1989 VFL reserves season

1989 VFL reserves season
Date	1 April – 30 September
Teams	13
Premiers	Fitzroy 3rd premiership
Minor premiers	Carlton
Wooden spooners	St Kilda

The 1989 VFL reserves season was the 70th season of the VFL reserve grade competition, the Australian rules football competition operating as the second-tier competition to the Victorian Football League (VFL).^[1][2]

The premiership was won by Fitzroy after they defeated Geelong in the 1989 VFL reserves grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the 1989 VFL Grand Final at the MCG on 30 September.^[3] This was the last time Fitzroy won a VFL/AFL premiership in any grade before their 1996 merger with the Brisbane Bears.^[4]

This was also the last season under the VFL reserves name, before the competition was renamed to the AFL reserves when the VFL was renamed to the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1990.^[5]

Ladder

Following their Round 1 match on 1 April, both St Kilda and Brisbane were found to have fielded unregistered players. As a result, the VFL fined both clubs and ordered that they receive zero premiership points for the match.^[6][7]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	NR	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Carlton	20	16	4	0	0	2312	1781	129.81	64	Finals series
2	Geelong	20	15	5	0	0	2721	1770	153.73	60
3	Essendon	20	15	5	0	0	2057	1645	125.05	60
4	Footscray	20	13	7	0	0	2096	1541	136.02	52
5	Fitzroy (P)	20	13	7	0	0	2119	1711	123.85	52
6	North Melbourne	20	12	8	0	0	2062	1731	119.12	48
7	Collingwood	20	11	9	0	0	1989	1781	115.77	44
8	Hawthorn	20	9	10	1	0	1987	2136	93.02	38
9	Sydney	20	9	11	0	0	1652	1790	92.29	36
10	Richmond	20	7	13	0	0	1561	2370	65.86	28
11	Melbourne	20	4	16	0	0	1581	2307	68.53	16
12	Brisbane Bears	20	3	16	0	1	1779	2336	76.16	12
13	St Kilda	20	1	17	1	1	1708	2788	61.26	6

Source: ^[8]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.

Finals series

Qualifying and elimination finals

	Elimination final
Saturday, 9 September (11:10am)	Footscray 15.14 (104)	def.	Fitzroy 6.10 (46)	VFL Park

	Qualifying final
Sunday, 10 September (11:10am)	Geelong 16.10 (106)	def.	Essendon 11.14 (80)	MCG

Semi-finals

	Semi-finals
Saturday, 16 September (11:10am)	Essendon 8.11 (59)	def. by	Fitzroy 8.18 (66)	VFL Park
Saturday, 17 September (11:10am)	Carlton 12.16 (88)	def. by	Geelong 17.13 (115)	MCG

Preliminary final

	Preliminary final
Saturday, 23 September (11:10am)	Carlton 11.15 (81)	def.	Fitzroy 16.16 (112)	VFL Park

Grand Final

	1989 VFL reserves Grand Final
Saturday, 30 September (11:10am)	Geelong	def. by	Fitzroy	MCG	[9][10]
	3.3 (21) 9.5 (59) 15.10 (100) 16.16 (112)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	2.4 (16) 7.7 (49) 11.10 (76) 17.12 (114)

References

1. "1989 Reserves". Blueseum. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
2. "1989 Reserves season". Demonwiki. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
3. Lord, Sam (13 May 2013). "Fitzroy's reserves reunite". Brisbane Lions. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
4. "The Lions (1957-1996)". Fitzroy Football Club. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
5. Linnell, Garry (1995). Football Ltd. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia. p. 297. ISBN 0-330-35665-8.
6. "Saints, Bears it in "twos"". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. 15 April 1989. p. 86.
7. "St. Kilda Reserves vs Brisbane Reserves". Australian Football. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
8. "1989 V/AFL Reserves". Australian Football. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
9. "1989 RESERVE TEAMS Grand Final". Archive Today. VFL Record. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
10. "Lions claw way to victory". The Sunday Sun. Melbourne. 1 October 1989. p. 95.