I was at both Geelong games. We smashed them in that QF, from the moment GO’D got the first clearance we were a class above. The Hawthorn semi was one of the more brutal games ever, and we were never much of a chance in the follow up Geelong game due to the toll of that game. Then to lose Daisy early in the PF, and I think Watson was also injured early, we were stuffed.
That GF gets so much hype amongst the football media, but I know that Essendon was right in that season, and if Sheedy had thought to implement a Mark Yates type effort early in the 2nd Semi we’d have been a massive chance to win that flag.
Footy in 1989 was brutal. It’s hard to understand now, with the way the game is played, but quality players putting their head over the ball may as well have had a target on the side of their head.
I must admit, purely from a spectator POV, I loved 80s and early-90s footy best. The skills were there, the pace of play was faster, the game was tactically naive in the sense that there was no flooding, players generally stuck to their positions which meant forwards had more space to operate in, hence higher scoring and players kicking big bags. But, you look at the hits back then, and you can see why players have suffered post-career with concussion issues. You were fair game if you had your head over the pill, or if you were in a marking contest. And then there’s the behind play hits. Saw a replay of David Rhys-Jones being belted by Dennis Banks of Collingwood. You’d go so far as calling it a king-hit given he got him with a fist to the head from behind. That’s the way it was back then…
Rhys-Jones dished out more than his fair share of those. There’s a better than even chance that Banks was squaring up for something Rhys-Jones had done earlier.
There was a game at Windy Hill where they had a helicopter hover over the centre square to dry it out a bit. Pretty sure that was in late 89, possibly vs Sydney.