With this September a bit less busy than Hawks fans would have liked, we thought we

would take a trip down memory lane to more exciting events that occurred on the same date.

On this occasion, we take you back to 24th of September…… 1988. It was the Grand Final

and the Hawks had Melbourne in between them and a taste of more premiership success.

For the Hawks, this is just another September. Having played in every grand final of the past five years, this brown and gold unit know what they’re doing come the last Saturday in September. 

While for the Demons, this is their first appearance at the big dance since their success in 1964. 

These two sides have forged dramatically different paths on their way to get here today. 

Melbourne has been forced to play each of the previous three weeks of finals, shading West Coast by two points in their elimination final, beating Collingwood by 13 points in a semi-final before overcoming Carlton last week to take their place here today. 

Whereas Hawthorn had to overcome just the one hurdle, a second-week semi-final against Carlton in order to book their ticket for today.

Will this extra workload that the Demons have had to shoulder play a role in today’s result?

We will have to wait and see.

In the two meetings between the teams in the regular season, Melbourne defeated Hawthorn by 21 points in Round 7, but the Hawks squared the ledger in round 17, beating the Demons by 69 points.

The last few of this 93,754-strong crowd trickles into the MCG just before the opening bounce to see if it is Melbourne who can break their 24-year premiership drought or if it is Hawthorn, who continue one of the most dominant eras in VFL history and win their third flag in the last six years.

QT: The opening term was a close affair, with both sides getting their opportunities in front of goal. 

Peter Schwab, who was named as the centreman for the Hawks, surprised the Demons by bobbing up to kick the first goal of the game for the brown and gold. 

The rain began to thunder down, as Dermott Brereton kicked his second goal of the match only half way through the quarter.

Hawthorn took a 17-point lead into the first break.

HT: Jason Dunstall got his first touch of the game in the first minute of the second quarter, calmly slotting a set shot from 48 metres out directly in front. 

This aroused some of the Hawthorn household names into their familiar brilliance, with Robert DiPierdomenico kicking an outstanding goal on his left foot tight against the boundary before Brereton dazzled the crowd, booting his third goal with a check-side kick deep in the forward pocket. 

As the rain continued to pelt down, so too had the flood gates opened for the Hawks as they extended the margin to 49 points before half-time.

3QT: The teams ran out for a second half with dramatically different conditions to the first, as the sun shone down on the MCG.

Yet inaccuracy in front of goal continued to plague both sides as the quarter saw 20 scoring shots between the two sides for only seven goals. 

Hawthorn’s trio of talls in Brereton, Dunstall and Paul Abbott continued to haunt the Demons, as they had three, five and three goals to their names respectively to help the Hawks to a 56-point buffer heading into the final break.

FT: Despite having been on the losing end of three of the last five Grand Finals, Hawthorn showed no compassion towards the Demons as they continued to rub salt in the wounds over a dominant last quarter.

Dunstall and Brereton feasted on the opportunities in front of goal, finishing with seven and five respectively. 

But the major goal kicking story has come from Paul Abbott who, after having six possessions in the semi-final against Carlton a fortnight ago, booted his sixth major of the game late in the match to put a cherry on top a magnificent day for the brown and gold. 

The Hawks’ seventh premiership in the club’s history, the final margin of 96 points is a new VFL record for the greatest winning margin in Grand Final history, beating their own record after the 83-point drubbing of Essendon in the 1983 Grand Final.

Gary Ayres also created history after being named the Norm Smith Medallist for his 22-possession performance, becoming the first player in the game’s history to win the award twice.