1990 AFL Grand Final
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The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
game contested between the
Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...
and the
Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...
, held at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual
grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...
of the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(formerly the Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers for the
1990 AFL season The 1990 AFL season was the 94th season of the Australian Football League (AFL) and the first under this name, having been known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. It was the highest level senior Australian rules football competition ...
. The match, attended by 98,944 spectators, was won by Collingwood by a margin of 48 points, marking that club's 14th premiership victory.


Background

During the first half of the 20th century Collingwood was very successful, winning the majority of its premierships during this time. However, since winning the 1958 VFL Grand Final, Collingwood had made nine unsuccessful grand final attempts in 32 years (including a draw in the 1977 VFL Grand Final against
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
). Essendon had last played a grand final in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
, which it had won against Hawthorn; that match was the last game of Collingwood coach and then-Hawthorn forward
Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn Football Club, Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the ...
' playing career. At the conclusion of the home-and-away season, Essendon had finished first on the AFL ladder with 17 wins and 5 losses. Collingwood had finished second with 16 wins and 6 losses. The top five qualified for the finals, which were played under the
McIntyre final five system The McIntyre system, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher, by allowing higher qualified teams to lose more games or series before being eliminated compa ...
. Unusually, the grand final was held in October, since Collingwood and West Coast played a draw in the qualifying final at
Waverley Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) is an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. The first venue to be designed and built specifically for Australian Rules football, for most of its history, its pu ...
in the first week of the finals. The match was replayed the following week, with Collingwood winning convincingly by 59 points to advance to the second semi-final against Essendon. In the second semi-final, Collingwood scored ten goals to two after half time to win by 63 points and advance to the grand final. Essendon faced West Coast in the preliminary final, winning by 63 points, to earn its place in the grand final. Collingwood's drawn qualifying final with West Coast caused the grand final and all other finals to be delayed by a week from the originally scheduled dates, which proved both controversial and commercially challenging. It was controversial because, when Essendon played the second semi-final, it had been 21 days since its last competitive match (having received the minor premier's bye, followed by a bye for the replayed final); although the club played an unofficial practice match against 12th-placed Fitzroy during the second week, the extra week off was thought to have affected Essendon's form and contributed to its losses in the second semi-final and, ultimately, the grand final. It also caused an unprecedented commercial and logistical challenge, as a large number of league and corporate events related to grand final week had to be rescheduled, impacting travel, venues and hotels; drawn finals had occurred before, but the number and scale of corporate grand final week events had increased significantly since the last time a drawn finals match forced the grand final to be rescheduled in 1972. As a result, starting from 1991, the rules were changed to allow
extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
to be played in drawn finals (excluding the grand final) to ensure the grand final date would not change.


Match summary


First quarter

The match began with Essendon starting strongly, as the Bombers' beanpole full-forward
Paul Salmon Paul Salmon (born 20 January 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League for Essendon Football Club, Essendon and Hawthorn Football Club, Hawthorn. Recruited from Ringwood North, Victoria, North ...
kicked two early goals from strong marks. The signs looked ominous for Collingwood who were unable to penetrate before a classic goal by Peter Daicos from the boundary followed by a late goal by Gavin Brown from an Essendon turnover gave the inaccurate Magpies a three-point lead, and considerable momentum, at the first change.


Quarter-time brawl

At the sounding of the quarter time siren, a wild brawl erupted in the Essendon forward pocket drawing all players on the ground and spreading to include team officials. During the brawl, Gavin Brown was flattened by
Terry Daniher Terrence "Terry" John Daniher (born 15 August 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career with Essendon Football Club, Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) where he was a dual-premiership p ...
in retaliation for Brown felling Kieran Sporn. The umpires, police, stadium security and Channel Seven boundary rider
Bernie Quinlan Bernard Francis Quinlan (born 21 July 1951) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). One of a handful of players to have won a Brownlow ...
were needed to restore order. In the aftermath ten players and officials were reported (see below for details). The violent brawl, beamed live across Australia and the world, shocked viewers, fans and officials alike, and would be the catalyst for the AFL to crack down on violence in the game, leading to greater penalties and severe fines for players engaging in brawls.


Second quarter

Following the brawl, the umpires took a hard line on any indiscretions. Collingwood, playing in front at the contests, benefitted from this, and won several free kicks and fifty metre penalties, from which they scored five goals in the first nine minutes of the quarter. Essendon never really recovered from this purple patch, and after finishing with six goals to one in the second quarter, Collingwood led by 34 points at half time.


Third quarter

Collingwood continued strongly after half time, whilst Kevin Sheedy had shuffled his Essendon players into different positions all across the ground in an attempt to bridge the deficit, attempting to replicate his successful three-quarter-time efforts in the 1984 VFL Grand Final.
Craig Starcevich Craig Starcevich (born 16 May 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and current senior coach. Starcevich played for and the in the Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) prior to 1990. He is the ...
was knocked out by Terry Daniher after taking a mark, with Mick McGuane taking his kick and scoring from the resultant 50 metre penalty. Peter Daicos scored a spectacular goal from near the behind post to extend Collingwood's margin to 46 points. Essendon scored the next two goals midway through the third quarter with two quick goals, before Gavin Brown goaled late to give Collingwood a 40-point lead at three-quarter time.


Fourth quarter

Essendon attacked and dominated the play early in the last quarter but could only manage behinds, including hitting the post twice from set shots. After absorbing the Essendon pressure for twenty minutes, Collingwood's Doug Barwick scored the first goal of the quarter, with a snapshot from 25 metres. The siren sounded soon after Damian Monkhorst scored to make the margin 48 points. Essendon was held goalless in the final quarter.


Norm Smith medal

The
Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Footbal ...
was awarded to Collingwood's Tony Shaw for being judged the best player afield, with 32 possessions in an inspirational display. He was the first team captain to be awarded the medal.


Tribunal

Ten players and officials were reported on a total of seventeen offences as a result of the quarter-time brawl. The reports and tribunal outcomes were: *
Terry Daniher Terrence "Terry" John Daniher (born 15 August 1957) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career with Essendon Football Club, Essendon Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) where he was a dual-premiership p ...
(Essendon): Charged with striking Gavin Brown and striking
Craig Starcevich Craig Starcevich (born 16 May 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer and current senior coach. Starcevich played for and the in the Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) prior to 1990. He is the ...
. Suspended for 12 matches. * Graeme Allan (Colllingwood football manager): Charged with striking Essendon runner Peter Power and conduct unbecoming of a team official. Suspended for six matches and fined $15,000. *Eddie Hillgrove (Colllingwood team manager): Charged with assaulting Essendon bootstudder Graham Menola and conduct unbecoming of a team official. Suspended for six matches and fined $7,500. * Darren Bewick (Essendon): Charged with striking and rough conduct against Tony Shaw, kneeing Denis Banks, and striking Doug Barwick. Cleared of first three charges; suspended for four matches. * Gavin Brown (Colllingwood): Charged with striking Kieran Sporn. Suspended for three matches. * Kieran Sporn (Essendon): Charged with striking Denis Banks. Suspended for two matches. *John Synan (Essendon doorman): Charged with charging Colllingwood team manager Eddie Hillgrove and conduct unbecoming of a team official. Fined $5,000. *
Craig Kelly Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian conservative politician who represented the division of Hughes as a Liberal Party (and later United Australia Party) MP from 2010 until his defeat at the 2022 federal election. Kelly in ...
(Colllingwood) and Paul Van Der Haar (Essendon): Charged with striking each other. Both found not guilty. * Derek Kickett (Essendon): Charged with striking Mick McGuane. Found not guilty.


Aftermath

The win was the first for Leigh Matthews as coach. He had previously captained Hawthorn to grand finals in the 1980s, and later went on to coach the
Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...
to three premierships in the 2000s. Many of Essendon's senior players retired or moved on in the following two seasons; however, their next grand final appearance came only three years later, when the Baby Bombers (so named because of the high number of players they had under 21) and won the
1993 AFL Grand Final The 1993 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1993. It was the 97th annual grand final of ...
against Carlton. Collingwood did not win another premiership for 20 years, until they defeated St Kilda in the 2010 replay. In a tragic postscript, Collingwood player Darren Millane, who was in possession of the ball when the final siren sounded, died in a car accident one year and one day after the match.


Entertainment

Pre-match entertainment was provided by
Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He rose to national prominence in the mid-1960s as a pop star and teen idol, backed by The Playboys. His 1965 double A-side " Que Sera Sera"/" Shakin' All Over" w ...
, the Victorian Children's Choir and the Combined Services Band singing
Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing ...
and
Advance Australia Fair "Advance Australia Fair" is the national anthem of Australia. Written by Scottish-born Australian composer Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed as a patriotic song in Australia in 1878. It replaced "God Save the King, God Save th ...
. US PGA champion golfer
Wayne Grady Wayne Desmond Grady (born 26 July 1957) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Grady was born in Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia. Professional career In 1978, Grady turned professional. He began his career on the PGA Tour of Aust ...
made a lap of honour of the ground. After the match, the premiership cup was presented by Jack Hamilton Jr., son of long-time VFL administrator Jack Hamilton who had died during the season. The
Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Footbal ...
was presented by six-time premiership player Bluey Adams


Teams


Scorecard


Statistics


See also

*
1990 AFL season The 1990 AFL season was the 94th season of the Australian Football League (AFL) and the first under this name, having been known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. It was the highest level senior Australian rules football competition ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1990 Afl Grand Final VFL/AFL Grand Finals 1990 Australian Football League season Afl Grand Final, 1990 Collingwood Football Club Essendon Football Club