 After Geelong's loss in the 1989 grand final, Bairstow retired from VFL football and returned home to Lake Grace, Western Australia to work on his family's farm, while playing for the football side there where he played in another losing grand final.However, he returned in 1991 and gave Geelong fantastic drive from the centreline that paved the way for Geelong's grand final appearances in 1992 and 1994.After the 1994 grand final defeat and Malcolm Blight's resignation as coach of the club, Bairstow was advised that he was no longer required at the club by Blight's former assistant, new coach Gary Ayres.