Hawthorn 21.18.144 d Geelong 21.12.138
Coach: Allan Jeans
Captain: Michael Tuck
Backs: Andrew Collins (4), Chris Langford (24), Gary Ayres (7)
Half-backs: Scott Maginness (20), Chris Mew (2), John Kennedy Jnr (34)
Centres: Darrin Pritchard (18), Anthony Condon (3), Robert DiPierdomenico (9)
Half-forwards: Dean Anderson (8), Dermott Brereton (23), Gary Buckenara (11)
Forwards: Peter Curran (25), Jason Dunstall (19), Chris Wittman (10)
Followers: Greg Dear (14), Michael Tuck (17), John Platten (44)
Interchange: James Morrissey (35), Greg Madigan (31)
Goals: Anderson 4, Buckenara 4, Dunstall 4, Brereton 3, Curran 3, DiPierdomenico 1, Morrissey 1, Wittman 1
Best Players: Anderson, Buckenara, Curran, DiPierdomenico, Dunstall, Pritchard
Norm Smith Medal: Gary Ablett (Geelong)
Umpires: Peter Carey, Bryan Sheehan
Attendance: 94,796 (at MCG. Saturday, September 30, 1989)
Hawthorn finally achieved back-to-back Premierships, but only after receiving a major scare from the fast-finishing Geelong.
In a sensational start, Dermott Brereton was felled at the opening bounce.?Ignoring instructions to leave the field, moments later he took an inspirational mark that highlighted the brilliant opening term that saw the Hawks race to a 40-point quarter time lead.
After the first quarter, Geelong slowly pegged the Haws back with Gary Ablett starring at full forward booting 9 goals. In a war of attrition, the Hawks were down to having only a dozen fit players by the end of the game. John Platten and Gary Ayres were on the bench unable to return, while Robert DiPierdomenico’s punctured lung was the most serious of the injuries afflicting the players remaining on the ground. Dermott Brereton, Michael Tuck, John Kennedy Jnr, James Morrissey, Scott Maginness and Darrin Pritchard struggled on regardless of their injuries.
In the tension-filled last quarter, it was the coolness of the Hawks under pressure that finally got them home to hold on by six points in what many thought was the best Grand Final ever.
The team had truly followed coach, Allan Jeans, instructions to “pay the price”.?
