‘Whatever you paid, it was worth it’: The agony and the ecstasy of the game of the season

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Share A A A Loading Preliminary finals are often billed as the best games of the season. This one promised the world, and over-delivered.

For just under three hours on a balmy Melbourne September evening, a mammoth partisan crowd of 97,835 were treated to a game that had it all.

Hugh McCluggage celebrates his stunning goal. AFL Photos There were heroes on both sides and villains – the latter, at least to those with Hawk eyes, wore florescent green.

There was drama and controversy, not to mention an outpouring of emotion from those on both sides of the fence.

They saw speccies and goals, plenty of the latter – 39 to be precise. Not since the fabled 1989 decider has both teams scored 120 points or more in a final.