The
1993 AFL Grand Final was an
Australian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
game contested between the
Essendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and
Carlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
, held at the
Melbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 25 September 1993. It was the 97th annual
Grand FinalThe AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
of the
Victorian Football League/Australian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, staged to determine the premiers for the
1993 AFL season-Ladder:All teams played 20 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. Each team also had two byes. An additional 7 games were played during the finals series.-Awards:*The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Gavin Wanganeen of ....
. The match, attended by 96,862 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 44 points, marking that club's 15th premiership victory.
Background
Neither side was considered a strong premiership prospect at the beginning of the season as neither side had made the finals in 1992. Essendon was considered too young and inexperienced while Carlton, despite having some of the best key-position players in the competition, were considered too slow across the ground.
However, at the conclusion of the home and away season, Essendon had finished first on the AFL ladder with 13 wins 6 losses and a draw, winning the
McClelland TrophyThe McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy, currently awarded to the minor premiers in the Australian Football League each year...
after having been sitting in seventh position as late as round 11. Carlton had also finished with 13 wins, 6 losses and a draw (the two teams having played in a tied game in round 2), but finished just behind Essendon on percentage. Only one game separated Essendon in first position from
GeelongThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
in seventh position.
In the finals, the Bombers were defeated by Carlton by two points in the Qualifying Final before defeating
West CoastThe West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
in the Second Sem-Final to advance to the Preliminary Final. In this game they came out of nowhere to win a game that had seemed out of reach when trailing the
Adelaide CrowsThe Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
by 42 points at half time. The Bombers charged home in the second half in that game, kicking 11 goals to 2 to win by 11 points, advancing to the Grand Final. Carlton, after their win over the Bombers in the Qualifying Final, defeated Adelaide in the Second Semi-Final to advance to the Grand Final.
This was Essendon's first appearance in a Grand Final since losing the
1990 AFL Grand FinalThe 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
, whilst it was Carlton's first since winning the
1987 VFL Grand FinalThe 1987 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1987. It was the 91st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...
.
In the week leading up to the Grand Final, Essendon's
Gavin WanganeenGavin Adrian Wanganeen is a retired Australian rules footballer, playing in two Australian Football League premierships with Essendon and Port Adelaide. Wanganeen is a Brownlow Medallist and is considered one of the finest indigenous players ever...
was awarded the
Brownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
. Also during that week, Essendon caused a sensation in omitting
Derek KickettDerek Thomas Kickett is a former Australian rules footballer. A journeyman, Kickett played with seven different VFL/AFL, WAFL and SANFL clubs through his career....
from the team. Kickett had played every game of the season up to that point but had lost form during the finals series.
Carlton were forced to make a late change when veteran defender
Peter DeanPeter Dean is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Blues from 1984 to 1998 as a defender. From South Bendigo, Dean won 2 premierships with Carlton, in 1987 and 1995. After retiring, Dean was also a runner for the Blues.-External links:*...
was ruled out through injury. Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy put Dean Wallis and Mark Harvey into the side at the expense of Kickett and David Flood. The Bombers played a second generation of 'Baby Bombers' for the Grand Final, with seven Essendon players -
Gavin WanganeenGavin Adrian Wanganeen is a retired Australian rules footballer, playing in two Australian Football League premierships with Essendon and Port Adelaide. Wanganeen is a Brownlow Medallist and is considered one of the finest indigenous players ever...
,
David CalthorpeDavid Calthorpe is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Essendon, the Brisbane Lions and the Kangaroos in the AFL....
,
Dustin FletcherDustin Fletcher is an Australian rules footballer with the Essendon Football Club. He is renowned as one of the finest defenders in the AFL, and has played at full-back for his team for many years. He is the son of former Bombers captain Ken Fletcher...
,
Rick OlarenshawRick Olarenshaw is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.He was formerly a boundary rider for Network Seven until being replaced by Matthew Richardson.-Essendon:...
,
Mark MercuriMark Mercuri was a professional Australian rules football player for Essendon. He played in the 1993 Grand final winning team which defeated Carlton...
,
James HirdJames Hird is a former professional Australian rules footballer and the current coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League....
and
Joe Misiti"Smokin" Joe Misiti is a former Australian rules football player of Italian descent who played for the Essendon Football Club. Originally from Keilor Park, he made his Australian Football League debut in 1992 and retired at the end of the 2004 premiership season with 236 games to his credit...
- all being under the age of 21.
Match summary
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
EssendonThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
|
5.8 |
10.9 |
16.11 |
20.13 |
20.13 (133) |
CarltonThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
|
1.2 |
5.2 |
10.5 |
13.11 |
13.11 (89) |
Essendon carried their form from the Preliminary Final into the Grand Final against the Blues, with the individual brilliance of Michael Long being the most memorable feature. The
Norm Smith MedalThe Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
was awarded to Long for being judged the best player afield, with 33 disposals and 2 goals.
Stephen KernahanStephen Scott Kernahan is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career with the Carlton Football Club of the Australian Football League and the Glenelg Football Club of the SANFL from 1981 until 1997...
tried hard for the Blues with 7 goals, but his side barely threatened after being down by 5 goals at the first change. Essendon had thirteen scoring shots to three by the Blues in the first quarter to set up their win.
Paul SalmonPaul Salmon is a former Australian rules footballer. Recruited from North Ringwood, the 206 cm Salmon was, at the time, along with Carlton's Justin Madden, the tallest man to play AFL football...
kicked 5 goals for the Bombers.
Teams
Goal kickers
Essendon
- Salmon 5
- Mercuri 3
- Hird 2
- Long 2
- Bewick 1
- Calthorpe 1
- Daniher 1
- Denham 1
- Harvey 1
- Misiti 1
- Wallis 1
- Wanganeen 1
|
Carlton
- Kernahan 7
- Welsh 2
- Alvin 1
- Bradley 1
- Heaver 1
- Williams 1
|
External links
See also
- 1993 AFL season
-Ladder:All teams played 20 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. Each team also had two byes. An additional 7 games were played during the finals series.-Awards:*The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Gavin Wanganeen of ....