The 1985 VFL Grand final saw a repeat of the two previous Grand Finals, with Essendon and Hawthorn once again reaching the last game of the year. While Hawthorn had won the first encounter between the two sides, Essendon had won last time. While Essendon again triumphed, by 70+ points in this encounter, the match is not so much remembered for the result but for the large brawl that occurred not long into the game. The game was a physical one, and it seemed to spill over into the brawl. Central to this brawl was noted Hawthorn hard man Dermott Brereton, as well as Leigh Matthews playing his last game for Hawthorn. The brawl occurred early in the match and managed to clear both benches as player, trainers and runners streamed onto the ground. Footage of Dermott Brereton wrestling with Essendon Captain Terry Daniher, is now some of the most infamous footage of fights in AFL, and was symbolic of Brereton's notorious rough streak. Essendon maintained itself despite the brawl to slide away to a lead, 9 points at quarter time, which grew to 30 points at 3 quarter time before Essendon put their foot down in the final quarter kicking 11.3 to Hawthorns 3.3 to win by 78 points. Brereton was also reported for three separate incidents and forced to miss four games for two counts of striking and one count of rough conduct.