text:
AFL Grand Final
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
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 (then) all 16 AFL clubs.
Locale
Melbourne, Victoria
First meeting
24 September 1898
Latest meeting
30 September 2017
Next meeting
29 September 2018
Broadcasters
Seven Network (1977–1986; 1988–2001; 2008; 2010; 2012–present)
Network Ten (2002–2007; 2009; 2011)
SportsPlay (1987)
ABC (1987)
Stadiums
Melbourne Cricket Ground (1902–1941; 1946–1990; 1992–present)
Waverley Park (1991)
Princes Park (1942–1943; 1945)
Junction Oval (1898–1899; 1944)
Lake Oval (1901)
East Melbourne (1900)
Statistics
Meetings total
121
Most wins
Carlton (16) Essendon (16)
[1]
Largest victory
Geelong 24.19.163 def Port Adelaide 6.8.44, 2007
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September or the first Saturday in October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, to determine the Australian Football League (AFL) premiers 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 Victorian Football League 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,[2] with the largest attendance, metropolitan television audience and overall interest of any annual Australian sporting event.
The winning club of the grand final receives the AFL's premiership cup and the premiership flag. All players in the winning team receive a gold premiership medallion.
Every club has played in the grand final, with the exception of the two recent expansion clubs, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, and two former clubs, the Brisbane Bears and the short-lived University.
Contents
[hide]
1 Game history
1.1 1897–1901: Origins
1.2 1902–1914: MCG move
1.3 1915–1930: World War I and the end of the challenge final system
1.4 1931–1939: New finals system and start of a golden age
1.5 1940–1953: World War II and after
1.6 1954–1961: Melbourne Olympic Games and ticketing
1.7 1962–1983: Second golden age
1.8 1982–1999: National team competition
1.9 21st century
2 Notable grand finals
3 Qualification and prize
3.1 Flag
3.2 Trophies
3.3 Prize money
3.4 Brownlow Medal
3.5 Grand final parade
3.6 Pre-match entertainment
3.7 Halftime and post-match entertainment
3.8 Sprint race
4 Venue and schedule
5 Numbering of grand finals
6 Individual awards
6.1 Norm Smith Medal
6.2 Other awards
7 Grand final records
8 Audience
8.1 Attendance
8.2 Australian metropolitan television viewers
8.3 International telecasts
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
Game history[edit]
See also: Grand final
1897–1901: Origins[edit]
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 19th century, Australian football competition adopted the approach that the team on top of the ladder at the end of the home-and-away series 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 second finals format was ultimately discarded by the VFL after the unsatisfactory conclusion to the 1900 VFL season, where Melbourne won the premiership after having finished sixth out of the eight teams after the home-and-away season (ahead of Carlton and St Kilda) with a record of 6-8.
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 first four grand finals were scattered around various Melbourne venues: one at Albert Park, two at St Kilda's Junction Oval and one at the 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[edit]
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.
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[edit]
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.
There was no grand final in 1924; a once-off finals system was trialled, in which the top four contested a round robin, with the top team from the round robin to face the minor premiers in a grand final if required; but, when minor premiers Essendon also won the round robin, no grand final was staged.[3]
The league reverted to the "amended Argus system" for 1925, when the grand final attracted a new record crowd of 64,288: the match was Geelong's first VFL premiership win, and a huge contingent from Victoria's second city descended on the MCG to watch their team make history. From 1927 until 1930, Collingwood won four premierships in a row, which remains the league record.
In 1927, 1928 and 1930, the biggest crowd of the year was again drawn to the semi final and not to the grand final. This, coupled with the perception that the minor premier could find losing its semi-final to be advantageous, resulted in the league abandoning the amended Argus system after 1931, replacing it with the Page–McIntyre system.[4]
1931–1939: New finals system and start of a golden age[edit]
The Page playoff 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[edit]
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 1945, and at St Kilda's Junction Oval in 1944 when Fitzroy won its last premiership on the second 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.
So when the MCG was finally relinquished by the government in August 1946, there was great expectation in the buildup 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 and Demons play the first draw in grand final history. Melbourne won the replay 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[edit]
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 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.
1962–1983: Second golden age[edit]
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 to date by four points. Two years later, in arguably one of the most famous grand finals 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 is commonly referred to as the greatest of all-time, the 1970 grand final saw Carlton come back from a 44-point half time deficit to beat Collingwood; it 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 the memorable 1977 grand final, North Melbourne came from 27 points down at three quarter time to play the second drawn grand final in history (the first since 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.[5]
By the start of the early 1980s, Collingwood had lost eight grand finals in a row since winning its 1958 premiership. The term "Colliwobbles" began to be used at this time to describe the team's inability to win grand finals.
1982–1999: National team competition[edit]
The 1980s saw a sustained period of dominance by Hawthorn, who appeared in every grand final from 1983 to 1989, winning four of them in 1983, 1986, and back to back in 1988 and in 1989 contest. The 1989 Grand Final, a high scoring and very physical encounter in which Hawthorn defeated Geelong by six points, is considered to be one of the greatest of all time.
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. Between 1992 and 2006, non-Victorian clubs won ten out of fifteen premierships. The first club to achieve the feat was West Coast in 1992 and 1994, and Adelaide won back-to-back premierships in 1997 and 1998. North Melbourne was the only other club to win two grand finals in the 1990s, 1996 and 1999 respectively, as no team dominated the era.
21st century[edit]
Cameron Mooney (No. 21) lines up for goal in the 2008 AFL Grand Final against Hawthorn
Between 2001 and 2003, the Brisbane Lions won three consecutive grand finals, with its nine-point win against Collingwood in 2002 the closest of the three matches. In 2004, Port Adelaide defeated Brisbane Lions in the first grand final ever played between two non-Victorian teams. The 2005 and 2006 grand finals were played between Sydney and West Coast, with each winning one premiership by less than a goal; the 2005 match is remembered for the strong defensive mark taken by Sydney's Leo Barry in the dying seconds.
Sydney Swans supporters celebrate a goal at the 2006 AFL Grand Final
The years 2007 to 2011 saw a dominant Geelong appear in four out of five grand finals, winning three premierships. The only match to not feature Geelong was in 2010, when Collingwood and St Kilda played the third draw in grand final history, with Collingwood winning the subsequent replay by 56 points.
After 2011, Hawthorn established itself as a dominant force, finishing runners up to Sydney in 2012 then winning the 2013, 2014 and 2015 premierships against Fremantle, Sydney and West Coast.
On 19 April 2016, the AFL announced that drawn grand finals will be resolved by the use of two five minute extra time periods, with the siren not being sounded to end the second period until the tie is broken, abolishing the use of a full replay.[6]
Notable grand finals[edit]
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. The match is generally considered to have initiated the long-standing rivalry between the two clubs.
1913 – Playing in their first grand final, St Kilda struggled, kicking 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 draw.
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.
1927 – Collingwood defeated Richmond in atrocious conditions, 2.13 (25) to 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 goals in three seasons. Without him the Swans lost to Collingwood by 20 points, despite having as many scoring shots as the Magpies.
1945 – Known as 'the bloodbath', the game was marred by constant brawling and fighting. Carlton defeated South Melbourne 15.13 (103) to 10.15 (75); ten players were reported and received a combined 73 weeks of suspension.
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 been badly beaten by Melbourne only two weeks earlier held sway in an 18-point victory over Melbourne to deny the Demons a fourth consecutive premiership, successfully defending their club's record of four consecutive premierships.
1960 – After an historic six consecutive years at the top of the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season, Melbourne won their 5th premiership in seven 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).
1961 – In their first ever grand final, Hawthorn defeated Footscray to claim their first VFL/AFL premiership. This was, until 2016, the last Grand Final for the Bulldogs.
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 first and to date only premiership in its history.
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 first ever grand final to be televised live resulted in a draw between North Melbourne and Collingwood. In a grand final replay the following week, North Melbourne was victorious.
1979 – Carlton defeats Collingwood by five points. Wayne Harmes (Carlton) was awarded the inaugural Norm Smith Medal as best on field; Harmes famously tapped the ball from the boundary line to the goal square for his teammate, Ken Sheldon, to kick the winning goal.
1982 – Maurice Rioli (Richmond) became the first player to win the Norm Smith Medal despite being on the losing team.
1989 – The grand final between Hawthorn and Geelong was one of the closest and hardest fought in years, and nicknamed the "Battle of '89". Noted for its toughness, the game saw injuries and incidents involving Dermott Brereton (famously knocked out by a solid shirtfront from Mark Yeates but continued to play) and Robert DiPierdomenico (played three quarters with a punctured lung), and many players were hospitalised after the game.
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 VFL Park.
1992 – West Coast became the first non-Victorian team to win a premiership, defeating Geelong by 28 points.
1996 – North Melbourne defeat the Sydney Swans and receive the only gold-coloured premiership cup in history when the league commemorates the AFL/VFL's 100th season.
1998 – In defeating North Melbourne, Adelaide won back-to-back premierships in their second year under Malcolm Blight, becoming first club in modern times[7] to win the premiership after finishing lower than fourth on the premiership ladder after the home-and-away season. Andrew McLeod won the Norm Smith Medal for the second consecutive year, the first to achieve the feat.
2003 – Brisbane defeated Collingwood by 50 points to win its third premiership in a row, the first club to achieve the feat since Melbourne in 1955–1957, and the first interstate club to achieve this.
2004 – Port Adelaide defeated Brisbane by 40 points in the first grand final not to include a Victorian team.
2005 – Sydney defeated West Coast by four points in a tight, low scoring game to win their first premiership since 1933 (when they were South Melbourne), ending a record drought of 72 years. A late, game-saving pack mark in defence by Leo Barry became an iconic finals moment.
2006 – West Coast defeated Sydney by one point in a match similar to the previous year. This continued a run of very close games between the two clubs and mirrored the qualifying final result a month earlier.
2007 – Geelong defeated Port Adelaide by a grand final record margin of 119 points to win their first premiership since 1963.
2010 – The grand final between St Kilda and Collingwood was drawn, the third drawn grand final in VFL/AFL history. Collingwood won the grand final replay the following week by 56 points, breaking a 20-year premiership drought in the process.
2015 – Hawthorn became just the second club in the modern era to win three premierships in a row, defeating the West Coast Eagles in the hottest conditions ever recorded for a VFL/AFL grand final.
2016 – The Western Bulldogs (Footscray) appeared in their first grand final since 1961 against the Sydney Swans, winning three consecutive finals from a record seventh position on the ladder to progress through to the grand final. The Western Bulldogs defeated the Sydney Swans by 22 points, winning their first premiership since 1954.
2017 - Richmond won their first finals match since 2001 in the qualifying final against Geelong, going on to defeat Greater Western Sydney to make their first grand final since 1982. The Tigers would go on to break a 37-year premiership drought with a 48-point win against favourites Adelaide.
Qualification and prize[edit]
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.
Flag[edit]
Carlton Football Club hoist the 1906 VFL premiership flag at Princes Park in 1907
The premiers are 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 reflected in football parlance, in which speaking of a team winning the flag rather than the cup is much more common: this is possibly the result of history, as the presentation of a flag first occurred in 1895 when the VFA recognised Fitzroy's first premiership win, while the cup was not introduced until 1959 (retrospective cups were awarded by the AFL in 2010 for VFL/AFL premierships in 1897 to 1958).
Trophies[edit]
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 recognition of the AFL/VFL's 100th season) and manufactured by Cash's International at their metalworks in Frankston, Victoria.
The cup was first introduced in 1959 by the VFL, and the AFL has since retrospectively awarded all prior premiership winners trophies based on the current design. Before the 1960s, premiership players received a personal premiership trophy instead of a medallion.
The premier is also recorded on the perpetual E. L. Wilson Shield, which resides at AFL House.[8] The shield, inaugurated in 1929, was named after Edwin Lionel Wilson, who was the secretary of the Victorian Football League from its inception in 1897 until his retirement in 1929. It was initially discontinued after 1978, when there was no room remaining on the shield for more teams.
In 2016, the shield was rediscovered under a stairwell at AFL House. It was refurbished, with extra space being added to bring the shield up to date, and it was reintroduced as a premiership trophy.[9]
Prize money[edit]
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,[10] which had not increased significantly for many years and barely covered the cost of participation in the finals series.
Brownlow Medal[edit]
Main article: Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal, is the medal awarded to the "fairest and best" 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[edit]
Since 1977, a traditional grand final parade featuring the players from each team has been held around midday on the Friday before each grand final. The parade was adopted from a tradition which had begun decades earlier in the amateur VAFA, and it became increasingly popular during the 1980s.
From its inception until 2014, the parade was based in the Melbourne city centre, usually proceeding from St Kilda Road along the city's main thoroughfares Swanston Street, turning into Collins Street, and ending at the steps outside the Old Treasury Building. The parade featured the players from the competing sides. The players have in the past appeared on parade floats; in recent times it has become a motorcade of open-top vehicles (weather permitting).[11]
When the Friday of the parade was declared a public holiday in Victoria in 2015, the AFL determined that the traditional city route no longer made sense with most office buildings set to be vacant. The new route will begin at the Old Treasury Building, head south down Spring St, east along Wellington Parade, and end within Yarra Park outside the MCG.[12]
Since 2007, the parades have generally attracted in excess of 100,000 fans each year (except in inclement weather).[13][14] Crowds have historically been smaller in years when no Victorian clubs contested the grand final – such as between 2004 and 2006, when crowds ranged only from 40,000 to 75,000.[15][16][17] A record crowd of 150,000 people attended the first public holiday parade in 2015.[18]
Some of the estimated seventy five thousand people who lined the streets of Melbourne for the 2006 AFL Grand Final parade
Pre-match entertainment[edit]
See also: List of AFL Grand Final pre-match performances
West Coast Eagles and Sydney Swans players lining up for the national anthem at the 2005 AFL Grand Final.
Over the years many big Australian and international stars have performed or appeared as pre-match entertainment at the grand final. The game has often been criticised for poor pre-game entertainment; in particular, performances by Angry Anderson in 1991 and Meat Loaf in 2011 have been singled out as poor performances by the entertainers involved.[19][20]
Each team's club song is performed live as part of the pre-match entertainment (with the recorded version also played as the team enters the field, in the traditional fashion). For a time, many or all of a selection of traditional football and Australian songs (Up There Cazaly, One Day in September, That's the Thing About Football, Holy Grail and Waltzing Matilda) were performed each year, although this has fallen out of favour.
Advance Australia Fair is performed when teams and the umpires are on the field, and lined up on the wing.
Halftime and post-match entertainment[edit]
The 2012 AFL Grand Final and 2013 AFL Grand Final, in addition to having pre-match entertainment, also included half-time and post-match entertainment. The post-match entertainment that follows the grand final takes place after the presentations and player celebrations have concluded, and unlike the main match, is free and open to the general public, with anybody invited to attend, regardless of whether they attended the match or not.[21] As of 2012, the half-time and post-match shows are sponsored by Virgin Australia, with the half-time show known as the Virgin Australia Half-Time Show and the post-match shown named the Virgin Australia Premiership Party as a result.[22] In 2012, the half-time and post-match entertainment was provided by Paul Kelly and The Temper Trap, while in 2013, this consisted of Hunters and Collectors and Birds of Tokyo.[23]
Half-time entertainment was absent from the 2014 AFL Grand Final, with the entertainment occurring pre-match. However, it retained the post-match entertainment concert, which featured Tom Jones and Ed Sheeran.[24] This was repeated for the 2015 AFL Grand Final, with Ellie Goulding and Bryan Adams providing both pre-match and post-match entertainment, and Chris Isaak providing pre-match entertainment alone.
Sprint race[edit]
The 2015 Grand Final sprint as the competitors cross the finish line. Majak Daw of North Melbourne was the winner.
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 100 m 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 from 1988 to 2001 but was reintroduced in 2002 (along with a goalkicking contest, which only lasted one year). With the number of league clubs having grown to 16 during the break in competition, a new format was adopted with the players now split into two groups of eight for the heats (held before the grand final), with the top four 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; however this was not used in the 2014 Grand Final.
Year Sprint winner Football club
1979 Geoff Ablett Hawthorn
1980 Geoff Ablett Hawthorn
1981 Geoff Ablett Hawthorn
1982 Michael Conlan Fitzroy
1983 Frank Marchesani Carlton
1984 Douglas Cox Essendon
1985 Geoff Ablett St Kilda
1986 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1987 Russell Richards Melbourne
1988 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1989 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1990 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1991 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1992 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1993 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1994 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1995 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1996 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1997 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1998 Sprint not held Sprint not held
1999 Sprint not held Sprint not held
2000 Sprint not held Sprint not held
2001 Sprint not held Sprint not held
2002 Jared Crouch Sydney
2003 James Walker Fremantle
2004 James Walker Fremantle
2005 Brett Deledio Richmond
2006 Brendan Fevola Carlton
2007 Jake King Richmond
2008 Matthew White Richmond
2009 Rhys Stanley St Kilda
2010 Luke Miles St Kilda
2011 Patrick Dangerfield Adelaide
2012 Patrick Dangerfield Adelaide
2013 Patrick Dangerfield Adelaide
2014 Jordan Murdoch Geelong
2015 Majak Daw North Melbourne
2016 James Shirley Murrumbeena
2017 Connor Menadue Richmond
Venue and schedule[edit]
The 2010 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The grand final has always been played in Melbourne on a Saturday afternoon, and all but nine have been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The venues used on the other nine occasions were:
St Kilda Cricket Ground – 1898, 1899 and 1944 (due to the MCG housing US troops during World War II)
East Melbourne Cricket Ground – 1900
South Melbourne Cricket Ground – 1901
Princes Park – 1942, 1943 and 1945 (due to the MCG housing US troops during World War II)
Waverley Park – 1991 (due to construction work on the Great Southern Stand at the MCG)
Under an agreement between the Melbourne Cricket Club, the MCG Trust, the AFL and the Victorian State Government, the AFL Grand Final will be played at the MCG every year until at least 2037.
The Grand Final has traditionally been played on the last Saturday in September each year, and is often referred to in popular Australian culture as the "One day in September".
In this regard, 24 Grand Finals have been played in October (most recently in 2016), and 10 Grand Finals have been played on another Saturday in September (most recently in 2000 to avoid a clash with the Sydney Olympics).
In 2015, the Friday before the grand final became a gazetted public holiday in Victoria, following an election promise by the incoming state government, under the premiership of Daniel Andrews.[25]
Numbering of grand finals[edit]
Officially, the AFL 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 1897 and 1924, as the finals systems in use in those seasons allowed the premiership to be awarded after a round-robin finals tournament without a grand final being required.
Under the finals system in use from 1898 to 1900 and the Argus finals systems in use from 1902 to 1923 and 1925 to 1930, "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 1899, 1904, 1906–08, 1911, 1918 and 1927–28, the minor premiers also won the knock-out phase, meaning that they were awarded the premiership without a true grand final being required. In these cases, the last knock-out match has been retrospectively considered to be the grand final.
There were three grand final replays played after drawn grand finals: these occurred in 1948, 1977 and 2010. In 2016, the AFL replaced grand final replays with two five-minute halves of extra time, followed by an untimed third period of golden point extra time if required.
Individual awards[edit]
Norm Smith Medal[edit]
Luke Hodge, 2008 and 2014 Norm Smith medalist. Hodge is one of just three players to have won multiple Norm Smith medals, along with Gary Ayres and Andrew McLeod.
For a complete description, and a list of winners, see Norm Smith Medal.
The Norm Smith Medal is presented to the player judged as best on the ground during the grand final by a panel of experts. The award is named in honour of Melbourne premiership player and coach Norm Smith, who died in 1973. It was first awarded in 1979, to Carlton's Wayne Harmes, a great nephew of Smith. In time the award has come to carry great prestige as an individual prize.
Other awards[edit]
The coach of the winning team receives the Jock McHale Medal, named in honour of Collingwood coach Jock McHale who holds the record of winning eight premierships as coach. The medal was first awarded in 2001, and was retrospectively awarded to all premiership-winning coaches starting from 1950, the first season after McHale's retirement from coaching.
The leading goalkicker or goalkickers in the grand final receive the Jack Collins Medal, named after Jack Collins who kicked seven goals in Footscray's grand final victory in 1954. The award was first presented by the AFL Premiership Players' Club in 2010,[26] and was also awarded retrospectively to leading goalkickers from previous grand finals.[27]
Grand final records[edit]
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) Brett Rosebury 2009, 2010 + replay, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015
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 Harry 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) 2008
293: Paul Williams (Collingwood/Sydney) 2005
290: Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle) 2013
281: Matthew Boyd (Western Bulldogs) 2016
Most Norm Smith Medals[note 1] 2: Gary Ayres (Hawthorn), Andrew McLeod (Adelaide), Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
Most possessions in a match 39: Simon Black (Brisbane) 2003
37: Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide) 2007, Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn) 2014
36: Geoff Raines (Richmond) 1980, Robert Harvey (St Kilda) 1997, Peter Burgoyne (Port Adelaide) 2007
35: Daryn Cresswell (Sydney) 1996, Luke Hodge (Hawthorn) 2014
Most goals 35: Gordon Coventry (Collingwood)
25: Dermott Brereton (Hawthorn)
23: Jason Dunstall (Hawthorn), Jack Mueller (Melbourne)
Most goals in a match 9: Gordon Coventry (Collingwood) 1928, Gary Ablett, Sr. (Geelong) 1989
8: Dermott Brereton (Hawthorn) 1985
Most goals in a quarter 5: Darren Jarman (Adelaide) 1997-4Q
Most behinds in a match 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 38 points Collingwood vs Richmond 1927
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
Biggest comeback – Quarter time 29 by Carlton vs Collingwood 1970
Biggest comeback – Half time 44 by Carlton vs Collingwood 1970
Biggest comeback – Three Quarter time 23 by Essendon vs Hawthorn 1984
Biggest comeback – Overall 44 by Carlton vs Collingwood 1970
Premiership from lowest ladder position 7th by Western Bulldogs vs Sydney 2016
Audience[edit]
Attendance[edit]
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.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30]
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[edit]
NOTE: OzTAM figures for five-city metropolitan audience (SYD-MEL-BRI-ADE-PER), does not include regional viewers
Season Date Winning team Runner-up Network Viewers (metropolitan Australia)
2003 27 September Brisbane Collingwood Network Ten 2,965,600[31]
2004 25 September Port Adelaide Brisbane Network Ten 2,796,000[32]
2005 24 September Sydney West Coast Network Ten 3,386,000[29]
2006 30 September West Coast Sydney Network Ten 3,145,000[33]
2007 29 September Geelong Port Adelaide Network Ten 2,563,000[34]
2008 27 September Hawthorn Geelong Seven Network 2,491,000[35]
2009 26 September Geelong St Kilda Network Ten 2,878,000[36]
20101 25 September Collingwood St Kilda Seven Network 2,768,000[37]
2 October 2,687,000[38]
2011 1 October Geelong Collingwood Network Ten 2,641,000[39]
2012 29 September Sydney Hawthorn Seven Network 3,196,000[40]
2013 28 September Hawthorn Fremantle Seven Network 2,717,000[41]
2014 27 September Hawthorn Sydney Seven Network 2,813,000[42]
2015 3 October Hawthorn West Coast Seven Network 2,640,000[43]
2016 1 October Western Bulldogs Sydney Seven Network 3,030,000[44]
2017 30 September Richmond Tigers Adelaide Crows Seven Network 2,680,000[45]
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 would 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[edit]
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.[46]
Papua New Guinea – EM TV, Australia Plus (live)
New Zealand – Sky Sport (live) and Freeview (live)
Asia-Pacific – Australia Plus (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 Plus and Showtime Arabia (ShowSports) (live)
Israel – Fox Sports Israel (live)
North America[47]
United States – ESPN3.com and ESPN2 (live), MHz Worldview (delayed).
Canada – TSN (live).
United Kingdom and Ireland – ESPN UK (live)
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[edit]
Australian rules football portal
Grand final
Australian Football League
AFL finals series
McIntyre System
AFL final eight system
List of Australian Football League premiers
One Day in September (song)
AFL Women's Grand Final
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ The Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the Grand Final was first awarded in 1979
References[edit]
Jump up ^ http://afltables.com/afl/teams/allteams/grandfinals.html
Jump up ^ http://www.convictcreations.com/football/battlestats.html
Jump up ^ Rodgers, Stephen (1992), Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results, 1897–1991 (3rd ed.), Ringwood, VIC: Viking O'Neil
Jump up ^ "League Football – Premiership Rounds – New System Adopted". The Argus. 25 April 1931. p. 20.
Jump up ^ Manuka Oval – History
Jump up ^ Twomey, Callum. "No more Grand Final replays". Australian Football League. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
Jump up ^ Melbourne won the premiership after finishing sixth after the fourteen-game home-and-away season in 1900, qualifying for the semi-finals after a strong performance in the three-week sectional round robin that followed the home-and-away season.
Jump up ^ "Well known men amongst footballers". Football Record (Round 1): 13. 1930.
Jump up ^ Gilbert Gardiner (1 September 2016). "Old tradition returns". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. p. 69.
Jump up ^ Butler, Steve (29 October 2005). "West Coast says premiership prize is inadequate". The West Australian.
Jump up ^ Scott, Edwina (25 September 2009). "Thousands flock to AFL Grand Final parade".
Jump up ^ Peter Rolfe (13 May 2015). "AFL Grand Final parade route to finish at MCG". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
Jump up ^ Ten of thousands fans gather for Australia Football League grand final parade
Jump up ^ Hunter, Thomas (25 September 2009). "Fans brave rain to watch grand final parade – RFNews – theage.com.au". The Age. Melbourne.
Jump up ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
Jump up ^ Grand final parade takes over Melbourne's streets – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Archived 7 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ "City of Melbourne, Events Melbourne Branch, 2005/2006 Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2007.
Jump up ^ "Record crowd for AFL grand final parade". Yahoo!7. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
Jump up ^ Grand folly
Jump up ^ Ralph, Jon (28 October 2011). "AFL says Meat Loaf 'just couldn't sing' at grand final performance". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
Jump up ^ http://www.afl.com.au/greatness/premiership-party
Jump up ^ http://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/about-us/media/2013/VA_AFL_FIVE_YEAR_PSHIP/
Jump up ^ http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-grand-final-2013-entertainment-headlined-by-local-acts-20130902-2sztb.html
Jump up ^ http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-09-01/tom-jones-to-star-on-gf-stage
Jump up ^ Sherine Conyers (19 August 2015). "AFL grand final eve now a public holiday in Victoria". Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
Jump up ^ Ross Lewis (9 May 2012). "Lewie's List: Curious AFL prizes". The West Australian. Perth, WA.
Jump up ^ Jon Anderson (21 April 2011). "Scott Russell steps up again on the main stage". Herald Sun. Melbourne. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
Jump up ^ "A Short History of the MCG". Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
^ Jump up to: a b "Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E)" (PDF). OzTam. 18–24 September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2008.
Jump up ^ Grand final's free kick to economy a tough call
Jump up ^ "Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E)" (PDF). OzTam. 21–27 September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2006.
Jump up ^ "Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E)" (PDF). OzTam. 19–25 September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 August 2006.
Jump up ^ "Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E)" (PDF). OzTam. 24–30 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2006.
Jump up ^ "Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E)" (PDF). OzTam. 23–29 September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2008.
Jump up ^ Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E) 21–27 September 2008, OzTam.
Jump up ^ Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E) 20–26 September 2009, OzTam.
Jump up ^ Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E) 19–25 September 2010, OzTam.
Jump up ^ Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E) 26 September-2 October 2010, OzTam.
Jump up ^ Top 20 Programs – Ranking Report (E) 25 September-1 October 2011, OzTam.
Jump up ^ Grand final TV: AFL beats out the NRL
Jump up ^ Saturday 28 September Ratings List
Jump up ^ Saturday 27 September Ratings List
Jump up ^ 2.64m as AFL Grand Final leads 2015 ratings
Jump up ^ AFL Grand Final tops 3 million
Jump up ^ "AFL Grand Final tops TV year". TV Tonight. 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
Jump up ^ International Broadcast Partners Archived 26 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ AFL and ESPN in U.S./Canada TV Rights deal
External links[edit]
Media related to AFL Grand Final at Wikimedia Commons
Grand Final Day video
2009 AFL Finals Live Stream details
[show]
v
t
e
Victorian/Australian Football League seasons
VFL seasons
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
AFL seasons
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
[show]
v
t
e
Victorian/Australian Football League Grand Finals
VFL Grand Finals
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
AFL Grand Finals
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
[show]
v
t
e
Events in the Melbourne City Centre
Note: this includes events held in the Melbourne City Centre and its immediate surrounds, not the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area
Summer
All: Summer Fun in the City of Melbourne
December: Australian Dancesport Championships
Boxing Day Test
Carols by Candlelight
Myer Christmas Parade
January: Australian Open
Midsumma Festival
Melbourne International Boat Show
One Day International Cricket
February: St Kilda Festival
Herald Sun Tour
White Night festivals
Autumn
March: Australian Grand Prix
Coates Hire Melbourne 400
Melbourne Fashion Festival
Melbourne Food and Wine Festival
Moomba Waterfest
Melbourne Queer Film Festival
April: ANZAC Day parade
AFL ANZAC Day clash
Logie Awards
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show
May: Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival
Logie Awards
Winter
All: Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series
June: AFL Queen's Birthday clash
Melbourne International Animation Festival
Australian International Motor Show
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
July: State of Design Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
Open House Melbourne
Run Melbourne
August: Melbourne Day
Melbourne Underground Film Festival
Melbourne Writers Festival
Craft Cubed
Spring
September: AFL Grand Final
Melbourne Fringe Festival
Melbourne International Festival of Brass
Royal Melbourne Show
Melbourne Spring Fashion Week
October: Around the Bay in a Day
Melbourne Festival
Melbourne Marathon Festival
Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival
Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
November: Head of the Yarra
Melbourne Cup Carnival
City2Sea
Coordinates: 37°49′12″S 144°59′00″E / 37.82000°S 144.98333°E / -37.82000; 144.98333
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AFL_Grand_Final&oldid=815474207"
Categories:
Festivals in Melbourne
Australian Football League
VFL/AFL Grand Finals
Sport in Melbourne
Annual sporting events in Australia
Recurring sporting events established in 1898
1898 establishments in Australia
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Spring (season) events in Australia
Hidden categories:
Webarchive template wayback links
Use dmy dates from September 2012
Use Australian English from September 2012
All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
Coordinates not on Wikidata
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikimedia Commons
Languages
Français
한국어
日本語
Simple English
Edit links
This page was last edited on 15 December 2017, at 01:27.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

key: html

type: local

value: div

attrs: id class

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

value: a

attrs: id class lang

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

values: jump-to-nav mw-jump

value: caption

value: img

attrs: alt src width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

attrs: href class

value: td

attrs: colspan style

value: tr

value: th

attrs: href title

values: text-align:center;border-top: #aaa 1px solid;

values:
/wiki/Australian_culture
mw-redirect
Australian culture

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

values:
/wiki/Page%E2%80%93McIntyre_system
mw-redirect
Page–McIntyre system

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

values:
/wiki/England_national_cricket_team
mw-redirect
England national cricket team

values: Edit section: 1940–1953: World War II and after

attrs: alt src width height class srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: Edit section: 1954–1961: Melbourne Olympic Games and ticketing

values: Edit section: 1962–1983: Second golden age

values: Edit section: 1982–1999: National team competition

values: Mark Yeates (Australian rules footballer)

values:
/wiki/Victorian_Football_Association
mw-redirect
Victorian Football Association

values:
/wiki/Fairest_and_best
mw-redirect
Fairest and best

values:
/wiki/Swanston_Street
mw-redirect
Swanston Street

attrs: alt src width height class data-file-width data-file-height

values: List of AFL Grand Final pre-match performances

values: Edit section: Halftime and post-match entertainment

values:
/wiki/Hunters_and_Collectors
mw-redirect
Hunters and Collectors

values:
/wiki/Douglas_Cox_(footballer)
mw-redirect
Douglas Cox (footballer)

values: James Shirley (footballer) (page does not exist)

values:
/wiki/Knock_out_tournament
mw-redirect
Knock out tournament

values:
/wiki/Bill_Hutchison_(footballer)
mw-redirect
Bill Hutchison (footballer)

values:
/wiki/Ian_Robinson_(AFL_umpire)
mw-redirect
Ian Robinson (AFL umpire)

values:
/wiki/Henry_%27Ivo%27_Crapp
mw-redirect
Henry 'Ivo' Crapp

values:
/wiki/Frank_%27Bluey%27_Adams
mw-redirect
Frank 'Bluey' Adams

values:
/wiki/Jack_Bissett
mw-redirect
Jack Bissett

values: Paul Williams (Australian rules footballer)

values:
/wiki/Gary_Ablett,_Sr.
mw-redirect
Gary Ablett, Sr.

values: margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;

values: List of Australian television ratings for 2002 (page does not exist)

values: List of Australian television ratings for 2003 (page does not exist)

values: List of Australian television ratings for 2004 (page does not exist)

values: List of Australian television ratings for 2005 (page does not exist)

values: List of Australian television ratings for 2006 (page does not exist)

values: 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony

values: Edit section: Australian metropolitan television viewers

values: Sommet Sports (New Zealand) (page does not exist)

values:
/wiki/Australia_Network
mw-redirect
Australia Network

values: display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle

values: margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em;border:solid #aaa 1px

values: List of Australian Football League premiers

values:
reflist mw-references-wrap
list-style-type: decimal;

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values: nowraplinks collapsible collapsed navbox-inner

values: nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values:
row
navbox-group
width:1%;text-align:right; width:6%;

values: Summer Fun in the City of Melbourne (page does not exist)

values: Australian Dancesport Championships (page does not exist)

values: Melbourne International Boat Show (page does not exist)

values:
/wiki/Logie_Award
mw-redirect
Logie Award

values: Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

values: Melbourne International Animation Festival

values: State of Design Festival (page does not exist)

values: Melbourne International Festival of Brass

values: Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (page does not exist)

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner

values: Maps, aerial photos, and other data for this location

values: Category:Annual sporting events in Australia

values: Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1898

values: Category:1898 establishments in Australia

values: Category:Spring (season) events in Australia

values: Category:Webarchive template wayback links

values: Category:Use dmy dates from September 2012

values: Category:Use Australian English from September 2012

values: Category:All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/AFL_Grand_Final
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values: List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [ctrl-alt-j]

values: Recent changes in pages linked from this page [ctrl-alt-k]

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard
Upload files [ctrl-alt-u]
u

values: A list of all special pages [ctrl-alt-q]

values: Permanent link to this revision of the page

values: Link to connected data repository item [ctrl-alt-g]

values: Printable version of this page [ctrl-alt-p]

values: portal navigation p-wikibase-otherprojects p-wikibase-otherprojects-label

values:
uls-settings-trigger
Language settings
0
button
true

values: /static/images/wikimedia-button-1.5x.png 1.5x, /static/images/wikimedia-button-2x.png 2x

values: /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /static/images/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x

values:
suggestions
display: none; font-size: 13px;

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-AFL_Grand_Final rootpage-AFL_Grand_Final skin-vector action-view