This is my first longform sportswriting book since ‘Australia United’ and my first book for adults since 2010.

According to Hawk Chris Wittman, ‘It’s the Woodstock of all Grand Finals’ and that seems about right to me. This is a story of the game with the MOST stories. Dipper’s ribs, Dermie and Yeates, Ablett’s perfection, goals, violence, streakers, more violence, more goals. John Platten’s terrible concussion.

And it’s more than a game, too, in the sense that the 1989 round 6 game stands as one of the greats of all time, between the same too teams, and there were great stories running through both clubs all season.

The Hawks and Jeans were focussed on Back to back, for the first time in the club’s history, an obsession for coach Allan Jeans who missed 1988 with an aneurysm, and still felt the pain of losses in the 1984 and 1987 grand finals.

And Malcolm Blight breezed into Geelong like a blinding flash, harnessing a talented bunch of almost stars and turning them into a scoring phononemon.

Here’s Rohan Connolly’s review of the game on Footylology.

I’ll be on Whateley (SEN), The Conversation Hour (ABC), Sportsday (3AW), Sport 5AA, Austereo Perth., ABC News Breakfast and other media outlets over the next few weeks.

The book can be purchased here.

To read snippets of the book featuring each of the interviewed players, search #1989TGGF on Twitter, Instagram of my author facebook page.

The launch is next Thursday at the Glenferrie Hotel. Don Scott (special comments that day) will say some words, and Dermott will be there too. All welcome.