The 2020
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...
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 ...
match contested between and at the
Gabba in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, on Saturday 24 October 2020. It was the 125th 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 for the
2020 AFL season
The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...
. The match was originally scheduled for the last Saturday of September but was delayed several weeks due to the suspension of the season stemming from the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. It was the first AFL grand final to be staged outside the state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, and the first to be held at night.
The match was won by Richmond by a margin of 31 points, marking the club's thirteenth VFL/AFL premiership and their third in four seasons. Richmond's
Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 national draft, a ...
won 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 ...
as the player judged best on ground, becoming the first player in VFL/AFL history to win three Norm Smith Medals. The match was attended by 29,707 spectators, just short of the reduced capacity allowed at the venue under pandemic guidelines.
Background
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic and venue change
In the originally released fixture for the 2020 season, the Grand Final was scheduled according to convention on the last Saturday in September (26 September, 2:30pm) 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 ...
. However, the season, and the scheduling of the Grand Final, were disrupted by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, which began to spread in Australia in March 2020. Although the season restarted on 11 June, the fixture was under a constant cloud of uncertainty, and it was not until 2 September that arrangements for the Grand Final were finally announced.
The home-and-away season was shortened to 17 matches per club, instead of the originally intended 22, and the season was suspended entirely for almost three months between 22 March and 11 June as Australia dealt with its first wave of the virus. This adjusted fixture had the effect of delaying the end of the regular season until mid-September, and pushing the Grand Final back to a provisional date of 17 October. The game was ultimately scheduled for 24 October, surpassing the
1923 VFL Grand Final
The 1923 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 20 October 1923. It was the 26th annual Grand Final o ...
(which was played on 20 October 1923) as the latest in the year to play the Grand Final.
The playing of the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, as contracted until at least 2057, was complicated by a second wave of the virus in Melbourne that commenced in July, which resulted in tighter border restrictions, local lockdowns, and
social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...
rules. All Victorian clubs left the state for the majority of the season, basing themselves primarily in Queensland, and on 24 August it was announced that the MCG could not host the Grand Final.
The Gabba
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...
, home stadium of the
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...
in the central Brisbane suburb of
Woolloongabba
Woolloongabba is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Woolloongabba had a population of 5,631 people.
Geography
Woolloongabba is located south of the CBD. It contains the Brisbane Cricket Ground ('the Gabba') and t ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, was ultimately announced to host the match;
Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...
was kept available as a backup venue in the event of a virus outbreak in Brisbane. As part of negotiations, the deal to play the Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was extended by one year to 2058, and two extra home-and-away matches were granted to the ground in 2022 and 2023.
It was the first time that a VFL/AFL grand final in its 123-year history was played outside of Victoria, and the first time since 1991 that the match was played away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
[ A 3 m2 section of Melbourne Cricket Ground turf was transplanted into the Gabba surface to ensure the traditional venue was still part of the event.
The venue's normal capacity of 42,000 was reduced to 30,000 to comply with health department restrictions still in force at the time, and many tickets were available for general public sale for the first time in more than 20 years—this was in contrast to all grand final tickets having been sold through different corporate and membership allocations in recent years. The reduced capacity was all but filled, with 29,707 attending the match; the restrictions meant it was the lowest crowd to attend a grand final since 1917, during ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
In the lead-up to the announcement, it was widely reported that the league was strongly considering moving the match to a twilight or evening timeslot to avoid a clash with major Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival The Spring Racing Carnival is the name of an Australian Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually in Melbourne during October and November.
The Carnival and its status in the wider community
Although racing in Australia is held every day excep ...
races (the Caulfield Cup
The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...
on 17 October or the Cox Plate
The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...
on 24 October). Ultimately, the match was scheduled for a start time of 6:30pm AEST to avoid the Cox Plate, the first time the match had not been played in the traditional afternoon timeslot.[
The Grand Final Eve public holiday, observed in Victoria, was shifted to 23 October in line with the adjusted date.]
Qualification
The top eight teams on the ladder at the conclusion of the home-and-away season qualified for the 2020 AFL finals series, with the winners of the two preliminary finals to meet in the grand final.
After winning the 2019 AFL Grand Final over , ended the season in third place after defeating to finish with a 12-4-1 win–loss record. They played in the second qualifying final and were defeated by 15 points, in what was Brisbane's first win over Richmond in the past 15 attempts. This meant that they had to play in a semi-final against , which they won by 31 points. Then, in a low-scoring, rain-affected preliminary final against minor premiers , Richmond won by six points to advance to their third grand final in four years.
entered the 2020 season having won the previous year's minor premiership, but finishing third after being eliminated in the preliminary final. The club performed solidly throughout the season to finish 4th with a 12–5 record, but with the league's highest percentage. Geelong played their qualifying final against Port Adelaide, losing by 16 points. In the semi-final against , Geelong conceded only one goal in the first half before winning by a dominant 68 points; and then they overcame the Brisbane Lions in the preliminary final to win by 40 points.
It marked the third Grand Final between the two sides, having previously contested the 1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
and 1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
VFL Grand Finals for one win apiece. It was the first grand final to feature two Victorian-based teams since 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, and only the third grand final not to feature either team that finished first or second on the ladder at the conclusion of the home-and-away season since it became possible in 1972 (the others being 1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
and 2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
). The teams had met in a preliminary final the previous year, Richmond winning that game after trailing by 21-points at half time.
Richmond was a slight favourite to win the game; bookmakers offered $1.84 odds for a Richmond victory against $2.05 for a Geelong win.
Media coverage
Television
The match was televised live throughout Australia on the Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
. Although not known to be the case at the time, it was long-time broadcaster Bruce McAvaney
Bruce William McAvaney OAM (born 22 June 1953) is an Australian sports broadcaster with the Seven Network. McAvaney has presented high-profile events including the AFL Grand Final, Melbourne Cup, Australian Open, Test cricket and both Winter a ...
's last game as an AFL commentator, as he stepped down from football commentary ahead of the 2021 season. The game was McAvaney’s 20th Grand Final that he called.
Radio coverage
Match summary
The game was played on a damp field; heavy rain had fallen for much of the day prior to the match—with some forecasts even warning of thunderstorms around the ground—but all rain cleared prior to the game and stayed away throughout. This was fortunate, as the ground had become inundated the day after. The match was played under the 2020 AFL season's adjusted timing rules, with quarters lasting 16 minutes of playing time instead of 20 minutes.
First quarter
The Grand Final opened with two early injuries after five minutes of play: Tiger Nick Vlastuin
Nicholas Alexander Leendert Vlastuin (; born 19 April 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player with the club, winni ...
was sidelined for the rest of the game after a nasty collision with Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield
Patrick Dangerfield (born 5 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Adelaide Football Club.
Drafted by Adelaide in 2007, Dangerfi ...
, resulting in a seven-minute delay as he was stretchered off the ground; and retiring Cat Gary Ablett Jr.
Gary Ablett Jr. (born 14 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). The eldest son of Australian Football Hall of Fam ...
injured his shoulder after a tackle from Richmond captain Trent Cotchin
Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a Brownlow Medallist, an All-Australian, a three-time Richmond best and fairest ...
. Ablett was able to recover and played out the match, albeit in some discomfort; it was later reported that Ablett played with a broken shoulder. No goal was scored until almost 20 minutes into the quarter, when Dion Prestia
Dion Prestia (born 12 October 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 95 games over six seasons with the Gold Coast Suns, after bei ...
scored for the Tigers. Kamdyn McIntosh
Kamdyn McIntosh (born 3 April 1994) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is two time premiership player, having played in grand final victories with ...
scored two minutes later to give Richmond an early two-goal lead. The Cats, however, took a one-point lead at the first change, after Cameron Guthrie
Cameron (Mr Worried) Guthrie (born 19 August 1992) is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
AFL career
Guthrie was drafted with the 23rd selection in the 2010 AFL draft after play ...
scored Geelong's first goal at the 25-minute mark and Mitch Duncan goaled at the 33-minute mark.
Second quarter
Geelong dominated general play throughout most of the second quarter of the Grand Final. Dangerfield scored his first goal three minutes into the quarter, and Geelong continued to attack over the subsequent ten minutes, managing only three behinds from several attempts. It was not until Sam Menegola
Sam Menegola (born 7 March 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He had previously been listed by Hawthorn and Fremantle, but didn't play a senior game for either ...
kicked his first goal at the 16-minute mark, followed quickly by one from Tom Hawkins at the 18-minute mark, that Geelong got some reward for its dominance on the scoreboard. At this point, the Cats were leading by 22 points, having completely dominated the territory battle with 14 of the previous 15 inside-50s as well as scoring the last 5.3 (33) of the match either side of quarter time.
In the final few minutes of the quarter, Richmond began to gain the advantage in general play, repeatedly entering its own forward 50 arc in the last few minutes; a late goal from Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 national draft, a ...
put them just fifteen points behind at half-time.
Third quarter
As the third quarter began, the run of general play continued with Richmond, as it had been just before half time. Richmond's share of the contested ball increased, and at one stage the Tigers had a run of ten consecutive inside-50s either side of half-time. Two early goals from Jack Riewoldt
Jack Riewoldt ( ; born 31 October 1988) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player, a three-time Coleman Medallist, a ...
and Jason Castagna
Jason Castagna ( ; born 12 July 1996) is a former professional Australian rules football player for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a triple premiership player with Richmond. Castagna announced his reti ...
reduced the margin to just three points. Gryan Miers
Gryan Miers (born 30 March 1999) is an Australian rules footballer playing for in the Australian Football League (AFL). A small forward, he played in the TAC Cup before he was recruited by Geelong with pick 57 in the 2017 national draft. Mier ...
goaled at the eight-minute mark for Geelong to extend the margin back to nine points; however, the Tigers continued to attack strongly and kicked the next two goals, including one by Kane Lambert
Kane Lambert (born 26 November 1991) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He went undrafted after a junior career with the Northern Knights ...
(about 12 minutes into the quarter) and one from Martin (at the 16-minute mark), which gave Richmond its first lead since the first quarter. Neither team managed another goal in the third quarter, and Richmond went into three-quarter-time with a two-point lead.
Final quarter
Richmond carried on its strong play, and, with three goals inside the first thirteen minutes of the quarter, had extended the margin to 22 points: Prestia goaled within the first minute of the final quarter; next, Tom Lynch scored his only goal of the night at the nine-minute mark after a contested mark and close-range set shot; and then Martin kicked his third major at the 13-minute mark. With half of the quarter gone, it was arguably a match-winning lead.
A few minutes later, Sam Menegola
Sam Menegola (born 7 March 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He had previously been listed by Hawthorn and Fremantle, but didn't play a senior game for either ...
took a solid pack mark for Geelong at centre half-forward, while teammate Sam Simpson was knocked unconscious in the same contest, requiring the game's second extended delay as Simpson was stretchered from the ground; Menegola kicked an impressive goal after the delay to reduce the margin to 16 points and keep a remote chance of victory alive. However, several forward entries by Geelong over the following minutes were repelled by Richmond's defence; and, in response, the Tigers finished with two late goals by Riewoldt and Martin to win by a convincing 31 points. After its largest 22-point deficit in the second quarter, Richmond kicked 10 of the last 12 goals of the match.
Post-match
Having played his final game, Ablett received a guard of honour from both his teammates and from Richmond as he left the field and led the Cats off.
Norm Smith Medal
By unanimous selection for the second straight year—15 out of 15 possible votes—Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin (born 26 June 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Martin was drafted by Richmond with the third pick in the 2009 national draft, a ...
was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground. With four goals, often at key moments and largely from individual efforts, as well as sixteen kicks, five handballs, five clearances and three tackles, Martin's influence on the game was extremely important for Richmond's recovery and victory. It was Martin's third Norm Smith Medal after having won it in 2017 and 2019, making him the first player ever to win three Norm Smith Medals, and the second to win two consecutively after Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
's Andrew McLeod
Andrew Luke McLeod (born 4 August 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the games record holder for Adelaide, having played 340 games.
...
(1997–1998). Tigers defender Jayden Short
Jayden Short (born 24 January 1996) is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a premiership player with Richmond in 2019 and 2020, and in 2020 won the club ...
finished second, gaining 771 meters of ground; Shane Edwards
Shane Edwards (born 25 October 1988) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player, an All-Australian and has three tim ...
was third, with 27 disposals and nine clearances; and Geelong midfielder Mitch Duncan, who was the most influential player when Geelong built its lead in the first half, polled three votes to finish fourth.
In a somewhat controversial moment, Leigh Matthews
Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the .
Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the ic ...
—who was chairman of the voting panel—gave two votes to Richmond's Nathan Broad
Nathan Broad (born 15 April 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player with the club, winning in 2017, 2019 and 2020. ...
. When interviewed later on why he voted for Broad, who played an unremarkable game, a puzzled Matthews recalled giving his two votes to Short, theorising that he must have written the wrong name by accident. Fortunately, the misvote did not affect the overall ranking positions, as Dustin Martin had tallied an unassailable lead over Short. Byron Pickett
Byron Pickett (born 11 August 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with three clubs in the AFL. He was known as a big game player as well as for his strength, hard bumps and tough approach to the game. Pickett ...
, who won the honor in 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
with Port Adelaide, presented the medal.
Chaired by Leigh Matthews
Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the .
Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the ic ...
, the voters and their choices were as follows:
Entertainment
Prior the start of the match, classically trained tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
and 2015 contestant on ''The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
'' Tim McCallum sang the national anthem, and Mike Brady performed his football anthem "Up There Cazaly
"Up There Cazaly" is 1979 song by Mike Brady, written to promote Channel Seven's coverage of the Victorian Football League (VFL). It was first performed by the Two-Man Band, a duo of Brady and Peter Sullivan, and has since become an unofficial ...
" live from an empty Melbourne Cricket Ground. Performances by bands Cub Sport
Cub Sport are an Australian pop group formed in Brisbane in early 2010. Founding mainstays are Zoe Davis on keyboards, bass guitar, lead guitar and vocals, Tim Nelson on lead vocals and keyboards, Sam "Bolan" Netterfield on keyboards and vocal ...
, DMA's
DMA'S (stylised in all caps) are an Australian three-piece rock band formed in 2012 in Sydney. The band is composed of Tommy O'Dell, Matt Mason, and Johnny Took. They gained popularity for their debut single " Delete" and for their self-titled ...
and Sheppard, as well duo Electric Fields
Electric Fields are an Aboriginal Australian electronic music duo made up of vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross. Electric Fields combine modern electric-soul music with Aboriginal culture and sing in Pi ...
and Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...
frontman Andrew Stockdale
Andrew James Kenneth Stockdale (born 20 July 1976) is an Australian singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and only continuous member of the rock band Wolfmother.
Early life
A ...
(with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...
), completed an all-Australian entertainment line-up.
The AFL Grand Final Sprint
The AFL Grand Final Sprint is a sprint running race contested by AFL players as part of the on-field entertainment on the day of the AFL Grand Final. The sprint was held each year from 1979 until 1985 and again in 1987 (when the league was known as ...
was held at quarter-time rather than the conventional half-time slot, and it was won by 's Jordan Clark.
Teams
The two teams both went into the Grand Final unchanged from their preliminary final line-ups.
Both teams included players from their past premiership-winning teams in the 21st century. 14 of Richmond's 22 players had played in both their 2017 and 2019 premiership teams. Geelong included five members who had been part of at least one of their premiership teams from 2007, 2009 and 2011: Gary Ablett Jr.
Gary Ablett Jr. (born 14 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). The eldest son of Australian Football Hall of Fam ...
, Joel Selwood
Joel Anthony Selwood (born 26 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a quadruple premiership player, a six-time All-Australian, and a three-ti ...
, Harry Taylor, Mitch Duncan and Coleman Medalist Tom Hawkins, with Ablett, one of the last two remaining members from the team that beat Port Adelaide in 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, also playing his final game. The Cats also selected Luke Dahlhaus
Luke Dahlhaus (born 21 August 1992) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He received a nomination for the 2011 AFL Rising Star award in r ...
, who had previously featured in the Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...
' triumph in 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
against Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Geelong's team through the latter part of the season and into the finals was notable as one of the oldest by average player age in the league's history; the selected grand final 22, with an average age of 28 years and 117 days, was at the time the second-oldest selected team in any VFL/AFL game, second only to Geelong's qualifying final team from three weeks earlier; other Geelong teams in 2021 and 2022 also later passed the tally.
;Umpires
The umpiring panel—comprising three field umpires, four boundary umpires, two goal umpires, and an emergency in each position—is given below.
''Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 2020.''
Scoreboard
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Australia, Sports
2020 Australian Football League season
AFL season
AFL Grand Final 2020
VFL/AFL Grand Finals
Australian rules football in Queensland
Sports competitions in Brisbane
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...
2020s in Brisbane