Match 1: 1989 grand final, MCG
Hawthorn 21.18 (144) d Geelong 21.12 (138)

One of the greatest modern grand finals started in sensational fashion when Geelong hard man Mark Yeates ran off the wing and collected Dermott Brereton, who himself was thought to have eyes on wiping out Brownlow medallist, Paul Couch.

Brereton was hurt but went to the forward pocket and kicked two early goals to help the Hawks sprint away to a 40-point quarter-time lead. Other Hawks John Platten and Robert DiPierdomenico also copped heavy knocks. Platten's game was over by quarter time with concussion but Dipper played on with a punctured lung and the Hawks clung to that lead until the final term.

The Cats kept coming, led by Norm Smith Medal winner Gary Ablett snr. But his 9.0 wasn't enough and his side ran out of time, falling short by just six points.

Match 2: Rd 17, 2008, MCG
Geelong 12.16 (88) d Hawthorn 11.11 (77)

The two standout sides for 2008 finally met in front on a Friday night in front of 86,179 at the MCG in a high-quality contest. The Cats had a few guns out but the younger Hawks, led by superstar Buddy Franklin, weren't frightened of the big stage – at least initially.

Inaccurate Geelong kicking allowed Hawthorn a sniff but they couldn't do the job in the run home. Several easy misses from nervous Hawks and a late clanger from Luke Hodge cost them any chance of inflicting the second loss of the year on the Cats.

Match 3: 2008 grand final, MCG
Hawthorn 18.7 (115) d Geelong 11.23 (89)

The first game to draw a crowd over 100,000 for 22 years will be remembered as the match that changed the rules of AFL. Hawthorn took defence to a new level, rushing 11 behinds, one even booted through by Mark Williams from 25m out. Many considered it a blight on the game and the league reacted by bringing in a new rule penalising deliberately rushed behinds with a free kick in time for the 2009 season.

But it was little consolation for a Geelong side that had lost just one match for the season before grand final day. However, they had no-one to blame but themselves. They dominated the second quarter completely, but managed just 1.9 for the term. In contrast the Hawks took their chances superbly, inspired by Stuart Dew's third-quarter heroics at the Punt Road end.