{"id":473825,"date":"2026-02-11T23:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T23:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/473825\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T23:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T23:10:10","slug":"cameron-mooney-and-jonathan-brown-reflect-on-2008-victoria-vs-all-stars-hall-of-fame-tribute-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/473825\/","title":{"rendered":"Cameron Mooney and Jonathan Brown reflect on 2008 Victoria vs All-Stars Hall of Fame tribute match"},"content":{"rendered":"

The upcoming clash between Western Australia and Victoria will be the first official AFL Origin clash<\/a> in nearly 27 years.<\/p>\n

However there have been two exhibition state matches featuring \u2018The Big V\u2019 this century: The Hall of Fame Tribute Match in 2008 (Victoria v Dream Team) and the 2020 Bushfire Relief Match (Victoria v All-Stars).<\/p>\n

Ahead of the 2020 match, foxfooty.com.au spoke to triple premiership forward Cameron Mooney about his 2008 experience and favourite memories, with Mooney representing the Dream Team.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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And it\u2019s what happened after the match that stuck with Mooney for many years.<\/p>\n

The below story was published on foxfooty.com.au in February 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n

***********************<\/p>\n

Adam Goodes, Brendan Fevola, Jonathan Brown, Brent Harvey and Chris Judd after the Hall Of Fame Tribute Match. Picture: Darren TindaleSource: News Limited<\/p>\n

If the Great Australian Dream is still to own on your home on a quarter acre block, this one would be a mighty close second.<\/p>\n

Picture this: It\u2019s 4am on a Sunday morning in 2008, just hours after Victoria and the \u2018Dream Team\u2019 put on a dazzling, high-scoring show in the Hall of Fame tribute match. Around 30 of the AFL\u2019s biggest stars are deep into a session at The Waterside Hotel in Melbourne\u2019s CBD \u2013 and still going strong.<\/p>\n

Then \u2018Khe Sanh\u2019 starts playing \u2013 and the entire party emerges from their seats. They link up arm-in-arm and begin to belt out the Cold Chisel classic, singing like nobody was watching \u2013 because nobody was. This was a special, exclusive moment that might never be replicated.<\/p>\n

Standing in one part of the elite circle is star forward duo Jonathan Brown and Brendan Fevola \u2013 the ideal partners in belt-out-Khe-Sanh crime that\u2019d just booted nine goals between them to inspire Victoria to a 17-point victory. Then there\u2019s triple premiership Cats Steve Johnson and James Kelly, who you want by your side at this time of the morning. On the other side of the circle is superstar Eagles\/Dream Team duo Daniel Kerr and Dean Cox, as well as six-time All-Australian Corey Enright. Oh and, of course, legendary Tiger Matthew Richardson.<\/p>\n

Yep. For many, this might be the Great Australian Dream.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Brown, Brent Harvey and Brendan Fevola. Picture: Michael DodgeSource: News Limited<\/p>\n

Cameron Mooney was in the circle that night \u2013 a circle many would\u2019ve craved to have been part of. He lived it, loved it and will never forget it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember sitting around drinking with blokes that I never thought I\u2019d be able to drink with,\u201d Mooney told foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s well into the morning and the lights come on because they wanted us to get out. But there would\u2019ve been 30 of us belting out Cold Chisel and I thought to myself: \u2018This is one of the great scenes of all-time that\u2019ll never get seen.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is etched in my memory forever. It was one of the best nights I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then-Vic captain Brown can\u2019t remember seeing Mooney on the MCG that night. But he certainly remembered the big Cat at The Waterside.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Moons\u2019 was strong at the after-party, I know that much,\u201d Brown told foxfooty.com.au. \u201cHe was leading the charge, no doubt about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked to respond to Brown\u2019s claim, Mooney said: \u201cYeah that is fair to say. But there was a few of us leading the charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Mooney, that night in the pub was what his once-in-a-career \u2018Origin\u2019 experience was all about. Not the game itself.<\/p>\n

The Dream Team forward line of Cameron Mooney, Matthew Richardson, Lance Franklin and Matthew Pavlich. Picture: Michael DodgeSource: News Limited<\/p>\n

Representing the Dream Team, Mooney finished with a game-low three disposals (although one of those touches was a beautiful, quintessential long-range Mooney goal from a set-shot early in the game). He understood the significance of the occasion and the honour bestowed upon him, but Mooney grew up in Wagga Wagga wanting to wear a New South Wales (AFL) Origin jumper \u2013 not an all-white, \u2018best of the rest\u2019 one.<\/p>\n

Mooney insisted he wasn\u2019t injured. Rather he \u201cpicked up the I-was-not-going-to-get-hurt-for-the-jumper\u201d injury.<\/p>\n

He remembered playing on legendary Cats teammate \u2013 and one of his best friends \u2013 Matthew Scarlett, who didn\u2019t let Mooney win too many one-on-one contests. He also said he \u201ccould\u2019ve cleaned up\u201d a Big V opponent at one stage of the game but didn\u2019t \u2013 a decision, he claimed, led to a goal down the other end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, \u2018well that probably sums up my night\u2019,\u201d Mooney said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had a New South Wales jumper on, it\u2019s almost like I would\u2019ve jumped in front of a bus for it. It just didn\u2019t have the significance for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going that hard to be honest. It was more about training, getting to know these boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lance Franklin gets the better of Cameron Mooney at Dream Team training. Picture: Michael DodgeSource: News Limited<\/p>\n

It may have been one of his quietest nights on the footy field, but Mooney said that time in May 2008 was \u201cthe best weekend of my life\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to meet a lot of guys who I played against but finally got to train with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe training session on the MCG was by far the best training session I\u2019ve ever had in my life. The balls never hit the ground for an hour, I was leading to Andrew McLeod and the Burgoyne\u2019s (Peter and Shaun) and Kerr and Cox. I had the best week of all-time getting to know them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never put myself in the same category as most of the blokes that I was playing with or against that night. So for me to be involved in it, I was absolutely wrapped.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the full article, tap here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The upcoming clash between Western Australia and Victoria will be the first official AFL Origin clash in nearly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[84982,638,109787,64,63,689,55,639,3423,680,156828,241618,37351,71357,52625,12148,188821,241617,241619,17351,79257,19052,31732,19103,102478,647,122947,241623,673,677,241616,85,241614,241620,53149,241615,13154,241621,660,156825,241622,173677,3439],"class_list":["post-473825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-adam-goodes","tag-afl","tag-andrew-mcleod","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-brendan-fevola","tag-brent-harvey","tag-bushfire-relief-match","tag-cameron-mooney","tag-chris-judd","tag-daniel-kerr","tag-dean-cox","tag-dream-team","tag-exhibition-state-matches","tag-fame-tribute-match","tag-jake-waterman","tag-james-kelly","tag-jonathan-brown","tag-lance-franklin","tag-matthew-pavlich","tag-matthew-scarlett","tag-melbourne","tag-michael-dodge","tag-mighty-close","tag-new-south-wales","tag-oceania","tag-quarter-acre-block","tag-sports","tag-the-waterside-hotel","tag-tiger-matthew-richardson","tag-training-session","tag-tribute-match","tag-triple-premiership","tag-v-dream-team","tag-victoria","tag-victoria-v","tag-victoria-v-dream","tag-wagga-wagga","tag-western-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}