Round 22, 1995
Brisbane Bears vs Melbourne
Friday 1 September
Venue: Gabba
Attendance: 11,842
1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final
| |
| Brisbane Bears | 5.3 | 8.4 | 12.6 | 16.14.110 |
| Melbourne | 4.4 | 7.8 | 11.10 | 13.11.89 |
Brisbane win by 21 points
Goalkickers: Garry Lyon 4, Shaun Smith 3, Adem Yze 2, Jeff Farmer 1, Andy Lovell 1, Glenn Lovett 1, Andrew Obst 1
Brownlow Votes:
Nil
Milestones:
First Game
Trent Ormond-Allen
Last Game
Sean Wight
Last MFC Game
Kevin Dyson
Andy Lovell
Melbourne limped to the finish line in 1995, losing their last four games and being forced to travel to Brisbane with their season on the line. If they won they were in, if Brisbane won and Collingwood lost to Sydney the Bears would qualify for their first ever finals series.
They had won five of their last six to become a finals threat, but conversely Melbourne had been seriously affected by injuries during the run-in. With Stephen Tingay and Todd Viney both missing Melbourne were forced to blood debutant Trent Ormond-Allen in hot conditions - with rookie Michael Polley the only player on standby in case of an emergency.
Needing a win to play finals the Demons pushed the Bears for three quarters, and despite Shaun Smith climbing high to take what is widely considered a contender for 'Mark of the Century', they capitulated in the final term and were eliminated from the race for the '95 flag.
Collingwood did the Bears a favour, losing by four goals and ensuring that they would play finals, but Melbourne's season was over.
Best were Seecamp, Yze and Kowal.
Reserves
Goals - Norman 2, Butterworth 1, Clarke 1, Dooley 1, Heppell 1, Irving 1, Sampson 1
Best - Rohde, Lamprill, Heppell
Reports - Hall for abusive language towards an umpire
Media
"Do-or-die Demons call up youngster for first game" - The Age 31/08/1995
Football Record 1995 finals