Round 5, 1987
Brisbane Bears vs Melbourne
Sunday 26 April
Venue: Carrara
Attendance: 7451
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Brisbane | 1.3 | 6.8 | 8.12 | 12.14.86 |
| Melbourne | 5.1 | 8.1 | 10.3 | 12.9.81 |
Brisbane win by 5 points
Goalkickers: Doug Koop 3, Peter Moore 3, Ricky Jackson 2, Brian Wilson 2, Garry Lyon 1, Earl Spalding 1
Brownlow Votes:
Nil
Milestones:
Only MFC Game
Peter Kiel
Last MFC Game
David Cordner
The Demons first game against Brisbane, and first at Carrara, ended in disaster with the Bears sneaking home for their third win in the first five matches of the season.
Melbourne's cheer squad had unveiled a banner five times bigger than the home side and had a cheeky shot at "banana benders" but met their match in the Bears scoreboard which flashed up messages like "Go home Mexicans" whenever the Demons scored.
The visitors took time to get to grips with the bigger ground, but when they did their bigger bodies, aggressive play and a wind advantage helped open a 21 point lead. With their use of the breeze in the second quarter the Bears reduced the gap to five points and could have been in front if Jim Edmonds' last minute kick wasn’t judged to have come after the siren.
Most of the play in the last quarter was in the Demons attack but they were unable to capitalise. Brisbane hit the lead for the first time in the opening minute, and used their open running play to kick four goals.
Peter Moore’s third gave his side the lead back 16 minutes into the quarter before Garry Lyon missed a chance to extend the margin. When Brisbane got back in front Melbourne had multiple chances to win but could only kick points. Adrian Battiston had the last opportunity in the dying minutes when he missed from 45 metres, and the ball was still in Melbourne's attack when the siren went. At full time the vanquished visitors walked off under a scoreboard displaying the message “thank you for coming”.
After the game John Northey lamented "We should never have let the Bears in front. Stupid, silly mistakes by our players cost us dearly".
Best were Lyon, Wilson and Battiston. Rod Grinter was reported for striking Jim Edmond with a left forearm during the third quarter but cleared. Despite Edmond's broken nose the tribunal accepted Grinter's defence that it was a late spoil attempt. There were a raft of injuries, to Connolly (knee), Viney (knee), Wight (cut head), Moore (hamstring) and Turner (corked thigh). The losses of Connolly and Viney meant Moore had to return to the field despite his injury.
Video
Reserves
Hawthorn 29.21.141 d. Melbourne 16.11.107
Goals - Fidge 3, Eishold 3, Kiley 3, Campbell 2, Lamb 2, Sizer 1, Normington 1, Giles 1
Best - Eishold, Sparks, Fidge
Under 19s
Melbourne 29.15.189 d. Hawthorn 12.14.86
Goals - Varcoe 6, Healy 5, Aitken 5, Beveridge 4, Febey 2, Lane 2, Robinson 2, Howat 1, Smit 1, Martello 1
Best - Healy, Westmore, Aitken
Lists
Tribunal
Notes
Canberra Times show the attendance as 9500. Some sources show Peter Moore as having a back injury.
Media
Canberra Times - 27/04/1987
Canberra Times - 28/04/1987
Age - 27/04/1987
Courier Mail - 27/04/1987
Inside Football - 29/04/1987
Football Record R6 1987