| 1986 VFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 27 September 1986 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground,Melbourne,Australia | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 101,861 | |||||||||||||||
| Favourite | Hawthorn | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Cameron & Russo | |||||||||||||||
| Coin toss won by | Carlton | |||||||||||||||
| Kicked toward | Punt Road | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | Olivia Newton-John | |||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Olivia Newton-John | |||||||||||||||
| Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
| Norm Smith Medallist | Gary Ayres (Hawthorn) | |||||||||||||||
| Jock McHale Medallist | Allan Jeans | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Seven Network | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Peter Landy Lou Richards Bob Skilton | |||||||||||||||
The1986 VFL Grand Final was anAustralian rules football game contested between theHawthorn Football Club and theCarlton Football Club. The game was played at theMelbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) inMelbourne on 27 September 1986. It was the 90th annualgrand final of theVictorian Football League (VFL), staged to determine thepremiers for the1986 VFL season. The match, attended by 101,861 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 42 points, marking that club's sixth premiership victory.
Hawthorn were playing their fourth successive grand final and had lost the last two, while Carlton were appearing in their first premiership decider since winning the1982 VFL Grand Final. At the conclusion of thehome and away season, Hawthorn had finished first on the VFL ladder with 18 wins and 4 losses. Carlton had finished third (behindSydney) with 15 wins and 7 losses.
In the finals series in the lead-up to the game, Carlton defeated Sydney in the qualifying final before meeting the Hawks in the second semi-final, which the Blues won by 28 points to advance to the grand final. Hawthorn, after this loss, convincingly defeatedFitzroy by 56 points in the preliminary final to advance to the grand final. Hawthorn entered the game as slight favourites despite their defeat to the Blues in the second semi-final.
Hawks playerRobert DiPierdomenico won theBrownlow Medal in the week leading up to the game. Meanwhile, the Blues were looking to giveBruce Doull, who was retiring after the game, a winning finish to his 18-season career.
      Hawthorn |   Carlton |
Hawthorn full forwardJason Dunstall kicked the first goal of the match in the second minute after out-markingBruce Doull. Carlton'sWayne Blackwell left the field in the hands of the Blues training staff during the first quarter. In their third consecutive grand final, Hawthorn jumped Carlton kicking 5.6 (36) to 1.5 (11) to lead by 25 points at quarter time.[1] Their lead was extended during the second quarter, but Carlton were able to cut the margin to 21 points at half time.
A seven-goal burst by the Hawks in the third quarter sealed their win. In the final quarter Hawthorn kicked only one goal but by then the contest was effectively over. Hawthorn'sJason Dunstall, who was in just his second VFL season, kicked six goals to help the Hawks to victory.Gary Buckenara, who had missed the 1985 decider, kicked four goals for Hawthorn, all of them in the first half of the game.[1]
TheNorm Smith Medal was awarded to Hawthorn defenderGary Ayres for being judged the best player afield. Ayres was playing on Carlton wingmanDavid Rhys-Jones, who had been a match-winner against Hawthorn in the second semi-final. Ayres, playing on the wing for the first time in five years, nullified Rhys-Jones and set up many attacking moves for the Hawks. Ayres finished the game with 17 kicks, five marks and six handballs.[1]
| 1986 VFL Grand Final | |||||
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| Saturday, 27 September (14:30 (UTC+10)) | Hawthorn | def. | Carlton | MCG,Melbourne (crowd: 101,861) | Report[2] |
| 5.6 (36) 8.8 (56) 15.9 (99) 16.14 (110) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 1.5 (11) 4.11 (35) 6.13 (49) 9.14 (68) | Umpires:P Cameron & J Russo Norm Smith Medal:Gary Ayres (Hawthorn) Television broadcast:Seven Network | ||
| Dunstall 6,Buckenara 4,Brereton 3,Ayres,Curran,Russo | Goals | Meldrum 3,Kernahan 2,Evans,Glascott,McKenzie,Rhys-Jones | |||
| Eade,Dunstall,Ayres,Buckenara,Wallace,LangfordMew,Platten | Best | Alvin,Meldrum,Glascott,Madden,Harmes | |||
| Dear (striking) | Reports | Rhys-Jones (striking) | |||
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