The 1996 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
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...
and the
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...
, 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 28 September 1996. It was the 100th 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
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
for the
1996 AFL season
The 1996 AFL season was the 100th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured six ...
. The match, attended by 93,102 people, was won by North Melbourne by 43 points.
Background
Sydney were playing in a grand final for the first time since relocating from South Melbourne. It was the Swans' first appearance in a premiership decider since losing the
1945 VFL Grand Final, while it was North Melbourne's first since losing the
1978 VFL Grand Final.
At the conclusion of the
home-and-away season, Sydney had finished first on the AFL ladder with 16 wins and 5 losses and one draw, winning the
McClelland Trophy
The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football club championship trophy, awarded each year to the club with the best aggregate performance across the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) seasons.
The trophy was inaugur ...
(aka the minor premiership). North Melbourne had finished second with 16 wins and 6 losses.
The lead-up to the game was dominated by the tribunal case of Sydney defender
Andrew Dunkley
Andrew Dunkley (born 29 June 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented in the Australian Football League (AFL). He also represented Victoria in State of Origin in 1998.
AFL career
Dunkley played most of his career at full ...
, who was to be the Swans' match-up for star Kangaroos forward
Wayne Carey
Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
A dual-premiership captain at North Melbourne ...
. On the Wednesday before the grand final, Dunkley was reported on video evidence – which was still relatively uncommon practice at the time – for striking 's
James Hird
James Albert Hird (born 4 February 1973) is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Hird played as a midfielder and half-forward, but he ...
in the previous week's preliminary final. On the Thursday before the game, Sydney successfully obtained a Supreme Court injunction to prevent the case from being heard until after the grand final, with the judge ruling that requiring Dunkley to face the tribunal only one day after learning of the charge and two days before the grand final would deny him natural justice and deny him the time required to prepare a defence. Consequently, Dunkley was free to play. When Dunkley ultimately faced the tribunal, he was suspended for three weeks.
Match summary
The AFL's centenary year was crowned by North Melbourne, who made amends for the disappointment of three successive failed finals campaigns. The Kangaroos won their third flag despite a slow start. Led by bullocking defender
Glenn Archer
Glenn Archer (born 24 March 1973) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire career with the North Melbourne Football Club.
Archer had a reputation as one of the most courageous players ever to play the game. Th ...
and superstars
Corey McKernan
Corey McKernan (born 19 December 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Carlton Blues in the Australian Football League (AFL). A dual Premiership player, a one-time All-Australian at Nort ...
and
Wayne Carey
Wayne Francis Carey (born 27 May 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
A dual-premiership captain at North Melbourne ...
, the Kangaroos were hellbent in their premiership quest.
The Swans started well to lead by 18 points at quarter-time.
When
Jason Mooney scored early in the second quarter, the Swans' lead extended to 24 points. However,
Glenn Freeborn
Glenn Freeborn (born 6 February 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer for both North Melbourne (1995–1998) and Collingwood (1999–2003) in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally drafted by Melbourne, Freeborn was delisted w ...
's move to the forward line sparked the Kangaroos, with Freeborn kicking three goals for the quarter
and
Darren Crocker
Darren Crocker (born 26 March 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who is currently the coach of the AFL Women's team. He formerly played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Playing career
Cr ...
and
Brett Allison
Brett Allison (born 26 May 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the VFL/AFL. He served as the head of development at the Melbourne Football Club from 2013 to 201 ...
each kicking one, and by half time the Kangaroos led by two points.
North Melbourne dominated the third quarter, with two goals to
Craig Sholl
Craig Sholl (born 30 December 1967) is a former Australian Rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos during the 1990s. He won a premiership with the club in 1996 and the Syd Barker Medal in 1991, which he drew with Mick Marty ...
and one each to
Peter Bell Peter Bell may refer to:
People
* Peter Hansborough Bell (1810–1898), governor of Texas, U.S. representative
* Peter Bell (footballer, born 1898) (1898–1965), English footballer
* Peter Bell (footballer, born 1976), Australian rules footballe ...
and Crocker, which saw them leading by 25 points at three-quarter-time.
The Kangaroos kicked the first two goals of the final quarter through
Anthony Stevens
Anthony Stevens (born 2 July 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos. He was named as ruck rover in the club's official 'Team of the Century'.
Stevens was a member of North Melbourne premiersh ...
and
Mark Roberts to effectively kill the contest. The two teams traded goals until the end of the game, with North ultimately triumphing by 43 points.
Tony Lockett
Anthony Howard Lockett (born 9 March 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Plugger", he played as a full forward, full-forwar ...
tried hard for the Swans in his first and only grand final, booting six goals.
Paul Roos was playing in his 314th game of VFL/AFL football. He continues to hold the record for the most games played before participating in his first grand final.
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 Archer for being judged the best player afield.
Teams
Scoreboard
References
External links
Match details at AFL Tables
See also
*
1996 AFL season
The 1996 AFL season was the 100th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured six ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 AFL Grand Final
VFL/AFL Grand Finals
AFL Grand Final, 1996
1996 Australian Football League season
North Melbourne Football Club
Sydney Swans