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 oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

game contested between the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, 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 (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...

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 reser ...

, held at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 28 September 1996. It was the 100th annual

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") 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. Sy ...

of the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(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 sixt ...

. The match, attended by 93,102 people, was won by North Melbourne by a margin of 43 points, marking that club's third premiership victory. North Melbourne were awarded a gold premiership cup instead of the usual silver in honour of the centenary grand final.

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 In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

, 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 trophy which has been awarded each year since 1951 by the Australian Football League (known prior to 1990 as the Victorian Football League) to the best-performing club in the home-and-away sea ...

. 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 Melbou ...

. 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 h ...

in the previous week's preliminary final. On the Thursday, 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 which made amends for the disappointment of three successive failed finals campaigns. The Kangaroos won their third flag (and the only Gold Premiership Cup in history) despite a slow start. Led by bullocking defender Glenn Archer 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 Nor ...

and

, the Kangaroos were hellbent in their premiership quest. The Swans, although overwhelmed at the finish, started well and kicked the last three goals of the first quarter to lead by 18 points at quarter time. When Jason Mooney scored early in the second quarter the Swans' lead extend 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 2 points. North Melbourne dominated the third quarter, with two goals to Craig Sholl and one each to Peter Bell 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 is considered one of the greatest f ...

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 Football ...

Background

Match summary

Teams

Goal kickers

References

External links

See also