2005 AFL Grand Final
| 2005 AFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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The Sydney Swans walk onto the field before the game. The Swans would win the game with a 4-point margin, winning their first premiership in 72 years. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 24 September 2005 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 91,898 | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Scott McLaren (11), Brett Allen (10), Darren Goldspink (32) | |||||||||||||||
| Coin toss won by | Sydney | |||||||||||||||
| Kicked toward | City End | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | Delta Goodrem, Silvie Paladino, Michael Bublé, Dame Edna Everage, Melbourne Gospel Choir and Australian Girls’ Choir | |||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Silvie Paladino | |||||||||||||||
| Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
| Norm Smith Medallist | Chris Judd (West Coast) | |||||||||||||||
| Jock McHale Medallist | Paul Roos | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Network Ten | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators |
Stephen Quartermain (Host) Tim Lane (Commentator) Robert Walls (Expert Commentator) Stephen Silvagni (Expert Commentator) Neil Cordy (Boundary Rider - Sydney) Tim Gossage (Boundary Rider - Perth) | |||||||||||||||
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The 2005 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 September 2005. It was the 109th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League),[1] staged to determine the premiers for the 2005 AFL season. The match, attended by 91,898 spectators, was won by Sydney by a margin of four points, marking the club's fourth Premiership and their first since 1933.
It remains the highest-rating AFL / NRL game of all time (with 3.4 million metropolitan viewers), since the current OzTam measurement system was introduced in 2001.
Background
This was West Coast's first appearance in a Grand Final since winning the 1994 AFL Grand Final, whilst it was Sydney's first since losing the 1996 AFL Grand Final, and the Swans had not won a premiership since winning the 1933 VFL Grand Final. Two players from the Eagles' last premiership in 1994 were appearing in this Grand Final - Drew Banfield for the Eagles and Jason Ball for the Swans. At the conclusion of the home and away season, West Coast had finished second on the AFL ladder behind Adelaide with 17 wins and five losses. Sydney had finished third with 15 wins and seven losses. West Coast entered the Grand Final having defeated Adelaide in the preliminary final by 16 points. Sydney had defeated St Kilda in their preliminary final by 31 points.
In the week leading up to the Grand Final, West Coast's Ben Cousins was awarded the Brownlow Medal.
Match summary
West Coast opened the game aggressively, with Sydney struggling to get the ball to their end of the field. However, better goal kicking accuracy by the Swans put them ahead by two points at the first change.
In the second quarter Sydney appeared to be asserting control of the game, kicking three goals while the Eagles got none. However, after the long break, West Coast put their stamp on the game, kicking three goals while the Swans went goalless.
At the end of the day, both teams would remember seemingly easy goals that were missed, but the Eagles most clearly would remember theirs from the fourth quarter. With just under five minutes remaining in the match, West Coast's Brent Staker almost cost his team the match following a 50-metre penalty to the Swans sending them out of their defensive 50 in a very costly play. With the Swans holding a five-point lead in the closing moments, Sydney's Tadhg Kennelly rushed a behind to blunt a ferocious Eagles attack. After the ensuing kick in, West Coast again regained control of the ball and sent a long kick back to the half forward line by Dean Cox. Sydney's Leo Barry responded by taking a mark in the midst of the pack full of Eagles players (with the commentator Stephen Quartermain mentioning words made famous through frequent replays - "Leo Barry you star!"), denying the Eagles an opportunity to kick a game winner on or after the final siren, thus ensuring that the Swans would win their first premiership in 72 years (when they were South Melbourne), ending the longest premiership drought in VFL/AFL history.
The match has been labelled as a 'classic',[2] with the final margin being the closest since the 1977 drawn Grand Final. This was the first time since the 1989 VFL Grand Final that the Grand Final was decided by a goal or less.
Eagles player Chris Judd was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield, despite the fact that he finished on the losing side. This is only one of four instances of a Grand Final player having won a Norm Smith Medal without being on the winning premiership team.
The same teams met again in the 2006 AFL Grand Final, another close match, with the Eagles emerging victors by one point.
Teams
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Scorecard
| Sydney Swans vs West Coast Eagles | ||||
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| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Final |
| Sydney Swans | 3.0 (18) | 6.3 (39) | 6.5 (41) | 8.10 (58) |
| West Coast Eagles | 2.4 (16) | 2.7 (19) | 5.9 (39) | 7.12 (54) |
| Venue: | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | |||
| Date: | 24 September 2005 – 2:30PM AEST | |||
| Attendance: | 91,898 | |||
| Umpires: | Scott McLaren (11), Brett Allen (10), Darren Goldspink (32) | |||
| Goal scorers: | Sydney Swans | 2: Hall 1: Jolly, Schneider, O'Loughlin, Kennelly, Goodes, Buchanan | ||
| West Coast Eagles | 2: Hunter 1: Nicoski, Cox, Embley, Hansen, Cousins | |||
| Best: | Sydney Swans | Roberts-Thomson, Goodes, Buchanan, Kennelly, Fosdike, Kirk | ||
| West Coast Eagles | Judd, Wirrpunda, Cousins,Cox, Fletcher | |||
| Reports: | nil | |||
| Injuries: | Syd: Ball (cut head), C. Bolton (nose), Crouch (ankle) WCE: Kerr (ankle), Gardiner (cut head) | |||
| Coin toss winner: | Sydney | |||
| Norm Smith Medal: | Chris Judd | |||
| Australian television broadcaster: | Network Ten | |||
| National Anthem: | Silvie Paladino | |||
Match statistics
| Team Stats | (Syd) | (WCE) |
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| Kicks | 188 | 182 |
| Marks | 84 | 68 |
| Handballs | 105 | 104 |
| Tackles | 62 | 59 |
| Hitouts | 29 | 43 |
| Frees | 12 | 13 |
Entertainment
| National Anthem | Silvie Paladino |
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| Entertainment | Delta Goodrem (I Am Australian) Australian Idol finalists (Waltzing Matilda) Silvie Paladino (There You'll Be) Michael Bublé Dame Edna Everage Melbourne Gospel Choir Australian Girls’ Choir |
| Television broadcaster | Network Ten |
| Television announcers | Stephen Quartermain, Tim Lane - play-by play Robert Walls, Stephen Silvagni - analysts Christi Malthouse - sideline reporter Anthony Hudson - studio host Leigh Matthews, Malcolm Blight - studio analysts |