Round 4, 1989
Melbourne vs Brisbane Bears
Saturday 22 April
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 17,560
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 2.3 | 4.8 | 8.8 | 11.13.79 |
| Brisbane | 3.5 | 4.7 | 5.10 | 7.11.53 |
Melbourne win by 26 points
Goalkickers: Earl Spalding 4, David Flintoff 2, Darren Bennett 1, Tony Campbell 1, Simon Eishold 1, Greg Healy 1, Brett Lovett 1
Brownlow Votes:
3 - Jim Stynes
2 - Earl Spalding
Milestones:
50 Games
Earl Spalding
Melbourne struggled over the line against the Bears and got the four points, but the result gave no indication of whether or not they were going to contend again in 1989
After the game John Northey claimed the Bears had "dragged" his side "down to their level", but for the second year in a row on a Friday night his team had almost lost to the lowly Queenslanders and he was ropeable. "All aspects of the game were pathetic" he said, "the boys did not take any authority".
Luckily the Bears were abysmal after quarter time. A shock lead at the first break was followed by the failure of their forward line and a single goal in each of the second and third quarters. The dominance of Jim Stynes and Earl Spalding helped the Demons kick away, and while they were never truly out of the danger the Bears inability to score cost them any chance of victory. Spalding even kicked straight, registering 4.1 and Danny Hughes kept Warwick Capper goalless at the other end.
Best were Spalding, Stynes and Johnson
Video
Reserves
Brisbane 19.14.128 d. Melbourne 10.12.72
Goals: T. Viney 2, Atkins 2, Keipert 2, G. Lovett 1, Dean 1, Rennie 1, Tingay 1
Best: T. Viney, Tingay, G. Lovett, Ahern, M. Febey.
Under 19s
Footscray 22.13.145 d. Melbourne 7.6.48
Goals: Ford 3, Partington 1, Fanning 1, Howat 1, Bourke 1
Best: Lance, Marshall, Howat
Media
Age - 22/04/1989
Canberra Times - 23/04/1989
Football Record R5 1989