Review "1989 - The Great Grand Final"

[Books]

Just got my copy of the book. Great insights, and balanced. Well written, easy reading. Make sure you get one.

 

[phlogiston]

I've just finished watching the '89 second semi. It's the first time I've seen it; I was studying and working that afternoon and our VCR at home was on the blink I remember waiting to catch the train home in the afternoon on the little seats above Museum station (it was a small seating area in red paving stones named after a royal) with the batteries running low on my walkman and us just taking the lead late in the second quarter. The batteries then died and I had to wait until I got home to find out who won... can't recall a longer train and bus trip home!



What a ripping game of footy, and really provides some context for the 89 GF. I know Schwabby got rubbed out for what was a marginal report; I can't find a list online of other reports and outcomes form the game. Can anyone here help? van der Haar was reported and I think Dermie too?

It also shows how damned good that team was. Pritchard was a gun, Mew was all class and JK Jnr was Mr Reliable. I'd love to see a Peter Curran in our forward line now... always the third tall in our team, but would have been first line elsewhere.

And I'm not convinced that the skill levels have increased that much in the 30 years since. Watching players like Antrobus, Tuck, Walsh, and Long, all equally adept on both sides and placing the ball as well as your S Mitchells and the like (happy to debate the consistency of course ). Goal kicking was better too...

How much more enjoyable to watch footy was in the days of all day one on one contests such as G Anderson vs Dipper, or Langford vs Salmon? Battles within battles that we just don't get any more. Just a great game of footy to watch. And that's even ignoring the result.

P

 

[Davo23]

I've just finished watching the '89 second semi. It's the first time I've seen it; I was studying and working that afternoon and our VCR at home was on the blink I remember waiting to catch the train home in the afternoon on the little seats above Museum station (it was a small seating area in red paving stones named after a royal) with the batteries running low on my walkman and us just taking the lead late in the second quarter. The batteries then died and I had to wait until I got home to find out who won... can't recall a longer train and bus trip home!



What a ripping game of footy, and really provides some context for the 89 GF. I know Schwabby got rubbed out for what was a marginal report; I can't find a list online of other reports and outcomes form the game. Can anyone here help? van der Haar was reported and I think Dermie too?

It also shows how damned good that team was. Pritchard was a gun, Mew was all class and JK Jnr was Mr Reliable. I'd love to see a Peter Curran in our forward line now... always the third tall in our team, but would have been first line elsewhere.

And I'm not convinced that the skill levels have increased that much in the 30 years since. Watching players like Antrobus, Tuck, Walsh, and Long, all equally adept on both sides and placing the ball as well as your S Mitchells and the like (happy to debate the consistency of course ). Goal kicking was better too...

How much more enjoyable to watch footy was in the days of all day one on one contests such as G Anderson vs Dipper, or Langford vs Salmon? Battles within battles that we just don't get any more. Just a great game of footy to watch. And that's even ignoring the result.

P

That was one of the greatest games I've ever watched.
Dermie went nuts in the second quarter, and a number of * spuds like Bewick, Ezard, Williams & Plain went missing - Tim Watson was unsighted.

And some unknown player named Manning got a bit of "special" attention!

 

[TheFourPillars]

That was one of the greatest games I've ever watched.
Dermie went nuts in the second quarter, and a number of * spuds like Bewick, Ezard, Williams & Plain went missing - Tim Watson was unsighted.

And some unknown player named Manning got a bit of "special" attention!

I have this game as part of the 89 grand final pack which includes the whole final series. Have watched this game quite a few times

 

[Kil Phearns]

Essendon and Geelong were formidable teams that year, so it was definitely a most hard-earned premiership.

Bombres really took it to us early. Thought we were in trouble until Dermie started throwing his weight around.

Greg Dear virtually rucked one out all day against Madden and (occasionally) Salmon, and had the better of it.

My DVD copy of the game is missing the first two goals (to Salmon and Dean Anderson). Starts with both teams on 1.0(6).

 

[Davo23]

I have this game as part of the 89 grand final pack which includes the whole final series. Have watched this game quite a few times

Is that still available somewhere, mate?
That would be a good be great viewing in these non-footy times!

What is the other game on that video?

 

[Steven Tyler]

Is that still available somewhere, mate?
That would be a good be great viewing in these non-footy times!

What is the other game on that video?

If it’s the one I have, which I only have on video cassette, the other game is the home and away game v Cats at a Princess Park

 

[TheFourPillars]

Is that still available somewhere, mate?
That would be a good be great viewing in these non-footy times!

What is the other game on that video?

If it’s the one I have, which I only have on video cassette, the other game is the home and away game v Cats at a Princess Park

So its a Dvd pack called 89+91 Premiers Victory Pack.

The 89 series had the semi final 1 win over Essendon the Grand Final and the 1989 The Final Story.

The 91 series had the great qualifying win over the Eagles in Perth and the great Semi final win over the cats trevor poole with a chance to win it 55 out with a minute to go. Gary Ayres with big spoil over the top in the goal square over Darcy and Mew.

Stephen Lawrence epic in that final series especially in perth in that first final. Oh i will never forget the Eagles cheering Dermott when he injured in his knee in Perth only for him to come back and play in the grand final and tear young McIntosh a new one.

Darren Jarman who looked and played like an over awed kid memories who wouldnt love this club.

 

[Fulgent]

Great summary.
And yes, when Dermie took that mark and kicked a goal after being floored: one of the greatest moments I’ve ever seen!

A bit of internal bleeding, smashed kidneys - that’s not going to stop him...

.

The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up when I watched it live. I thought then if that was how it made me feel there was no way we were going to lose. It was the most courageous thing I remember seeing on a footy field. Of course Dipper was every bit as courageous but I didn't realise just how brave until after the final siren.

 

[CliffMcTainshaw]

Does anyone else remember that game in the 90's on a cold wet night at Waverley where we had a great win against the Blues.. SOS made one of his regular forays forward but Dunstall went with him and pinged him htb in their forward line, really stuck with me!

Too many cold wet nights at Waverley to remember. But I do believe you!

 

[grumbleguts]

Does anyone else remember that game in the 90's on a cold wet night at Waverley where we had a great win against the Blues.. SOS made one of his regular forays forward but Dunstall went with him and pinged him htb in their forward line, really stuck with me!

Yes, it was this game:

AFL Tables - Hawthorn v Carlton - Sat, 20-Jul-1996 7:40 PM - Match Stats

afltables.com

SOS did score 1 goal, but it appears Dunstall fwd SOS back is a better result for Hawthorn that SOS forward Dunstall back was for Carlton.

 

[Fluro Boots]

I've watched this game twice in the last few weeks with different commenatry, how good was Pritchard! also Dean Anderson. I could've sworn he kicked 3 or so in the 1991 Grand final as well. Reckon my young lad memories have blurred together. Also Dunstalls kicking was pretty poor on a lot of his shots. On the whole I reckon this game deserves it rep as the greatest grand final, so watchable even today.

Pritchard and Anderson a bit like Hill and Smith in the recent glory years, Run Run Run and great delivery

 

[Kil Phearns]

Yes, it was this game:

AFL Tables - Hawthorn v Carlton - Sat, 20-Jul-1996 7:40 PM - Match Stats

afltables.com

SOS did score 1 goal, but it appears Dunstall fwd SOS back is a better result for Hawthorn that SOS forward Dunstall back was for Carlton.

Game is here:


Hawthorn's only win against Carlton between Round 23 1991 and Round 2 2001. How the wheel has turned since then!

 

[Luv_our_club]

Here is some very rare camera footage during the game of the recovery of Dermie after the hit from Yeats, with some comments from Yabbie and Dipper.

In the video the footage runs from 3m 12 seconds to 6m 12 seconds.

 

[Luv_our_club]

I've watched this game twice in the last few weeks with different commenatry, how good was Pritchard! also Dean Anderson. I could've sworn he kicked 3 or so in the 1991 Grand final as well. Reckon my young lad memories have blurred together. Also Dunstalls kicking was pretty poor on a lot of his shots. On the whole I reckon this game deserves it rep as the greatest grand final, so watchable even today.

Pritchard and Anderson a bit like Hill and Smith in the recent glory years, Run Run Run and great delivery

Derm says that Pritchard, Anderson, Whitman and Bucky won the game in the last quarter - everyone else was stuffed.

 

[Luv_our_club]

Geelong did go the man in the first. But this story needs context. it really was set up like a Game of Thrones plot.

in the home and away game earlier in the season brereton attacked yeates groin which made him quite ill. The hawks also physically bullied the younger cats in the second half to produce one of the games great comebacks.

fast foward to the finals series. In week 1 hawks didnt play but essendon played geelong and Van der Har absolutely dominated.

next week hawks play bombers and brereton unleashes probably the games greatest ever hip and shoulder. It really is a thing of beauty. Van der Har is gone for the game and misses the next game as well ending any hope of the bombers making the grand final.

geelong massacres Essendon in the prelim with couch and the 19 year old hocking running riot. Couch wins the brownlow two nights later.

now grand final week. After cleaning up Van der Har and the bombers all the talk in grand final week is about who brereton is going to pick off. Is it the brownlow medalist couch or the kid hocking. whole radio segments are talking about brereton running through the centre square after the opening bounce and picking one of them off.

geelong going the man didnt come from nowhere. Something big was expected at the centre bounce. Its just everyone thought it would come from brereton. Instead its geelong who devised a plan to get to brereton first and the one who would do that is the guy who dermie castrated earlier in the season. Oh sweet revenge is best served cold. 5 months in the brewing.

Ofcourse the revenge was not over. It was dermie who would have the last laugh. Yeates didnt finish him. Wounded definately but dermie lived on and kicked a couple of amazing goals in that first qtr that Im sure had hawks fans in tears with pride. see how this is like game of thrones?

the yeates dermie hit unleashed fire between the sides. Geelong didnt want to be bullied into defeat like in the home and away game. Hawthorn werent going to cop a black and white dirty snipe from Yeates.

there were many snipes and dust ups all over the ground in that first qtr. many werent captured on camera. Abletts charge into dippa would of been scary if it was anyone but dippa. Probably wouod of killed anyone else. Ablett had been decked behind the play by ayers just a couple of minutes earlier and was looking for blood.

that qtr was brutal and crazy.

The advantage that Hawthorn had in the first quarter was that Yabbie gave license to about 4 Hawthorn players to settle scores and to "unleash fire", but they were NOT our onballers (except Dipper).

Whereas for Geelong most of your enforcers were playing midfield. Even Paul Couch says it meant that Geelong stopped hunting the ball in the midfield (because they were hunting the man).

Hawthorn skipped away.

 

[moginie]

Game is here:


Hawthorn's only win against Carlton between Round 23 1991 and Round 2 2001. How the wheel has turned since then!

Thank you so much for posting this. I barely remember this game & it gives me something to watch on a cold, rainy night.

 

[moginie]

While I'm reminiscing, can anyone please post the game in 2007 where we beat carlton by 100?

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

He did hit the post from the top of the goal square one day at the Western oval. The Hawks were around twenty points down at the start of time on and surged back to almost win, late in the game Dunstall leads up the ground to get a ball on the half volley spins and see Pritchard steaming down the corridor, Dunstall passes to Pritchard top of the square, he kicks a low grubber that skims the point side of the right goal post. I go up like a nut only to realise a point had been scored and game drawn.
Ahhhh.

Might have been better if it was a long 50m shot on goal.

Dunstall gathering the ball at pace on the half volley with a slippery sliding ball in the wet and mud and dishing off to Pritch in the 1 movement was awesome. Had he kicked the goal would have been seen as a great passage of play if we won. Gets forgotten now because he missed.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Played an incredible game , especially when you consider he had basically zero running support in the 2nd half.

Foot skills on the run were sublime . Forgot how good he was .

The kick to the Chief almost across his body at full pace which wrong footed Darcy was simply magnificent. Cometti summed it up brilliantly as well. Such a great analyst.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Geelong did go the man in the first. But this story needs context. it really was set up like a Game of Thrones plot.

in the home and away game earlier in the season brereton attacked yeates groin which made him quite ill. The hawks also physically bullied the younger cats in the second half to produce one of the games great comebacks.

fast foward to the finals series. In week 1 hawks didnt play but essendon played geelong and Van der Har absolutely dominated.

next week hawks play bombers and brereton unleashes probably the games greatest ever hip and shoulder. It really is a thing of beauty. Van der Har is gone for the game and misses the next game as well ending any hope of the bombers making the grand final.

geelong massacres Essendon in the prelim with couch and the 19 year old hocking running riot. Couch wins the brownlow two nights later.

now grand final week. After cleaning up Van der Har and the bombers all the talk in grand final week is about who brereton is going to pick off. Is it the brownlow medalist couch or the kid hocking. whole radio segments are talking about brereton running through the centre square after the opening bounce and picking one of them off.

geelong going the man didnt come from nowhere. Something big was expected at the centre bounce. Its just everyone thought it would come from brereton. Instead its geelong who devised a plan to get to brereton first and the one who would do that is the guy who dermie castrated earlier in the season. Oh sweet revenge is best served cold. 5 months in the brewing.

Ofcourse the revenge was not over. It was dermie who would have the last laugh. Yeates didnt finish him. Wounded definately but dermie lived on and kicked a couple of amazing goals in that first qtr that Im sure had hawks fans in tears with pride. see how this is like game of thrones?

the yeates dermie hit unleashed fire between the sides. Geelong didnt want to be bullied into defeat like in the home and away game. Hawthorn werent going to cop a black and white dirty snipe from Yeates.

there were many snipes and dust ups all over the ground in that first qtr. many werent captured on camera. Abletts charge into dippa would of been scary if it was anyone but dippa. Probably wouod of killed anyone else. Ablett had been decked behind the play by ayers just a couple of minutes earlier and was looking for blood.

that qtr was brutal and crazy.

Ablett was lucky Ayres only glanced him. When Conan hit people they usually stayed down. He was probably spewing at himself that he didn't because Ablett obviously went on to injure Dipper and almost win the game for the Cats whilst Conan was sitting on the bench injured.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

The advantage that Hawthorn had in the first quarter was that Yabbie gave license to about 4 Hawthorn players to settle scores and to "unleash fire", but they were NOT our onballers (except Dipper).

Whereas for Geelong most of your enforcers were playing midfield. Even Paul Couch says it meant that Geelong stopped hunting the ball in the midfield (because they were hunting the man).

Hawthorn skipped away.

Dermie was plan A in regards to unleashing physical hurt on the opposition. But we had Plans B C and D organised anyway. Ayres, Dipper etc. Couch and Bairstow had targets on their head as well and so did Ablett which is why Conan lined him up. The Cats weren't the only team with pre meditated plans in mind.

 

[CliffMcTainshaw]

Finally got my other books finished and started on “1989 The Great Grand Final by Tony Wilson”. Easy to read and didn’t take long to finish.

Thoroughly enjoyable with lots of little bits of inside information from both Hawthorn and Geelong people.

The description of what Dipper went through with his punctured lung was an eyeopener. Since half time, air had been leaking from his lung and was then becoming trapped under his skin. It was like his skin was turning into bubble wrap and when he pressed on his skin it gave off soft popping noises. His voice turned squeaky after half time. It’s amazing that he kept playing and played the game out. It could only be through an unbelievable strength of will that enabled him to do that.

Jeans admonished him at three quarter time. "Bruns is getting on top of you, you’ve got to get on your bike, Robert. You’ve got to run, and run, and run. I’ve never seen a boy die of exhaustion out there yet". As Dipper put it, “I nearly did”.

In hospital on a trolley and close to death he felt very peaceful. A priest spoke very softly in his ear and then he saw the light.

Next morning he wakes up and notices he is directly under a skylight in the ceiling.

If you are a Hawthorn supporter make sure you read it.

 

[TheFourPillars]

Finally got my other books finished and started on “1989 The Great Grand Final by Tony Wilson”. Easy to read and didn’t take long to finish.

Thoroughly enjoyable with lots of little bits of inside information from both Hawthorn and Geelong people.

The description of what Dipper went through with his punctured lung was an eyeopener. Since half time, air had been leaking from his lung and was then becoming trapped under his skin. It was like his skin was turning into bubble wrap and when he pressed on his skin it gave off soft popping noises. His voice turned squeaky after half time. It’s amazing that he kept playing and played the game out. It could only be through an unbelievable strength of will that enabled him to do that.

Jeans admonished him at three quarter time. "Bruns is getting on top of you, you’ve got to get on your bike, Robert. You’ve got to run, and run, and run. I’ve never seen a boy die of exhaustion out there yet". As Dipper put it, “I nearly did”.

In hospital on a trolley and close to death he felt very peaceful. A priest spoke very softly in his ear and then he saw the light.

Next morning he wakes up and notices he is directly under a skylight in the ceiling.

If you are a Hawthorn supporter make sure you read it.

The bravest thing i have seen on a football field bar none

 

[foschini]

Hi BF Hawks. This is Tony Wilson, hidden behind Silvio Foschini's head. A big thank you to so many of you for saying kind things about my book. I'm a very rare visitor to Big Footy, but did try to post something about a podcast a made with the audio from the interviews. I plan to make a much longer series, a 10 parter, but this episode here is just on the Pay the Price speech and Allan Jeans, for a speeches podcast I make called Speakola. On a desktop, it's probably easier to listen here.

The books going great guns, thanks for so many nice words. My lockdown industry has been selling them for $35, so if you email me I'll post you one. Or you can gift it to someone and I'll tell whoever gets it at the front that you PAID THE PRICE! (plus postage)