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, Queensland and Western Australia, the de facto highest level senior competition in Australia. It was the last season under the Victorian Football League name, before being renamed the Australian Football League in 1990. The season featured fourteen clubs, ran from 31 March until 30 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
| 1989 VFL premiership season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 14 |
| Premiers | Hawthorn 8th premiership |
| Minor premiers | Hawthorn 7th minor premiership |
| pre-season cup | Melbourne 1st pre-season cup win |
| Brownlow Medallist | Paul Couch (Geelong) |
| Coleman Medallist | Jason Dunstall (Hawthorn) |
| Attendance | |
| Matches played | 160 |
| Total attendance | 3,581,822 (22,386 per match) |
| Highest | 94,796 (Grand Final, Hawthorn vs. Geelong) |
The premiership was won by the Hawthorn Football Club for the eighth time and second time consecutively, after it defeated Geelong by six points in the 1989 VFL Grand Final.
Night series
edit| 1989 Night Series Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong | def. by | Melbourne | |||
| 3.2 (20) 6.6 (42) 9.7 (61) 9.13 (67) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.5 (17) 4.7 (31) 5.11 (41) 10.16 (76) |
|||
Home-and-away season
editRound 1
editRound 2
editRound 3
editRound 4
editRound 5
editRound 6
editRound 7
editRound 8
editRound 9
editRound 10
editRound 11
editRound 12
editRound 13
editRound 14
editRound 15
editRound 16
editRound 17
editRound 18
editRound 19
editRound 20
editRound 21
editRound 22
editLadder
edit| (P) | Premiers |
| Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawthorn (P) | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 2678 | 1748 | 153.2 | 76 |
| 2 | Essendon | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2240 | 1705 | 131.4 | 68 |
| 3 | Geelong | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2916 | 1987 | 146.8 | 64 |
| 4 | Melbourne | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 1876 | 1944 | 96.5 | 56 |
| 5 | Collingwood | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2216 | 1964 | 112.8 | 52 |
| 6 | Fitzroy | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2069 | 2125 | 97.4 | 48 |
| 7 | Sydney | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1959 | 1958 | 100.1 | 44 |
| 8 | Carlton | 22 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 1921 | 2079 | 92.4 | 38 |
| 9 | North Melbourne | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2061 | 2301 | 89.6 | 36 |
| 10 | Brisbane Bears | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1792 | 2274 | 78.8 | 32 |
| 11 | West Coast | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1948 | 2247 | 86.7 | 28 |
| 12 | St Kilda | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 2108 | 2502 | 84.3 | 28 |
| 13 | Footscray | 22 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 1614 | 1855 | 87.0 | 26 |
| 14 | Richmond | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1725 | 2434 | 70.9 | 20 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 94.6
Source: AFL Tables
Finals series
editFinals week 1
edit| Elimination Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 9 September (2:30 pm) | Melbourne 17.9 (111) | def. | Collingwood 13.10 (88) | VFL Park (crowd: 63062) | Report |
| Qualifying Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 10 September (2:30 pm) | Essendon 24.13 (157) | def. | Geelong 11.15 (81) | MCG (crowd: 75861) | Report |
Finals week 2
edit| Semi-finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF1: Sunday, 17 September (2:30 pm) | Geelong 22.21 (153) | def. | Melbourne 12.18 (90) | MCG (crowd: 69082) | Report |
| SF2: Saturday, 16 September (2:30 pm) | Hawthorn 16.16 (112) | def. | Essendon 11.10 (76) | VFL Park (crowd: 66003) | Report |
Preliminary final
edit| Preliminary final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 23 September (2:30 pm) | Essendon 10.10 (70) | def. by | Geelong 24.20 (164) | VFL Park (crowd: 67,892) | Report |
Grand final
edit| Grand final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 30 September (2:50 pm) | Hawthorn 21.18 (144) | def. | Geelong 21.12 (138) | MCG (crowd: 94,796) | Report |
| |||||
Foster's Cup
editIn addition, four of the clubs also played in an international exhibition offseason tournament in October with games in Toronto, Miami Gardens and London.[1][2][3][4]
| Semifinals | Final | |||||
| 12 October, SkyDome | ||||||
| Geelong | 13.12 (90) | |||||
| 22 October, The Oval | ||||||
| Melbourne | 14.19 (103) | |||||
| Melbourne | 12.10 (82) | |||||
| 14 October, Joe Robbie Stadium | ||||||
| Essendon | 6.10 (46) | |||||
| Hawthorn | 15.20 (110) | |||||
| Essendon | 18.16 (124) | |||||
Season notes
edit- In round 6, Hawthorn 26.15 (171) defeated Geelong 25.13 (163). As of 2024, Geelong's score holds the record for the highest losing score in a VFL/AFL match.[5] Hawthorn trailed by as much as 56 points during the match before coming from behind to win.[6]
- The Tribunal was given extra authority when trial by video was introduced in Round 6. Fitzroy's Michael Conlan and Collingwood's Doug Barwick became the first League players charged by the Commission on video evidence and both were suspended by the Tribunal.[7]
- The wettest Melbourne winter since 1952[8] saw horrible conditions between Rounds 11 and 13 that produced several unusually low scores:
- in round 11 on the Saturday before the Queen's Birthday, Fitzroy's score of 1.8 (14) was the lowest since Footscray kicked 1.8 (14) against Geelong in 1965, and the first single goal score since Carlton's 1.11 (17) on Anzac Day of 1968.
- on the same day, Brad Hardie kicked 3.4 (22) – with all three goals coming in the first fifteen minutes – of only 3.8 (26) scored by Brisbane, this being the first time a player had kicked all his team's goals (based on a qualification of a team total of three or more goals) since Alex Ruscuklic in 1967.[9]
- in Round 13, Essendon and Footscray played the lowest scoring game since the 1927 grand final, with the teams combining for only 6.15 (51) on a muddy Windy Hill.
- Geelong set a record for the most points scored in the home-and-away season, 2916. Footscray's season aggregate score of 1614 points was the lowest since 1972.
Awards
edit- The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Tim Watson of Essendon.
- The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Gary Ablett of Geelong.
- The under 19's grand final won by Richmond against North Melbourne. Due to a draw in the earlier rounds of the finals, the grand final was a standalone match played at VFL Park one week after the senior grand final.
- The reserves grand final won by Fitzroy against Geelong (main: 1989 VFL reserves season).
- The seniors grand final won by Hawthorn against Geelong.
References
edit- ^ "1989 Exhibition Match vs Geelong". Demonwiki. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
- ^ Geelong vs. Melbourne – 1989 Fosters Cup Semifinal, Toronto (TV broadcast). SkyDome: Seven Network. 12 October 1989. Retrieved 29 September 2024 – via YouTube. Archived by Rhett Bartlett
- ^ Hawthorn vs Essendon – 1989 Fosters Cup Semifinal, Miami Gardens (TV broadcast). Joe Robbie Stadium: Seven Network. 14 October 1989. Retrieved 29 September 2024 – via YouTube. Archived by Rhett Bartlett
- ^ Melbourne vs Essendon – 1989 Fosters Cup Final, London (TV broadcast). The Oval: Seven Network. 22 October 1989. Retrieved 29 September 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Game Records". AFL Tables. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ Martin Smith (16 June 2024). "Biggest comebacks in history: Pies surpass the 'Miracle on Grass'". Australian Football League. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
- ^ Cartwright, Darren (24 December 1989). "A look back at the highlights of 1989 – VFL reign ends in season of change". SPORT. The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 19, 980. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. p. 15. Retrieved 16 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Melbourne Highest to Lowest Seasonal Rainfall
- ^ Atkinson, Graeme (1989); 3AW Book of Footy Records; South Melbourne,: Magistra Publishing Company Pty Ltd; p. 147. ISBN 1863210091
- Stephen Rodgers: Every Game Ever Played VFL/AFL Results 1897–1991 3rd Edition 1992. Penguin Books Australia ISBN 0-670-90526-7.
Sources
edit- 1989 VFL season at AFL Tables
- 1989 VFL season at Australian Football