2006 AFL Grand Final
Encyclopedia
The 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 determine the premiers for the 2006 AFL season
. The match, attended by 97,431 spectators, was won by West Coast by a margin of 1 point, marking that club's third premiership victory.
by a margin of 4 points. At the conclusion of the home and away season, West Coast had finished first on the AFL ladder with 17 wins and 5 losses, winning the McClelland Trophy
. Sydney had finished fourth with 14 wins and 8 losses.
In the week leading up to the Grand Final, Sydney's Adam Goodes
was awarded the Brownlow Medal
.
Prior to the match, at 10.00 am the TAC Cup
Grand Final was played.
The Red Berets parachuted into the MCG delivering the match balls, followed by a team warm up and the beginning of pre-match entertainment. The entertainment included a performance of the song "Flashdance (What A Feeling)", performed by Irene Cara
,
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=aflfocus&spg=display&articleid=300595 as well as appearances from Brian Mannix
, John Paul Young
, Daryl Braithwaite
and Shane Howard
(lead singer of Goanna
). The medley
of songs they performed included "Solid Rock", Yesterday's Hero", "The Horses
", "Everybody Wants to Work" and "I Hear Motion".
West Coast started the better, and outplayed the Swans in the first half but only led by 25 points at half time. The Swans fought back in the third quarter and the margin was just 11 points at 3/4 time. Goodes goalled within the first 15 seconds of the last quarter and the margin was suddenly less than a kick. It was goal for goal in one of the most intense final quarters of modern Grand Final history, with West Coast hanging on by a single point to win its first premiership since 1994 and avenge its heartbreaking 4-point loss to the Swans in the previous year's Grand Final.
Andrew Embley
of the Eagles was awarded the Norm Smith Medal
for being judged the best player afield.
It was the fifth consecutive match between the two teams to be decided by less than a goal, and the first Grand Final to be decided by a point since St. Kilda edged out Collingwood in the 1966 VFL Grand Final
(two other Grand Finals have been decided by a point, in 1899
and 1947
). The match has been labelled as a 'classic'.
. 2006 saw the first use of handicaps during the sprint.
These records were further reduced in the Grand Final rematch in Round 1, 2007, which was again decided by a single point, giving the pair the record for four games, five games and six games (5 points, 9 points and 13 points respectively), and positioning them equal second for three games behind Brisbane vs Port Adelaide (2 points, 1997–98) and Hawthorn vs Footscray (3 points, 1956–57).
The 2006 Grand Final also marked the fourth time in VFL/AFL history that consecutive games between two teams were decided by the same total scores, with both the qualifying final and the Grand Final decided by 85-84. This previously occurred between South Melbourne vs Melbourne (1903–04), St Kilda vs Collingwood (1913–14) and Melbourne vs Richmond (1954–55). On none of the four occasions have the goals and behinds tallies been identical (Sydney outscored West Coast by 13.7 (85) – 12.12 (84) in the qualifying final, whilst West Coast pipped Sydney by 12.13 (85) – 12.12 (84) in 2006).
, with the presentation of the premiership cup done by former West Coast Eagle two time premiership player Glen Jakovich
.
Following the match, two West Coast Eagles players were criticised for not shaking the hands of the young Auskick
children who handed them medals on stage after the match, possibly due to the excitement of the occasion. In particular, Daniel Chick
received the medal without handshaking and then held his medal to the sky, in reference to a friend who had died. David Wirrpanda
later apologised for not shaking the hand of a young Indigenous Australian during the ceremony.
, Melbourne
on 25 September 2006.
The Charles Brownlow Medal is awarded to the "Best and Fairest" AFL Player of the year. It is selected by a 3-2-1 voting system awarded by the umpires of each match for the whole year (excluding finals and pre-season). The winner of the 2006 Brownlow medal was Adam Goodes, the Sydney Swans utility who was playing in the Grand Final later that week.
The Grand Final Parade took place on Friday 29 September 2006 and commenced on St Kilda Road, Melbourne
, and ending at Spring Street, Melbourne
. The crowd was officially estimated at fifty thousand people.
Australian rules football
Australian 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 Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The 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...
and West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
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...
, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The 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 Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne 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 30 September 2006. It was the 110th annual Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The 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 League
Australian Football League
The 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 2006 AFL season
2006 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2006.-National Cup: 3.10.5 defeated 1.10.15 in the 2006 NAB Cup Final...
. The match, attended by 97,431 spectators, was won by West Coast by a margin of 1 point, marking that club's third premiership victory.
Background
This was the second consecutive year that these two teams played in the premiership decider, with the Swans having won the 2005 AFL Grand Final2005 AFL Grand Final
The 2005 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 24 September 2005. It was the 109th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to...
by a margin of 4 points. At the conclusion of the home and away season, West Coast had finished first on the AFL ladder with 17 wins and 5 losses, winning the McClelland Trophy
McClelland Trophy
The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy, currently awarded to the minor premiers in the Australian Football League each year...
. Sydney had finished fourth with 14 wins and 8 losses.
In the week leading up to the Grand Final, Sydney's Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes
Adam Goodes is a professional Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League ....
was awarded the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The 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...
.
Pre-match entertainment
TAC Cup
The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions....
Grand Final was played.
The Red Berets parachuted into the MCG delivering the match balls, followed by a team warm up and the beginning of pre-match entertainment. The entertainment included a performance of the song "Flashdance (What A Feeling)", performed by Irene Cara
Irene Cara
Irene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
,
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=aflfocus&spg=display&articleid=300595 as well as appearances from Brian Mannix
Brian Mannix
Brian Mannix is an Australian rock music singer and actor.He guest-starred in several episodes of Australian soap Neighbours in 1993 as Conor Cleary, a love interest for Lauren Carpenter....
, John Paul Young
John Paul Young
John Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
, Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite
Daryl Braithwaite is an Australian pop singer. Best known as the lead vocalist of Sherbet, Braithwaite has also sustained a successful solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including the No...
and Shane Howard
Shane Howard
Shane Michael Howard is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist, he was the mainstay of folk rock group Goanna which had hits with "Solid Rock" and "Let the Franklin Flow". After their disbandment in 1985 he pursued a solo career....
(lead singer of Goanna
Goanna (band)
Goanna is an Australian folk rock group which formed in 1977 in Geelong as The Goanna Band with mainstay Shane Howard as singer-songwriter and guitarist...
). The medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
of songs they performed included "Solid Rock", Yesterday's Hero", "The Horses
The Horses
"The Horses" is a song written by Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker. It originally appeared on Jones' 1989 album Flying Cowboys. Whilst not released as a single, the original version did appear in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, also featuring on the film's soundtrack.The song was covered by Daryl...
", "Everybody Wants to Work" and "I Hear Motion".
Match summary
Andrew Embley
Andrew Embley
Andrew Embley is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League.-Early life:Andrew Embley was born to Maurice and Anne Embley on 27 June, 1981, in Perth, Western Australia...
of the Eagles was awarded the Norm Smith Medal
Norm Smith Medal
The 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...
for being judged the best player afield.
It was the fifth consecutive match between the two teams to be decided by less than a goal, and the first Grand Final to be decided by a point since St. Kilda edged out Collingwood in the 1966 VFL Grand Final
1966 VFL Grand Final
The 1966 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1966. It was the 70th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League , staged to...
(two other Grand Finals have been decided by a point, in 1899
1899 VFL Grand Final
The 1899 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Fitzroy Football Club and South Melbourne Football Club, held at the St Kilda Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 16 September 1899. It was the 2nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to...
and 1947
1947 VFL Grand Final
The 1947 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 1947. It was the 51st annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for...
). The match has been labelled as a 'classic'.
Grand Final sprint
The Sprint, which had heats ran before the pre-match entertainment and the final ran during the half-time break, was won by Carlton's Brendan FevolaBrendan Fevola
Brendan Fevola is a professional Australian rules footballer. He played with the Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League....
. 2006 saw the first use of handicaps during the sprint.
Match scoring records
The 2006 Grand Final placed Sydney vs West Coast games further in the VFL/AFL record books for closeness, with the five most recent margins up to and including this game standing at 4, 4, 2, 1 and 1. With 12 points total difference across five games, Sydney vs West Coast comprehensively beat the previous five-game record of 19 points, set by Hawthorn vs Collingwood in 1958-60. They also became the seventh pair of teams in VFL/AFL history (and the second in 2006 after Geelong vs Western Bulldogs) to contest two consecutive one-point games.These records were further reduced in the Grand Final rematch in Round 1, 2007, which was again decided by a single point, giving the pair the record for four games, five games and six games (5 points, 9 points and 13 points respectively), and positioning them equal second for three games behind Brisbane vs Port Adelaide (2 points, 1997–98) and Hawthorn vs Footscray (3 points, 1956–57).
The 2006 Grand Final also marked the fourth time in VFL/AFL history that consecutive games between two teams were decided by the same total scores, with both the qualifying final and the Grand Final decided by 85-84. This previously occurred between South Melbourne vs Melbourne (1903–04), St Kilda vs Collingwood (1913–14) and Melbourne vs Richmond (1954–55). On none of the four occasions have the goals and behinds tallies been identical (Sydney outscored West Coast by 13.7 (85) – 12.12 (84) in the qualifying final, whilst West Coast pipped Sydney by 12.13 (85) – 12.12 (84) in 2006).
Scorecard
Aftermath
The post-match presentation was carried out by Craig WillisCraig Willis
Craig Willis is an Australian announcer who has appeared as the voice of many of the Seven Network's AFL Grand Final broadcasts. He is known to many as the 'voice of the AFL'...
, with the presentation of the premiership cup done by former West Coast Eagle two time premiership player Glen Jakovich
Glen Jakovich
Glen Jakovich is a former Australian rules footballer for the West Coast Eagles.Glen was recruited from South Fremantle in Western Australia and debuted in 1991 and played most of his career at the Centre Half Back position, in the number 27 gernsey...
.
Following the match, two West Coast Eagles players were criticised for not shaking the hands of the young Auskick
Auskick
Auskick is a national program in Australia to develop and promote participation in Australian rules football by children. It has proven to be popular with both boys and girls....
children who handed them medals on stage after the match, possibly due to the excitement of the occasion. In particular, Daniel Chick
Daniel Chick
Daniel Chick is a professional Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. Chick is also well known for having a finger amputated in 2002 so he could continue playing football.- Hawthorn career :Chick made his debut for Hawthorn...
received the medal without handshaking and then held his medal to the sky, in reference to a friend who had died. David Wirrpanda
David Wirrpanda
David Selwyn Wirrpanda is a former Australian rules footballer, who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League between 1996 and 2009...
later apologised for not shaking the hand of a young Indigenous Australian during the ceremony.
International telecasts
The following television networks covered the event.- Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
- EM TVEM TVEM TV is a commercial television station in Papua New Guinea. Until the launch of the National Television Service in September 2008, it was the country's only free to air television service....
, Australia NetworkAustralia NetworkAustralia Network, originally Australia Television International and later ABC Asia Pacific, is a free-to-air international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2006. The television and online service broadcasts 24 hours a day on 7 days a week, to...
(live) - New Zealand - SKY Sport 1 (NZ) (live)
- South East Asia - Australia NetworkAustralia NetworkAustralia Network, originally Australia Television International and later ABC Asia Pacific, is a free-to-air international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2006. The television and online service broadcasts 24 hours a day on 7 days a week, to...
(live) - Middle East - Australia NetworkAustralia NetworkAustralia Network, originally Australia Television International and later ABC Asia Pacific, is a free-to-air international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2006. The television and online service broadcasts 24 hours a day on 7 days a week, to...
. IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- Fox Sports Israel - Indian subcontinentIndian subcontinentThe Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
- Australia NetworkAustralia NetworkAustralia Network, originally Australia Television International and later ABC Asia Pacific, is a free-to-air international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2006. The television and online service broadcasts 24 hours a day on 7 days a week, to... - North America - United States - Setanta Sports North AmericaSetanta Sports North AmericaSetanta Sports USA was a premium television channel launched in 2005 by the Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports to offer live and tape-delayed mainstream sports events in the United States and Caribbean....
(live), MHz WorldviewMHz WorldviewMHz WorldView is an independent, non-commercial Public television network that broadcasts newscasts and other programs from around the world. It is owned and operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation who also run MHz Networks....
(delayed). Canada - Fox Sports World CanadaFox Sports World CanadaFox Sports World Canada is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. FSWC's programming primarily features association football with select programming on other world sports such as rugby....
(live). See also AFANA. - United Kingdom - British Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
(live) - Ireland - TG4TG4TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
(delayed) - Spain - Canal+ SpainCanal+ SpainCanal+ 1, formerly known simply as Canal+ is a Spanish commercial television channel, launched in September 1990 on terrestrial television frequencies. The channel is operated by Sogecable. The main staples of Canal+ 1 are Spanish football, bullfighting and recent movies.In 1997 new channels using...
Brownlow Medal
The 2006 Charles Brownlow Medal Presentation was held at the Palladium at Crown CasinoCrown Casino
Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a large casino and entertainment precinct located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited....
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne 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 2006.
The Charles Brownlow Medal is awarded to the "Best and Fairest" AFL Player of the year. It is selected by a 3-2-1 voting system awarded by the umpires of each match for the whole year (excluding finals and pre-season). The winner of the 2006 Brownlow medal was Adam Goodes, the Sydney Swans utility who was playing in the Grand Final later that week.
| Place | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Adam Goodes Adam Goodes Adam Goodes is a professional Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League .... |
26 |
| 2nd | Scott West Scott West Scott West is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League... |
23 |
| 3rd | Chris Judd Chris Judd Christopher Dylan "Chris" Judd is a professional Australian rules footballer and current captain of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League .... |
21 |
Grand Final Parade
St Kilda Road, Melbourne
St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004 and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city....
, and ending at Spring Street, Melbourne
Spring Street, Melbourne
Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south, and is the easternmost street in the Hoddle Grid. The street travels from Flinders Street in the south, to La Trobe Street and the Carlton Gardens in the north...
. The crowd was officially estimated at fifty thousand people.
Teams
These are the selected teams as they were announced prior to the game.List
| Sydney Swans Sydney Swans The 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... |
84–85 | West Coast Eagles West Coast Eagles 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... |
| (12.12) | (12.13) |
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