2005 AFL Grand Final
| 2005 AFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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 The Sydney Swans walk onto the field before the game. The Swans would win the game with a 4-point margin, winning their first premiership in 72 years. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 24 September 2005 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Network Ten | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Stephen Quartermain (Commentator) Tim Lane (Commentator) Robert Walls (Expert Commentator) Stephen Silvagni (Expert Commentator) Christi Malthouse (Boundary Rider) Neil Cordy (Boundary Rider) Tim Gossage (Boundary Rider) Anthony Hudson (Host) Malcolm Blight (analyst) Leigh Matthews (analyst) | |||||||||||||||
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The 2005 AFL Grand Final was an
It remains the highest-rating AFL game of all time (including 3.4 million metropolitan viewers) since the current OzTam measurement system was introduced in 2001. All told, a total average of 4.449 million people watched the game on TV nationally.[2][3] It is one of the most-watched television broadcasts in Australia since 2001, ranked 8th overall. Put another way, one in every 4.5 Australians watched the game live (22.25% of all Australians).
Background
This was West Coast's first appearance in a grand final since winning the
Two players from the Eagles' last premiership in 1994 were appearing in this grand final: Drew Banfield for the Eagles and Jason Ball for the Swans in his last AFL game.
At the conclusion of the
A major turning point in the Swans' season came when they lost to St Kilda at Telstra Dome in round ten, after which Swans coach Paul Roos came under heavy criticism from the entire AFL for his side's game plan.[4]
The Eagles then punched their ticket to the grand final by defeating minor premiers Adelaide in their preliminary final by 16 points. Meanwhile, Nick Davis famously rescued Sydney in their semi-final at the SCG against Geelong with four 4th-quarter goals, including one just seconds before the final siren. The Swans then overcame St Kilda in their preliminary final at the MCG after overturning a 7-point deficit going into the last quarter into a 31-point win with a seven-goal barrage.
In the week leading up to the grand final, West Coast's Ben Cousins was awarded the Brownlow Medal. Additionally, there was controversy over the fact that Barry Hall was allowed to play, as he had escaped suspension for punching St Kilda's Matt Maguire in the preliminary final despite many punters and pundits alike expressing dismay over the lack of suspension. Hall later admitted in 2017 that he exploited a loophole in the rules, saying: "I shouldn’t have played. If rules are rules, I shouldn’t have played the Grand Final."[5][6]
Match summary
 | This section possibly contains original research. (May 2017) |
West Coast opened the game aggressively, with Sydney struggling to get the ball to their end of the field. However, better goal kicking accuracy by the Swans put them ahead by two points at the first change.
In the second quarter Sydney appeared to be asserting control of the game, kicking three goals while the Eagles got none. However, after the long break, West Coast put their stamp on the game, kicking three goals while the Swans went goalless.
Both teams had seemingly easy goals that were missed, but the Eagles most clearly would remember theirs from the fourth quarter. With just under five minutes remaining in the match, West Coast's
The match has been labelled as a 'classic',
Eagles player Chris Judd was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield, although he finished on the losing side; this is one of only four instances of a Grand Final player having won a Norm Smith Medal without being on the winning premiership team.
The same teams met again in the 2006 AFL Grand Final, in another close match, with the Eagles emerging victors by one point.
Norm Smith Medal
| Position | Player | Club | Total Votes | Vote Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (winner) | Chris Judd | West Coast Eagles | 11 | 2,3,3,1,2 |
| 2nd | Nic Fosdike | Sydney Swans | 6 | 0,0,0,3,3 |
| 3rd | Brett Kirk | Sydney Swans | 4 | 0,2,2,0,0 |
| 3rd | Amon Buchanan | Sydney Swans | 4 | 3,0,0,0,1 |
| 5th | Ben Cousins | West Coast Eagles | 2 | 0,0,0,2,0 |
| 6th | David Wirrpunda
|
West Coast Eagles | 1 | 0,0,1,0,0 |
| 6th | Leo Barry | Sydney Swans | 1 | 0,1,0,0,0 |
| 6th | Lewis Roberts-Thomson | Sydney Swans | 1 | 1,0,0,0,0 |
| Voter | Role | 3 Votes | 2 Votes | 1 Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graeme Bond | 3AW | Amon Buchanan | Chris Judd | Lewis Roberts-Thomson |
| David Reed | West Australian | Chris Judd | Brett Kirk | Leo Barry |
| Mark Robinsion | Herald Sun | Chris Judd | Brett Kirk | David Wirrpunda |
| Michelangelo Russi | Adelaide Advertiser
|
Nic Fosdike | Ben Cousins | Chris Judd |
| Stephen Quartermain | Network 10 | Nic Fosdike | Chris Judd | Amon Buchanan |
Teams
     Sydney Swans
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   West Coast Eagles
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Scorecard
| Grand final | |||||
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| Saturday, 24 September (2:40 pm) | Sydney | def. | West Coast | MCG (crowd: 91,898) | |
| 3.0 (18) 6.3 (39) 6.5 (41) 8.10 (58) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.4 (16) 2.7 (19) 5.9 (39) 7.12 (54) |
Umpires: Network Ten National anthem: Silvie Paladino | ||
| Hall 2 Jolly, Schneider, O'Loughlin, Kennelly, Goodes, Buchanan 1 |
Goals | 2 Hunter 1 Nicoski, Cox, Embley, Hansen, Cousins | |||
| Roberts-Thomson, Goodes, Buchanan, Kennelly, Fosdike, Kirk | Best | Judd, Wirrpunda, Cousins, Cox, Fletcher | |||
| Ball (cut head), C. Bolton (nose), Crouch (ankle) | Injuries | Kerr (ankle), Gardiner (cut head) | |||
| Nil | Reports | Nil | |||
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Match statistics
| Team Stats | (Syd) | (WCE) |
|---|---|---|
| Kicks | 188 | 182 |
| Marks | 84 | 68 |
| Handballs | 105 | 104 |
| Tackles | 62 | 59 |
| Hitouts | 29 | 43 |
| Frees | 12 | 13 |
Entertainment
| National Anthem | Silvie Paladino |
|---|---|
| Entertainment | Delta Goodrem (I Am Australian) Australian Idol finalists (Waltzing Matilda) Silvie Paladino (There You'll Be) Michael Bublé Dame Edna Everage Melbourne Gospel Choir Australian Girls' Choir |
| Television broadcaster | Network Ten
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| Television announcers | Stephen Quartermain, Tim Lane — play-by-play Robert Walls, Stephen Silvagni — analysts Christi Malthouse — sideline reporter Anthony Hudson — studio host Leigh Matthews, Malcolm Blight — studio analysts |
See also
References
- ^ In 1897 and 1924 there were no grand finals and instead the premier was decided by a round-robin system. In 1948 and 1977 there were grand final replays after initial draws.
- ^ "2005 AFL Grand Final TV ratings - regional figures included". BigFooty. 29 September 2005. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Grand Final TV viewership biggest in 10 years". westernbulldogs.com.au. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ Cowley, Michael (13 April 2006). "Roos v Walls: the war of words continues". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ^ "Barry Hall: I should have been suspended for 2005 Grand Final | Sporting News Australia". www.sportingnews.com. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Baum, Greg (21 June 2017). "Barry Hall: I shouldn't have played 2005 grand final". The Age. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Jim Main, Aussie Rules: For Dummies (2nd edition, 2008) p 10.
- ^ "Grand Final joy for Tuohy and O'Connor as Geelong destroy Sydney". RTÉ. 24 September 2022.