AFL Women's Grand Final
| Location | Various |
|---|---|
| First meeting | 25 March 2017 |
| Latest meeting | 17 April 2021 |
| Next meeting | TBC 2022 |
| Broadcasters | Seven Network (2017–) |
| Stadiums | See below |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 4 |
| Most wins | Adelaide (2) |
The AFL Women's Grand Final is an annual women's Australian rules football match to determine the AFL Women's (AFLW) premiers for that year. Each year, the winning club receives a premiership trophy and premiership flag; all players in the winning team receive a premiership medallion.
The record attendance is 53,034 set at the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final.
Method of qualification[]
In the first two seasons of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the grand final was contested by the two highest-ranked teams at the end of the home-and-away season, as no finals series existed. Since the third season a finals series has been incorporated into the competition. In 2019 the top four teams qualified for the preliminary finals, with the two winners meeting in the Grand Final, whilst an expanded finals series was abandoned in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2021 the top six teams have qualified for the finals series, which is played under the laws of a single-elimination knockout tournament. The winners of the two preliminary finals meet in the grand final.
Current process of qualification for AFLW Grand Final[1]
| Qualifying Finals | Preliminary Finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | First | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Fourth | 4 | QF Winner | |||||||||||
| 5 | Fifth | 1 | PF Winner | |||||||||||
| 2 | PF Winner | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Second | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Third | 3 | QF Winner | |||||||||||
| 6 | Sixth | |||||||||||||
Venues[]
Unlike the men's Australian Football League (AFL) premiership, which has a customary host venue for the AFL Grand Final every year (that being the Melbourne Cricket Ground), there is no centralised venue that is contracted to host the women's grand final. In 2017 and 2018, the game was technically "hosted" by the minor premier; Brisbane and Western Bulldogs respectively. However in both cases alternate venues located in the home team's state were used, owing to the unavailability of the Gabba in Brisbane's case and capacity concerns for the Bulldogs home grand final. In 2019 it was hosted by the preliminary final winner with the most premiership points (percentage would have come into consideration if points were the same), as a conference system was in place for this season grand final.[2] The conference-system was abandoned in favour of a single ladder ahead of the 2021 season. Since 2021 the match is played at the highest-ranked preliminary final winner's home venue (or a larger-capacity venue located nearby), with this ranking based on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season.[3]
List of venues to host the grand final[]
| Venue | City | State | Grand Finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Oval | Adelaide | South Australia | 2 (2019, 2021) |
| Princes Park | Melbourne | Victoria | 1 (2018) |
| Carrara Stadium | Gold Coast | Queensland | 1 (2017) |
Of the three venues to have hosted a grand final, Princes (Ikon) Park, the largest-capacity suburban ground in Melbourne, underwent construction in 2021 and 2022 to turn it into a state-of-the-art precinct that would become the official home of women's football in Victoria, with the idea that all grand finals hosted in Victoria would be played at the stadium.[4][5][6]
Entertainment and traditions[]
Most grand finals thus far has been accompanied by a musical entertainment act that has performed before the match or at half-time. Musicians and groups to have performed at the grand final include Megan Washington in 2017[7] and Amy Shark in 2019.[8] Australian musician Missy Higgins was booked to perform at the 2018 Grand Final but her gig was cancelled on the day of the match, due to heavy rain and surface conditions at Princes Park.[9]
Sprint[]
In 2021 the AFL incorporated a sprint running race (initially known as the Colgate AFLW Grand Final Sprint) into the on-field entertainment on the day of the grand final.[10] In the men's competition, the Grand Final Sprint has been held since 1979.
| Year | Sprint winner | Football club | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Brisbane | [11] |
Best-on-ground[]
The best-on-ground medal is presented to the player judged as best on the ground during the grand final by a panel of experts.
| Year | Player | Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide | [12] |
| 2018 | Monique Conti | Western Bulldogs | [13] |
| 2019 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide | [14] |
| 2021 | Kate Lutkins | Brisbane | [15] |
Team records[]
 | This article is missing information about records. (November 2021) |
| Highest score | 10.3 (63) Adelaide (2019) |
| Lowest score | 2.6 (18) Carlton (2019) |
| Highest aggregate | |
| Lowest aggregate | |
| Highest winning margin | |
| Lowest winning margin | |
| Drawn games | |
| Highest losing score | |
| Lowest winning score | |
| Highest attendance | 53,034 (2019) |
| Lowest attendance | 7,083 (2018) |
| Highest score – 1st Qtr | |
| Highest score – 2nd Qtr | |
| Highest score – 3rd Qtr | |
| Highest score – 4th Qtr | |
| Biggest comeback – Quarter time | |
| Biggest comeback – Half time | |
| Biggest comeback to win – Three Quarter time | |
| Biggest comeback to draw – Three Quarter time | |
| Premiership from lowest ladder position | |
| Consecutive premierships |
Individual records[]
| This article is missing information about records. (November 2021) |
| Most matches played (player) | |
| Most matches (captain) | |
| Most matches (coach) | |
| Most matches (umpire) | |
| Most matches (player/coach) | |
| Most wins (player) | |
| Most wins (captain) | |
| Most wins (coach) | |
| Most losses (player) | |
| Most losses (captain) | |
| Most losses (coach) | |
| First AFLW game in GF | |
| Most games before first GF | |
| Most Best on Grounds | |
| Most goals (career) | |
| Most goals in a match | |
| Most goals in a quarter | |
| Most behinds in a match |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Who plays who in week one of the NAB AFLW finals series". AFL Women's. Telstra. 28 March 2021.
- ^ Black, Sarah (18 March 2019). "Preliminary finals locked in: Full venue and time info". womens.afl. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Who plays who in week two of the NAB AFLW finals series". womens.afl. 3 April 2021.
The highest ranked winner of the two NAB Preliminary Finals will host the NAB AFLW Grand Final (as determined by the ladder position at the conclusion of the NAB Home and Away Season Matches.
- ^ Beveridge, Riley (10 February 2019). "Ikon Park receives $15m upgrade boost from Canberra". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ McCauley, Dana (9 February 2019). "Federal government pledges $15 million for new home of women's footy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Ikon Park redevelopment to enhance AFLW". Austadiums. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Megan Washington named to perform before the AFLW grand final". Sporting News. 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Amy Shark performing at the Women's AFL Grand Final". YouTube. 25 September 2019.
- ^ Sarah Olle (24 March 2018). "AFLW Grand Final pre-game entertainment cancelled as decision to play game at Ikon Park causes havoc". Fox Sports.
- ^ "Inaugural Colgate AFLW Grand Final Sprint Confirmed". womens.afl. 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Ruby Svarc from @lionsaflw takes out the @Colgate #AFLWGF Grand Final Sprint". womens.afl. Twitter. 17 April 2021.
- ^ Matthews, Bruce (25 March 2017). "Erin Phillips drives Crows to historic AFLW premiership". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ Black, Sarah (26 March 2018). "AFLW: 2018 Grand Final wrap". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ Black, Sarah (31 March 2019). "Phillips wins best afield medal in GF despite tearing ACL in third term". womens.afl. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ Phelan, Jennifer (17 April 2021). "Third time lucky: Lions nab first flag after epic decider". womens.afl. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
External links[]
- AFL Women's
- AFL Women's Grand Finals
- 2017 establishments in Australia
- Recurring sporting events established in 2017
- Annual sporting events in Australia