As part of an ongoing peek back into Uni Blues history, we recall the infamous beginning to the 1997 A-Section season when Uni Blues met Old Melburnians at the Junction Oval …

After the toss of the coin, Blues captain Richard Furphy pointed to the city end. Blues full-forward Adam Lennen jogged to the goal square, where he found a regular opponent in Old Melburnians captain Tim Stuckey. Before a ball was bounced, Stuckey wandered around 20 metres from the goal square and stayed there, suggesting to Lennen that he would play loose. The Blues spearhead thought it might be his lucky day.

At the other end of the ground, Blues defender Toby McIntyre and his opponent, Simon Theodore, were like two old goats butting heads. In the minutes before the opening bounce, McIntyre was quietly impressed that a forward would bump and harass as much as his Old Melburnians opponent. After the bounce, Blues booted the ball forward. Lennen swooped on it and kicked a goal, only to have his celebrations curtailed by the goal umpire signalling a behind. Lennen wondered what was going on. Then the penny dropped. Stuckey was playing full-forward. The Blues were kicking the wrong way. Lennen fetched the ball and kicked it in.

This is an extract from “Black & Blue – The Story of Football at the University of Melbourne”.

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