Coach: John Northey
Captain: Greg Healy
Finishing Position: 4th
Best and Fairest: Alan Johnson
Leading Goalkicker: Darren Bennett 34
Best First Year Player: Luke Beveridge
Major Sponsors: Drake
Members: 8184
Financial result: +$157,601
Coming off the simultaneous triumph and tragedy of making the Grand Final in 1988 only to be thrashed by Hawthorn, the Demons adopted a new logo and set their sights on going one better in 1989.
With up to 18 injured players at any given time late in the year the Demons scraped into the finals with one win in their last six games. Such was the even nature of their challengers they may still have snuck a double chance had they not lost to lowly St. Kilda in the second last round. As it was they became one of a handful of teams to qualify for the finals with a percentage of under a hundred.
The reigning premiers were dispatched in the first week of the finals before Geelong proved a sterner test in the second and Melbourne's season was over.
Pre-Season practice matches against Geelong in Colac and Carlton at Princes Park were cancelled as the Demons progressed through the Panasonic Cup.
Practice Matches
Panasonic Cup
| Round | Opposition | Result
|
| 1 | Sydney | WIN
|
| QF | Fitzroy | WIN
|
| SF | West Coast | WIN
|
| F | Geelong | WIN |
Premiership Season
| Round | Opposition | Result
|
| 1 | Fitzroy | WIN
|
| 2 | Essendon | LOSS
|
| 3 | Richmond | WIN
|
| 4 | Brisbane Bears | WIN
|
| 5 | Footscray | WIN
|
| 6 | Collingwood | LOSS
|
| 7 | Carlton | WIN
|
| 8 | West Coast | WIN
|
| 9 | Sydney | WIN
|
| 10 | North Melbourne | WIN
|
| 11 | Hawthorn | WIN
|
| 12 | Geelong | LOSS
|
| 13 | St. Kilda | WIN
|
| 14 | Brisbane Bears | WIN
|
| 15 | North Melbourne | WIN
|
| 16 | Geelong | WIN
|
| 17 | Carlton | LOSS
|
| 18 | Fitzroy | LOSS
|
| 19 | Hawthorn | LOSS
|
| 20 | Sydney | WIN
|
| 21 | St. Kilda | LOSS
|
| 22 | Essendon | LOSS
|
| EF | Collingwood | WIN
|
| SF | Geelong | LOSS |
Exhibition Matches
Playing List
Best and Fairest
Other Awards
Most Consistent - Alan Johnson
Redlegs Trophy - Alan Johnson
Most Improved - Steven Febey
Best Team Player - Stephen Newport
Tribunal
Reserves
1989 Reserves season
Best and Fairest - Luke Beveridge
| W | D | L | % | P
|
| Carlton | 16 | 0 | 4 | 129.8 | 64
|
| Geelong | 15 | 0 | 5 | 154.4 | 60
|
| Essendon | 15 | 0 | 5 | 125.0 | 60
|
| Footscray | 13 | 0 | 7 | 136.4 | 52
|
| Fitzroy | 13 | 0 | 7 | 123.8 | 52
|
| North Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 8 | 119.1 | 48
|
| Collingwood | 11 | 0 | 9 | 115.8 | 44
|
| Hawthorn | 9 | 1 | 10 | 92.7 | 38
|
| Sydney | 9 | 0 | 11 | 92.2 | 36
|
| Richmond | 7 | 0 | 13 | 66.3 | 28
|
| Melbourne | 4 | 0 | 16 | 68.5 | 16
|
| Brisbane | 3 | 0 | 17 | 75.7 | 12
|
| St Kilda | 1 | 1 | 18 | 61.1 | 6 |
Under 19s
1989 Under 19's Season
Best and Fairest - Darren Cuthbertson
| W | D | L | % | P
|
| North Melbourne | 19 | 0 | 3 | 179.3 | 76
|
| Essendon | 18 | 0 | 4 | 144.5 | 72
|
| Richmond | 15 | 0 | 7 | 123.0 | 60
|
| Geelong | 13 | 0 | 9 | 120.1 | 52
|
| Carlton | 12 | 0 | 10 | 112.7 | 48
|
| Melbourne | 10 | 0 | 12 | 95.8 | 40
|
| St Kilda | 9 | 0 | 13 | 85.1 | 36
|
| Sydney | 8 | 1 | 13 | 85.2 | 34
|
| Fitzroy | 8 | 0 | 14 | 79.2 | 32
|
| Footscray | 7 | 0 | 15 | 82.9 | 28
|
| Hawthorn | 5 | 0 | 17 | 64.3 | 20 |
Media
Canberra Times - 16/03/1989
