1988 VFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Date | 24 September 1988 | |||||||||||||||
Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia | |||||||||||||||
Attendance | 93,754 | |||||||||||||||
Favourite | Hawthorn | |||||||||||||||
Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
Norm Smith Medallist | Gary Ayres (Hawthorn) | |||||||||||||||
Jock McHale Medallist | Alan Joyce | |||||||||||||||
Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
Network | Seven Network | |||||||||||||||
Commentators | Peter Landy (host) Dennis Cometti (commentator) Drew Morphett (commentator) Malcolm Blight (expert commentator) Don Scott (boundary rider) Bernie Quinlan (boundary rider) Peter McKenna (analyst) Ian Robertson (analyst) | |||||||||||||||
|
The 1988 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1988. It was the 92nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1988 VFL season. The match, attended by 93,754 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 96 points, marking that club's seventh premiership victory.
It was Hawthorn's sixth successive Grand Final appearance, while Melbourne were competing in its first since winning the 1964 VFL Grand Final.
At the conclusion of the home and away season, Hawthorn had finished first on the VFL ladder with 19 wins and 3 losses. Melbourne had finished fifth with 13 wins and 9 losses. In the two meetings between the teams in the regular season, Melbourne defeated Hawthorn by 21 points in round 7, while the Hawks beat the Demons by 69 points in round 17.
In the finals series leading up to the Grand Final, Melbourne defeated West Coast by just two points in the Elimination Final, then defeated Collingwood by 13 points in the First Semi-Final and Carlton by 22 points in the Preliminary Final. Hawthorn had a much easier finals run, winning the Second Semi-Final over Carlton by 21 points to advance straight to the Grand Final, thus having played only one game in the four weeks preceding the Grand Final.
Chris Wittman broke his arm early in the game and played no further part. The game was fairly competitive for the first quarter, then Hawthorn completely dominated the game, setting a VFL record for the greatest winning margin in a Grand Final, beating the record it had itself set in the 1983 VFL Grand Final. This margin remained a record until Geelong's 119-point defeat of Port Adelaide in the 2007 AFL Grand Final. Jason Dunstall kicked 7 goals, Paul Abbott kicked 6 goals and Dermott Brereton kicked 5 goals for the Hawks.
Melbourne's loss would be followed up by another severe Grand Final loss in 2000, 12 years later, to the tune of 60 points at the hands of Essendon. It wouldn't be until 2021 that Melbourne would break its 57-year Grand Final drought against the Western Bulldogs by 74 points.
The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Hawthorn defender Gary Ayres for being judged the best player afield, with 22 disposals despite sustaining a fractured cheek bone in the first quarter. Ayres nullified dangerous Melbourne player Greg Healy and set up many of the Hawks attacks from the defensive line. Jim Stynes was voted best on ground for the Demons. [1]
Hawks coach Alan Joyce, who replaced an ill Allan Jeans for the 1988 season, said: "I have never seen a more awesome, more inspiring passage of play than the 15-minute mark of the second quarter. I saw about a dozen Hawthorn players in a wave going down the field. It was a human chain, crashing through a desperate opposition and forcing the ball forward."
In a lesser-known streaker incident, a woman ran completely naked across the ground during the last quarter and was promptly arrested. [2]
Hawthorn | Melbourne |
|
|
Hawthorn
| Melbourne
|
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition and plays its home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Rivalries in the Australian Football League exist between many teams, most of which typically draw large crowds and interest regardless of both teams' positions on the ladder. The AFL encourages the building of such rivalries, as a method of increasing publicity for the league, to the point of designating one round each year as "Rivalry Round" when many of these match-ups are held on the one weekend. Whilst some rivalries, such as between teams from adjacent areas, are still strong, the designation of an entire round of fixtures as a Rivalry Round is often criticised due to some arbitrary match-ups, or ignoring stronger and more recent rivalries.
The 1987 VFL season was the 91st season of the Victorian Football League (VFL). The season ran from 27 March until 26 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
The 1986 VFL season was the 90th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 29 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
Ian Robinson is a former Australian rules football field umpire who officiated in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
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 Hawthorn, making it the youngest Victorian-based team in the AFL.
The 1991 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and West Coast Eagles, held at Waverley Park in Melbourne on 28 September 1991. It was the 94th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1991 AFL season. The match, attended 75,230 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 53 points, marking that club's ninth premiership victory.
The 1978 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 30 September 1978. It was the 82nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1978 VFL season. The match, attended by 101,704 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 18 points, marking that club's fourth premiership victory.
The 1987 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1987. It was the 91st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1987 VFL season. The match, attended by 92,754 spectators, was won by Carlton by a margin of 33 points, marking that club's 15th premiership victory.
The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2008. It was the 112th annual grand final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the Premiers for the 2008 AFL season. The match, attended by 100,012 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 26 points, marking that club's tenth premiership overall and first since 1991. Hawthorn's Luke Hodge was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground.
The 1971 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1971. It was the 74th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1971 VFL season. The match, attended 118,192 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 7 points, marking that club's second premiership.
The 1976 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 25 September 1976. It was the 79th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1976 VFL season. The match, attended by 110,143 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 30 points, marking that club's third premiership victory.
The 1983 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1983. It was the 87th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1983 VFL season. The match, attended by 110,332 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 83 points, marking that club's fifth premiership victory. This VFL Grand Final was the first of 7 consecutive VFL Grand Final appearances for Hawthorn all the way to 1989
The 1986 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Carlton Football Club. The game was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on 27 September 1986. It was the 90th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League (VFL), staged to determine the premiers for the 1986 VFL season. The match, attended by 101,861 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 42 points, marking that club's sixth premiership victory.
The 1984 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 1984. It was the 88th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1984 VFL season. The match, attended by 92,685 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 24 points, marking that club's 13th premiership victory.
The 1985 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1985. It was the 89th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1985 VFL season. The match, attended by 100,042 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 78 points, marking that club's 14th premiership victory.
The 1975 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1975. It was the 78th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1975 VFL season. The match, attended 110,551 spectators, was won by North Melbourne by a margin of 55 points, marking that club's first premiership victory. In doing so, they became the last of the 12 VFL teams to win a flag, 50 years after their debut season. The last time North had won a flag prior to that was back in 1918 when they were part of the Victorian Football Association.
The AFL Australian Football League is the top professional Australian rules football league in the world. The league consists of eighteen teams: nine based in the city of Melbourne, one from regional Victoria, and eight based in other Australian states. The reason for this unbalanced geographic distribution lies in the history of the league, which was based solely within Victoria from the time it was established in 1897, until the time the league expanded through the addition of clubs from interstate to the existing teams starting in the 1980s; until this expansion, the league was known as the VFL (Victorian Football League).
The 2015 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the West Coast Eagles at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 3 October 2015. It was the 120th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 2015 AFL season. The match, attended by 98,632 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 46 points, marking the club's third consecutive premiership and thirteenth VFL/AFL premiership victory overall. Hawthorn's Cyril Rioli was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground.
The 1987 Victorian Football League finals series was the 91st annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 1987 VFL Premiership season. The series ran over four weekends in September 1987, culminating with the 1987 VFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 1987.