The
1994 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
Geelong Football ClubThe 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...
and
West Coast EaglesThe 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...
, 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 1 October 1994. It was the 98th 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
1994 AFL season-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. An additional 9 games were played during the finals series. It was the first season that the AFL implemented a top 8 team finals series...
. The match, attended by 93,860 spectators, was won by West Coast by a margin of 80 points.
Background
Geelong was looking for its first premiership since winning the
1963 VFL Grand FinalThe 1963 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 5 October 1963. It was the 67th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the...
and West Coast was attempting to repeat its success in the
1992 AFL Grand FinalThe 1992 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1992. It was the 96th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League,...
, when it had defeated Geelong by a margin of 28 points, becoming the first non-Victorian team to win the AFL Premiership.
At the conclusion of the home and away season, West Coast had finished first on the AFL ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses, 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...
. Geelong had finished fourth (behind
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...
and
North MelbourneThe North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
) with 13 wins and 9 losses.
During the lead-up to the game, West Coast were the strong favourites to win. Geelong had won through to the decider after winning three tough finals, including two dramatic after-the-siren wins over
FootscrayThe Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
and North Melbourne. West Coast had a relatively smooth run into the Grand Final, beating
CollingwoodThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in a Qualifying Final to earn a week's rest, before easily accounting for
MelbourneThe Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
in a Preliminary Final.
Match
It was an entertaining first quarter, which saw
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...
stamp its authority early by bursting out of the blocks, before some stirring football by
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...
towards the end of the quarter (including a great long goal from
Andrew WillsAndrew Wills is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.Wills was a character of the game, noticeable due to his clean shaven head, and played mostly on the wing or half forward. He played for the Geelong Football Club, the Fremantle Football Club and the Western...
) saw the Cats lead by a point at quarter time.
From then on, though, the match was a whitewash. With Geelong's champion full-forward Gary Ablett well held and star Geelong midfielder
Garry HockingGarry Andrew "Buddha" Hocking , is a former Australian rules footballer and currently an assistant coach with the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early Years:...
injuring his thigh (yet remaining on the ground), the Cats were in trouble as West Coast started to dominate.
Billy BrownlessAnthony William "Billy" Brownless is a former Australian rules footballer with the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League and media personality.- Football career :...
took one of the great Grand Final marks half way through the 2nd quarter and goalled, but it was the only highlight for the Cats in the term as the Eagles booted 4 of their own to lead by 23 points at half time.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| West Coast The 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...
|
4.3 |
8.12 |
12.18 |
20.23 |
20.23 (143) |
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...
|
4.4 |
5.7 |
7.12 |
8.15 |
8.15 (63) |
Even though they dominated from quarter time onwards, the Eagles could not convert their dominant play onto the scoreboard, with a constant margin of 4-5 goals seemingly keeping the game in the balance for much of the 3rd quarter. But the last term was all the Eagles, as they stormed home and steamrolled the Cats, kicking 8 final quarter goals to 1, winning the match by 80 points, with 20.23 (143) being the Eagles' highest score of the year.
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 West Coast's
Dean KempDean Kemp is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League....
for being judged the best player afield, with 23 disposals and 2 goals.
It was West Coast's second premiership in three years, and Geelong's third
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...
appearance without success in six years. West Coast's next success came twelve years later, when it won the
2006 AFL Grand FinalThe 2006 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 2006. It was the 110th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to...
against the
Sydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
. It would take until 2007 for Geelong to finally win its first AFL Premiership since 1963, when it defeated
Port AdelaideThe Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
in the
2007 AFL Grand FinalThe 2007 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 2007. It was the 111th annual Grand Final of the VFL/AFL, staged to determine the...
.
Summary
Teams
External links
See also
- 1994 AFL season
-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. An additional 9 games were played during the finals series. It was the first season that the AFL implemented a top 8 team finals series...