2010 AFL Grand Final
Encyclopedia
The 2010 AFL Grand Final
is either of two Australian rules football
contests between the Collingwood Football Club
and the St Kilda Football Club. Together they are considered the 114th annual Grand Final
of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League
, and were staged to determine the premiers for the 2010 AFL season. As the first Grand Final ended in a draw, a second match - known as the Grand Final replay - was played a week later and was won by Collingwood.
The first Grand Final was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
in Melbourne
on 25 September 2010. The game was attended by 100,016 spectators, the highest crowd for a VFL/AFL game since the 1986 VFL Grand Final
. The match ended in a draw, with both teams scoring 68 points. This was the third draw in a VFL/AFL Grand Final, the previous two occurring in 1948
and 1977
.
The premiership was decided by a full replay at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
on 2 October 2010. It was attended by 93,853 people. Collingwood defeated St Kilda by 56 points, marking Collingwood's 15th VFL/AFL premiership.
Collingwood entered the 2010 season
after having lost its preliminary final in 2009 against eventual premiers . Collingwood was the best performed side of the home and away season, finishing with a record of 17–4–1 and winning its first Minor Premiership
since 1977 and its first McClelland Trophy
since 1970. Collingwood progressed to the Grand Final after comfortable victories in the qualifying final against the by 62 points, and then against Geelong in the preliminary final by 41 points.
St Kilda entered the season after having won the 2009
minor premiership with the club's best ever home and away record of 20–2, but losing the Grand Final
to Geelong by two goals. After winning the first four games of the season, the Saints hit a form slump coinciding with a serious hamstring injury to captain Nick Riewoldt
. They would recover to win seven games in a row before Riewoldt's return, and finished third on the ladder with a record of 15–6–1. They overcame a heavily favoured Geelong team by four points in their qualifying final, and had a comfortable 24-point win over the Western Bulldogs in the preliminary final to advance to the Grand Final.
It is the first Grand Final between two Melbourne-based sides since the 2000 Grand Final
. Collingwood was the strong favourite to win, with major bookmakers offering around A$
1.40 to A$1.45 for a Collingwood victory at the start of the game.
Collingwood and St Kilda met twice during the 2010 home-and-away season, each team winning once. St Kilda won in Round 3 at Etihad Stadium, 10.9 (69) to an inaccurate 4.17 (41), although Reiwoldt was badly injured during the match. In Round 16 at the MCG, Collingwood was a comfortable winner over St Kilda by the score 15.10 (100) versus 6.16 (52). The teams also met in the first round of the preseason competition which St Kilda won by 1 point.
The first final marked the 41st time Collingwood has contested the VFL/AFL Grand Final, and the first time since the club lost back-to-back Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003. The club was attempting to win its fifteenth VFL/AFL premiership, and its first since 1990
. It was St Kilda's seventh Grand Final appearance, and its second in a row after the loss in 2009. St Kilda was attempting to win its second premiership, the only previous premiership coming in 1966
.
The matches were the second and third Grand Finals contested by the two clubs. The only previous encounter was the 1966 Grand Final
in which St Kilda won its only premiership, winning by a single point 10.14 (74) to 10.13 (73). They had met in a total of nine finals, of which St Kilda has won six, including the last five in a row, dating back to the 1966 Grand Final. Between them, Collingwood and St Kilda fielded only three players who had previously won a premiership: Darren Jolly
(Collingwood), Adam Schneider
and Sean Dempster
(both St Kilda) — all three played in 's 2005 premiership team just five years earlier.
, on their main channel as well as the new high definition
(HD) digital channel 7mate
. The match was also broadcast for the first time in 3D
.
The network had only broadcast the match following an agreement that would see them, along with rival Network Ten
(which had been contracted under the current deal to telecast the event between 2007, 2009 and 2011), share the rights to the match every year, with the losing network broadcasting the pre-season Grand Final and the Brownlow Medal
presentation that year as well. Seven
also televised the AFL Grand Final replay, on 2 October, albeit not in 3D nor in High Definition, as the equipment was being loaned in Sydney for the NRL Grand Final. The commentary team consisted of:
The Seven Network
also made use of the Skycam
for the first time in an AFL Grand Final. The camera had previously been trialled by the Nine Network
during its coverage of Friday Night Football
in 2004, as well as the Rugby League State of Origin
.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald
, 3.7 million people tuned into their TV to watch the drawn Grand Final, while a slightly smaller audience of 3.6 million tuned to watch the replay. However, 5.7 million witnessed the last 5 minutes of the replay, up from 5.6 million the previous week.
Aside from television, the Grand Final was also broadcast by a number of radio stations. Due to Melbourne still being the heartland of Australian rules football, a higher number of radio stations broadcast locally into Melbourne, although almost all stations have their broadcast syndicated by regional stations nation-wide. The 2010 radio broadcasters include Triple M
, SEN 1116
, 3AW
, ABC Melbourne
, K-Rock
, NIRS
, FIVEaa
, 6PR
and Crocmedia
.
, who performed "Suicide Blonde
", "New Sensation
" and "Kick
". This was followed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
, who performed orchestral arrangements of the Collingwood and St Kilda theme songs. Lyrics for the two songs were performed by Michael Paynter
(for Collingwood) and Paris Wells
(for St Kilda).
For the Grand Final replay, Lionel Richie
was announced to perform the pre-match, as well as the post-match, entertainment. The American said, "It is a great honour to be invited to perform at such an historic event in Australian football...I am incredibly fortunate to have been available for this once-in-a-lifetime experience to share my music with my fans."
Following Richie's Performance, the team theme songs were performed as saxophone solos by Joe Camilleri
(for Collingwood) and Wilbur Wilde
(for St Kilda). For the Replay, in place of the traditional around-the-ground parade of 2010 AFL retirees and medalists, famous members of the Collingwood and St. Kilda Football Clubs were presented: including participants from the memorable 1966 VFL Grand Final
.
to score from 5m out. Stephen Milne
scored St Kilda's opening goal in the 8th minute. Collingwood then scored three goals in six minutes, to Blair
, Didak
and Thomas
, to open up a twenty point lead. After the 17th minute, St Kilda was able to hold Collingwood scoreless, with goals to Riewoldt and Schneider
bringing the margin back to six points at quarter time.
Generally, Collingwood had the better of the play early in the first quarter, attacking primarily through rebounds and turnovers. St Kilda won the clearances 12–6 throughout the quarter, and it was through that clearance work that St Kilda was able to build their late quarter recovery. Lenny Hayes
was instrumental in St Kilda's clearance work, acting as third-man-up in the ruck contests and collecting ten disposals. All of the key statistics (contested possessions, inside-50s, tackles) except for clearances were fairly even through the quarter.
free kick against Eddy and 50-metre penalty
against Ray
, and O'Brien in the 26th minute; of their remaining shots, three fell short and were touched or rushed for behinds, while Cloke missed two relatively easy shots—one from a 25m set shot directly in front and one from a snap shot 30m out—in the final two minutes of the quarter. So dominant was Collingwood in the second quarter that St Kilda managed only two shots on goal, both set shots from outside 50m: one goal to Koschitzke in the 12th minute, and one from Peake in the 21st minute which fell short and was rebounded.
Collingwood entered half time with a 24-point lead. Swan was instrumental at stoppages in the second quarter, and Thomas and Maxwell were both crucial at forcing rebounds.
. Midway through the quarter, Gardiner left the field injured, leaving St Kilda (who had omitted back-up ruckman Ben McEvoy
for the game) without a recognised ruckman. Collingwood had long-range shots at goal by Cloke and Dawes fall short and rushed for behinds in the middle stages of the quarter, but could not score a goal. The Saints kicked two goals in five minutes through Goddard and Gilbert to close the gap to seven points in the 22nd minute. Thomas had a good chance to score a goal late in the quarter, but missed with a wild snap shot under little pressure. Collingwood took an eight point lead into three-quarter time.
After Collingwood's complete dominance of the second quarter, the third quarter was much more closely contested. The teams were even in both clearances and contested disposals, and both managed six shots on goal. In St Kilda's case, their six shots yielded 3.3 (21), while in Collingwood's case, they yielded only 0.5 (5) – including one hit-the-post, two fell short and touched for behinds, and one fell short and marked for no score. Hayes and Goddard were again prominent at the clearances, with both playing at various times as the third-man-up in ruck contests. Part-time ruckman Jason Blake
assumed much of the ruck responsibility following Michael Gardiner
's injury.
hit the post from a long tight set shot won after catching O'Brien holding the ball; the Saints then scored goals through Hayes in the 14th minute, and Milne in the 15th minute off the ensuing centre break to bring the margin back to one point. In the 19th minute, Riewoldt had a 45m snap shot at the goals from a stoppage which was bouncing towards the goals, but was touched on the line by a desperate dive from Maxwell, levelling the scores at 61 apiece. Then, in the 20th minute, Goddard scored a goal from 20m out, directly in front, after taking a big specky
over O'Brien. This gave St Kilda its first lead of the game, after Collingwood had been leading since the opening goal, 20 seconds into the game.
In the 22nd minute, Cloke's attempt for goal was rushed behind after he was awarded a free kick. In the 26th minute, Maxwell created a turnover which resulted in a goal to Cloke from 5m, putting Collingwood back in front by a point. Collingwood unsuccessfully attacked twice in the following two minutes from turnovers: a 50m set shot from Dawes which fell short and was punched out of bounds, and a 50m snap shot from Sidebottom
which fell short and was marked and rebounded. The rebound from that mark ended with Hayes taking a long shot towards Milne from 60m, but the kick eluded Milne and bounced through the a behind, tying the game at 68 apiece in the 30th minute. In the final minute of the game, St Kilda had the ball in its forward line, and after fifteen seconds of scrambling around 15-25m from goal, Collingwood cleared to the boundary line on the wing. Time elapsed, and the game finished drawn.
from St Kilda Football Club, with Tim Golds from Greater Western Sydney and Lewis Jetta
from Sydney Swans
finishing second and third respectively.
of Collingwood
and Nick Riewoldt
of St Kilda, both stated that they would have preferred an extra time period; Maxwell was particularly scathing of the arrangement, labeling it an "absolute joke" in an interview immediately after the final siren, but the full replay was not without its supporters, with Collingwood coach Michael Malthouse pledging his support to the traditional arrangement in his post-match press conference.
St Kilda's Lenny Hayes won the Norm Smith Medal
for the drawn grand final comfortably, with 13 of a possible 15 votes, named best on ground by four of the five voters. Hayes had 32 disposals, 12 tackles, five clearances, and five inside-50s. Brendon Goddard placed second with seven votes, while Dale Thomas came third with six votes, receiving the most Norm Smith votes of any Collingwood player. Sam Fisher and Nick Maxwell were the only other vote-getters.
Within a few days of the Grand Final, the organisers of several events already scheduled for 2 October made the commercial decision to reschedule their events to avoid a clash with the replay. The inaugural A-League
derby clash
between cross-town teams the Melbourne Victory and new franchise Melbourne Heart was postponed for 8 October to maximise promotion and publicity opportunities. The Victorian Racing Club moved the Turnbull Stakes
to 3 October. Cricket Victoria delayed the opening of the Victorian Premier Cricket season to the following weekend. The Chris Mainwaring
Legends Match, which raises money for Perth's Telethon
was moved to 9 October. The scheduling of several AFL post-season events was also affected: Collingwood's Copeland Trophy
presentation was rescheduled to December, and the start of trade week
and the father-son
bidding meeting were moved from 4 October to 5 October (with trade week shortened by one day). Many players had to reschedule their post-season holiday plans to be available to play in the Replay.
On Tuesday 28 September, the AFL announced a rule change such that any player who had played in the drawn Grand Final but missed the Replay, through omission or injury, would still receive a Premiership Medallion if his team was victorious. Under previous rules, players would not have received Premiership Medallions unless they were present in the team that won the premiership-deciding game. This would mean that Leon Davis, who would be replaced for the Replay, would eventually receive a medallion (although he did not receive one during the match-day ceremony).
, exceeding the crowd of the 2008 AFL Grand Final
by only four people.
Collingwood was still the strong favourite with bookmakers for the Replay, although the odds had tightened since the drawn match: major bookmakers were offering odds of around $1.60 for a Collingwood win in the Replay, compared with $1.40–$1.45 for the Grand Final.
of Collingwood won the coin toss, and chose to kick to the (western) City End. Collingwood almost scored the opening goal in the first minute of the game, but an off-the-ball free kick against Dane Swan
stripped Travis Cloke
of a set shot from the goal square. The first score was registered in the 5th minute, a goal from a set shot by Tyson Goldsack
. Up until the 11th minute, Collingwood won the inside-50s 6–1. Johnson scored a goal for Collingwood in the 12th minute, and the Magpies led 14–0 after twenty minutes. St Kilda's first score came in the 21st minute in dramatic fashion, with a defensive effort from Heath Shaw
turning a near-certain goal into a behind: Nick Riewoldt
had marked 2m from goal in the goal square, and turned to play on, only to have Shaw dive across him from behind as he was dropping the ball, spoiling the ball before it reached Riewoldt's foot, and rushing the ball through for a behind. Brent Macaffer
scored a crumbing goal for Collingwood from the goal square a minute later to extend the margin to 19 points. Riewoldt
would get one more chance to get a goal at the last minute, but his 45m kick missed to the left. Collingwood led by 18 points at quarter time, and St Kilda was held goalless in the first quarter.
while on the run – to take St Kilda's total score to only 0.7 (7), while Alan Didak
scored a goal for Collingwood from the goal square in the 6th minute. Brendan Goddard finally scored St Kilda's first goal in the 15th minute from a 20m set shot. After missing two difficult shots at goal in the 17th and 18th minutes, Collingwood goalled twice in a space of one minute, through Macaffer
and Jolly
. The end of the quarter was filled with physical one-on-one contests with Collingwood willing to play for time, and no more goals were scored in the quarter. Two more opportunities for Collingwood ended up behinds but kept the pressure on St Kilda. Finally, Schneider
had a set shot from 30m as the siren sounded, but only managed a behind. In general play, the second quarter was fairly even, with St Kilda winning the inside-50s 13-10, but while none of their missed opportunities were easy shots, the Saints' inability to convert the chances they had contributed to their increasing deficit. Collingwood won the quarter 3.3 (21) to St Kilda's 1.6 (12) and took a 27-point lead into half time.
and Swan
. It took Koschitzke
to end that streak, after marking the ball from a Riewoldt kick from the centre square. The two sides subsequently kicked goal for goal, with Didak
, Hayes, Sidebottom
, and Gilbert all registering goals. St Kilda had four shots at goal for three goals, while Collingwood had eight for five goals, and a rushed behind. Collingwood's three-quarter-time lead was 41 points.
(7th minute), O'Brien (12th minute, with the assistance of a 50-metre penalty
), Milne (13th minute), Wellingham (17th minute), Milne again (25th minute), and finally Sidebottom
(27th minute). After a final behind by St. Kilda, Collingwood played out the final minute of the game running out the clock
, and the ball was in the hands of Didak as the final siren sounded for Collingwood's 56 point victory.
was awarded the Norm Smith Medal
as the best player in the Grand Final replay with ten votes; accumulating 29 disposals, seven marks and laying eleven tackles. Steele Sidebottom
(26 disposals, two goals) was a close second with eight votes. Dale Thomas
(27 disposals, eight marks) was third with four votes, and Swan, Jolly, Ball and Nathan Brown also polled votes. The Medal was presented to Pendlebury by former North Melbourne Star Arnold Briedis
, the Best on Ground in the 1977 Replay
.
The win was the fifteenth VFL/AFL premiership won by Collingwood in its 114 years in the league. It was Collingwood's first premiership since 1990
, and only its second since 1958
. It was the ninth time that Collingwood won both the premiership and the minor premiership in the same year, but the first time since 1930
. It was the third premiership won by Michael Malthouse as a coach, having previously won with the West Coast Eagles
in 1992
and 1994
. With its loss, St Kilda became the first team since Collingwood in 2002
and 2003
to finish runners-up twice in a row.
The Grand Final Replay was attended by 93,853 people, roughly 6,000 fewer than the drawn Grand Final. This was consistent with previous Grand Final Replays in 1948 and 1977, both of which drew lower attendances than the drawn Grand Finals which preceded them.
charged St Kilda's Adam Schneider
with striking Brent Macaffer
in the third quarter of the replay. Schneider was offered a two-week suspension for the incident.
On Monday 13 December, the AFL commission discussed the possibility of introducing extra time to decide future drawn Grand Finals, but ultimately decided to retain the full Grand Final Replay.
Tyson Goldsack's mother placed a successful bet on her son, who is usually a defender but started in the forward-line, to kick the first goal of the replay. The Footy Show
host James Brayshaw
drew attention to this in July 2011, amidst investigations into that season's controversial betting plunges on the defenders to kick the first goal, but the AFL cleared Goldsack and his mother of any wrongdoing.
. Collingwood made two changes to their preliminary final team, bring in Leon Davis
and Simon Prestigiacomo
and omitting Tyson Goldsack
and Nathan Brown
. However, prior to the start of the first final, Brown replaced Prestigiacomo who withdrew due to a groin strain.
, who was replaced by defender Tyson Goldsack
. St Kilda brought Ben McEvoy
into the team, to replace injured ruckman Michael Gardiner
.
References
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
is either of two Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
contests between the Collingwood Football Club
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and the St Kilda Football Club. Together they are considered the 114th annual Grand Final
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match, traditionally held on the final Saturday in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia to determine the Australian Football League premiership champions for that year...
of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, and were staged to determine the premiers for the 2010 AFL season. As the first Grand Final ended in a draw, a second match - known as the Grand Final replay - was played a week later and was won by Collingwood.
The first Grand Final was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
on 25 September 2010. The game was attended by 100,016 spectators, the highest crowd for a VFL/AFL game since the 1986 VFL Grand Final
1986 VFL Grand Final
The 1986 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1986. It was the 90th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...
. The match ended in a draw, with both teams scoring 68 points. This was the third draw in a VFL/AFL Grand Final, the previous two occurring in 1948
1948 VFL Grand Final
The 1948 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 2 October 1948. It was the 52nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for...
and 1977
1977 VFL Grand Final
The 1977 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1977...
.
The premiership was decided by a full replay at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
on 2 October 2010. It was attended by 93,853 people. Collingwood defeated St Kilda by 56 points, marking Collingwood's 15th VFL/AFL premiership.
Lead-up
2010 AFL season
-Premiership season:The draw for the 2010 AFL Premiership Season is not a random selection of matches, but rather is planned by the AFL. It is intended to produce a balanced draw while also providing the fans and television networks with blockbuster games. In a competition with 16 teams and 22...
after having lost its preliminary final in 2009 against eventual premiers . Collingwood was the best performed side of the home and away season, finishing with a record of 17–4–1 and winning its first Minor Premiership
Minor premiership
A minor premiership is the name of the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the playoffs....
since 1977 and its first McClelland Trophy
McClelland Trophy
The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy, currently awarded to the minor premiers in the Australian Football League each year...
since 1970. Collingwood progressed to the Grand Final after comfortable victories in the qualifying final against the by 62 points, and then against Geelong in the preliminary final by 41 points.
St Kilda entered the season after having won the 2009
2009 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:...
minor premiership with the club's best ever home and away record of 20–2, but losing the Grand Final
2009 AFL Grand Final
The 2009 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the St Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 2009...
to Geelong by two goals. After winning the first four games of the season, the Saints hit a form slump coinciding with a serious hamstring injury to captain Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...
. They would recover to win seven games in a row before Riewoldt's return, and finished third on the ladder with a record of 15–6–1. They overcame a heavily favoured Geelong team by four points in their qualifying final, and had a comfortable 24-point win over the Western Bulldogs in the preliminary final to advance to the Grand Final.
It is the first Grand Final between two Melbourne-based sides since the 2000 Grand Final
2000 AFL Grand Final
The 2000 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 2000. It was the 104th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian...
. Collingwood was the strong favourite to win, with major bookmakers offering around A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
1.40 to A$1.45 for a Collingwood victory at the start of the game.
Collingwood and St Kilda met twice during the 2010 home-and-away season, each team winning once. St Kilda won in Round 3 at Etihad Stadium, 10.9 (69) to an inaccurate 4.17 (41), although Reiwoldt was badly injured during the match. In Round 16 at the MCG, Collingwood was a comfortable winner over St Kilda by the score 15.10 (100) versus 6.16 (52). The teams also met in the first round of the preseason competition which St Kilda won by 1 point.
The first final marked the 41st time Collingwood has contested the VFL/AFL Grand Final, and the first time since the club lost back-to-back Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003. The club was attempting to win its fifteenth VFL/AFL premiership, and its first since 1990
1990 AFL Grand Final
The 1990 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 6 October 1990. It was the 94th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football...
. It was St Kilda's seventh Grand Final appearance, and its second in a row after the loss in 2009. St Kilda was attempting to win its second premiership, the only previous premiership coming in 1966
1966 VFL Grand Final
The 1966 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1966. It was the 70th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League , staged to...
.
The matches were the second and third Grand Finals contested by the two clubs. The only previous encounter was the 1966 Grand Final
1966 VFL Grand Final
The 1966 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1966. It was the 70th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League , staged to...
in which St Kilda won its only premiership, winning by a single point 10.14 (74) to 10.13 (73). They had met in a total of nine finals, of which St Kilda has won six, including the last five in a row, dating back to the 1966 Grand Final. Between them, Collingwood and St Kilda fielded only three players who had previously won a premiership: Darren Jolly
Darren Jolly
Darren Jolly is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League . Jolly has previously played for Melbourne, the Sydney Swans...
(Collingwood), Adam Schneider
Adam Schneider
Adam Schneider is an Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League...
and Sean Dempster
Sean Dempster
Sean Dempster is an Australian rules football player from the state of Victoria playing for St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He has also played senior AFL football with the Sydney Swans.-Before AFL:...
(both St Kilda) — all three played in 's 2005 premiership team just five years earlier.
Media coverage
The 2010 decider was telecast nation-wide by the Seven NetworkSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, on their main channel as well as the new high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
(HD) digital channel 7mate
7mate
7mate is an Australian free-to-air high definition digital television channel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010.The network stated that 7mate would contain sport and regular programs aimed primarily at a male audience, with programming drawn from a combination of new...
. The match was also broadcast for the first time in 3D
3D television
A 3D television is a television set that employs techniques of 3D presentation, such as stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D-plus-depth, and a 3D display – a special viewing device to project a television program into a realistic three-dimensional field.- History :In the late-1890's,...
.
The network had only broadcast the match following an agreement that would see them, along with rival Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
(which had been contracted under the current deal to telecast the event between 2007, 2009 and 2011), share the rights to the match every year, with the losing network broadcasting the pre-season Grand Final and the Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
presentation that year as well. Seven
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
also televised the AFL Grand Final replay, on 2 October, albeit not in 3D nor in High Definition, as the equipment was being loaned in Sydney for the NRL Grand Final. The commentary team consisted of:
- Bruce McAvaneyBruce McAvaneyBruce William McAvaney OAM is an Australian sports broadcaster with the Seven Network, well-known for his commentary of Australian rules football matches as well as covering every Summer Olympic Games from Moscow 1980 until Beijing 2008.- Early years :The son of an Adelaide accountant, McAvaney...
– Head commentator - Dennis ComettiDennis ComettiDennis Cometti is a former Australian rules football player and coach for West Perth in the West Australian Football League and Footscray in the Victorian Football League but is best known as a commentator. In a career spanning almost 40 years, his dry humour and smooth voice have become his...
– Head commentator - Leigh MatthewsLeigh MatthewsLeigh Raymond "Lethal Leigh" Matthews AM is a former player and coach of Australian rules football. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League from 1969 to 1985, coached Collingwood from 1986–1995, and coached the Brisbane Lions from 1999 to 2008...
– Special comments - Tom HarleyTom HarleyThomas 'Tom' Harley is a former Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League...
– Special comments - Matthew Richardson – Boundary rider
- Tim WatsonTim WatsonTimothy Michael "Tim" Watson is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, sports journalist and media personality.He is notable for his long career at the Essendon Football Club as a player where he participated in several premiership teams...
– Boundary rider
The Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
also made use of the Skycam
Skycam
Skycam is the trademarked brandname of a patented, computer-controlled, stabilized, cable-suspended camera system. The system, similar to Steadicam, but maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of a stadium or arena by computer-controlled cable-drive system, is...
for the first time in an AFL Grand Final. The camera had previously been trialled by the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
during its coverage of Friday Night Football
Friday Night Football (Australia)
In Australia, Friday Night Football is the broadcasting of both the National Rugby League and Australian Football League Friday night matches on television. Friday Night Football is generally considered to be the biggest stage and generate the most publicity for the clubs involved in both codes...
in 2004, as well as the Rugby League State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, 3.7 million people tuned into their TV to watch the drawn Grand Final, while a slightly smaller audience of 3.6 million tuned to watch the replay. However, 5.7 million witnessed the last 5 minutes of the replay, up from 5.6 million the previous week.
Aside from television, the Grand Final was also broadcast by a number of radio stations. Due to Melbourne still being the heartland of Australian rules football, a higher number of radio stations broadcast locally into Melbourne, although almost all stations have their broadcast syndicated by regional stations nation-wide. The 2010 radio broadcasters include Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
, SEN 1116
SEN 1116
SEN 1116 , the acronym standing for Sports Entertainment Network, is a commercial AM radio station based in Melbourne, Australia, operating on 1116 kHz...
, 3AW
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
, ABC Melbourne
774 ABC Melbourne
774 ABC Melbourne is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. Originally known by its callsign 3LO, it began transmission on 13 October 1924 – Melbourne's second radio station after 3AR.-History:...
, K-Rock
K-Rock
K-Rock is a common radio brand, generally carried by radio stations airing a modern rock format. CBS Radio has owned the K-Rock brand in the United States since 1986. Then known as Infinity Broadcasting, CBS acquired the K-Rock brand after purchasing noted Los Angeles rock station KROQ-FM , its...
, NIRS
National Indigenous Radio Service
The National Indigenous Radio Service is a satellite program feed available in Australia to community radio stations that are subscribers of the CBAA’s Community Radio Network. The NIRS provides targeted and specialist programming for and by Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander...
, FIVEaa
FIVEaa
5AA , is 50% owned by dmg Radio Australia and Lachlan Murdoch's company Illyra, and Adelaide's only commercial talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sport, current affairs, social issues, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and health...
, 6PR
6PR
6PR, known as 882 6PR, is a commercial radio station based in Perth, Australia. Its focus is on news, talk and sport, and is Perth's only commercial talkback radio station. 6PR is owned by Fairfax Media, an Australian media company that owns television and radio businesses throughout Australia and...
and Crocmedia
Crocmedia
' is an Australian-American PR and TV distribution company established by journalists James Swanwick and Craig Hutchison.The company came into public notoriety in late 2009 when it was announced that it would operate a live AFL Radio service for listeners in regional areas...
.
Pre-match entertainment
Prior to the match, entertainment was provided by INXSINXS
INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...
, who performed "Suicide Blonde
Suicide Blonde
"Suicide Blonde" is the title of the first single from the INXS album X. It reached the top 10 on the US Hot 100 and Australia in 1990 and reached a peak of #11 in the UK.-Writing and recording:...
", "New Sensation
New Sensation
"New Sensation" is a song by the Australian rock group INXS. It was the third single from their 1987 album Kick. The music was written by Andrew Farriss and the lyrics by Michael Hutchence...
" and "Kick
Kick
In combat sports and hand-to-hand combat, a kick is a physical strike using the foot, leg, or knee . This type of attack is used frequently, especially in stand-up fighting...
". This was followed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
, who performed orchestral arrangements of the Collingwood and St Kilda theme songs. Lyrics for the two songs were performed by Michael Paynter
Michael Paynter
Michael Paynter , is an Australian singer-songwriter. Paynter has released four singles, "Closer", "A Victim Song", "Love the Fall" and "How Sweet It Is", from his upcoming debut studio album, This Welcome Diversion is set for a release in 2011.-Early life:Paynter began playing instruments from a...
(for Collingwood) and Paris Wells
Paris Wells
Paris Wells is an Australian singer songwriter based in Melbourne. She has released two albums and one EP. Wells has played at festivals such as Falls Festival, Big Day Out, Meredith and Sydney Music Festival...
(for St Kilda).
For the Grand Final replay, Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
was announced to perform the pre-match, as well as the post-match, entertainment. The American said, "It is a great honour to be invited to perform at such an historic event in Australian football...I am incredibly fortunate to have been available for this once-in-a-lifetime experience to share my music with my fans."
Following Richie's Performance, the team theme songs were performed as saxophone solos by Joe Camilleri
Joe Camilleri
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Camilleri, aka Jo Jo Zep or Joey Vincent, is an Australian vocalist, songwriter and saxophonist. Camilleri has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons and The Black Sorrows...
(for Collingwood) and Wilbur Wilde
Wilbur Wilde
Wilbur Wilde is an Australian saxophonist. He rose to prominence with the bands Ol' 55, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons...
(for St Kilda). For the Replay, in place of the traditional around-the-ground parade of 2010 AFL retirees and medalists, famous members of the Collingwood and St. Kilda Football Clubs were presented: including participants from the memorable 1966 VFL Grand Final
1966 VFL Grand Final
The 1966 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and St Kilda Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1966. It was the 70th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League , staged to...
.
Grand Final, 25 September 2010
The match was played under dry conditions. Rain was forecast towards the end of the match, but did not arrive until after the match had finished.First quarter
Collingwood scored the first goal only twenty seconds into the game, winning the first clearance and eventually getting the ball to Darren JollyDarren Jolly
Darren Jolly is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League . Jolly has previously played for Melbourne, the Sydney Swans...
to score from 5m out. Stephen Milne
Stephen Milne
Stephen Milne is a professional footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-AFL career:...
scored St Kilda's opening goal in the 8th minute. Collingwood then scored three goals in six minutes, to Blair
Jarryd Blair
Jarryd Blair is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League . Standing at only 172 centimetres, he is a small, pacy wingman/half forward flanker who made his AFL debut in Round 14, 2010 against West Coast at Etihad Stadium.Blair was...
, Didak
Alan Didak
Alan Didak is a professional Australian rules footballer of Croatian descent playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.- Early life :...
and Thomas
Dale Thomas (footballer)
Dale Robert Jordan Thomas is a professional Australian rules football player currently with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life:...
, to open up a twenty point lead. After the 17th minute, St Kilda was able to hold Collingwood scoreless, with goals to Riewoldt and Schneider
Adam Schneider
Adam Schneider is an Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League...
bringing the margin back to six points at quarter time.
Generally, Collingwood had the better of the play early in the first quarter, attacking primarily through rebounds and turnovers. St Kilda won the clearances 12–6 throughout the quarter, and it was through that clearance work that St Kilda was able to build their late quarter recovery. Lenny Hayes
Lenny Hayes
Lenny Hayes is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League.Hayes is a former captain of St Kilda and continues to be an onfield leader in the Saints' midfield....
was instrumental in St Kilda's clearance work, acting as third-man-up in the ruck contests and collecting ten disposals. All of the key statistics (contested possessions, inside-50s, tackles) except for clearances were fairly even through the quarter.
Second quarter
Collingwood dominated the second quarter. They won the clearances 16–6, and won the inside-50s 21–5, giving St Kilda almost no opportunity to score. Overall, Collingwood managed ten shots at goal, but took many from long distance, which affected their overall accuracy: their total score for the quarter was 3.6 (24) with one out on the full. Goals were scored by Cloke in the 3rd minute, Macaffer in the 18th minute from a holding the ballHolding the ball
Holding the ball is a law in Australian Rules Football. It is necessary to prevent players from slowing down play. Instead of the umpire having to bounce the ball , it allows the defence a way to take possession directly from the attacking team.-Main Interpretation:The most basic description of...
free kick against Eddy and 50-metre penalty
50-metre penalty
In the sport of Australian Rules Football, the 50-metre penalty is applied by umpires to a number of different infractions when a free kick or mark has already been paid.Some leagues and competitions use a 25-metre penalty...
against Ray
Farren Ray
Farren Ray is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Western Bulldogs: 2004-2008 :Ray was recruited from Peel Thunder with the fourth pick in the 2003 AFL Draft....
, and O'Brien in the 26th minute; of their remaining shots, three fell short and were touched or rushed for behinds, while Cloke missed two relatively easy shots—one from a 25m set shot directly in front and one from a snap shot 30m out—in the final two minutes of the quarter. So dominant was Collingwood in the second quarter that St Kilda managed only two shots on goal, both set shots from outside 50m: one goal to Koschitzke in the 12th minute, and one from Peake in the 21st minute which fell short and was rebounded.
Collingwood entered half time with a 24-point lead. Swan was instrumental at stoppages in the second quarter, and Thomas and Maxwell were both crucial at forcing rebounds.
Third quarter
St Kilda began to win clearances again, and after both teams mustered rushed behinds, Riewoldt scored the first goal of the quarter in the 5th minute from a coast to coast playCoast to coast goal
A coast to coast goal in Australian rules football is a goal that is scored by delivering the ball from one end of the oval to the other and scoring a goal, without the opposing team touching the ball.It can only be scored after one team scores a behind...
. Midway through the quarter, Gardiner left the field injured, leaving St Kilda (who had omitted back-up ruckman Ben McEvoy
Ben McEvoy
Ben McEvoy is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early career:...
for the game) without a recognised ruckman. Collingwood had long-range shots at goal by Cloke and Dawes fall short and rushed for behinds in the middle stages of the quarter, but could not score a goal. The Saints kicked two goals in five minutes through Goddard and Gilbert to close the gap to seven points in the 22nd minute. Thomas had a good chance to score a goal late in the quarter, but missed with a wild snap shot under little pressure. Collingwood took an eight point lead into three-quarter time.
After Collingwood's complete dominance of the second quarter, the third quarter was much more closely contested. The teams were even in both clearances and contested disposals, and both managed six shots on goal. In St Kilda's case, their six shots yielded 3.3 (21), while in Collingwood's case, they yielded only 0.5 (5) – including one hit-the-post, two fell short and touched for behinds, and one fell short and marked for no score. Hayes and Goddard were again prominent at the clearances, with both playing at various times as the third-man-up in ruck contests. Part-time ruckman Jason Blake
Jason Blake (footballer)
Jason Blake is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He holds the record for most games played without accruing a single Brownlow Medal vote.-AFL career:Blake was recruited as the number 24 draft pick in the 1999 AFL Draft from the...
assumed much of the ruck responsibility following Michael Gardiner
Michael Gardiner
Michael S. Gardiner is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He played for the West Coast Eagles from 1997–2006 and the St Kilda Football Club from 2007–2011.- Early life :...
's injury.
Fourth quarter
The final quarter was again a close contest. Both teams had several inside-50s early in the quarter, but all were rebounded without score, with Maxwell and Goddard both prominent for their respective teams. The first score of the quarter was not until the 9th minute, when Davis crumbed a goal from a stoppage, extending the margin to 14 points. In the 12th minute, Robert EddyRobert Eddy
Robert Eddy is an Australian rules footballer, currently playing for in the Australian Football League .-Overview:Eddy grew up in Gippsland, Victoria and attended Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne....
hit the post from a long tight set shot won after catching O'Brien holding the ball; the Saints then scored goals through Hayes in the 14th minute, and Milne in the 15th minute off the ensuing centre break to bring the margin back to one point. In the 19th minute, Riewoldt had a 45m snap shot at the goals from a stoppage which was bouncing towards the goals, but was touched on the line by a desperate dive from Maxwell, levelling the scores at 61 apiece. Then, in the 20th minute, Goddard scored a goal from 20m out, directly in front, after taking a big specky
Specky
A spectacular mark is a term for a type of mark in Australian rules football...
over O'Brien. This gave St Kilda its first lead of the game, after Collingwood had been leading since the opening goal, 20 seconds into the game.
In the 22nd minute, Cloke's attempt for goal was rushed behind after he was awarded a free kick. In the 26th minute, Maxwell created a turnover which resulted in a goal to Cloke from 5m, putting Collingwood back in front by a point. Collingwood unsuccessfully attacked twice in the following two minutes from turnovers: a 50m set shot from Dawes which fell short and was punched out of bounds, and a 50m snap shot from Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League....
which fell short and was marked and rebounded. The rebound from that mark ended with Hayes taking a long shot towards Milne from 60m, but the kick eluded Milne and bounced through the a behind, tying the game at 68 apiece in the 30th minute. In the final minute of the game, St Kilda had the ball in its forward line, and after fifteen seconds of scrambling around 15-25m from goal, Collingwood cleared to the boundary line on the wing. Time elapsed, and the game finished drawn.
Grand Final sprint
The final of the Grand Final sprint was held at half-time of the first final. It was won by Luke MilesLuke Miles
Luke Miles is an Australian rules footballer who previously played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-AFL career:...
from St Kilda Football Club, with Tim Golds from Greater Western Sydney and Lewis Jetta
Lewis Jetta
Lewis Jetta is an Australian rules footballer for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League .-Early career:Jetta played his junior football with Carey Park Junior Football Club, a Bunbury side in the South West Football League...
from Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
finishing second and third respectively.
Aftermath
The draw immediately sparked debate about the practice of a staging full-length replay instead of playing extra time. After the game, the two captains, Nick MaxwellNick Maxwell
Nick Maxwell is an Australian rules football player and current captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Early life :...
of Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
and Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...
of St Kilda, both stated that they would have preferred an extra time period; Maxwell was particularly scathing of the arrangement, labeling it an "absolute joke" in an interview immediately after the final siren, but the full replay was not without its supporters, with Collingwood coach Michael Malthouse pledging his support to the traditional arrangement in his post-match press conference.
St Kilda's Lenny Hayes won the Norm Smith Medal
Norm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
for the drawn grand final comfortably, with 13 of a possible 15 votes, named best on ground by four of the five voters. Hayes had 32 disposals, 12 tackles, five clearances, and five inside-50s. Brendon Goddard placed second with seven votes, while Dale Thomas came third with six votes, receiving the most Norm Smith votes of any Collingwood player. Sam Fisher and Nick Maxwell were the only other vote-getters.
Within a few days of the Grand Final, the organisers of several events already scheduled for 2 October made the commercial decision to reschedule their events to avoid a clash with the replay. The inaugural A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
derby clash
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
between cross-town teams the Melbourne Victory and new franchise Melbourne Heart was postponed for 8 October to maximise promotion and publicity opportunities. The Victorian Racing Club moved the Turnbull Stakes
Turnbull Stakes
The Turnbull Stakes is a 2000 metre Group 1 Australian Thoroughbred horse race, run under set weights with penalties conditions. The race is held at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne in October. Total prize money is A$502,000. It is one of the important races of the Spring Racing Carnival along...
to 3 October. Cricket Victoria delayed the opening of the Victorian Premier Cricket season to the following weekend. The Chris Mainwaring
Chris Mainwaring
Chris Douglas Mainwaring was an Australian rules footballer. He played for the West Coast Eagles in the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League and East Fremantle in the West Australian Football League...
Legends Match, which raises money for Perth's Telethon
Channel Seven Perth Telethon
The Channel Seven Perth Telethon, known simply as Telethon, is an annual telethon produced by TVW, a Seven Network owned television station in Perth, Western Australia for two main beneficiaries; Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, plus...
was moved to 9 October. The scheduling of several AFL post-season events was also affected: Collingwood's Copeland Trophy
Copeland Trophy
The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged Best and Fairest for Collingwood during the year....
presentation was rescheduled to December, and the start of trade week
2010 AFL Draft
The 2010 AFL Draft consists of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2010/11 Australian Football League off-season. These are the Trade Week; held between , the National Draft; held on the , the Pre-Season Draft and the Rookie Draft .This is the first national draft to feature the...
and the father-son
Father-son rule
The father-son rule is a rule that allows clubs to select the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the team in Australian rules football, most notably the Australian Football League...
bidding meeting were moved from 4 October to 5 October (with trade week shortened by one day). Many players had to reschedule their post-season holiday plans to be available to play in the Replay.
On Tuesday 28 September, the AFL announced a rule change such that any player who had played in the drawn Grand Final but missed the Replay, through omission or injury, would still receive a Premiership Medallion if his team was victorious. Under previous rules, players would not have received Premiership Medallions unless they were present in the team that won the premiership-deciding game. This would mean that Leon Davis, who would be replaced for the Replay, would eventually receive a medallion (although he did not receive one during the match-day ceremony).
Scorecard and overall statistics
Most of the game statistics were fairly even across the game. Total disposals were won by St Kilda 338–326, contested possessions were won by Collingwood 153–148, and tackles were won by St Kilda 100–89. The two most lopsided statistics were: clearances, which St Kilda won 46–38, despite having ten fewer than Collingwood in the second quarter, and; inside-50s, which Collingwood dominated 62–35. Altogether, seven of Collingwood's fourteen behinds were recorded as rushed, mostly from shots at goal which fell short and were touched or punched through. The official crowd of 100,016 was the highest since the 1986 VFL Grand Final1986 VFL Grand Final
The 1986 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 1986. It was the 90th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine...
, exceeding the crowd of the 2008 AFL Grand Final
2008 AFL Grand Final
The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on the 27th of September 2008...
by only four people.
Grand Final Replay, 2 October 2010
The Grand Final replay was played on a day without cloud, with the temperature around 20 °C for most of the game.Collingwood was still the strong favourite with bookmakers for the Replay, although the odds had tightened since the drawn match: major bookmakers were offering odds of around $1.60 for a Collingwood win in the Replay, compared with $1.40–$1.45 for the Grand Final.
First quarter
Prior to the first bounce, Nick MaxwellNick Maxwell
Nick Maxwell is an Australian rules football player and current captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Early life :...
of Collingwood won the coin toss, and chose to kick to the (western) City End. Collingwood almost scored the opening goal in the first minute of the game, but an off-the-ball free kick against Dane Swan
Dane Swan
Dane Swan is an Australian rules footballer for Collingwood in the Australian Football League.Since 2007 Swan has emerged as one of the AFL's elite midfielders, winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal in 2011 with a record tally of 34 votes...
stripped Travis Cloke
Travis Cloke
Travis Cloke is a professional Australian rules footballer playing in the Australian Football League. Cloke was drafted under the father-son rule by Collingwood in the 3rd round of the 2004 AFL Draft...
of a set shot from the goal square. The first score was registered in the 5th minute, a goal from a set shot by Tyson Goldsack
Tyson Goldsack
Tyson Goldsack is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.- Early life :...
. Up until the 11th minute, Collingwood won the inside-50s 6–1. Johnson scored a goal for Collingwood in the 12th minute, and the Magpies led 14–0 after twenty minutes. St Kilda's first score came in the 21st minute in dramatic fashion, with a defensive effort from Heath Shaw
Heath Shaw
Heath Shaw is an Australian rules footballer playing for Collingwood in the Australian Football League-AFL career:...
turning a near-certain goal into a behind: Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...
had marked 2m from goal in the goal square, and turned to play on, only to have Shaw dive across him from behind as he was dropping the ball, spoiling the ball before it reached Riewoldt's foot, and rushing the ball through for a behind. Brent Macaffer
Brent Macaffer
Brent Macaffer is a Collingwood footballer in the Australian Football League. He was recruited in the 2006 AFL draft.Macaffer is one of a string of players to have been recruited by Collingwood from Gippsland. Despite his small stature, Macaffer led the TAC Cup U/18 goalkicking in 2006, and was...
scored a crumbing goal for Collingwood from the goal square a minute later to extend the margin to 19 points. Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt
Nick Riewoldt is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.-Early life:...
would get one more chance to get a goal at the last minute, but his 45m kick missed to the left. Collingwood led by 18 points at quarter time, and St Kilda was held goalless in the first quarter.
Second quarter
St Kilda dominated in the first half of the second quarter, with a first score registered 33 seconds after the bounce. However, they could not put pressure on the scoreboard, kicking five behinds in the first fourteen minutes of the quarter – three of which were scored by Sam GilbertSam Gilbert
Sam Gilbert is a professional Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early life:Gilbert is a rugby league convert who didn’t start playing AFL until he was 16 years old...
while on the run – to take St Kilda's total score to only 0.7 (7), while Alan Didak
Alan Didak
Alan Didak is a professional Australian rules footballer of Croatian descent playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.- Early life :...
scored a goal for Collingwood from the goal square in the 6th minute. Brendan Goddard finally scored St Kilda's first goal in the 15th minute from a 20m set shot. After missing two difficult shots at goal in the 17th and 18th minutes, Collingwood goalled twice in a space of one minute, through Macaffer
Brent Macaffer
Brent Macaffer is a Collingwood footballer in the Australian Football League. He was recruited in the 2006 AFL draft.Macaffer is one of a string of players to have been recruited by Collingwood from Gippsland. Despite his small stature, Macaffer led the TAC Cup U/18 goalkicking in 2006, and was...
and Jolly
Darren Jolly
Darren Jolly is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League . Jolly has previously played for Melbourne, the Sydney Swans...
. The end of the quarter was filled with physical one-on-one contests with Collingwood willing to play for time, and no more goals were scored in the quarter. Two more opportunities for Collingwood ended up behinds but kept the pressure on St Kilda. Finally, Schneider
Adam Schneider
Adam Schneider is an Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League...
had a set shot from 30m as the siren sounded, but only managed a behind. In general play, the second quarter was fairly even, with St Kilda winning the inside-50s 13-10, but while none of their missed opportunities were easy shots, the Saints' inability to convert the chances they had contributed to their increasing deficit. Collingwood won the quarter 3.3 (21) to St Kilda's 1.6 (12) and took a 27-point lead into half time.
Third quarter
Collingwood dominated in the third quarter. Following Schneider's minor score in the first 14 seconds of play, the Magpies responded with relentless pressure and strung together five straight scores: including a crumbing goal from Dawes and consecutive goals by WellinghamSharrod Wellingham
Sharrod Wellingham is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League....
and Swan
Dane Swan
Dane Swan is an Australian rules footballer for Collingwood in the Australian Football League.Since 2007 Swan has emerged as one of the AFL's elite midfielders, winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal in 2011 with a record tally of 34 votes...
. It took Koschitzke
Justin Koschitzke
Justin Gregory Koschitzke is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.-Career overview:Recruited in the 2000 AFL Draft at pick number two, there were high expectations on Koschitzke from a young age...
to end that streak, after marking the ball from a Riewoldt kick from the centre square. The two sides subsequently kicked goal for goal, with Didak
Alan Didak
Alan Didak is a professional Australian rules footballer of Croatian descent playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.- Early life :...
, Hayes, Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League....
, and Gilbert all registering goals. St Kilda had four shots at goal for three goals, while Collingwood had eight for five goals, and a rushed behind. Collingwood's three-quarter-time lead was 41 points.
Final quarter
Within two minutes, Dawes kicked a goal from about 40m out near the boundary line to stretch the margin to 47 points. From there, Collingwood's victory was never in doubt. The two teams alternated goals throughout the final term. Goals were scored by Thomas (5th minute), Dal SantoNick Dal Santo
Nick Dal Santo is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early career:...
(7th minute), O'Brien (12th minute, with the assistance of a 50-metre penalty
50-metre penalty
In the sport of Australian Rules Football, the 50-metre penalty is applied by umpires to a number of different infractions when a free kick or mark has already been paid.Some leagues and competitions use a 25-metre penalty...
), Milne (13th minute), Wellingham (17th minute), Milne again (25th minute), and finally Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League....
(27th minute). After a final behind by St. Kilda, Collingwood played out the final minute of the game running out the clock
Running out the clock
In sports, running out the clock refers to the practice of a winning team allowing the clock to expire through a series of pre-selected plays, either to preserve a lead or hasten the end of a one-sided contest.- American football :...
, and the ball was in the hands of Didak as the final siren sounded for Collingwood's 56 point victory.
Norm Smith Medal
Scott PendleburyScott Pendlebury
Scott Pendlebury is a professional Australian rules football player who plays for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Early life :...
was awarded the Norm Smith Medal
Norm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
as the best player in the Grand Final replay with ten votes; accumulating 29 disposals, seven marks and laying eleven tackles. Steele Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom
Steele Sidebottom is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League....
(26 disposals, two goals) was a close second with eight votes. Dale Thomas
Dale Thomas (footballer)
Dale Robert Jordan Thomas is a professional Australian rules football player currently with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life:...
(27 disposals, eight marks) was third with four votes, and Swan, Jolly, Ball and Nathan Brown also polled votes. The Medal was presented to Pendlebury by former North Melbourne Star Arnold Briedis
Arnold Briedis
Arnold Briedis is a former Australian rules footballer who played for North Melbourne in the VFL during the 1970s.A centre half forward, Briedis was a member of North Melbourne's inaugural premiership side in 1975, kicking 5 goals in the grand final...
, the Best on Ground in the 1977 Replay
1977 VFL Grand Final
The 1977 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1977...
.
Overall
The statistics of the match, unlike the drawn Grand Final, were mostly dominated by Collingwood. Collingwood beat St Kilda for disposals (379–326), kicks (250–178), marks (121–84) and tackles (87–67), while St Kilda had more handpasses than Collingwood (148–129). Collingwood was particularly dominant at ruck contests, winning 47 tap-outs to St Kilda's 26.The win was the fifteenth VFL/AFL premiership won by Collingwood in its 114 years in the league. It was Collingwood's first premiership since 1990
1990 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1990.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 154...
, and only its second since 1958
1958 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1958.-Premiership season:In 1958, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...
. It was the ninth time that Collingwood won both the premiership and the minor premiership in the same year, but the first time since 1930
1930 VFL season
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1930.-Premiership season:In 1930, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man...
. It was the third premiership won by Michael Malthouse as a coach, having previously won with the West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
in 1992
1992 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 1992. The AFL Grand Final this year was won by the West Coast Eagles, who became the first non-Victorian club to win a Premiership.-Ladder:...
and 1994
1994 AFL season
-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 165. An additional 9 games were played during the finals series. It was the first season that the AFL implemented a top 8 team finals series...
. With its loss, St Kilda became the first team since Collingwood in 2002
2002 AFL season
-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Ladder:All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 176...
and 2003
2003 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2003.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:...
to finish runners-up twice in a row.
The Grand Final Replay was attended by 93,853 people, roughly 6,000 fewer than the drawn Grand Final. This was consistent with previous Grand Final Replays in 1948 and 1977, both of which drew lower attendances than the drawn Grand Finals which preceded them.
Aftermath
On Monday 4 October, the Match Review PanelAFL Tribunal
The AFL Tribunal is the disciplinary tribunal of the Australian Football League .-Points system:Source: AFL Tribunal 2011 Guidebook...
charged St Kilda's Adam Schneider
Adam Schneider
Adam Schneider is an Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League...
with striking Brent Macaffer
Brent Macaffer
Brent Macaffer is a Collingwood footballer in the Australian Football League. He was recruited in the 2006 AFL draft.Macaffer is one of a string of players to have been recruited by Collingwood from Gippsland. Despite his small stature, Macaffer led the TAC Cup U/18 goalkicking in 2006, and was...
in the third quarter of the replay. Schneider was offered a two-week suspension for the incident.
On Monday 13 December, the AFL commission discussed the possibility of introducing extra time to decide future drawn Grand Finals, but ultimately decided to retain the full Grand Final Replay.
Tyson Goldsack's mother placed a successful bet on her son, who is usually a defender but started in the forward-line, to kick the first goal of the replay. The Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
host James Brayshaw
James Brayshaw
James Antony Brayshaw is a former state cricketer and now Australian television and radio personality. As a cricketer he was known as Jamie Brayshaw. He is the son of former Western Australian cricketer and Australian rules footballer Ian Brayshaw, and the brother of Mark Brayshaw, a former...
drew attention to this in July 2011, amidst investigations into that season's controversial betting plunges on the defenders to kick the first goal, but the AFL cleared Goldsack and his mother of any wrongdoing.
Scorecard
Drawn Grand Final teams
When named on Thursday night before the first final, St Kilda recalled Steven Baker who had not played since Round 13, due to a 9-game suspension, omitting Ben McEvoyBen McEvoy
Ben McEvoy is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early career:...
. Collingwood made two changes to their preliminary final team, bring in Leon Davis
Leon Davis (footballer)
Leon Davis is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.Drafted to Collingwood in 1999 as a small forward, Davis is of Aboriginal heritage. Davis made an early impression at the Pies and played Round 1 in his debut season. He showed that he was capable of turning a match but...
and Simon Prestigiacomo
Simon Prestigiacomo
Simon 'Presti' Prestigiacomo is a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early career: forward line:...
and omitting Tyson Goldsack
Tyson Goldsack
Tyson Goldsack is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.- Early life :...
and Nathan Brown
Nathan J. Brown
Nathan J. Brown is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for Collingwood Football Club in the AFL....
. However, prior to the start of the first final, Brown replaced Prestigiacomo who withdrew due to a groin strain.
Replay teams
The teams for the replayed Grand Final were announced on 30 September, with both sides making one change. Collingwood omitted out of form Leon DavisLeon Davis (footballer)
Leon Davis is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.Drafted to Collingwood in 1999 as a small forward, Davis is of Aboriginal heritage. Davis made an early impression at the Pies and played Round 1 in his debut season. He showed that he was capable of turning a match but...
, who was replaced by defender Tyson Goldsack
Tyson Goldsack
Tyson Goldsack is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League.- Early life :...
. St Kilda brought Ben McEvoy
Ben McEvoy
Ben McEvoy is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early career:...
into the team, to replace injured ruckman Michael Gardiner
Michael Gardiner
Michael S. Gardiner is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He played for the West Coast Eagles from 1997–2006 and the St Kilda Football Club from 2007–2011.- Early life :...
.
See also
- 2010 AFL finals series2010 AFL finals seriesThe Australian Football League's 2010 finals series determined the top eight final positions of the 2010 AFL season. The series was scheduled to occur over four weekends in September 2010, culminating with the 114th AFL/VFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 25 September 2010...
- 2010 AFL season2010 AFL season-Premiership season:The draw for the 2010 AFL Premiership Season is not a random selection of matches, but rather is planned by the AFL. It is intended to produce a balanced draw while also providing the fans and television networks with blockbuster games. In a competition with 16 teams and 22...
- 1977 VFL Grand Final1977 VFL Grand FinalThe 1977 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 24 September 1977...
- 1948 VFL Grand Final1948 VFL Grand FinalThe 1948 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 2 October 1948. It was the 52nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for...
Footnotes
Notes- 1.In 1897 and 1924 there were no Grand Finals and instead the premier was decided by a finals play-off. In 1948 and 1977 there were Grand Final replays after initial draws.
- 2.The Geelong Football ClubGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
, who played the previous three Grand Finals is based in regional Victoria, not in Melbourne. - 3.The games in the sequence were the 1966 Grand Final, 1972 First Semi-Final, 1992 Second Elimination Final, 2008 First Semi-Final and 2009 First Qualifying Final.
References