The 1989 VFL Grand Final was an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
game contested between the
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...
and the
Geelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...
, held at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
on 30 September 1989. It was the 93rd annual
grand final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
of the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
, staged to determine the
premiers
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
for the
1989 VFL season
The 1989 VFL season was the 93rd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition and administrative body in Victoria and, by reason of it featuring clubs from New South Wales, Queensl ...
. The match, attended by 94,796 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 6 points, marking that club's eighth premiership victory. It is regarded as one of the greatest
grand finals
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
of all time, noted for its high scoring, close winning margin, extreme physical toughness, and the courage and on-field heroics displayed by its injured players.
Background
Hawthorn were playing in their seventh successive Grand Final and eager to successfully defend the premiership for the first time in their history, after being denied in 1984 by Essendon and 1987 by Carlton. Under new coach
Malcolm Blight
Malcolm Jack Blight AM (born 16 February 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville Football Club in the South Australian Nati ...
, Geelong had become the most exciting team in the competition to watch, their all-out attacking style of play setting a point-scoring record for the home-and-away season (425 goals and 366 behinds for a total of 2916 points, at an average of nearly 133 points per game) and making it to their first VFL Grand Final since
1967.
In the finals series leading up to the game, Geelong lost the Qualifying Final to Essendon by 76 points before beating Melbourne by 63 points in the first semi-final, and then defeating Essendon by 94 points in the preliminary final to advance to the grand final. Hawthorn had a much easier run, defeating Essendon in the second Semi-Final to advance straight to the grand final.
In the week leading up to the grand final, Geelong's
Paul Couch
Paul Couch (19 July 1964 – 5 March 2016) was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong Football Club, Geelong in the Australian Football League.
Football career
Prior to playing with Geelong, Couch initially tried out with Fitzroy ...
was awarded the
Brownlow Medal
The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
.
Match summary
First quarter
The grand final was played in near perfect conditions. Geelong made their intentions clear right from the start when
Mark Yeates
Mark Stephen Anthony Yeates (born 11 January 1985) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Bamber Bridge.
Yeates began his career with Tottenham Hotspur but failed to make the transition to the first team, spending time ...
ran through Hawthorn's champion centre half-forward and
enforcer
Enforcer or enforcers may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Comics
* Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team
* New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team
Film and television
* ''The Enforcer ...
Dermott Brereton
Dermott Hugh Brereton (born 19 August 1964) is an Australian former professional Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League (AFL) who is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Of Irish descent (his p ...
. As Geelong coach
Malcolm Blight
Malcolm Jack Blight AM (born 16 February 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville Football Club in the South Australian Nati ...
would later admit, this had been a premeditated strategy to protect star midfielder Paul Couch and negate Brereton, who constantly used his aggression to unsettle the opposition. Yeates was chosen to carry out the deed, partly as payback for when Brereton had flattened him in the classic Round 6 clash earlier in the season. Amidst the chaos in the middle of the ground, the Cats rushed the ball forward to
Gary Ablett, who kicked the first of his nine goals for the afternoon. Yeates' hit left Brereton with broken ribs and a bruised kidney, which caused him
internal bleeding
Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depen ...
.
Hawthorn physiotherapist Barry Gavin recalled the scene years later:
''"The thing that really struck me was how bad he was when I got there. He'd lost all the colour in his face and was vomiting. He'd dragged himself back on his feet by this stage. But he was doubled over, dry-retching and his colour was grey... There was no way he could stay out there. I remember looking up at awthorn coach Allan Jeansin the box and starting to try to get him off. Dermott said, 'No, no. Just get me down to the pocket'. Terry Gay (Hawthorn's team doctor) came out. He was more worried than me. He recognised the gravity of it."''[Trevor Grant - Lords of War :: Herald Sun, 27 September 2008](_blank)
/ref>
As Brereton himself noted when recalling the incident:
He almost did the job completely, but luckily none of the impact got me in the head, so I was still able to think relatively clearly. I stayed on because I knew that if I had have gone off, that would be the end of my race. I’d cool down and I wouldn’t be able to resume again.
Despite the insistence of the club doctors and trainers, Brereton refused to leave the field and instead was helped to the forward pocket. Moments later, the ball came into Hawthorn's attacking zone, and Dunstall kicked a goal. Barely a minute later, Brereton, only moments ago on the ground and seemingly out of the game, took a strong mark, then steadied and kicked truly. Brereton's inspirational act lifted the Hawks, and, with the Cats focusing on attacking the man rather than the ball, they slammed on a further six goals to take a commanding 40-point lead at quarter time. However, Geelong's physical approach was starting to take its toll on the Hawks. Besides the injury to Brereton,
John Platten
John Patrick Platten (born 17 March 1963) is a retired Australian rules footballer.
Platten's career began in the SANFL, where he won a Magarey Medal with Central District, and also with Hawthorn, where he played in four premierships as we ...
had been concussed, and
Robert DiPierdomenico
Berto "Robert" DiPierdomenico (born 5 May 1958) is a retired Australian rules footballer who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) from the 1970s to the 1990s. Popularly known by his nickname "Dipper", DiPierdomenico is one of th ...
was crunched from behind by Ablett while going backwards to take a mark; consequently, DiPierdomenico had suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung, although the full extent of the injury was not known at the time.
Second quarter
Geelong captain and ruckman
Damian Bourke
Damian Bourke (born 19 January 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer for Australian Football League (AFL) clubs Geelong during the 1980s and Brisbane in the early 1990s.
Bourke played as a ruckman and captained Geelong from 1987 until ...
was replaced by
Darren Flanigan in the second quarter, and he began to have an immediate impact in the ruck contests.
Stoneham and Ablett gave Geelong the perfect start to the quarter, the latter nailing his set shot with a perfectly executed
banana kick after reeling in a spectacular one-handed mark after holding his position against his opponent
Scott Maginness
Scott Maginness (born 2 August 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the VFL/AFL.
A half back flanker, Maginness played in the strong Hawthorn sides of the 1980s and early 1990s. He made his debut in 1988 ...
. Just as it looked like Hawthorn was getting away again, Ablett inspired the Geelong supporters with two goals in as many minutes, the second one going down in football folklore: jumping up to grab the ball from a boundary throw-in deep in the forward pocket and snapped truly from a tight angle. When
Andrew Bews
Andrew Bews (born 19 July 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 282 VFL/AFL games during the 1980s and 1990s.
Debuting in 1981 after being recruited from North Geelong, Bews played over 200 games for Geelong. Representing ...
added another, Geelong had cut the margin back to 24 points. Maginness, Ablett's opponent up to that point, was moved onto
Billy Brownless
Anthony William Brownless (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and radio and television media personality who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
Brownless was ...
, while
Chris Langford
Chris Langford (born 2 January 1963) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who has been an AFL Commissioner since 1999.
Player
Langford is best known for his 303-game career for the Hawthorn Football Club between 1983 and 1997.
...
was assigned to mind Ablett for the rest of the game. In time-on, Hawthorn managed to score further goals through Dunstall and take a 37-point lead at the main break.
Third quarter
Yet again, the Cats scored the first goal of the quarter when Ablett marked a centering high kick from Garry Hocking in the sixth minute and calmly slotted his fifth goal. The Cats kept attacking, but every goal seemed to be met with a Hawthorn reply. When the siren sounded to end the third quarter, Hawthorn led by 36 points.
Final quarter
The Hawks had no fit players left to rotate on the interchange. As such, the Cats were finally able to get on a run, but after Anderson goaled to put Hawthorn 17 points up, it turned out to be just enough. After Ablett kicked his ninth goal, Cameron calmly collected himself and kicked what would be the final goal of the match with 29 seconds left on the clock.
Aftermath and legacy
In the ensuing moments of celebration, DiPierdomenico was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital. Ablett's nine goals equalled the record for most goals kicked in a grand final, tying
Gordon Coventry
Gordon Richard James Coventry (25 September 1901 – 7 November 1968) was a former Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Accorded "Legend" status in the Australian Footb ...
's 61-year-old record of goals in a grand final set in the
1928 VFL Grand Final
The 1928 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and Richmond Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1928. It was the 30th annual Grand Fina ...
; additionally, he increased his goal total for the
1989 finals series to a record-setting 27 goals. Both records still stands to this day. The
Norm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the Grand Final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990 the competition was known as the Victorian Football ...
was awarded to Ablett for being judged the best player afield, being the second player after
Maurice Rioli
Maurice Joseph Rioli Sr. (1 September 195725 December 2010) was an Australian rules footballer who represented St Mary's Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL), in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) and in th ...
to win the award on the losing team.
By the end of the match, Hawthorn had only 13 fit players on the field. Scottish soccer player
Ray Stewart observed the game and was recorded to have said: "I would not play this game for a million dollars."
Jim Main
Jim Main (1943 – August 2022) was an Australian sports journalist and writer. He is known especially for his coverage of Australian rules football.
He studied law at the University of Melbourne and later graduated from La Trobe University wi ...
, ''Aussie rules for dummies'' (2nd edition, 2008), p 10.
The game is considered to be one of the best grand finals of all time. Rohan Connolly, writing for ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', claimed it was the best grand final of all time.
In the documentary series ''The Final Story'',
Malcolm Blight
Malcolm Jack Blight AM (born 16 February 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville Football Club in the South Australian Nati ...
was able to acknowledge the significance of the game in football history:
That fact that the '89 grand final is held in such esteem by most people that love the game of football … it was a joy to be involved, for all the good and bad of it. It's just that every time we talk about it now, we still can't win the bloody thing.
Teams
Result
Tribunal
* Cameron (Geelong) by field umpire Carey and boundary umpire Hammond for striking Anderson (Hawthorn) with a right forearm to the head during the second quarter. Was suspended for 3 matches.
* DiPierdomenico (Hawthorn) by field umpire Sheehan and emergency umpire Rich for striking G. Hocking (Geelong) with a left elbow to the face during the third quarter. Was suspended for 5 matches.
[ ]
See also
*
2008 AFL Grand Final
References
External links
Final scores from AFL TablesVideo footageHawthorn WebsiteDermott Brereton Toyota CommercialAFL Website
{{Australian Football League
VFL/AFL Grand Finals
Vfl Grand Final, 1989
Hawthorn Football Club
Geelong Football Club