘the club has purchased 40 grand final tickets and you're all going to watch'.” Matthew Lloyd said on Fox Footy.
When the ego-bruised Bombers rolled up to watch the Kangaroos claim their “gift wrapped” premiership, the spearhead stated that the reception was about as warm as a winter's night in Alaska.
“There was North supporters [and] Carlton supporters all grabbing their throats saying ‘you've choked. You should be here, but you're not. You choked last week',” Lloyd continued.
Still, prior to the final siren, the seemingly sadistic Sheedy made moves to rally his side before ringing in the 21st century a full three-months before anyone else on the planet.
After departing the scene of what was widely tipped to be their crowning moment, Lloyd explained that the painful viewing had served a purpose.
“We walked out, and we were crossing the road just near the Hilton Hotel and there was a restaurant where Robert Shaw [then Essendon assistant coach] was waiting for us and he had a folder,” Lloyd recounted with a stony face.
“He handed out the folders and said, ‘this is where our 2000 campaign starts'.”
The dossiers divvied out amongst the playing group were said to state that if they were to atone for their fade out, they would need to make sure they won each time against Melbourne, Carlton and North Melbourne the next season – a feat that was achieved with ease.
While the ultimate prize was eventually earned after club's pre-season training period was brought forward and stringent measures such as never singing the club song were adhered to, it's hard to imagine that such a hard line would have required towing if the 1999 cup was in their cabinet.
It's almost impossible to make a case for any side having the skill or will to beat the Bombers in 2000, but even if Essendon had repeated their deeds of the mid-80s by winning back-to-back flags, would this rolling juggernaut have had enough momentum to cap a three-peat?
Sheedy and Shaw's alternative methods may have lit a fire beneath the Bombers' backsides after losing face to Carlton in late September, but the same prod and ignite technique was used by Matthews when the Lions looked limp against the same adversary in mid-May of 2001.
Following a 74-point belting dealt out by the Blues in Round 8, ‘Lethal' channeled Sheedy's ‘method from madness' approach to coaching by famously drawing inspiration from Schwarzenegger rather than the stats sheet ahead of their Round 10 date with the Dons.
“If it bleeds, we can kill it. And we reckon Essendon can bleed,” Matthews famously said sans the thick Austrian accent.
And sure enough, after Brisbane's 28-point victory that set a 16-game winning streak in motion, the silver-haired steward was as right before the bye as he was by the end of their silverware winning season.
Given Matthews and his pride then proceeded to add further trophies at will, hindsight now tells us that the Sheedy's men lost to a better side that season.
Yet, if the 2001 grand final could now be looked at as a side going for their third triumph in a row against a collective that would actually become the side fifth group to do so, the game would have taken on greater significance than it did in reality.
Although the Essendon players of this era are likely to still silently rue these missed opportunities for a larger legacy, at least they can take solace in the fact that the Blues went zero from three throughout the same time frame.
While not perfect, Essendon's 2000 season remains arguably the greatest campaign ever completed in AFL/VFL history.
As mentioned, the Bombers blitzed all but one of their opponents to claim both a 96 per cent win-rate from their 25-starts and their 16th and latest premiership cup.
Although their Round 21 loss to the flood-happy Bulldogs was enough to eliminate their plans for flawlessness, it has allowed for the aspiration to remain open for the future.
Despite finishing the regular season atop the ladder by a full five-games with a percentage of 159.1, the Dons' home and away dominance in 2000 has actually been bettered by a pair of competitors – the 1929 Magpies and the 2008 Cats.
Though, if you dig a tad deeper, you will find that it is still Sheedy's men that reign supreme.
Given Geelong's rigor mortis seize-up against Hawthorn in the grand final 13-years ago, they must be discounted as the best single-season side due to their claws missing the cup.
In regard to Jock McHale's Collingwood ‘Machine' in the midst of their four consecutive flags, they may have remained perfect from their 18 regular-season games that took place nearly a century ago, but when push came to shove in September, they too wilted.
Despite proving able to topple the Tigers by an average winning margin of 27-points from their pair of meetings at Victoria Park and Punt Road, when Collingwood and Richmond faced off at the MCG on semi-final day, it was the latter that reigned supreme by 62-points.
However, in what would be an incongruous move these days, McHale's men still progressed straight through to the grand final under the archaic challenge rule afforded to minor premiers until 1931.
Irrespective of the Woodsmen's victory in this secondary contest by just shy of three goals, the mere fact that the Coventrys, Colliers and company enjoyed a week off while the Tigers were forced to arm wrestle with Carlton in a ‘do or die' final takes some of the gloss off their 91-point turnaround.
As it took the wanton employment of cynical tactics to trip Essendon before they were able to win their stretch finals by an average margin of 76-points, there's little doubt in my mind that their most recent premiership marathon is the cleanest run by any team in history.
While there may be some dispute as to how long they are set to retain this crown, the almost socialistic induction of the draft and salary caps has levelled the playing field to the point where perfection is an impossibility.
And as perfection is what it would take to dethrone the likes of Lloyd, Lucas and Long, the crown jewels are likely to stay where they are for many seasons yet.
For the first 15 weeks of James Hird's 12th season as a Bomber, a series of fan ballots were requested and collected.
The aim of this democratic act was to identify and separate the greatest player to ever pull on a red and black guernsey from amongst their peers.
While this honour was eventually bestowed upon Dick Reynolds on August 30, 2002, the fact that Hird had managed to earn a podium finish almost half a decade prior to his retirement was a ridiculous feat.
With his trifecta of Brownlows and quartet of flags as a player and coach, there remains no denying that Reynolds deserved this bestowal only days before his eventual death.
Still, if the same vote was undertaken ahead of the club's 150th season, it would prove fascinating to find just how much, or little, the leaderboard was altered.
For full disclosure, here is how the 25-name leaderboard read nearly 20-years ago:
1. Dick Reynolds
2. John Coleman
3. James Hird
4. Bill Hutchison
5. Simon Madden
6. Tim Watson
7. Ken Fraser
8. Jack Clarke
9. Albert Thurgood
10. Tom Fitzmaurice
11. Terry Daniher
12. Wally Buttsworth
13. Reg Burgess
14. Bill Busbridge
15. Barry Davis
16. Keith Forbes
17. Graham Moss
18. Mark Harvey
19. Gavin Wanganeen
20. Mark Thompson
21. John Birt
22. Matthew Lloyd
23. Michael Long
24. Fred Baring
25. Harold Lambert
Given exercises of this nature are more prone to starting arguments rather than ending them, I have absolutely no doubts that by simply raising this list, I have kicked off debates in loungerooms across the nation.
As a pair of decades have passed since the point of this list's creation, I am also sure that names like Zach Merrett and Dustin Fletcher will be claimed as certainties for inclusion, with a smattering of other names sure to be raised as possibilities.
Due to my footballing heart lying around 30-kilometres south of Windy Hill, I am not the most qualified person to pass judgement on any of these hypothetical votes.
And as someone who missed the careers of top-five members Reynolds, Coleman, Hutchison and Madden, I am also at a loss on whether their order needs reshuffling.
However, as someone that grew up during James Hird's almost perpetual peak, if you're willing to argue a case that the third-generation Bomber requires a raise, I am also not prepared to argue with you.
Relatively simple arithmetic will tell you that once you account for the 24 leap years across its breadth, the 21st century will contain a total of 36,524 days.
And although Gary Moorcroft's 'stratosphere sucking' hanger is, without doubt, the clubhouse leader for this trophy-less prize, he left a grand total of 35,583 days and nights in which to lose it by the time he hit the Docklands deck.
Given the array of eye-catching grabs we see each season, as well as the fact that footballers are continuing to become much lither, logic would suggest that someone at some stage before 2100 will haul in a hanger that has jaws dropping lower than on July 6, 2001.
Still, it will take some sort of effort to overhaul an effort that saw a five-foot-eight-inch man marking the Sherrin behind his head whilst a city story off the ground.
While you would need to consult Guinness about a shattered record if I made it to the end of this century, should you look me up and find me there, I will have seen Moorcroft's mark eventually usurped.
But until then, we'll all just have to channel the league's former advertising message uttered by the likes of Ian Wright, John McEnroe, and Desmond Tutu when thinking about what the next seven decades and change could well have in store.
Irrespective of the well-founded view that changing one's job, role or occupation entirely has beneficial effects across every conceivable facet of life, coaching sports at the elite level is a horse of a different colour.
And when the most successful and longest-serving coaches are held up for inspection, Kevin Sheedy's name and record stand well apart from the vaunted pack.
Having been handed the keys at Windy Hill ahead of Christmas in 1980, Sheedy steered the Bombers through early lows, a pair of peaks, a dip, a lurch and a couple more returns to the summit all before they were taken off him at the cessation of 2007.
While his nigh-on three-decade stretch is still likely to be looked upon as arguably Essendon's most golden era, there is also little to no chance that the same hands will ever clasp the wheel for as long again.
Despite ending his 27-season stint in red and black clobber having coached 634-games for a win-rate of 61.36 per cent, there are several reasons why even Sheedy wouldn't be afforded the right to live out his past life in the contemporary age.
Firstly, the perceived rise in player power means that coaches are kept on their toes by playing groups. And when these fraternities decide it's time to dump a coach, the result usually ends in their favour.
This is almost the polar opposite to the entirety of Sheedy's tenure within the coaches box when mild backchat on a Tuesday night was enough to land you in the reserves that Saturday.
In addition to this, the advent and rise of social media speculation has accelerated the onset of many recent leader's use-by dates, as the consistent squawking, berating, whinging and abuse is enough to send even those that win games grey in a flash.
Finally, the game just isn't the same as it once was.
Yes, Sheedy may have been the first full-time coach in AFL/VFL history, but his charges certainly weren't for a large chunk of that time.
Sure, the former plumber may have chaperoned many squads across state borders in his day, but with more expansion sides residing in further reaches than before, and home ground advantages all but a thing of the past within Victoria, the task ahead of the current coach is tougher than ever.
Now, this isn't to say that Sheedy wouldn't be able to thrive in a head coaching role today, however, I do believe that with the degrading patience levels in our current climate of instant gratification, the stamp would have lowered on his papers before too long.
Still, there is a distinct possibility that I am a mile from the marker, as Mike Krzyzewski has been been the unimpeded coach of the Duke University Basketball Program since March 18, 1980 - a full 12-months and 10-days before Sheedy's first game at the helm of the Dons.
While the deal that saw Chris Judd head home across the Nullarbor was drawn up and completed over 14-years ago, there was a chance that his final landing could have sat further north than Princes Park.
Given the bald Eagle's superstar status, there was no shortage of suitors in the market when he announced that he was happy to set sail from Subiaco at the end of 2007 season.
Although the Blues' package of pick 3, 20 and fledgling forward Josh Kennedy proved to be enough to satisfy West Coast at the trade table, it wasn't the only offer they were asked to mull.
According to Kevin Sheedy, the longstanding steward was prepared to punt a handful of picks and son-of-a-gun Jobe Watson to put Judd in a red sash ahead of 2008.
As Watson had played just 53-games at this point and the Dons' first and second-round selections sat at picks 6 and 23, it should surprise nobody as to why this extension was rebuked.
However, when you factor in that Sheedy was also willing to send a then 29-year-old Matthew Lloyd along as the cherry on top, the Eagles' choice becomes a heck of a lot more vexing.
Personally, the fact that the triple Coleman Medallist was ever on the table came as news to me, but upon digging, the man himself confirmed there was truth to the rumours.
“Sheedy wrote in his book that he wanted to trade myself and Jobe Watson to the West Coast Eagles for Chris Judd,” Lloyd told AFL Trade Radio in 2016.
Still, this proposed deal almost certainly fell over due to the key forward's refusal to fly west.
“There's no way I would have gone to play for West Coast," he continued.
“I would have said, ‘Ok, if you want me to be part of a trade, get me to a strong club in Melbourne', but there's no way I wanted to uproot my family to play in Perth."
While Essendon fans would have loved the prospect of seeing a generational talent like Judd ply his trade in a red and black guernsey, this joy would surely have taken a back seat to what was felt once Watson had begun to hit his stride.
Even though this is just another denied deal confined to the trade period's overflowing wastebasket, it's hard not to wonder how the careers of each of these East Sandringham Junior would have unfolded had they traded places.
Although this particular question may seem like I am keen to pick at wounds and prod at scars, rest assured that this isn't my intention.
Initially, I was reticent about even raising the prolonged stretch containing jabs, bans, subterfuge and stress, but given the impact it has had on the Essendon Football Club, it's not something I could swerve entirely.
While the pain of this period is unlikely to ever be forgotten, and the strain that the club was placed under led to massive change, one particular quote pricked my ears during this docuseries' final episode.
Despite numerous players involved in the saga being keen to express their innocence throughout the final instalment, these same names also stressed that the gruelling period had taxed them both mentally and physically.
Club champion Tim Watson went a step further by claiming the rigamarole was certain to have "destroyed relationships" and "disrupted lives".
So, if this is the view from the players and the father of the name with the most to lose behind James Hird, where does that leave current CEO Xavier Campbell's comments?
Within the eighth and final episode of the series, Campbell claimed that given the club's network remained intact throughout the seemingly neverending saga, it was "something we [the Bombers' inner circle] should all look back on with pride."
As someone that has no skin in Essendon's gains and losses, Campbell's perception probably isn't something I am qualified to pick the eyes out of.
But as livelihoods, reputations, awards and the mental well-being of many involved were either lost, halted or eroded, I'm not certain a synonym for pleasure, joy or delight is truly applicable here.
Still, it's always easy to comment from the outside looking in and the rigors attached with involvement are something I am never going to fully understand.
It may seem glib to use the phrase ‘every cloud has a silver lining' when speaking about a topic as tumultuous as Essendon's drugs saga, but if 34 Essendon players had never been banned for 2016 season, a new fan favourite may never have gained his start.
While the standard avenue to becoming a league footballer usually runs through metropolitan private schools after obtaining scholarships, this much, and more, cannot be said for Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Despite having grown up on the Tiwi Islands and playing his junior football for the aptly named Tiwi Bombers, life and circumstances saw 'Walla' make the move to country Victoria after being adopted ahead of his 18th birthday.
Though this shift would eventually see the dreadlocked livewire take his final steps towards professionalism through the Gippsland Power program, McDonald-Tipungwuti failed to graduate from the TAC Cup to the AFL seamlessly.
Still, any disappointment attached with this snubbing was sure to have vanished when the small forward was granted a spot on Essendon's VFL list.
Several years spent catching eyes eventually saw him rise to a place on the club's rookie list at the end of 2015, but from real crisis came real opportunity, when yet another call-up came following the widespread bans.
Due to a dearth of players available, stand-in coach Mark 'Bomber' Thompson and his selection committee picked McDonald-Tipungwuti for 21 of a possible 22 games throughout his debut season.
Although this near uninterrupted stretch saw the five-foot-seven-inch forward sing the song on just three occasions, the baptism of fire allowed him to find his feet without the threat of heavy expectation.
However, would this same level of freedom to learn have been offered to McDonald-Tipungwuti had the Bombers been able to field their full complement of stars?
Absolutely not.
And would an instant ability to rise from the rookie list have come to fruition if competition for senior places were at a premium?
I'm inclined to say no again.
Still, would he have missed out on a guernsey entirely?
It is here that I offer a hopeful no.
Although these are just another set of hypothetical queries that realists can quite easily ignore, the knowledge that the Bomber's bright spark arose when the club themselves were at their lowest is enough to warm cockles.
Like some of his offensive, and defensive, passages on the park, it's pretty poetic to think that someone that brings so much joy came along right when he was needed the most.
Up until May 30, 2015, there had been very few constants in football that had run for the entire length of my life.
However, by the time that Dustin Fletcher's career that commenced less than a fortnight before I was born had come to a close, it also brought an end to the most abiding of uninterrupted runs.
Over the course of his 400-game and 23-season stretch, Fletcher may have been asked to stand on some of the games greatest forwards, but his wiry frame never evolved to the point where Inspector Gadget comparisons could be put to bed.
Despite his light and hunched rig, the defender with a wingspan as wide as the Sahara was still able to stop forwards who could bench press his entire weight with ease.
Given the view that the redhead was able to tussle and topple a fleet of household names, I felt compelled to find out just how well he fared against the Holy Trinity of 90s full-forwards.
Although the peaks of Gary Ablett Snr, Jason Dunstall and Tony Lockett came either before my birth or around the time that I was keeping Huggies shareholders happy, the introduction of YouTube has kept me well-versed on their respective of crescendos.
While the group of formerly mulleted maestros managed to win seven of 10 Coleman Medals on offer between 1990 and 1999, just how many days were they halted by Fletcher?
Between 1993 and 1999, Fletcher played in 15-games against either Ablett (4), Dunstall (4) or Lockett (7).
Within these games, Ablett managed to slot 32 majors at an average of 8 per appearance, with Dunstall tallying 20 and five and Lockett 36 and 5.1.
Although it remains out of reach to understand just how many of these six-pointers came while Fletcher was their direct opponent, the fact that each of these figures are larger than their career averages, the theory that Fletcher could stop them is starting to seem unfounded.
Still, when you look through the lens of how many times Ablett, Dunstall and Lockett were held to below their respective means of 4.16, 4.66 and 4.84, you will find that Fletcher was able to halt on eight out of 15 attempts for a 53.3 per cent success rate.
While defenders that concede strings of three or four-goals these days are sure to spend plenty of time in the reserves, the game remained different at the back-end of the last millennium.
And with an ability to quite literally punch above his weight against the mercurial forwards of this era, the efforts of Fletcher throughout the fledgling years of his career deserve far more credit than they currently receive.
Over the course of the past month, I have asked 39-questions pertaining to the Essendon Football Club's rich past.
As the darkness of the drugs saga has begun finally begun to dissipate with the dawning of the Ben Rutten era, it's high time I did a 180 and set my sights on what is to come for the Tullamarine team.
While an 11-win and 11-loss home and away season was enough to launch the Bombers back into the finals after their 2020 hiatus, their goalless second-half during their loss in Launceston saw their September streak remain unsnapped.
Although the 'Truck'-led side didn't have enough in the tank to trouble the Dogs after half-time in the elimination final, many names on Rutten's roster are starting to realise their potential.
Darcy Parish's breakout year saw the Geelong Falcons product finish the season with a swag of best on-ground honours due to his seasonal mean of 30.5 touches from 23-starts.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
Fellow All Australian and 2021 Crichton Medallist Zach Merrett also kept his foot on the gas pedal, while Jake Stringer strung together a season akin to what he produced during his stint at the Kennel.
The previously worrying voids left by Adam Saad and Joe Daniher were suitably filled by Nick Hind and, to an extent, Peter Wright, with the latter finding his feet towards the back-end of the season.
The club's recent draft class of Archie Perkins, Nik Cox and Harrison Jones showed more than enough to bring smiles to faces stuck in lockdown. And with the prospect of Zach Reid's debut looming after an injury-interrupted year, these same grins are set to widen.
Essendon's defensive stocks also continued to blossom, with the ever astute Jordan Ridley commandeering a crew of youngsters in Aaron Francis, Mason Redman and Jayden Laverde who all took their games to the next level.
However, in spite of all of these gains, the fact that Stringer remained the club's leading goalkicker despite spending large chunks of the season in the centre of the ground, a focus on scoring will likely be the message drilled in over summer.
The fact that Essendon produced just one win against a top-eight team in 2021 will also be discussed ad nauseam ahead of their next fixture list that is certain to be tougher given their rise from 13th to 8th.
While deep-diving down wormholes from the past is more my forte rather than recounting images found within a crystal ball, I am content to believe that given the trajectory of their recent form, Essendon should be pressing to not only play but win a final in 2022.
Irrespective of whether their highly-publicised 6,200-day streak is snapped this September or not, Essendon's 150th season is set to be a special one undertaken by exciting names and overseen by an energised coach.