Week one (qualifying and elimination finals)
First Elimination final (Melbourne vs Essendon)
The opening match of the 1991 AFL finals series saw fifth-placed Melbourne play sixth-placed Essendon in the First Elimination final at Waverley Park. This marked the 14th VFL/AFL final between the two clubs, having previously met in the 1959 VFL Grand Final, which was won by Melbourne. They had also met in Grand Finals in 1941, 1946, 1948 (with the third game resulting in the first drawn VFL Grand Final) and 1957, with Melbourne winning all except the 1946 decider.
Teams [1]
     Melbourne |   Essendon |
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Essendon lost Salmon before the match with groin and ankle strains, [2] and was replaced in the side by Peter Somerville. There were no late changes to the Melbourne team.
Match summary
After Essendon had the better of the first half, Melbourne kicked thirteen goals to four in the second half to advance to the first semi-final. Allen Jakovich was on fire for the Demons with eight goals.
- Scorecard
| First elimination final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1991 (2:08 p.m.) | Melbourne | def. | Essendon | Waverley Park (crowd: 46,032) | Report |
| 1.2 (8) 4.5 (29) 10.7 (67) 17.11 (113) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 5.6 (36) 7.7 (49) 9.9 (63) 11.9 (75) | Umpires: Vernon, Sheehan Television broadcast: Seven Network | ||
| Jakovich 8 Lovell 4 Beveridge 2 Spalding, Stynes, Viney 1 | Goals | 4 Werner 2 Watson 1 Daniher, Kickett, Greg Anderson, Sporn, Hills | |||
| Jakovich, Stynes, Lovell, Viney, Lovett, Lyon | Best | Anderson, Ezard, Kickett, Bewick, Werner | |||
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Second Elimination final (Geelong vs St Kilda)
The Second Elimination final saw third placed Geelong play fourth placed St Kilda at Waverley Park. Grand finalists two seasons prior, the Cats bounced back from a disappointing 1990, jumping into the Top Six after an important 40-point win against Hawthorn in Round 12 and spending much of the latter half of the season in second place behind West Coast. The Saints were the feel-good story of 1991, putting a difficult decade behind them and qualifying for their first VFL/AFL finals series since 1973. This was the second VFL/AFL final between the two clubs, having previously met in the 1968 First Semi-final, which was won by Geelong.
Teams
Geelong made some late changes to its team, as Damian Bourke (calf injury) and Tim Darcy (sore ankle) were ruled unavailable; [3] their places were taken by Stephen Hooper and Mark Neeld. There were no late changes for St Kilda. The Cats still boasted a number of players in their team from the 1989 VFL Grand Final while the Saints had only three players in their team with finals experience, albeit with other clubs: Russell Morris, Stephen Newport and Tim Pekin.
   Geelong |   St Kilda |
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Match summary
Although Geelong had opted to kick with the wind first, it was St Kilda who opened the scoring, to the delight of their long-suffering supporters. After three misses, Gilbert McAdam kicked truly on the run from 40 metres at the 9-minute mark. Frank Coghlan and Tony Lockett added further majors soon after to push the Saints' lead to 21 points at the 12-minute mark, with the Cats still not having registered a score.
Bill Brownless finally got Geelong on the scoreboard at the 14-minute mark, with a long set shot resulting in a behind. However, Russell Morris' short kick-in did not reach Lazar Vidovic in the back pocket, and the resulting pressure allowed Sean Denham to swoop on the ball and score the Cats' first goal from a tight angle.
After the slow start, Geelong's midfield took control and with quick goals to Brownless (two) and veteran Neville Bruns, the Cats had seized the lead at the 18-minute mark. Lockett then had two chances to regain the lead for St Kilda but missed both set shots, the second one from barely ten metres. He would later blame himself for the Saints' loss. [4] Soon after, Brownless added his third for the quarter to give Geelong a ten-point lead at the first change.
In the second quarter, the Saints took full advantage of the breeze, kicking six unanswered goals to open up a 26-point lead. As in the opening term, McAdam kicked the first goal before Lockett went on a rampage, booting the next five goals (it would have been six if he had marked in the goal square from another brilliant pass by Nicky Winmar, just after kicking his sixth goal for the game) before Garry Hocking slammed through a much-needed goal for Geelong at the 27-minute mark. When the siren sounded for the main break several minutes later, the Saints held a 19-point lead.
Momentum swung back and forth in a pulsating third quarter. With their season on the line, the Cats hit back hard; their defensive pressure lifted, Garry Hocking was pivotal in numerous attacking thrusts, and Brownless began reimposing himself up front.
After a long set shot from Brownless hit the post, Denham was in the perfect position to crumb and snap the first goal of the second half. Brownless then converted consecutive set shots, and when Hocking snapped his second, Geelong had regained the lead by seven points.
St Kilda then scored the next three goals - through successive goals to Lockett and one awarded to Ricky Nixon which Geelong defenders protested was touched - to take back a 10-point lead with 8 minutes remaining in the term. Both coaches had made a number of positional changes; Blight dragged Ablett, who had been ineffective, moved Trevor Spencer off Lockett and replaced him with Barry Stoneham, who had kept Stewart Loewe quiet, while Sheldon shifted Loewe into defence on Brownless and Paul Harding was relocated to centre half-forward to oppose Spencer at centre half-back.
The lead changed hands as Lockett registered his ninth goal, but when Brownless won a free kick against Saints skipper Danny Frawley and got his seventh major, the Cats took a one-point lead into the last change after Loewe's rushed shot from 50 metres drifted wide on the siren.
The last quarter was a tense and scrappy affair as tired players from both sides struggled to gain the advantage. Seven minutes had elapsed before Lockett had the first clear scoring chance of the term, which would have been his tenth goal for the match. Since the second quarter, he had kicked eight goals straight, but on this occasion a hooked set shot registered his fifth behind. After another rushed behind levelled the scores, the Cats worked the ball downfield where Paul Couch, who had been well tagged by Danny Craven, received a handball from Brownless and kicked truly from 50 metres to regain the lead. When Brownless slotted his eighth with nine minutes remaining, Geelong was in front by 13 points and looked home.
St Kilda's hopes lifted briefly when Loewe finally scored his first goal with a magnificent kick from outside 50 to bring the margin back to eight points with six minutes left. Three minutes later, Dean Rice collected the ball in open space, but his running shot missed and would end up being the last score of the game. Any remaining hope the Saints had all but disappeared when Vidovic not only had a free kick for a mark reversed but was also reported by two umpires for striking Ken Hinkley, apparently in retaliation after copping some unwanted physical attention from Hinkley. From there, the Cats controlled the ball in their attacking half, running down the clock until the final siren sounded to end an enthralling contest.
After the game, both coaches praised the other team's efforts and commented on the nature of the Final Six system:
I was brought up with the fact that if you are in finals, you are only in them to win. One of the sides had to go and it's really a pity it was us. We take defeat on the chin and we learn from it, and we'll come out a better side next season. [...] It is to Geelong's credit that they will be participating further. They played a good brand of football and I think if they play like that they will give all the sides a run for their money andn they could nearly take it (the premiership) out.
— Ken Sheldon, [5]
They (St Kilda) were terrific. Our strengths that should have been were not, and their players around the middle cut us to pieces and they gave Lockett tremendous chances. We had to turn the game around at half-time. It was a great last quarter from us - a real gutsy win. [...] It's almost criminal one side is out of it and we have two chances. The stakes are high. It's up to the football people to make sure that everybody gets a reasonable go at it (the premiership). I don't quite know if it's right.
— Malcolm Blight, [5]
- Scorecard
| Second Elimination Final | |||||
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| 8 September 1991 (2:08 p.m.) | Geelong | def. | St Kilda | AFL Park (crowd: 63,796) | Report |
| 5.3 (33) 6.6 (42) 13.10 (88) 15.14 (104) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 3.5 (23) 9.7 (61) 13.9 (87) 14.13 (97) | Umpires: Cameron, Sawers Television broadcast: Seven Network | ||
| Brownless 8 Bruns, Denham, G Hocking 2 Couch 1 | Goals | 9 Lockett 2 McAdam 1 Coghlan, Loewe, Nixon | |||
| Brownless, G Hocking, Stoneham, Bruns, Poole, Bairstow | Best | Lockett, Winmar, Harvey, McAdam, Craven, Devonport | |||
| Malakellis (shoulder), Bourke (calf), Darcy (ankle) | Injuries | Grant (concussion), Burke (corked thigh) | |||
| Nil | Reports | Vidovic (striking) | |||
Qualifying Final (West Coast vs Hawthorn)
The Qualifying Final saw minor premier West Coast host second-placed Hawthorn at Subiaco Oval. Not only was it the first VFL/AFL final to be played outside of Victoria, it was also the first time the two clubs had met in a VFL/AFL final. The Hawks had qualified for their tenth consecutive VFL/AFL finals series, while the Eagles had built on their third-placed finish in 1990 and won the first 12 games of 1991 to eventually finish three games clear on top of the ladder. The sides had met twice during the season - in Round 7 at Princes Park and Round 22 at Subiaco Oval - with West Coast winning both games. The build-up of excitement during the week leading up to the match resulted in Perth being dubbed 'Eagle City'. [6]
Teams
   West Coast |  Hawthorn |
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Match summary
This historic occasion was also reflected in the attendance as over 44,000 spectators crammed into Subiaco Oval, a figure which remains the venue's attendance record for a VFL/AFL match. [7] [Note 1] Leading up to the match, there had been criticism about the condition of Subiaco's playing surface, which had not been helped by the playing of two WAFL finals there the previous day. [8] Furthermore, rain had been forecast to sweep through Perth on match day, however both coaches dismissed weather and conditions as an influential factor. [8]
Urged on by a parochial home crowd confident of a repeat result from Round 22, the Eagles threw everything at Hawthorn, but in a frenetic opening term the battle-hardened Hawks matched the home side blow for blow, with the lead changing hands seven times. When the dust settled for quarter time the Eagles led by only five points.
The forecast rain arrived in the second quarter, turning an already rough playing surface into a boggy mess. Even though Hawthorn lost key forward Dermott Brereton in the 12th minute with what appeared a serious knee injury (later diagnosed as a strained medial ligament), Paul Dear proved to be a more than handy replacement. In a prelude to his Grand Final performance, Dear's mobility gave Hawthorn extra options in attack, while his strong marking and aggression at every contest brought his on-ball teammates into the game as the Hawks gradually wrestled control. At half-time they had kicked more accurately,
In his report for The Age the following day, chief football writer Ron Carter noted that "[t]he perseverance and non-stop aggression at the ball in winning the qualifying final in Perth was reminiscent of the Hawks of old." [5]
- Scorecard
| Qualifying Final | |||||
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| 8 September 1991 (3:00 p.m. AWST) | West Coast | def. by | Hawthorn | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 44,142) | Report |
| 6.3 (39) 7.4 (46) 11.9 (75) 15.11 (101) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 5.4 (34) 8.9 (57) 12.12 (84) 18.16 (124) | Umpires: Russo, Goldspink | ||
| Sumich 3 Lewis, Wilson 2 Heady, Kemp, Langdon, Matera, McIntosh, Turley, Waterman 1 | Goals | 4 Dunstall 3 Hudson 2 Dear, Jarman, Platten 1 Allan, Brereton, Condon, Lawrence, Lawrence | |||
| Turley, McKenna, Matera, Waterman, Watters, Lewis | Best | Lawrence, Condon, Platten, Pritchard, Allan, Dear | |||
| Nil | Injuries | Brereton (strained medial ligament) | |||
| Nil | Reports | Nil | |||
