1991 AFL season

Last updated

1991 AFL premiership season
Teams15
Premiers Hawthorn
9th premiership
Minor premiers West Coast
1st minor premiership
Pre-season cup Hawthorn
2nd pre-season cup win
Brownlow Medallist Jim Stynes (Melbourne)
Coleman Medallist Tony Lockett (St Kilda)
Attendance
Matches played172
Total attendance4,178,884 (24,296 per match)
Highest75,230 (Grand Final, Hawthorn vs. West Coast)
←  1990
1992  →

The 1991 AFL season was the 95th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), which was known previously as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season ran from 22 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top six clubs, an increase from the top five clubs which had contested the finals since 1972.

Contents

The season saw expansion of the league to fifteen clubs, with the admission of the newly established Adelaide Crows, based in Adelaide, South Australia. With at least one team representing each of the three major Australian rules football states, the league was now the highest level senior Australian rules football competition across Australia, as well as the top administrative body for football in Victoria.

The premiership was won by the Hawthorn Football Club for the ninth time, after defeating West Coast by 53 points in the 1991 AFL Grand Final.

Foster's Cup

Hawthorn defeated North Melbourne 14.19 (103) to 7.12 (54) in the final.

Home-and-away season

The league expanded to 15 teams with the admission of the Adelaide Crows, meaning byes were required for the first time since 1943.

Each team played 22 games for the season with two byes: seven teams had a bye in round 1, and one team had a bye in each subsequent round.

Round 1

Round 1
Friday, 22 March (7:40 pm) Adelaide 24.11 (155)def. Hawthorn 9.15 (69) Football Park (crowd: 44,902) Report
Saturday, 23 March (2:10 pm) St Kilda 16.11 (107)def. Richmond 12.10 (82) Waverley Park (crowd: 33,192) Report
Sunday, 24 March (2:10 pm) Footscray 11.10 (76)def. by Collingwood 21.20 (146) Waverley Park (crowd: 38,861) Report
Sunday, 24 March (2:10 pm) West Coast 14.15 (99)def. Melbourne 2.8 (20) Subiaco Oval (crowd: 26,105) Report
Bye
Brisbane Bears, Carlton, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, North Melbourne, Sydney
  • The Jarman brothers Andrew (for Adelaide) and Darren (for Hawthorn) made their AFL debuts against each other in the season opener.

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 4
Friday, 12 April (7:40 pm) West Coast 18.19 (127)def. North Melbourne 8.7 (55) WACA Ground (crowd: 28,362) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Essendon 12.20 (92)def. Adelaide 6.11 (47) Windy Hill (crowd: 20,197) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Melbourne 23.17 (155)def. Carlton 17.8 (110) AFL Park (crowd: 32,573) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) St Kilda 13.16 (94)drew with Collingwood 13.16 (94) Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 31,213) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Fitzroy 12.18 (90)def. by Footscray 15.16 (106) Princes Park (crowd: 10,351) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Richmond 19.13 (127)def. by Sydney 24.20 (164) MCG (crowd: 17,294) Report
Sunday, 14 April (2:10 pm) Brisbane Bears 12.16 (88)def. by Geelong 27.28 (190) The Gabba (crowd: 12,654) Report
Bye
Hawthorn
  • This was the first time since 1981 that a match for VFL/AFL premiership points had been staged at The Gabba. Under the insistence of their new coach Robert Walls, the Bears would eventually relocate there permanently in 1993. The match is also noticeable with Geelong’s Bill Brownless kicking 11 goals in the match, which remains the record for most goals kicked in a match at the venue.

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 7
Friday, 3 May (7:40 pm) North Melbourne 21.15 (141)def. Fitzroy 14.13 (97) MCG (crowd: 13,111) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) St Kilda 24.18 (162)def. Adelaide 4.7 (31) Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 25,057) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) Melbourne 18.18 (126)def. Brisbane Bears 17.11 (113) MCG (crowd: 14,722) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) Essendon 17.13 (115)def. Carlton 13.16 (94) Waverley Park (crowd: 47,651) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) Hawthorn 8.14 (62)def. by West Coast 21.18 (144) Princes Park (crowd: 18,585) Report
Sunday, 5 May (2:10 pm) Footscray 20.13 (133)def. Richmond 14.17 (101) Western Oval (crowd: 18,644) Report
Sunday, 5 May (2:10 pm) Sydney 20.24 (144)def. Geelong 14.14 (98) SCG (crowd: 11,244) Report
Bye
Collingwood
  • St Kilda stars Nicky Winmar and Tony Lockett marked their long-awaited return to action with outstanding performances as the Saints set a new club record for biggest win, eclipsing their 110-point win against Fitzroy in 1970. The signs were ominous when Lockett goaled in the opening minute after marking a pass from Robert Harvey, eventually finishing with 12 goals. The Crows weren't helped by the loss of Andrew Jarman to a shoulder injury in the first quarter. [1]
  • In their match at the MCG, Brisbane Bears led Melbourne for much of the afternoon, and appeared to have won when former Geelong player Shane Hamilton put the Bears 19 points ahead at the 19-minute mark of the final quarter. The Demons mounted a comeback when Darren Cuthbertson goaled from a controversial free kick after Bears defender John Gastev was penalized for holding the ball, and hit the front with goals to Jim Stynes and Ricky Jackson to eventually run out 13-point winners. Cuthbertson and Darren Bennett kicked five goals each for the winners. [2]

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 13
Friday, 14 June (7:40 pm) West Coast 25.15 (165)def. Footscray 7.5 (47) WACA Ground (crowd: 25,117) Report
Saturday, 15 June (2:10 pm) Richmond 6.11 (47)def. by Adelaide 12.13 (85) MCG (crowd: 16,235) Report
Saturday, 15 June (2:10 pm) Hawthorn 22.17 (149)def. Brisbane Bears 9.8 (62) Princes Park (crowd: 5,741) Report
Saturday, 15 June (2:10 pm) Essendon 10.14 (74)def. by Collingwood 11.10 (76) Waverley Park (crowd: 41,948) Report
Sunday, 16 June (1:10 pm) Fitzroy 15.8 (98)def. by St Kilda 17.9 (111) North Hobart Oval (crowd: 13,746) Report
Sunday, 16 June (2:10 pm) Melbourne 16.8 (104)def. by Geelong 20.14 (134) MCG (crowd: 40,930) Report
Sunday, 16 June (3:10 pm) Sydney 18.16 (124)def. Carlton 17.8 (110) SCG (crowd: 12,769) Report
Bye
North Melbourne
  • In the Friday evening game in Perth, West Coast continued their unbeaten start to the season and extended their winning streak to 12 games when they pounded Footscray by 118 points, equalling their biggest winning margin which was set against Brisbane Bears in 1988. Full-forward Peter Sumich became the first Eagles player to kick ten or more goals in a game and finished with a career-best 13 goals.
  • Going into three-quarter time with a one-point lead, Adelaide kicked six goals to none in the final quarter to defeat Richmond and win their first game in Melbourne. After the match, Crows coach Graham Cornes acknowledged the significance of the win and took the opportunity to accuse the Victorian football media of a "xenophobic" attitude towards non-Victorian teams, also claiming that South Australian football crowds were "angels" compared to the crowds at Melbourne's suburban football grounds. [3]
  • The game between Melbourne and Geelong marked the much-anticipated return of Gary Ablett from his premature retirement announcement earlier in the year. He had a modest game with ten touches and two goals, while teammate Bill Brownless took several spectacular marks and kicked seven goals as the Cats ran out winners by 30 points and consigned the Demons to a fourth straight loss. [4]

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 19
Friday, 26 July (7:40 pm) North Melbourne 12.13 (85)def. West Coast 11.16 (82) MCG (crowd: 19,399) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Geelong 24.15 (159)def. Brisbane Bears 8.10 (58) Kardinia Park (crowd: 13,639) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Carlton 10.8 (68)def. by Melbourne 11.14 (80) Princes Park (crowd: 16,110) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Collingwood 13.7 (85)def. St Kilda 7.11 (53) Waverley Park (crowd: 53,315) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Footscray 16.12 (108)def. Fitzroy 7.9 (51) Western Oval (crowd: 8,977) Report
Sunday, 28 July (2:10 pm) Sydney 14.15 (99)def. Richmond 12.20 (92) SCG (crowd: 9,276) Report
Sunday, 28 July (7:40 pm) Adelaide 16.12 (108)def. Essendon 12.9 (81) Football Park (crowd: 41,716) Report
Bye
Hawthorn

Round 20

Round 20
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) Carlton 16.9 (105)def. Geelong 14.19 (103) Princes Park (crowd: 20,277) Report
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) Essendon 22.19 (151)def. Sydney 12.12 (84) Windy Hill (crowd: 14,341) Report
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) Hawthorn 12.11 (83)def. Footscray 10.9 (69) Waverley Park (crowd: 20,670) Report
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) North Melbourne 13.10 (88)def. by Melbourne 20.20 (140) MCG (crowd: 28,323) Report
Saturday, 3 August (7:40 pm) Brisbane Bears 10.11 (71)def. by Collingwood 26.16 (172) Carrara Stadium (crowd: 9,302) Report
Sunday, 4 August (2:10 pm) Richmond 13.19 (97)def. by Fitzroy 23.18 (156) MCG (crowd: 16,434) Report
Sunday, 4 August (2:10 pm) Adelaide 11.14 (80)def. by West Coast 14.11 (95) Football Park (crowd: 45,864) Report
Bye
St Kilda
  • Carlton produced its second major upset of the season, shaking off four consecutive narrow losses and surviving a last-quarter fightback from second-placed Geelong to win by two points. The Blues players kept a promise to coach David Parkin that they would produce a four-quarter effort, while Cats coach Malcolm Blight lamented his side's inconsistency. [5]

Round 21

Round 22

Round 23

Round 24

Ladder

(P)Premiers
Qualified for finals
#TeamPWLDPFPA%Pts
1 West Coast 22193024851532162.276
2 Hawthorn (P)22166027932055135.964
3 Geelong 22166026602021131.664
4 St Kilda 22147125122087120.458
5 Melbourne 22139023552123110.952
6 Essendon 22139022032017109.252
7 Collingwood 22129123492033115.550
8 North Melbourne 22121002456269391.248
9 Adelaide 22101202041228289.440
10 Footscray 2291211815206487.938
11 Carlton 2281401878211388.932
12 Sydney 2271412360277885.030
13 Richmond 2271502141245087.428
14 Fitzroy 2241801837277166.316
15 Brisbane Bears 2231901976284269.512

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 102.6
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

Finals week 1

Finals week 2

Preliminary final

Grand final

Season notes

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Saints go on record rampage". The Canberra Times . Vol. 65, no. 20, 476. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 May 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 10 June 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Demons pull a rabbit out of the hat at MCG". The Canberra Times . Vol. 65, no. 20, 476. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 May 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 10 June 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Crow pecks at media after win". The Canberra Times . Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 June 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 11 June 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Demons sink out of top six". The Canberra Times . Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 June 1991. p. 26. Retrieved 10 June 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "'One of those days' for Blues and Cats". The Canberra Times . Vol. 65, no. 20, 567. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 August 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 12 June 2021– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ Lerner, Ronny (27 March 2020). "Footy flashback: Blues had one goal against the Bulldogs". www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "Finals' venues", Football Record, 80 (9): 3, 17 May 1991
  8. ↑ Daryl Timms (2 July 1990). "Feathers fly". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 88.

Sources

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