AFL Grand Final
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The AFL Grand Final is the annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year.
The AFL Grand Final has become culturally significant to Australia, spawning a number of traditions and surrounding activities which have grown in popularity since the VFL/AFL went national in the 1980s. In 2006, the Sweeney Sports Report concluded that the AFL Grand Final became Australia's most important sporting event[1], with the largest attendance, television audience and overall interest of any annual Australian sporting event.
With an official attendance of 97,431 at the 2006 AFL Grand Final[2], is also the largest domestic club championship event in the world.
Contents |
[edit] Audience
The event has been sold out every year for decades and has in the past drawn crowds of over 120,000 spectators however attendances have wavered due to re-development and reduced capacity of the main venue, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. AFL members and nominated members of the participating clubs are given first rights to tickets, as are Melbourne Cricket Club members. It is usually MCC members, with exclusive rights to the members area, that prevent the venue from being filled to capacity (100,000 people).
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[3] and a worldwide audience of over 30 million people.[4]
The AFL Grand Final has been in the top 5 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. As of October the program is second in the 2006 ratings after the coverage of the 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.
[edit] 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 is awarded the McClelland Trophy. The winner is presented with the AFL premiership cup and each victorious player is presented with a premiership medallion. The premiers are also awarded the premiership flag, a large pennant which is unfurled at the premiers' first home game of the following season. 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 ('Adelaide will win the flag this year', never 'Adelaide will win the cup this year').
Rather than cash, the main incentive for winning the Grand Final is what is referred to rather vaguely in sporting terms as glory. As a result, the cash prize is probably not reflective of the magnitude of participating in the event. The current cash prize for the winning club is AUD$1 million. Before 2006, a cash prize to the winning club of AUD$250,000 was awarded (In contrast, the winner of the NAB Cup, the far less important pre-season competition, is currently awarded a similar amount, AUD$220,000). Following the Sydney Swans premiership in 2005, many clubs publicly questioned the prize money [1], which has not increased for many years and barely covers the cost of participation in the finals series.
The winner of the premiership typically experiences an increase in membership and sale of merchandise.
The player judged by a panel of experts to be the best afield during the Grand Final is awarded the Norm Smith Medal, named after the great Melbourne Demons coach of the 50's and 60's and player of the 40's Norm Smith. The winning coach receives the Jock McHale Medal, named after the coach of Collingwood Magpies from 1912-1949.
[edit] History
The first VFL/AFL Grand Final was contested in the VFL's second season in 1898. In the previous year, the finals series had a round robin format.
[edit] Traditions
Many events happen during the week of the Grand Final.
[edit] Brownlow Medal
The Charles 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 (ie 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
[edit] Grand Final Parade
A traditional parade is held in Melbourne city, usually along one of the main thoroughfares such as Collins Street, Swanston Street or Bourke Street ending at the steps outside the Victorian Parliament. The parade, held on the Friday before the Grand Final, features the players from the competing sides and regularly attracts crowds estimated to be over 30,000 people.
[edit] Grand Final Parties
Grand Final parties are held in Australia and even in remote cities around the world. It typically involves watching the game on television in a group and a barbeque.
[edit] Punk Pub Crawl
In Melbourne City, the annual punk pub crawl has gone on for over two decades.
[edit] Venues
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 (Optus Oval) 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, although the game has been been played later in the past when a drawn final necessitated a replay, delaying all finals after it. The only notable exception was during 2000, when the Sydney Olympics forced the season to be played early; in this season, the One day in September was the first Saturday, instead of the last.
Of the current clubs, only Fremantle has never (as of the 2006 finals) made a Grand Final appearance. Fremantle, however, won one final in 2006, against Melbourne at Subiaco Oval, in Perth. Defunct clubs which never made it include University and the old Brisbane Bears (although their successor, the Brisbane Lions have won three Grand Finals and lost a fourth.)
The first "interstate" (i.e., non-Victorian) team to play in the Grand Final was the West Coast Eagles, who lost in 1991 but came back to win their first Premiership in 1992. (The Swans had been in several Grand Finals before their move to Sydney in 1982, but always as South Melbourne: their first Grand Final appearance after their move to Sydney didn't come until 1996.) The first Grand Final matching two interstate teams was the 2004 contest where the Port Adelaide Power beat the Brisbane Lions 113-73.
Since the expansion of the league, the AFL Grand Final has become a truly national event. For the past six years the premiership has been won by teams outside of Victoria, where the precursor league - the VFL - originated. As a result there have been calls for hosting Grand Finals on a national stage, similar to the Super Bowl in the USA. Since the construction of Stadium Australia, Sydney has expressed interest in hosting the final on several occasions. So far, the AFL has resisted the temptation of doing so. Another challenge to tradition has been the proposal of a night grand final with anticipated increased television audience.
The 2006 Grand Final was officially regarded as the 110th Grand Final. Throughout history, Grand Finals were not staged in either of 1897 or 1924, with the premiership instead being awarded after a round robin amongst the top four teams; this accounts for 107 Grand Finals. An additional Grand Final was played in 1948 and 1977, each of which was necessitated by a tied Grand Final. These are generally referred to as Grand Final Replays or "Extra Finals", but count in the official tally of Grand Finals. Furthermore, under the Argus finals system which existed from 1900 until 1930, there being a designated Grand Final depended upon the minor premiers having not won the previous week's game, known as the Final: each final which decided the premiership had hence been reclassified a Grand Final retrospectively.
[edit] Recent History of the AFL Grand Final
| Year | Results | Crowd | Norm Smith Medalist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | West Coast Eagles 12. 13. (85) def. Sydney Swans 12. 12. (84) | 97,431 | Andrew Embley |
| 2005 | Sydney Swans 8. 10. (58) def. West Coast Eagles 7. 12. (54) | 91,828* | Chris Judd^ |
| 2004 | Port Adelaide 17. 11. (113) def. Brisbane Lions 10. 13. (73) | 77,671* | Byron Pickett |
| 2003 | Brisbane Lions 20. 14. (134) def Collingwood 12. 12. (84) | 79,451* | Simon Black |
| 2002 | Brisbane Lions 10. 15. (75) def Collingwood 9. 12. (66) | 91,817 | Nathan Buckley^ |
| 2001 | Brisbane Lions 15. 18. (108) def Essendon 12. 10. (82) | 91,482 | Shaun Hart |
| 2000 | Essendon 19. 21. (135) def Melbourne 11. 9. (75) | 96,249 | James Hird |
(* Capacity of ground reduced due to redevelopment for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games)
(^ Chris Judd, 2005 and Nathan Buckley, 2002 are 2 of only 4 players from the losing team to be awarded the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground)
For all Grand Final winners in the VFL/AFL, see List of Australian Football League premiers.
[edit] Grand Final records and trivia
- Two grand finals have been drawn, in 1948 and 1977, leading to a replay the following Saturday in each case.
- Four grand finals have been decided by a single point. Fitzroy-Essendon in 1898, Carlton-Essendon in 1947, St.Kilda-Collingwood in 1966 (for St.Kilda's only premiership), West Coast-Sydney in 2006.
- The highest attendance was 121,696 in the 1970 grand final between traditional rivals Carlton and Collingwood. Due to changes in the stadium, such as the removal of all standing areas, this record has remained untested and is likely to hold for the foreseeable future. (See also Melbourne Cricket Ground).
- The 1972 grand final between Carlton and Richmond was a record high-scoring affair, 28.9.177-22.18.150. This represents the highest score in a grand final, the highest losing score, and the highest aggregate score (327). At the time, it had the highest aggregate score of any game, grand final or otherwise, and still ranks #8 on that list.
- The 1927 grand final Collingwood and Richmond was a record low-scoring affair, 2.13 (25) - 1.7 (13). In similar vein to the previous point, this represents the lowest score in a grand final, the lowest winning score, and the lowest aggregate score.
- Geelong's Gary Ablett scored the record number of goals in a grand final, 9 goals against Hawthorn in 1989.
This section refers to individual grand finals. For VFL/AFL premiership trivia, see AFL Premiers - Trivia.
[edit] AFL Grand Final Sprint
A running race takes place several hours before the start of the Grand Final, between players that are not taking part in the Grand Final. It is conducted over several heats. In recent years, a handicapping system has been introduced.
| Year | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Jason Winderlich | Essendon Football Club |
| 2005 | Brett Deledio | Richmond Football Club |
| 2004 | James Walker | Fremantle Football Club |
| 2003 | James Walker | Fremantle Football Club |
[edit] 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[5][6]. Notable entertainment includes:
[edit] 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.
[edit] International telecasts
The AFL Grand Final is televised into hundreds of countries and grand final parties are held around the world. The following are television details for the 2006 AFL Grand Final.
- Papua New Guinea - EM TV, Australia Network (live)
- New Zealand - SKY Sport 1 (NZ) (live)
- South East Asia - Australia Network (live)
- Middle East - Australia Network. Israel - Fox Sports Israel
- Indian subcontinent - Australia Network
- North America - United States - Setanta Sports North America (live), MHz Worldview (delayed). Canada - Fox Sports World Canada (live). See also AFANA.
- United Kingdom - British Sky Broadcasting (live)
- Ireland - Setanta Sports (delayed)
- Spain - Canal+ Spain
[edit] See also
- Grand Final
- Australian Football League
- List of Australian Football League premiers
- One Day in September (song)
[edit] References
- ^ http://origin.www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20154208-662,00.html Grand Final's our top event. heraldsun.com.au August 17, 2006. URL accessed 5 September 2006
- ^ http://www.austadiums.com/sport/event.php?eventid=5944
- ^ Top 20 Programs - Ranking Report (E) 18-24 September, OzTam.
- ^ http://www.australianfestival.org/grandfinal.htm
- ^ Grand folly
- ^ Final show no-no
| Australian Football League Grand Finals |
|---|
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Victorian/Australian Football League 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 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Clubs in the Australian Football League |
| Adelaide | Brisbane Lions | Carlton | Collingwood | Essendon | Fremantle | Geelong | Hawthorn Kangaroos | Melbourne | Port Adelaide | Richmond | St. Kilda | Sydney | West Coast | Western Bulldogs Former clubs: Brisbane Bears | Fitzroy | University |
