AFL Grand Final facts for kids
Panorama of the Melbourne Cricket Ground prior to the 2018 AFL Grand Final
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| Other names | VFL Grand Final (historical), "the Granny", "The GF", "The Big Dance", "The Big Day", and "The One Day in September |
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| Sport | Australian rules football |
| First meeting | 24 September 1898 |
| Latest meeting | 30 September 2023 |
| Next meeting | 28 September 2024 |
| Broadcasters | Seven Network |
| Stadiums | Melbourne Cricket Ground (all but 11 occasions) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 128 |
| Most wins | Carlton, Collingwood (16) |
The AFL Grand Final is the biggest game in Australian rules football. It's the match that decides which team wins the championship for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Before 1990, it was called the VFL Grand Final because the league was known as the Victorian Football League.
This exciting game happens at the end of the AFL finals series each year. It has been played every year since 1898, except for one year in 1924. The Grand Final is usually held on the last Saturday afternoon in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
It's one of Australia's most popular sporting events. More than 100,000 people often watch it live at the MCG. Millions more tune in on TV! Over the years, the Grand Final has created many special traditions.
The team that wins the Grand Final gets the AFL's premiership cup and a special flag. Players on the winning team receive a gold premiership medal. The best player in the game also gets the Norm Smith Medal.
By the end of 2023, 128 Grand Finals had been played. This includes three times when the game was a draw and had to be played again. The Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club have won the most Grand Finals, with 16 wins each. The Essendon Football Club has also won 16 championships, but only 14 of those were in Grand Finals. Collingwood has played in the most Grand Finals, with 45 appearances. They also won four Grand Finals in a row from 1927 to 1930. Every current AFL club has played in at least one Grand Final, except for the Gold Coast Suns, who joined the league in 2011.
Contents
History of the Grand Final
How it Started (1897–1915)
The Victorian Football League (VFL) began in 1897. Eight clubs left another league to form the VFL. The new league introduced a "finals" system. This meant the championship wasn't decided until the very last game. This made the end of the season much more exciting for fans!
The first Grand Final was played on September 24, 1898. It was between Essendon and Fitzroy. Fitzroy won the game 5.8 (38) to 3.5 (23) in front of 16,538 fans.
From 1902, the Grand Final started being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This was a big change! The first Grand Final at the MCG saw Collingwood beat Essendon. A record 35,000 people watched. Over the next few years, even more fans came. New attendance records were set in 1908 (50,261), 1912 (54,463), and 1913 (59,479). During this time, Carlton became the first club to win three championships in a row.
Between the World Wars (1916–1945)
Football continued during World War I, even though fewer people attended games. Some people thought it was wrong to play during the war. But many soldiers supported the game. Returned servicemen even got free entry to the 1918 Grand Final.
In the 1920s, the VFL changed its finals system a few times. In 1924, for example, no Grand Final was played because of a different system. A new record crowd of 64,288 watched in 1925 when Geelong won their first Grand Final. Between 1927 and 1930, Collingwood made history by winning four championships in a row. No other club has done this since!
In 1931, the "Page–McIntyre Final Four" system was introduced. This system made sure there would always be a Grand Final each year. It also meant one team got a week off before the Grand Final, while the other played the week before.
Crowd records kept being broken in the 1930s. The MCG even built a new stand in 1937. The Geelong–Collingwood Grand Final attracted 88,540 fans. The next year, 96,834 people watched Collingwood play Carlton. Melbourne was very strong just before World War II, winning Grand Finals in 1939, 1940, and 1941.
During World War II, football helped distract people and raise money for the war. The government used the MCG for military purposes. So, the Grand Finals were played at other grounds like Princes Park (1942, 1943, 1945) and the St Kilda Cricket Ground (1944). The 1945 Grand Final at Princes Park had a huge crowd of 62,986, just weeks after the war ended.
After the War (1946–1990)
When the MCG was available again in 1946, Grand Final crowds quickly returned to huge numbers. In 1948, Essendon and Melbourne played the first drawn Grand Final. This meant they had to play a full replay game the next week, which Melbourne won.
The MCG was upgraded for the 1956 Olympic Games. The 1956 Grand Final was like a test run for the Olympics. The official capacity was 120,000, but 115,802 people packed in. Many fans tried to get in by climbing fences! To stop this, the VFL started selling tickets in advance from 1957.
Melbourne was very strong in the 1950s. They played in a record seven Grand Finals in a row from 1954 to 1960. They won five championships, including three in a row from 1955 to 1957. In 1959, the modern premiership cup was introduced. This gave the winning team a special trophy to celebrate with.
Delayed TV broadcasts of the game started in 1961. The MCG was expanded again in 1968. A record crowd of 121,696 watched the famous 1970 game. In that match, Carlton came back from 44 points down at half-time to beat Collingwood. Live TV broadcasts of the Grand Final in Victoria began in 1977. That year saw the second drawn Grand Final between North Melbourne and Collingwood. The Norm Smith Medal, given to the best player in the game, started in 1979.
In the 1980s, the VFL tried to move the Grand Final to its own stadium, VFL Park. But the government wanted it to stay at the MCG. Hawthorn was very strong in the 1980s. They played in seven Grand Finals in a row from 1983 to 1989, winning four of them. The 1989 Grand Final between Hawthorn and Geelong was a very tough and high-scoring game. It's considered one of the best ever. In 1990, Collingwood finally broke a long losing streak in Grand Finals, known as the "Colliwobbles", by beating Essendon in the 1990 Grand Final.
The National Era (1991–Present)
In the 1980s, the VFL started including teams from other states. In 1990, it was renamed the Australian Football League (AFL). West Coast, a team from Perth, joined in 1987. They became the first non-Victorian club to play in a Grand Final in 1991 and win one in 1992. Between 1992 and 2006, teams from outside Victoria won ten out of fifteen Grand Finals. The Brisbane Lions were especially successful, winning three in a row from 2001 to 2003.
Since 1994, both Grand Final teams have to win a preliminary final the week before. This changed the old system where one team got a week off. The third and final drawn Grand Final happened in 2010 between Collingwood and St Kilda. Collingwood won the replay. Now, extra time is played to decide drawn Grand Finals, so there won't be replays anymore. Hawthorn was very strong in the early 2010s, winning three Grand Finals in a row from 2013 to 2015.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the Grand Final in 2020 and 2021. Because of lockdowns in Melbourne, the game couldn't be played at the MCG. In 2020, it was played at the Gabba in Brisbane, the first time it was held outside Victoria. It was also played at night for the first time. In 2021, it was played at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Prizes for Winning
Winning the Grand Final is a huge honor. The winning club receives four main prizes:
- The premiership cup
- The premiership flag
- The E. L. Wilson Shield
- A$1.2 million in prize money
The premiership flag is a very old and important symbol for the clubs. It's a large, triangular flag in the league's colors. It says 'premiers' and the year of the win. The flag isn't given out after the game. Instead, it's traditionally raised on the flagpole at the winning team's first home game the next season. This tradition has been around since 1897. Even though the cup is more physical, "the flag" is still a common way to talk about winning the championship.
The AFL premiership cup is the most famous award for fans. It's given to the captain and coach of the winning team after the game. Before the Grand Final, the captains of both teams often hold the cup for photos. The cup is silver (except for the 1996 cup, which was gold for the league's 100th season). It's decorated with ribbons in the winning team's colors. A new cup is made every year. Since 1966, the winning team has done a lap of honor with the cup. Since 2004, a past legend from the winning club presents the cup.
The winning club's name is also put on the E. L. Wilson Shield. This shield stays at AFL House. It was named after a long-serving VFL secretary, Edwin Lionel Wilson.
As of 2019, the winning team gets $1.2 million in prize money. The team that comes second gets $660,000.
Premiership Medal
Every player on the winning team who plays in the Grand Final gets a premiership medal. For a long time, clubs gave out these medals. But since live TV started in 1977, the league gives them out during the on-field ceremony. Since 2002, children from the Auskick junior football program present the medals.
Only players who play in the Grand Final itself get the medal. This has caused some debate, as some people think players who contributed to the team's season but didn't play in the final should also get one.
From 1977 to 1981, players from the losing team also received medals. This stopped after 1981. It's said this was because Collingwood's Peter Moore threw his medal on the ground after losing his fourth Grand Final.
Individual Awards
The Norm Smith Medal is given to the player who is judged best on the ground in the Grand Final. A panel of experts decides this award. It's named after Norm Smith, a famous Melbourne player and coach. It started in 1979 and is a very important individual award.
The coach of the winning team receives the Jock McHale Medal. This medal is named after Collingwood coach Jock McHale, who won a record eight championships. It was first given in 2001.
The player who kicks the most goals in the game gets the Jack Collins Medal.
Where the Grand Final is Played
The first four Grand Finals were played at different neutral venues. These included the St Kilda Cricket Ground (1898, 1899), the East Melbourne Cricket Ground (1900), and the South Melbourne Cricket Ground (1901).
Since 1902, the Grand Final has almost always been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This is because of a special agreement with the Melbourne Cricket Club. Under the current deal, the MCG is set to host the game every year until 2059.
Only seven Grand Finals have been played at other grounds since 1902:
- From 1942 to 1945, the MCG was used by the military during World War II. These Grand Finals were played at Princes Park (1942, 1943, 1945) and the St Kilda Cricket Ground (1944).
- In 1991, part of the MCG was being rebuilt. So, the Grand Final was played at Waverley Park.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, there were travel and crowd limits in Victoria. The Grand Finals were played at The Gabba in Brisbane (2020) and Optus Stadium in Perth (2021).
The Grand Final usually sells out every year. It's often one of the most attended sports championship events in the world. The MCG can hold over 100,000 people. Tickets are given to different groups, like AFL members, club members, and sponsors. Tickets can range from $155 to $422.
Venue History
The MCG has been the main venue for the Grand Final for a long time. The VFL sometimes felt stuck with this arrangement. The MCG's owners set ticket prices, and their members got free entry.
In the 1960s, the VFL built its own stadium, VFL Park. It could hold 75,000 people. The league wanted to move the Grand Final there from 1984. They even planned to make it bigger. But the government stopped this, wanting the game to stay at the MCG. Eventually, a deal was made for the game to remain at the MCG.
Since the league expanded to include teams from other states, some people have said the MCG deal is unfair. Non-Victorian clubs have to travel to Melbourne for the Grand Final, which can be a disadvantage.
Grand Final Schedule
The Grand Final is usually played on the afternoon of the last Saturday in September. It's often called the "One day in September," which is also the name of a famous football song. Since 2015, the Friday before the Grand Final has even been a public holiday in Victoria!
Sometimes, the game is played on the first Saturday in October. This used to happen if a finals match was a draw and needed a replay. The earliest Grand Final was on September 2 in 1916 (a shorter season) and in 2000 (to avoid the Sydney Olympics). The latest was on October 24 in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Grand Final has almost always been played on Saturday afternoon, usually at 2:30 PM. Even though playing at night might bring in more money from TV, the AFL respects tradition. The only times it wasn't played in the afternoon were the 2020 and 2021 Grand Finals, which were played outside Victoria.
Drawn Games
Until the 2015 season, if a Grand Final was a draw, the teams would play again the following Saturday. This happened three times: in 1948, 1977, and 2010.
Since 2016, extra time is played if the game is a draw. This means the Grand Final will always be decided on the same day. If it's a draw, the teams play two extra periods of three minutes each. If it's still tied, they keep playing more extra periods until a winner is found. As of 2023, extra time hasn't been needed yet in a Grand Final.
Grand Final Traditions
Grand Final Parade
Since 1977, a Grand Final parade has been held on the Friday before the game. Players from both teams travel through the city in open-top vehicles. This lets fans see their heroes up close! The parade used to go through the city center. From 2015 to 2019, it ended near the MCG. The parades in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2022, part of the parade involved teams traveling on boats down the Yarra River.
When the weather is good and two Victorian teams are playing, over 100,000 fans might attend the parade. In 2015, a record 150,000 people watched the parade on the public holiday.
Grand Final Breakfast
The North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast has been held every year since 1967 on the morning of the Grand Final. It's a special event with important guests like prime ministers and football stars. It's very well-known and helps raise money for the North Melbourne Football Club. The breakfast is even broadcast live on TV.
On-Field Entertainment
Since the game was first shown live on TV, many famous Australian and international music stars have performed before the match. Sometimes, the performances have been criticized. For example, Angry Anderson in 1991 and Meat Loaf in 2011 are often remembered for poor shows. Since 2012, the main performer also does a show after the game, which is free for everyone.
The pre-match entertainment often includes famous football songs like "Up There Cazaly" and "One Day in September". There's also a motorcade where players who retired since the last Grand Final get a lap of honor.
Before the main game, other matches are sometimes played on the field. Since 2008, this has been a game for top under-17 players, called the AFL Futures match.
After the teams come onto the field, they line up for a team photo. The national anthem is sung live while the teams and umpires are lined up.
There's also a sprint race called the AFL Grand Final Sprint. Players who aren't playing in the Grand Final compete in this race. It was first held in 1979 and brought back in 2002.
Post-Match Customs
In the past, from the 1940s to the 1980s, players sometimes swapped jerseys after the game. This led to funny moments, like St Kilda's captain Darrel Baldock holding the trophy in a Collingwood jersey in 1966! The VFL later stopped captains from swapping jerseys.
After the game, a special premiership poster is made by the Herald Sun newspaper. It usually shows a cartoon of the winning team's mascot. These posters are very popular with fans and collectors. They sell over 100,000 copies each year.
Famous Grand Final Moments
Many unforgettable moments have happened in Grand Final history:
- 1903, Collingwood 4.7 (31) d. Fitzroy 3.11 (29) — Fitzroy had a chance to win with the last kick of the game, but the ball just missed the goal post.
- 1910, Collingwood 9.7 (61) d. Carlton 6.11 (47) — A huge fight broke out in the final quarter, leading to several players being suspended. This moment is seen as the start of the long Carlton–Collingwood rivalry.
- 1918, South Melbourne 9.8 (62) d. Collingwood 7.15 (57) — In the last seconds, South Melbourne's Chris Laird kicked the winning goal off the ground.
- 1927, Collingwood 2.13 (25) d. Richmond 1.7 (13) — This game was played in terrible rain. Only 38 points were scored in total, making it the lowest-scoring VFL/AFL game of the 20th century.
- 1935, Collingwood 11.12 (78) d. South Melbourne 7.16 (58) — South Melbourne's star player, Bob Pratt, couldn't play after being hit by a truck two days before the game.
- 1945, Carlton 15.13 (103) d. South Melbourne 10.15 (75) — This game was known as the Bloodbath because of constant fighting. Ten players were reported and suspended.
- 1948, Essendon 7.27 (69) drew Melbourne 10.9 (69) — Essendon kicked very inaccurately, leading to the first drawn Grand Final. Melbourne won the replay.
- 1966, St Kilda 10.14 (74) d. Collingwood 10.13 (73) — With scores tied and 90 seconds left, 18-year-old St Kilda player Barry Breen kicked a wobbly point that secured St Kilda's first and only championship.
- 1970, Carlton 17.9 (111) d. Collingwood 14.17 (101) — Carlton came back from 44 points down at half-time to win. This game also featured an amazing mark (catch) by Alex Jesaulenko (Carlton).
- 1972, Carlton 28.9 (177) d. Richmond 22.18 (150) — With a combined 327 points, this was the highest-scoring VFL/AFL game ever at the time.
- 1977, North Melbourne 9.22 (76) drew Collingwood 10.16 (76) — North Melbourne came back in the final quarter to tie the game. Collingwood's Ross Dunne kicked the tying goal with 40 seconds left.
- 1977 replay, North Melbourne 21.25 (151) d. Collingwood 19.10 (124) — Phil Manassa (Collingwood) ran a long way, bouncing the ball four times, to kick a famous goal. The medal for Goal of the Year is now named after him.
- 1989, Hawthorn 21.18 (144) d. Geelong 21.12 (138) — This was a very tough game. Dermott Brereton (Hawthorn) was knocked out at the start but kept playing. Many players were injured. Hawthorn held on to win by six points.
- 2005, Sydney 8.10 (58) d. West Coast 7.12 (54) — With only seconds left, Sydney defender Leo Barry took a crucial mark to secure the victory.
- 2009, Geelong 12.8 (80) d. St Kilda 9.14 (68) — With less than four minutes left, a clever tap by Geelong's Matthew Scarlett led to a goal that gave Geelong the lead they needed to win.
- 2010, Collingwood 9.14 (68) drew St Kilda 10.8 (68) — A very unpredictable bounce of the ball led to a tying point for St Kilda in the last seconds. Collingwood won the replay.
- 2018, West Coast 11.13 (79) d. Collingwood 11.8 (74) — West Coast came back from 29 points down. With less than three minutes left, Dom Sheed (West Coast) kicked a difficult goal from the boundary line to win the game.
Watching the Grand Final on TV
| Year | Viewers | Rank | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2.604 million | 3 | Seven Network | |
| 2002 | 2.626 million | 3 | Network Ten | |
| 2003 | 2.966 million | 4 | ||
| 2004 | 2.796 million | 3 | ||
| 2005 | 3.386 million | 2 | ||
| 2006 | 3.145 million | 2 | ||
| 2007 | 2.563 million | 1 | ||
| 2008 | 2.491 million | 2 | Seven Network | |
| 2009 | 2.878 million | 3 | Network Ten | |
| 2010 | 2.768 million | 4 | Seven Network | |
| 2.687 million | 6 | |||
| 2011 | 2.641 million | 7 | Network Ten | |
| 2012 | 2.962 million | 4 | Seven Network | |
| 2013 | 2.717 million | 3 | ||
| 2014 | 2.828 million | 1 | ||
| 2015 | 2.645 million | 1 | ||
| 2016 | 3.081 million | 2 | ||
| 2017 | 2.680 million | 1 | ||
| 2018 | 2.615 million | 2 | ||
| 2019 | 2.219 million | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 3.011 million | 1 | ||
| 2021 | 3.051 million | 1 | ||
| 2022 | 2.179 million (metro) 2.977 (total) |
3 | ||
| 2023 | 2.465 million | 4 |
The Grand Final is one of the most-watched TV events in Australia every year. Since 2001, it has often been the highest-rated show of the year. The worldwide audience has grown a lot, with broadcasts in 72 countries and an estimated 30 million viewers!
When TV first came to Australia in 1956, the VFL didn't want to broadcast the Grand Final live in Victoria. They worried fewer people would come to the game. The Grand Final was first shown on TV in 1961, but it was a replay shown an hour after the game finished. Live TV broadcasts in Victoria started in 1977. The game has been broadcast live in color since then, and in high definition since 2015.
The Grand Final is protected by special laws in Australia. These laws make sure it stays on free-to-air TV for everyone to watch. Some old footage of Grand Finals from before 1961 still exists. The earliest known footage of Australian football is from the 1909 Grand Final.
International TV
The AFL Grand Final is shown on TV in many countries around the world. Many people hold Grand Final parties to watch the game!
- Papua New Guinea — EM TV, Australia Plus (live)
- New Zealand — Sky Sport (live) and TVNZ (live)
- Asia-Pacific — ABC Australia (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) — ABC Australia (live)
- China — GZTV (live)
- Middle East — Australia Plus and Orbit Showtime Network (live)
- Israel — Fox Sports Israel (live)
- North America
- United States — Fox Sports.
- Canada — TSN (live).
- United Kingdom and Ireland — BT Sport (live)
- ALL of Europe — Eurosport 2 (live/delayed coverage to be confirmed)
- Africa — Kwesé Sports Orbit Showtime Network (live)
- Latin America and Caribbean — ESPN International (to be confirmed)
- Russia — Viasat (live)
See Also
- Grand final
- List of Australian Football League premiers
- List of VFL/AFL premiership captains and coaches
- List of VFL/AFL Grand Final records
- AFL Women's Grand Final
- NRL Grand Final
