AFL Grand Final

AFL Grand Final

Part of the pre-match entertainment at the 2006 AFL Grand Final. Giant banners were unfurled featuring the colours and emblems of all 16 AFL clubs.
First meeting	24 September 1898
Latest meeting	1 October 2011
Next meeting	29 September 2012
Statistics
Meetings total	116

The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League (AFL) premiership champions for that year. The game has become significant to Australian culture, spawning a number of traditions and surrounding activities which have grown in popularity since the interstate expansion of the VFL in the 1980s and the subsequent creation of the national AFL competition in the 1990s. The 2006 Sweeney Sports Report concluded that the AFL Grand Final has become Australia's most important sporting event, with the largest attendance, metropolitan television audience and overall interest of any annual Australian sporting event.

The winner of the Grand Final is presented with the AFL Premiership Cup and the Premiership Flag.

Game history

See also: Grand Final

1897–1901: Origin

The concept of a "grand" final gradually evolved from experimentation by the Victorian Football League (VFL) in the initial years of competition following its inception in 1897. During the nineteenth century, Australian football competition adopted the approach used by the Football Association in England – that is, the team on top of the table (or "ladder" in the Australian vernacular) was declared the premiers. However, the fledgling VFL decided that a finals series played between the top four teams at the end of the season would generate more interest and gate money. For 1897, the VFL scheduled a round robin tournament whereby the top four played each other once and the team that won the most matches was declared the winner.

However, this method had flaws, so the VFL continued to experiment, playing "section" matches after the regular season and then a finals series where first on the ladder played the third team and second met fourth. The winners of these "semi" finals then met in a final to decide the premiership. The first such final was contested in 1898 between the Essendon Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club at the St Kilda Cricket Ground, which Fitzroy won scoring 5.8 (38) to Essendon's 3.5 (23).

The new finals system caused problems in 1901 when Geelong finished on top of the ladder but was immediately eliminated when defeated in the semi final. A "right of challenge" was introduced, giving the team that finished on top at the end of the regular season (the minor premier) the right to challenge if they lost the semi final or the final. This challenge match came to be called the "grand final". The early finals were scattered around various Melbourne venues: Albert Park, St Kilda's Junction Oval and the now defunct East Melbourne Cricket Ground. The selection of the venue could depend on the portion of the gate demanded by the ground's landlords.

1902–1914: MCG move

The public remained ambivalent to the concept of finals football until the VFL pulled off a coup in 1902. Previously, the MCG was unavailable to football in the early spring months as it was being prepared for the coming cricket season. The VFL convinced the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) to rent the ground for the finals series and the first grand final at what is today considered the home of the game attracted more than 35,000 people to watch Collingwood down Essendon. The success of the finals at the MCG was proven with big attendances every year, and soon all the major competitions around Australia were employing what was known as the "amended Argus system" of finals. The "original Argus system" had been instituted by the VFL in 1901, the amended system was instituted by the VFL in 1902. The 1907 Grand Final attracted an Australian record sporting attendance of 45,477.

By 1908, a new record attendance of 50,261 was set, on a day when the crowd was so huge that it broke through the fence and filed onto the ground, sitting around the boundary line to watch the action. This figure was beaten in the 1912 Grand Final when 54,463 saw Essendon defeat South Melbourne. The big finals crowds (and increasing cricket attendances) prompted the MCC to cut down the eleven fifty-year old elm trees inside the ground and turn the stadium into a concrete bowl, complete with extra stands and standing room. The record fell again in the last grand final before World War I, when the excitement of St Kilda's first premiership attempt drew 59,479 spectators.

1915–1930: World War I and the end of the challenge final system

The war had a considerable effect on the impact of the grand final and attendances plummeted. One critic called for the Carlton team to receive the Iron Cross after they defeated Collingwood in the thrilling 1915 Grand Final, ironically dubbed a "glorious contest" by famous coach Jack Worrall. But many diggers supported the continuance of the game, and both the 1918 and 1919 Grand Finals were notable for the large number of Australian servicemen in attendance, many of whom wore uniform. During the 1920s, the VFL grappled with the problems associated with the "amended Argus system", specifically that a true "grand" final was not played if the minor premier won both the semi final and the final. Although new attendance records were set in 1920 and 1922, these were for the semi finals, which often drew bigger crowds than the Grand Final. The VFL reverted to the round robin system in 1924, which was a disaster, then went back to the "amended Argus system" for 1925, when the Grand Final attracted a new record crowd of 64,288. This bumper attendance was the result of Geelong's first VFL premiership win, when a huge contingent from Victoria's second city descended on the MCG to watch their team make history.

Collingwood's famous four premierships in a row between 1927 and 1930 became the catalyst for change to the system. The other clubs felt that the Magpies had an unfair advantage from finishing all four seasons on top of the ladder when the right of challenge saved them on a number of occasions. In 1927, 1928 and 1930, the biggest crowd of the year was drawn to the semi final and not the Grand Final.

1931–1939: New finals system and start of a golden age

The Page-McIntyre system (or 'final four") was introduced for 1931, whereby the semi finals (1 v 2 and 3 v 4) were followed by the preliminary final and then the grand final, with the right of challenge abolished. This proved satisfactory to all, and the new system ushered in a golden age for the Grand Final.

New records were constantly set and when 75,754 attended the 1933 Grand Final between South Melbourne and Richmond, it started the MCC thinking of expansion again. Just months earlier, cricket attendance records were shattered during the "bodyline" series between Australia and England. The MCC decided to build the southern stand, which enclosed almost half the ground and was completed in 1937. That year, the Geelong-Collingwood Grand Final attracted 88,540 and the spectators were sitting five deep along the boundary line. Somehow, the following year, 96,834 people turned up and squashed in to watch the Magpies take on Carlton. At the time, Melbourne's population was about one million, which meant that on Grand Final day, almost one tenth of the city was at the game.

1940–1953: World War II and after

The VFL Grand Final in 1946 from the stands of the MCG

Football served as a distraction for people on the home front during the war, particularly during the darkest days between 1941 and 1943. The Australian government requisitioned a number of VFL grounds, including the MCG. Therefore, the Grand Final was staged at Princes Park (Carlton) in 1942, 1943 and 1943, and at St Kilda's Junction Oval in 1944 when Fitzroy won its last premiership on the hottest Grand Final day on record. The 1943 clash was a thrilling contest, Richmond defeating Essendon by five points. The 1942 and 1945 matches were marred by violence, and the latter game has gone down in history as "the "Bloodbath". An amazing crowd of 62,986 crammed into the Carlton ground for this game, which was played just weeks after the armistice with Japan was declared. Clearly, the people of Melbourne were keen to normalise their lives again and football was central to this desire.

So when the MCG was finally relinquished by the government in August 1946, there was great expectation in the build up to the Grand Final, where Essendon booted a record score to defeat Melbourne. Attendances were back to 1930s levels by 1947 and 85,815 turned up to see Carlton beat Essendon by a solitary point; a similar crowd a year later watched the Bombers play the first draw in Grand Final history. However, they lost a replay with Melbourne the following week. The sight of thousands sitting between the fence and the boundary line, first seen in the late 1930s, was now usual at the Grand Final. Spectators were admitted on a first-come basis, and thousands took to lining up outside the stadium in the days before the match to gain the best vantage point when the gates opened on the morning of the match. Some reservations were raised about spectator safety as the MCG was clearly being filled above its capacity.

1954–1961: Melbourne Olympic Games and ticketing

As the MCG would be used as the main stadium for the 1956 Olympic Games, the ground was upgraded again with a new stand and extra capacity. Construction work restricted the crowd at the 1954 Grand Final when 80,897 people saw Footscray win their historic first (and so far only) flag. Eight thousand more witnessed the 1955 Grand Final, before the stand was fully completed. The 1956 Grand Final was seen as a dry run for the opening ceremony of the games two months later, but no one was prepared for the outcome. Officially, 115,802 fans turned out to see Melbourne take on Collingwood for the second year in a row, but contemporary reports state that anywhere between twenty and thirty thousand people were turned away. Some gained admittance by storming the gates, while others perched precariously on the roof of the southern stand. The old record had been shattered by almost 19,000 but the chaos outside the ground prompted the VFL to introduce a ticketing system for the first time.

Attendances now hovered around the 100,000 mark during the coming years. Melbourne dominated the era with seven straight Grand Final appearances (for five flags), playing Collingwood three times and Essendon twice. The 1958 Grand Final, when Collingwood upset a Melbourne team attempting to equal the Magpies' proud record of four consecutive premierships, was arguably the greatest upset recorded in the biggest game of all. The Demons made amends by winning the next year, when the premiership cup was presented for the first time. Previously, the crowd descended on the arena at the end of the game, and the players were variously chaired off the ground or walked to the dressing room. The presentation of the cup gave the after-match a ceremonial focus and allowed the attention to settle on the premier team.

Following the 1956 introduction of television to Australia, there were repeated calls for the Grand Final to be telecast live, but the VFL refused on the basis that the crowd numbers might be affected. A delayed telecast was allowed for the 1961 Grand Final, when Hawthorn won for the first time, but thereafter only a videotaped replay was shown.

1962–1982: Second golden age

In contrast to the 1950s when a few teams were monopolising Grand Final places, the 1960s was a decade of variety. Between 1961 and 1968, seven teams won the flag and a number of classic encounters were played. In the 1964 Grand Final, a thrilling finish enabled Melbourne to win their last premiership by four points. Two years later, in arguably one of the most famous Grand Final of them all, St Kilda won their only premiership by one point, and their players went for an impromptu lap of honour with the cup, a tradition that endures. In the 1967 Grand Final, Geelong and Richmond played a match of the highest standard, with the Tigers winning in the last minutes to end a long premiership drought. The next season, Carlton also ended a long run without success and set a record as the only winning team to score fewer goals than the opposition as they defeated Essendon by three points.

By now, the MCG had been expanded again so that record crowds were set in 1968, 1969 and 1970. In what's commonly referred to as the all time greatest grand final the Grand Final of 1970, when Carlton came back from a 44-point half time deficit to beat Collingwood, was watched by an all-time record crowd of 121,696 people. Most of the matches during this period had something to remember: Hawthorn's comeback to win in 1971, Carlton's record score in the highest scoring Grand Final ever played in 1972, Richmond's two wins over Carlton in 1969 and 1973 in very physical encounters, and North Melbourne's first Grand Final victory in 1975. In 1977, North Melbourne came from 27 points down at three quarter time to play the second drawn Grand Final in history [the first in 1948]. The momentum continued on the first Saturday in October 1977, when they defeated Collingwood in the replay.

After the 1981 grand final, the old scoreboard was removed to Manuka Oval. The MCG installed a new electronic colour scoreboard in 1982.

By the start of the early 80's, Collingwood had lost eight grand finals in a row since winning its 1958 premiership. They were given the nickname "Colliwobbles" to signify a choking phenomenon.

1982–1989: National team competition

The 1980s saw the Sydney Swans enter the VFL after South Melbourne's move to Sydney. In 1987, The Brisbane Bears and The West Coast Eagles entered the VFL. This era saw a sustained period of dominance by Hawthorn. The Hawks appeared in every Grand Final from 1983 to 1989, winning four of them.

1990–1999: AFL introduction

With the transformation of the VFL into the Australian Football League in 1990, and the move to a truly national competition, there emerged a new era in which non-Victorian based clubs now competed for the Premiership. Since Collingwood's drought breaking 48-point triumph over Essendon in the 1990 Grand Final, interstate clubs have won the ultimate prize on 10 occasions, with Fremantle and now Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney the only clubs not to have achieved this feat.

Throughout the 1990s, the standards of the Grand Finals never reached sensational heights, or concluded with nail biting finishes. In this decade, West Coast and North Melbourne vied for the unofficial title of 'team of the decade', winning two flags apiece, as well as being runners-up in 1991 and 1998 respectively. Collingwood walked over the Bombers in the 1990 decider (which was played in October, due to the Magpies draw with the Eagles in the Qualifying Final, extending the finals series by a week), an aging Hawthorn unit was too classy for the Eagles in the 1991 Grand Final, who got their revenge the following season with a come-from-behind victory over Geelong, before going on to record their second flag under coach Mick Malthouse and captain John Worsfold two years later over the same opponent. Thus, West Coast became the first interstate team to take the premiership outside of Victoria. Wedged in between was Essendon's 'Baby Bombers', Kevin Sheedy moulding a group of talented youngsters into a premiership winning combination, overrunning their older Carlton counterparts in the 1993 Grand Final. The Blues, though, were not yet a spent force, trouncing the hapless Cats by 61 points in the 1995 Grand Final.

The 1996 Grand Final saw North Melbourne make up for their many years of near misses, downing Sydney with ease, to take home the only golden premiership cup yet to be used. Adelaide, under new coach Malcolm Blight, stunned the football world with two premierships in succession, defeating St Kilda in the 1997 Grand Final, and the Kangaroos in the 1998 Grand Final. Adelaide was the first team since Hawthorn in 1988–89 to win back-to-back premierships, and the first interstate team to win back-to-back premierships.

Wayne Carey's Kangaroos fought back, however, to be premiers for the fourth time in the 1999 Grand Final. The Roos defeated the sixth-placed Carlton on the day, who had qualified for the Grand Final after a one point victory over minor premiers and bitter rivals Essendon in the preliminary final.

2000–2009: New millennium

Cameron Mooney (#21) lines up for goal in the 2008 AFL Grand Final against Hawthorn.

2000 saw one of the most dominant seasons of all time by Essendon, with the Bombers winning all bar one of their home and away matches, before pummelling the Kangaroos by a record 125 points in the Qualifying Final, demoralising Carlton, their enemy of the previous season, by 45 points, and then outclassing Melbourne by 10 goals in the 2000 Grand Final.

The following season, 2001, saw the Brisbane Lions win the first of their three premierships in succession. The Lions outplayed a tiring Bomber outfit in the second half of the 2001 decider. The following season saw Collingwood, vast underdogs, push the Lions to the limit in the 2002 Grand Final, the Lions pipping the Magpies at the post by nine points. Brisbane's third and final premiership in their historic run of success came in 2003, again accounting for Collingwood, though on this occasion by a convincing 50 points, crushing the spirit of the Magpies, who had been favourites going into the match. The Lions' castle finally came tumbling down in 2004, when Port Adelaide outclassed them in the second half with a 40 point victory.

The Red and White army of Sydney Swans supporters celebrate a goal at the 2006 AFL Grand Final

Seasons 2005 and 2006 are best remembered for the classic rivalry forged between Sydney and the West Coast Eagles. The Swans clung on grimly to win the 2005 decider by four points, remembered for Leo Barry's epic defensive mark in the dying seconds. The following year, the same two clubs met again, though this time West Coast emerged victorious by one point – the first time a point had separated two clubs in a Grand Final since St Kilda's victory over Collingwood in 1966.

The years 2007 to 2009 saw a dominant Geelong appear in all three Grand Finals. 2007 belonged to the Cats, who, 44 years after their last premiership, stamped their authority on the competition, losing only one match after round five, and trouncing Port Adelaide in the decider by a record 119 points. The following year also appeared to be Geelong's after they blitzed the home and away season winning 21 out of 22 games, equalling Essendons's 2000 record of most matches won in a home and away season. However, Hawthorn stunned the favourites with a 26 point victory in the 2008 Grand Final. In the 2009 AFL Grand Final, Geelong defeated St Kilda by 12 points in an intense encounter.

2010 – present

In 2010 Collingwood and St Kilda met each other for the first time in a grand final since 1966. The result was the third draw in grand final history, with a final score of 68 points for both teams. Lenny Hayes won the Norm Smith Medal. The grand final replay was held on 2 October; Collingwood won the replay by 56 points and Scott Pendlebury won the second Norm Smith Medal.

Notable grand finals

• 1897—The VFL's first season did not include a Grand Final. Instead, a round robin series was played, with Essendon becoming the first VFL premiers and Geelong the runner-up.
• 1903—Late in the last quarter, Fitzroy skipper Gerald Brosnan marked a pass from teammate Percy Trotter about thirty metres from goal with his team three points behind Collingwood. As he went back to line up his kick, the final bell rang. Brosnan's shot missed, but was so close that a Collingwood defender later claimed that he could hear the ball's lace brush the goal post.
• 1910—A massive brawl broke out between Collingwood and Carlton players during the last quarter. A number of players were felled and four players were reported (the first in Grand Final history), yet the fight kept going. Umpire Jack Elder settled matters by blowing his whistle and bouncing the ball. Most of the combatants looked on, stunned, as the game recommenced without them, so they had no option but to forget about the fight.
• 1913—Playing in their first Grand Final, St Kilda struggled to boot just one goal in the first three quarters against Fitzroy. But they came charging home in the last by closing a 25-point gap to one point with a few minutes remaining. A St Kilda player marked very close to goal on an angle and made a bad mistake by following a pre-game tactic of handballing. His intended target was covered, the Saints lost the ball and Fitzroy booted two goals to seal the match.
• 1914—With South Melbourne making a late charge at Carlton, the Blues led by six points when a long kick into South's goal square was contested by a pack of players. Just metres from the goal mouth, Ern Jamieson, Carlton's full back leaped straight into Tom Bollard's back, but Umpire Harry Rawle called play on and the ball was cleared. Moments later, the final bell rang. Had Bollard received a free and kicked it from point-blank range, the game would have ended in the first finals' tie.
• 1918—Collingwood had hit the front by a single point. In the final minute of play, South Melbourne went forward and a long kick into the teeth of goal by Gerald Ryan of South spilled from a pack of players. South Melbourne rover Chris Laird came rushing through and rather than attempt to pick the ball up, soccered it off the ground for a goal that won the game.
• 1921—Richmond led Carlton by four points in a low scoring game played on a very wet day. Both teams were covered in mud as Carlton mounted a series of attacks in an attempt to get a winning goal. In the dying minute, a Carlton player passed toward teammate Alec Duncan, who was close to goal. Somehow, Richmond's Max Hislop hurtled across to Duncan and punched the ball from his grasp to save the premiership for the Tigers.
• 1924—Like in 1897, there was a round robin series played instead of a Grand Final. Once again, Essendon became the premiership team for this season with Richmond this time being the runner-up.
• 1927—Collingwood defeated Richmond in atrocious conditions, by the score 2.13 (25) d. 1.7 (13). It was the lowest scoring game, Grand Final or otherwise, played during the 20th century.
• 1930—Collingwood won its record fourth consecutive VFL Grand Final in succession, the 'Machine Team', under the tutelage of the legendary Jock McHale, creating a record which has not been matched in ensuing seasons.
• 1935—Star full forward Bob Pratt was forced to withdraw from the Grand Final after he was hit by a truck in trying to cross the road the day before the game. Pratt had booted 362 in three seasons. Without him the Swans lost to Collingwood by 20 points, despite having as many scoring shots as the Magpies.
• 1948—In the first drawn grand final, Essendon's inaccurate kicking led them to draw 7.27 (69) to Melbourne's 10.9 (69). Melbourne easily won the replay 13.11 (89) to Essendon's 7.8 (50).
• 1958—A Collingwood outfit, which had lost to Melbourne only two weeks earlier, hold sway in an 18-point victory over Melbourne, denying the Demons a fourth consecutive premiership, thus successfully defending their club's record of 4 consecutive premierships.
• 1960—After an historic 6 years at the top of home-and-away season, VFL football, Melbourne won their 5th premiership in 6 years, with a convincing win over Collingwood in wet conditions, in which the Demons more than quadrupled the Magpies' score 8.14 (62) to Collingwood's 2.2 (14).
• 1964—Collingwood, playing Melbourne, looked set for a victory in the last quarter after Ray Gabelich's goal put them up by two points. Back pocket Neil Crompton kicked his first goal in 5 years to snatch back the lead and the match for Melbourne by 4 points, just moments from the final siren.
• 1966—St Kilda won their first premiership in 69 years of competition, defeating Collingwood by a solitary point. With only moments left, the two sides were locked level. Finally, Barry Breen snapped the point that gave the club its only premiership in its history thus far.
• 1970— Carlton makes history by overcoming a 44-point deficit at half-time to defeat Collingwood by 10 points by the final siren. Alex Jesaulenko takes the Mark of the Year late in the second quarter, and the attendance of 121,696 remains the largest crowd of all time.
• 1972—Carlton and Richmond scored a combined 50.27 (327) under the changing brand of football, then the highest scoring game of all time, and still the highest-scoring Grand Final of all-time.
• 1975— North Melbourne win their first Grand Final – the last of the 12 VFL teams to do so.
• 1977— The Grand final resulted in a tie between North Melbourne and Collingwood. In a Grand Final replay the following week, North Melbourne were victorious.
• 1979—Wayne Harmes (Carlton) is awarded the inaugural Norm Smith Medal as best on field.
• 1982—Maurice Rioli (Richmond) becomes the first player to win the Norm Smith Medal despite being on the losing team.
• 1987—Carlton reversed the previous year's result in overcoming Hawthorn on the hottest Grand Final day (31 degrees) in the game's history.
• 1988—Champion Hawthorn defender Gary Ayres becomes the first footballer to win dual Norm Smith Medals in Hawthorn's then-record 96-point demolition of Melbourne.
• 1989—The Grand final between Hawthorn and Geelong was one of the closest and hardest fought in years, and nicknamed the "Battle of '89". The game was notable as one of the toughest in the history of the game, with injuries and incidents involving Dermott Brereton (famously knocked out by a solid Mark Yeates shirtfront but courageously returned to play) and Robert DiPierdomenico (played three quarters with a punctured lung) many players were hospitalised after the game. Gary Ablett of Geelong was Norm Smith Medallist in a losing side.
• 1990—Collingwood broke a 32 year drought and ended the famous "Colliwobbles", winning the first Grand Final of the new AFL era.
• 1991—Due to the major construction of the Southern Stand at the MCG, the Grand Final was played at Waverley Park between Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles. Hawthorn defeated West Coast by 53 points.
• 1992—West Coast becomes the first non-Victorian team to win a premiership, downing Geelong by a margin of 28 points.
• 1996—North Melbourne defeated Sydney in the Grand Final of the Centenary season.
• 1997—In defeating St Kilda, Adelaide win their first flag by winning 4 finals in 3 states.
• 1998—In defeating North Melbourne, Adelaide wins back-to-back premierships in their second year under Malcolm Blight, becoming first club in modern times to win the premiership after finishing lower than fourth on the premiership ladder after the home-and-away season. Andrew McLeod wins back-to-back Norm Smith medals.
• 2004—Port Adelaide defeats the Brisbane Lions by 40 points to win their first Grand Final despite being minor premiers three years in a row. It is the first Grand Final not to include a Victorian team. Grand Finals for the next two years were also contested only by interstate teams.
• 2005—Sydney Swans defeats the West Coast Eagles in a tight, low scoring game to win their first premiership in the record drought of 72 years.
• 2006—West Coast Eagles defeat the Sydney Swans in the first Grand Final decided by a point since St. Kilda edged out Collingwood in the 1966 VFL Grand Final.
• 2007—Geelong defeats Port Adelaide by a Grand Final record of 119 points and wins its first premiership in 44 years.
• 2010—The Grand Final between St Kilda and Collingwood is drawn, the third drawn Grand Final in VFL/AFL history. Collingwood wins the Grand Final replay the following week by 56 points.

Recent grand finals

• 2000—The Essendon Bombers finished off one of the best seasons of all time, only losing one game to the Western Bulldogs, defeating the Melbourne Demons by 60 points.
• 2001—A victory to the Brisbane Lions over Essendon results in the premiership cup going to Queensland for the first time.
• 2002—Nathan Buckley became only the third player to win the Norm Smith Medal despite being on the losing team.
• 2003—Brisbane Lions complete their hat-trick of premierships, the first since 1955–1957.
• 2004—The first Grand Final played between two non-Victorian teams; Port Adelaide won its first premiership, ending Brisbane's attempt at equalling Collingwood's record of four premierships in succession (1927–1930).
• 2005—In the closest result since the 1977 drawn Grand Final, the Sydney Swans (the former South Melbourne) win their first premiership in 72 years (and first for a New South Wales based club) by defeating the West Coast Eagles, a late pack mark by Leo Barry in the dying seconds deep in the West Coast forward 50 securing the 4-point victory. Chris Judd winning the Norm Smith medal in a losing team.
• 2006—In a rematch of the previous year, the West Coast Eagles avenge the previous year's narrow defeat with an even narrower win over the Sydney Swans becoming just the fourth Grand Final in history to be decided by a point.
• 2007—Geelong Cats end a 44 year premiership drought, winning the match by the highest ever Grand Final winning margin of 119 points, against Port Adelaide Power.
• 2008—Hawthorn Hawks, in their first Grand Final since 1991, defeat favourites Geelong Cats, in front of a crowd of 100,012 – the first crowd of over 100 000 since the 1986 Grand Final
• 2009—Geelong Cats became the first team to ever win a Grand Final after losing the first three quarters, and also become the first team in 25 years to win a Grand Final after being behind at three-quarter-time, defeating the St. Kilda Saints.
• 2010—Collingwood Magpies tied with St. Kilda Saints (68–68). It is the third draw in VFL/AFL history. The crowd is 100,016. The replay was won by Collingwood by 56 points, with a total attendance of 93,853.
• 2011—Geelong Cats Geelong are victorious, charging away from Collingwood's early lead to win with 119 points to 81 points, in front of 99,537 people at the MCG. Mick Malthouse's coaching career ends in defeat.

Qualification and prize

The two Grand Finalists qualify via finals series play-offs at the end of the season. In the current system, the eight teams finishing highest on the ladder after all the home and away rounds qualify for the four-week long finals series culminating in the Grand Final. The team that finishes the regular season at the top of the ladder is said to have won the minor premiership and, since 1991, has been awarded the McClelland Trophy.

Premiership glory

With the significance of the Grand Final taking on almost religious significance the biggest prize promoted by the media and supporters in the premiership is intangible. The vague sporting term "glory" is often used in association with the Grand Final. For the players, "Premiership Glory" symbolises fame, while for the club it symbolises both reward and the significance of taking part in a historic event. The term is often used play down the significance of the other prizes which have themselves become symbolic of these things to club supporters as well.

Premiership glory and what it means to clubs is expressed in different ways in the team songs of many of the VFL/AFL clubs. The Essendon song, for example, mentions the "premiership flag", "glory" and "fame" and the history of the "grand old game". Port Adelaide's song mentions "tradition", "history" and the "flag is ours for the taking". Collingwood's song refers to the "premiership". Some versions of the North Melbourne song declare that the club "will be premiers". Adelaide's song mentions "pride" and the "flag" as the goal. The West Coast Eagles song's "kings of the big game" refers to the Grand Final and premiership. The songs of Melbourne, Geelong and the Swans (Sydney) refer to the "banners" and "flag", which are meant to mean their supporters flag but can have the dual meaning of the premiership flag.

Premiership cup

The winner of the Grand Final is presented with the AFL premiership cup.

The current premiership cup is silver (with the exception of 1996 – when a gold cup was awarded instead of the usual silver one in the AFL/VFL's 100th season) and manufactured by Cash's International at their metalworks in Frankston, Victoria. The cup was first introduced in 1958 by the VFL and, before this, the reward was a pennant known by supporters simply as "The Flag". The AFL has since retrospectively awarded the premiers trophies based on the current design. Before the 1960s, premiership players received a personal premiership trophy instead of a medallion.

In recent years, the premiership cup has also been termed the "Holy Grail" and the Hunters and Collectors song by the same name is often used as an anthem for the AFL finals series and grand final.

"The Flag"

Carlton Football Club hoist the 1906 VFL premiership flag at Princes Park in 1907

The premiers are also awarded the premiership flag, a large pennant which is unfurled at the premiers' first home game of the following season. The current flag is blue, with the AFL logo, the word "premiers" and the year of the premiership. Although the cup features much more prominently in celebrations immediately following the grand final, the flag has far greater symbolic significance. This is particularly reflected in football parlance, in which one always speaks of a team winning the flag, rather than the cup. This is possibly the result of history, as the presentation of the flag first occurred in 1895 when the VFA recognised Fitzroy's first premiership win.

Prize money

Prize money is awarded to the victorious club.

However the amount is probably not reflective of the magnitude of participating in the event. It is often assumed simply that the winner of the premiership typically experiences an increase in revenue through increases in membership and merchandise sales.

The current cash prize for the winning club is A$1 million. Before 2006, a cash prize to the winning club of A$200,000 was awarded (In contrast, the winner of the NAB Cup, the far less important pre-season competition, is currently awarded a similar amount, A$210,000). Following the Sydney Swans premiership in 2005, many clubs publicly questioned the prize money, which has not increased for many years and barely covers the cost of participation in the finals series.

Brownlow Medal

Main article: Brownlow Medal

The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal, is the medal awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season (i.e. not including finals matches) as decided upon by umpires. It was named after a Geelong player and long-serving administrator who was the main advocate in establishing the Victorian Football League, Charles Brownlow. It is awarded at a special dinner on the Monday night before the Grand Final, recently at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.

Grand Final Parade

A traditional parade which regularly attracts up to 100,000 people is held in Melbourne city.

The event began in 1979 with the VFL adopting a tradition which had begun decades earlier in the amateur VAFA. The Grand Final parade became increasingly popular during the 1980s.

The parade usually proceeds along the city's main thoroughfares Swanston Street, turning into Collins Street, and ending at the steps outside the Old Treasury Building. The parade, held at lunch time on the Friday before the Grand Final, features the players from the competing sides.

The players themselves have in the past appeared on parade floats, however in recent times it has become a motorcade of vehicles without roofs, however in 2009 due to poor weather, players were completely enclosed inside vehicles which drew criticism from fans.

Recent estimated parade crowds:

• 2004 – ~40,000
• 2005 – ~50,000
• 2006 – ~75,000
• 2007 – ~100,000
• 2008 – ~100,000+
• 2009 – ~80,000 (in rainy conditions)
• 2010 – Over 100,000 (some reports up to 200,000 as per Channel 10 News)

Some of the estimated seventy five thousand people who lined the streets of Melbourne for the 2006 AFL Grand Final parade

Entertainment

Over the years many big Australian and international stars have performed or appeared at the Grand Final, although it has been consistently criticized for poor pre-game entertainment. Entertainers have been:

Year	Entertainment
1977	Barry Crocker
1978	Keith Michell
1979	Mike Brady and John Farnham
1980	Peter Allen
1981	Jon English
1982	Rolf Harris
1983	Glenn Shorrock
1984	Slim Dusty
1985	Diana Trask
1986	Olivia Newton-John
1987	Daryl Somers
1988	Noel Watson
1989	John Farnham
1990	Normie Rowe
1991	Daryl Braithwaite and Angry Anderson
1992	Joan Carden
1993	Maroochy Barambah, Archie Roach and Yothu Yindi
1994	The Seekers and Debra Byrne
1995	Tina Arena
1996	A collection of past singers
1997	Marina Prior
1998	Muhammad Ali made an appearance. Mark Seymour sang Holy Grail. Rob Guest sang This Is The Moment and Advance Australia Fair. Jane Scali and Michael Cormick sang Waltzing Matilda.
1999	Human Nature
2000	The Idea of North, Trish Delaney-Brown, Megan Corson, Andrew Piper and Nick Begie, Mike Brady, Russell Morris and Rick Price
2001	Vanessa Amorosi
2002	Killing Heidi, The Whitlams, Kate Ceberano, The Human Tide. Mark Seymour sang Holy Grail.
2003	Christine Anu, Gorgi Quill, the Australian idols
2004	Guy Sebastian sang both Waltzing Matilda and Advance Australia Fair, The Ten Tenors, David Hobson
2005	Silvie Paladino sang Advance Australia Fair. Delta Goodrem sang I Am Australian. Michael Bublé and Dame Edna Everage performed I Still Call Australia Home. The Whitlams performed No Aphrodisiac. Kath and Kim The Australian Girls Choir
2006	Brian Mannix, John Paul Young, Sean Kelly, Daryl Braithwaite and Shane Howard sang Advance Australia Fair. Irene Cara sang Flashdance (What A Feeling) plus appearances from Brian Mannix, John Paul Young, Sean Kelly, Daryl Braithwaite and Shane Howard performing a medley including Up There Cazaly, One Day in September, Solid Rock, Yesterday's Hero, The Horses, Everybody Wants to Work and I Hear Motion. Young Divas sang You're the Inspiration
2007	Natalie Bassingthwaighte sang Advance Australia Fair. Jet performed Are You Gonna Be My Girl & Rollover DJ
2008	Powderfinger performed (Baby I've Got You) On My Mind and AC/DC's It's a Long Way to the Top accompanied by the City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band, Ian Moss performed electric guitar versions of Up There Cazaly and the competing club theme songs and Lucy Durack and Amanda Harrison sang the national anthem.
2009	Mark Seymour performed "Holy Grail" on stage, followed by Jimmy Barnes singing "No Second Prize". John Farnham then sang "You're the Voice", joined later by Seymour and Barnes. The Qantas choir performed "I Still Call Australia Home", and the national anthem was performed a cappella by the cast of Jersey Boys.
2010	INXS for the drawn match, Lionel Richie performed at the Grand Final replay.
2011	Meat Loaf

Traditional songs

Tradition dictates that at every, or almost every, Grand Final, most of the following songs are performed, either by celebrity singers or choirs:

• Waltzing Matilda
• One or more of the following football songs, often in a medley:
  • Up There Cazaly
  • One Day in September
  • That's the Thing About Football
  • Holy Grail
• Each team's club song (which is performed live, with the recorded version then played as the team enters the field, in the traditional fashion)
• Advance Australia Fair is sung once the two teams and the umpires are on the field, and lined up on the wing.

AFL Grand Final Sprint

Since 1977 a running race has taken place on Grand Final day between various players who are not taking part in the game. In 1977-78 it was a long-distance race run over a mile with each league club able to nominate up to two entrants. In 1979 the race was changed to a 100m sprint with one player per club taking part.

Between 1979-87 the two clubs participating in the Grand Final had the option of providing one of their players who missed selection in the match, but generally chose not to do so, meaning the sprint was usually contested by a field of 10 players during this era.

The race was not held between 1988-2001 but was re-introduced in 2002 (along with a goalkicking contest - the TXU Sharpshooter - which only lasted one year). With the number of league clubs having grown to sixteen during the break in competition, a new format was adopted with the players now split into two groups of 8 for the heats (held before the Grand Final), with the top 4 from each heat advancing to the final (held at half-time of the Grand Final). In recent years a handicapping system has also been introduced.

Winners: Modern Era (2002-)

2002	Jared Crouch	Sydney Swans Football Club
2003	James Walker	Fremantle Football Club
2004	James Walker	Fremantle Football Club
2005	Brett Deledio	Richmond Football Club
2006	Brendan Fevola	Carlton Football Club
2007	Jake King	Richmond Football Club
2008	Matt White	Richmond Football Club
2009	Rhys Stanley	St Kilda Football Club
2010	Luke Miles	St Kilda Football Club
2011	Patrick Dangerfield	Adelaide Football Club

Venue and schedule

The Grand Final is traditionally played in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It has been played elsewhere only on a few occasions, being held at Lake Oval and the Junction Oval early in the league's history and Princes Park during World War II when the MCG was being used as barracks to house US Troops. When the MCG was being redeveloped in 1991, the Grand Final was contested at the AFL-owned Waverley Park.

The Grand Final has traditionally been played on the final Saturday in September each year and is referred to in popular Australian culture as the One day in September. The match has, on occasion, been played in early October; and, in 2000, to avoid a clash with the Sydney Olympics, it was played on the first Saturday in September; but the traditional scheduling is by far the most common.

Numbering of Grand Finals

The AFL officially gives its Grand Finals the same ordinal number as the season: e.g. the 1996 Grand Final was regarded as the 100th Grand Final, due to it being the 100th season. This is anachronistic to some extent:

• There was no Grand Final match in two seasons, 1897 and 1924; the finals systems in use in those seasons allowed the premiership to be awarded after a round-robin finals tournament, without the need for a deciding match.
• Under the Argus finals systems in use from 1902 to 1930, the "Grand Final" was a term given to a challenge match between the minor premiers and whichever team won the knock-out section of the finals. In seasons where the minor premiers also won the knock-out phase, that club was awarded the premiership without need for a true Grand Final; in these cases, the last knock-out match is retrospectively considered to be the Grand Final.
• There have been three Grand Final Replays played after drawn Grand Finals, in 1948, 1977 and 2010.

Norm Smith Medallist

The medal, given to the player judged as best on the ground during the match, is named in honour of famed Melbourne premiership player and coach Norm Smith, who died in 1973. It was first awarded in 1979 when the winner was Wayne Harmes, a great nephew of Smith. In time the award has come to carry great prestige as an individual prize. There has been some minor criticism that the judging panel (appointed by the AFL and comprising ex-players and media people) must make its decision during the last quarter, before the game has ended, to fit into the post-game ceremonies. Therefore, the last minutes of the game are not taken into consideration when voting takes place.

Norm Smith Medallists

Year	Winner	Club	Notes
1979	Wayne Harmes	Carlton	Inaugural winner; great-nephew of Norm Smith
1980	Kevin Bartlett	Richmond
1981	Bruce Doull	Carlton
1982	Maurice Rioli	Richmond	First winner from losing team; first aboriginal winner
1983	Colin Robertson	Hawthorn
1984	Billy Duckworth	Essendon
1985	Simon Madden	Essendon
1986	Gary Ayres	Hawthorn
1987	David Rhys-Jones	Carlton
1988	Gary Ayres	Hawthorn	First multiple winner
1989	Gary Ablett, Sr.	Geelong	Won in a losing team; equalled record for most goals (9)
1990	Tony Shaw	Collingwood	First captain to win
1991	Paul Dear	Hawthorn
1992	Peter Matera	West Coast	First winner from a non-Victorian club
1993	Michael Long	Essendon
1994	Dean Kemp	West Coast
1995	Greg Williams	Carlton	First Brownlow Medallist to win
1996	Glenn Archer	North Melbourne
1997	Andrew McLeod	Adelaide
1998	Andrew McLeod	Adelaide	First consecutive winner
1999	Shannon Grant	North Melbourne
2000	James Hird	Essendon	Captain
2001	Shaun Hart	Brisbane
2002	Nathan Buckley	Collingwood	Team lost; captain
2003	Simon Black	Brisbane	Most possessions ever recorded in Grand Final
2004	Byron Pickett	Port Adelaide
2005	Chris Judd	West Coast	Team lost
2006	Andrew Embley	West Coast
2007	Steve Johnson	Geelong
2008	Luke Hodge	Hawthorn
2009	Paul Chapman	Geelong	Tied on votes with Jason Gram, but won with more maximum (3) votes.
2010	Lenny Hayes	St Kilda	Grand Final resulted in a draw.
2010 Replay	Scott Pendlebury	Collingwood	Second Norm Smith Medal awarded for the year
2011	Jimmy Bartel	Geelong

VFL/AFL Grand Final records

Individual Records

Most matches (player)	11: Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) 10: Gordon Coventry (Collingwood), Albert Collier (Collingwood), Dick Reynolds (Essendon), Bill Hutchison (Essendon)
Most matches (captain)	9: Dick Reynolds (Essendon) 5: John Nicholls (Carlton), Michael Tuck (Hawthorn)
Most matches (coach)	17: Jock McHale (Collingwood) 12: Dick Reynolds (Essendon) 11: Frank 'Checker' Hughes (Richmond/Melbourne) 10: Tom Hafey (Richmond/Collingwood)
Most matches (umpire)	10: Jack Elder (1908–22) 9: Ian Robinson(1973–87) 7: Bob Scott (1929–35), Henry 'Ivo' Crapp (1898–1905)
Most matches (player/coach)	20: Jock McHale (Collingwood) 17: Ron Barassi (Melbourne/Carlton/N Melbourne) 14: F 'Checker' Hughes (Richmond/Melbourne), Norm Smith (Melbourne) 14
Most wins (player)	7: Michael Tuck (Hawthorn) 6: Albert Collier (Collingwood), Harry Collier (Collingwood), Frank 'Bluey' Adams (Melbourne), Ron Barassi (Melbourne)
Most wins (captain)	4: Dick Reynolds (Essendon), Syd Coventry (Collingwood), Michael Tuck (Hawthorn)
Most wins (coach)	8: Jock McHale (Collingwood) 6: Norm Smith (Melbourne) 5: Jack Worrall (Carlton/Essendon), F 'Checker' Hughes (Richmond/Melbourne)
Most losses (player)	6: Jack Titus (Richmond) 5: Dick Reynolds (Essendon), Bill Hutchison (Essendon), Rene Kink (Collingwood/Essendon), Thomas O'Halloran (Richmond), Jack Dyer (Richmond), Jack Bissett (Richmond/South Melbourne)
Most losses (captain)	4: Dick Reynolds (Essendon) 3: Jack Bissett (South Melbourne), Jack Dyer (Richmond)
Most losses (coach)	9: Jock McHale (Collingwood) 7: Dick Reynolds (Essendon) 5: Allan Jeans (St Kilda/Hawthorn), Tom Hafey (Richmond/Collingwood)
First game in GF	Jack Prout (Essendon) 1908, Bill James (Richmond) 1920, George Rawle (Essendon) 1923, F 'Pop' Vine (Melbourne) 1926, Ken Batchelor (Collingwood) 1952
Most games before first GF	313: Paul Roos (Fitzroy/Sydney) 1996 304: Shane Crawford (Hawthorn) 2009 267: Marcus Ashcroft (Brisbane) 2001 255: Greg Wells (Melbourne/Carlton) 1981 248: Alastair Lynch (Fitzroy/Brisbane) 2001
Most goals	9: Gordon Coventry (Collingwood) 1928, Gary Ablett, Sr. (Geelong) 1989 8: Dermott Brereton (Hawthorn) 1985
Most behinds	10: Ron Todd (Collingwood) 1936 8: Bob Pratt (South Melbourne) 1933, John Hendrie (Hawthorn) 1976

Game records

Highest score	28.9 (177)	by Carlton vs Richmond 1972
Lowest score	1.7 (13)	by Richmond vs Collingwood 1927
Highest aggregate	327 points	Carlton vs Richmond 1972
Lowest aggregate	39 points	Collingwood vs Richmond 1937
Highest winning margin	119 points	by Geelong vs Port Adelaide 2007
Lowest winning margin	1 point	by Fitzroy vs South Melbourne 1899, by Carlton vs Essendon 1947, by St Kilda vs Collingwood 1966, by West Coast vs Sydney 2006
Drawn games	1948 1977 2010	Essendon vs Melbourne (Melbourne won replay) Collingwood vs North Melbourne (North Melbourne won replay) Collingwood vs St Kilda (Collingwood won replay)
Postponed games	1923	Essendon vs Fitzroy postponed one week due to bad weather
Highest attendance	121,696	Collingwood vs Carlton 1970
Lowest attendance	4,823	Fitzroy vs South Melbourne 1899
Highest score – 1st Qtr	8.4 (52)	by Hawthorn vs Geelong 1989, by Carlton vs Richmond 1972
Highest score – 2nd Qtr	10.2 (62)	by Carlton vs Richmond 1972
Highest score – 3rd Qtr	11.8 (74)	by Essendon vs Melbourne 1946
Highest score – 4th Qtr	11.3 (69)	by Essendon vs Hawthorn 1985

Attendance

The event has been sold out every year for decades and once drew a crowd of 121,696 spectators for Collingwood vs Carlton in 1970, primarily due to the presence of standing room (areas of the stadium without seats). However attendances have wavered due to redevelopment and reduced capacity of the main venue, the Melbourne Cricket Ground; being favoured by increased seating of approximately 110,000. AFL members and nominated members of the participating clubs are given first rights to tickets, as are Melbourne Cricket Club members.

The 2005 AFL Grand Final was watched by a television audience of more than 3.3 million people across five of Australia's most highly populated cities, including 1.2 million in Melbourne and 991,000 in Sydney. The worldwide audience has grown substantially to a potential 170 million viewers from 72 countries, although the actual audience is likely to be around 30 million.

The AFL Grand Final has been in the top five TV programmes across the five Australian mainland state capitals in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, and was the top-rating sports programme in both 2004 and 2005 and in 2005, AFL Grand Final related shows (Final, wrap up and pre-match) were the top 3 rating television programmes for the year. The program was second in the 2006 ratings after the coverage of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.

Australian metropolitan television viewers

NOTE: figures do not include regional viewers

Season	Date	Team 1	Team 2	Network	Viewers (metropolitan Australia)
2003	27 September	Brisbane	Collingwood	Network Ten	2,965,600
2004	25 September	Port Adelaide	Brisbane	Network Ten	2,796,000
2005	24 September	Sydney	West Coast	Network Ten	3,386,000
2006	30 September	Sydney	West Coast	Network Ten	3,145,000
2007	29 September	Geelong	Port Adelaide	Network Ten	2,563,000
2008	27 September	Geelong	Hawthorn	Seven Network	2,491,000
2009	26 September	St Kilda	Geelong	Network Ten	2,878,000
20101	25 September	Collingwood	St Kilda	Seven Network	2,768,000
	2 October				2,687,000
2011	1 October	Collingwood	Geelong	Network Ten	2,630,000

In the past (2007-2011) AFL domestic broadcast arrangement, Network Ten and the Seven Network had exclusive hosting rights for the decider with the 2007, 2009 and 2011 AFL Grand Final on Network Ten and the 2008 and 2010 deciders on the Seven Network. In the event of a Grand Final replay, the network that televised the first match will also broadcast the second match.

With the new television broadcasting deal announced in April 2011, the Seven Network have exclusive rights to televising the AFL Grand Final for the next five years (i.e. 2012 - 2016).

¹ Figures include both drawn Grand Final and Replay.

International telecasts

The AFL Grand Final is televised into many countries and grand final parties are held around the world. The following are television details for the 2009 AFL Grand Final.

• Papua New Guinea – EM TV, Australia Network (live)
• New Zealand – Sky Sport (live)
• Asia-Pacific – Australia Network (live) (includes China, Hong Kong/Macau, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Palau, Malaysia, Cambodia, Burma/Myanmar, Laos, Brunei, Fiji, Western Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Timor-Leste(East Timor), Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Micronesia, Kiribati)

• Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan) – Australia Network (live)
• Middle East – Australia Network and Showtime Arabia (ShowSports) (live)
• Israel – Fox Sports Israel (live)

• North America
• United States – ESPN3.com and ESPN2 (live), MHz Worldview (delayed).
• Canada – TSN (live).

• United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland – ESPN UK (live)
• Spain – Canal+ Spain (live/delayed coverage to be confirmed)
• ALL of Europe – Eurosport 2 (live/delayed coverage to be confirmed)
• Africa – ESPN International (Pan-Africa channel) (live)
• Latin America and Caribbean – ESPN International (to be confirmed)

See also

• Grand Final
• Australian Football League
• Early VFL Final systems
• McIntyre System
• AFL finals system
• List of Australian Football League premiers
• One Day in September (song)

External links

Media related to AFL Grand Final at Wikimedia Commons

• Grand Final Day video
• 2009 AFL Finals Live Stream details