2005 AFL Grand Final

infobox | above = 2005 AFL Grand Final


label1 = Home Team
data1 = AFL Syd
label2 = Away Team
data2 = AFL WC
label3 = Date
data3 = September 24 2005
label4 = Stadium
data4 = MCG
label5 = City
data5 = Melbourne
headerstyle = background:#efefef;
header6 = TV in Australia
label7 = Network
data7 = Network Ten
label8 = Announcers
data8 = Stephen Quartermain and Tim Lane
header9= < 2004 • AFL Grand Final • 2006 >

The 2005 AFL Grand Final took place on September 24 2005 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles.

This was West Coast's first appearance in a Grand Final since winning the 1994 AFL Grand Final, whilst it Sydney's first since losing the 1996 AFL Grand Final.

Match Summary

A thrilling match that went down to the final siren, this was the first time since 1989 that a Grand Final was decided by a goal or less. West Coast opened the game aggressively, Sydney struggled to get the ball to their end of the field, and only better Swan accuracy put them ahead by two at the first quarter. In the second quarter Sydney appeared to be asserting control of the game, kicking three goals while the Eagles got none. After the long break, West Coast put their stamp on the third quarter, kicking three goals while the Swans got none. At the end of the day, both teams would remember seemingly easy goals that were missed, but the Eagles most clearly would remember theirs from the fourth quarter. With the Swans holding a five point lead in the closing moments, Tadhg Kennelly rushed a behind to blunt a ferocious Eagles attack. After the ensuing kick in, West Coast again regained control of the ball and sent a long kick back to the half forward line by Dean Cox. Leo Barry responded by taking a mark in the midst of the pack full of Eagles (with the commentator Stephen Quartermain mentioning words made famous through frequent replays - "Leo Barry you star!"), denying the Eagles an opportunity to kick a game winner on or after the final siren.

The match has been labelled as a 'classic'. [Jim Main, "Aussie Rules: For Dummies" (2nd edition, 2008) p 10.] The same teams met in the 2006 AFL Grand Final, which was a similarly close and thrilling match.

Teams

Aussie rules team | title = Sydney Swans
backpocket1 = Jared Crouch
fullback = Leo Barry
backpocket2 = Lewis Roberts-Thomson
halfbackflank1 = Ben Mathews
centrehalfback = Craig Bolton
halfbackflank2 = Tadhg Kennelly
wing1 = Sean Dempster
centre = Adam Goodes
wing2 = Amon Buchanan
halfforwardflank1 = Ryan O'Keefe
centrehalfforward = Barry Hall
halfforwardflank2 = Jude Bolton
forwardpocket1 = Paul Williams
fullforward = Michael O'Loughlin
forwardpocket2 = Nick Davis
ruck = Darren Jolly
ruckrover = Brett Kirk
rover = Luke Ablett
interchange1 = Jason Ball
interchange2 = Paul Bevan
interchange3 = Adam Schneider
interchange4 = Nic Fosdike
interchange5 =
interchange6 =
coach = Paul RoosAussie rules team | title = West Coast Eagles
backpocket1 = Adam Hunter
fullback = Darren Glass
backpocket2 = David Wirrpanda
halfbackflank1 = Daniel Chick
centrehalfback = Travis Gaspar
halfbackflank2 = Drew Banfield
wing1 = Tyson Stenglein
centre = Ben Cousins
wing2 = Andrew Embley
halfforwardflank1 = Daniel Kerr
centrehalfforward = Ashley Hansen
halfforwardflank2 = Brent Staker
forwardpocket1 = Kasey Green
fullforward = Michael Gardiner
forwardpocket2 = Ashley Sampi
ruck = Dean Cox
ruckrover = Chris Judd
rover = Chad Fletcher
interchange1 = Adam Selwood
interchange2 = Mark Nicoski
interchange3 = Sam Butler
interchange4 = Mark Seaby
interchange5 =
interchange6 =
coach = John Worsfold

Scorecard

AFLScorecardGF2006
team1 = AFL Syd
team1 abbr = AFL Syd
team1 q1 = 3.0 (18)
team1 q2 = 6.3 (39)
team1 q3 = 6.5 (41)
team1 total = 8.10 (58)
team2 = AFL WC
team2 abbr = AFL WC
team2 q1 = 2.4 (16)
team2 q2 = 2.7 (19)
team2 q3 = 5.9 (39)
team2 total = 7.12 (54)
venue = Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
date = 24 September 2005 – 2:30PM AEST
attendance = 91,898
umpires = Scott McLaren, Brett Allen, Darren Goldspink
team1 goals = 2: Hall
1: Jolly, Schneider, O'Loughlin, Kennelly, Goodes, Buchanan
team2 goals = 2: Hunter
1: Nicoski, Cox, Embley, Hansen, Cousins
team1 best = Roberts-Thomson, Goodes, Buchanan,Kennelly, Fosdike, Kirk
team2 best = Judd, Wirrpunda, Cousins,Cox, Fletcher
reports = nil
injuries = Syd: Ball (cut head), C Bolton (nose), Crouch (ankle)
WCE: Kerr (ankle), Gardiner (cut head)
coin toss = AFL Syd
nsm = Chris Judd
tv = Network Ten
national anthem = Silvie Paladino
time =

Match statistics

Entertainment

References