Location | Various |
---|---|
First meeting | 25 March 2017 |
Latest meeting | 27 November 2022 |
Next meeting | 3 December 2023 |
Broadcasters | Seven Network (2017–) |
Stadiums | See below |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 6 |
Most wins | Adelaide (3) |
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, which was set at the 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final.
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 as follows:
From 2021 onwards, the winners of the two preliminary finals have played off in the Grand Final.
2021 and 2022 (S6) 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 |
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's grand final. [2] The conference-style 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]
Of the four 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]
Venue | City | State | Grand Finals |
---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Oval | Adelaide | South Australia | 3 (2019, 2021, 2022 (S6)) |
Princes Park | Melbourne | Victoria | 2 (2018, 2023) |
Springfield Central Stadium | Brisbane | Queensland | 1 (2022 (S7)) |
Carrara Stadium | Gold Coast | Queensland | 1 (2017) |
NOTE: There was no grand final held in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is customary for the Grand Final to begin with a rendition of the Australian National Anthem in which both teams line up opposite each other. Most grand finals thus far have been accompanied by a musical entertainment act that has performed before the match or at half-time. At the conclusion of the match, an award ceremony is held for individual awards, which include a best-on-ground award and premiership medals awarded for each participant. The captains of both sides are invited to make a speech, and the cup is presented to the captain and coach of the winning team. Following the ceremonies, players of the winning side assemble on a podium for team celebration photographs with the premiership cup and premiership medals.
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] Delta Goodrem performed the pre-match entertainment at the 2022 season 7 Grand Final.
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 (albeit with a break from 1988–2001).
Grand Final | Sprint winner | Team | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | Ruby Svarc | Brisbane | [11] |
2022 (S6) | Alana Porter | Collingwood | [12] |
2022 (S7) | No sprint held |
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.
Grand Final | Player | Team | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide | [13] |
2018 | Monique Conti | Western Bulldogs | [14] |
2019 | Erin Phillips | Adelaide | [15] |
2021 | Kate Lutkins | Brisbane | [16] |
2022 (S6) | Anne Hatchard | Adelaide | [17] |
2022 (S7) | Shannon Campbell | Brisbane | [18] |
Nick Dal Santo is the senior coach of the St Kilda Football Club in the AFL Women's competition and a retired Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda and North Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Princes Park is an Australian rules football ground located inside the Princes Park precinct in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North. Officially the Carlton Recreation Ground, it is a historic venue, having been Carlton Football Club's VFL/AFL home ground from 1897.
Daisy Pearce is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Often regarded as the face of women's Australian rules football, Pearce served as Melbourne captain from the competition's inaugural season in 2017 until her retirement at the end of season 7, having previously captained the club in the women's exhibition games staged prior to the 2016 creation of the league. She captained Victoria in the inaugural AFL Women's State of Origin match in 2017, where she was adjudged best afield.
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 14 teams in 2020 and 18 teams in 2022. The league is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by each of the clubs from that competition. The reigning premiers are Melbourne.
Monique Conti is an Australian rules footballer and basketballer. Conti currently plays for the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW), having previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2018 to 2019, and plays for the Melbourne Boomers in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), having also played for the Southside Flyers from 2020 to 2023.
The 2017 AFL Women's season was the inaugural season of the AFL Women's competition, the new highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured eight clubs, ran from 3 February until 25 March, and comprised a 7-game home-and-away season followed by a grand final featuring the top two clubs.
The 2017 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held on 25 March 2017 to determine the premiers of the 2017 AFL Women's season, the league's inaugural season. Adelaide were victorious over minor premiers Brisbane, claiming the first AFL Women's premiership by a score of 35 points to 29. Brisbane had entered the grand final as undefeated, conceding only one draw during the season, while Adelaide conceded two losses, including a three-point loss to Brisbane in the fifth round.
Alicia Eva is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Collingwood Football Club in 2017. Eva was selected in the AFL Women's All-Australian team and won the Gabrielle Trainor Medal in her first season at the Giants in 2018. She has served as Greater Western Sydney captain since the 2020 season.
Jade Ellenger is an Australian rules footballer playing for Brisbane in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition.
The 2019 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at Adelaide Oval on 31 March 2019 to determine the premiers of the league's third season. Admission was free to the general public, and the match between Adelaide and Carlton was contested before a crowd of 53,034 – which at that time was the record for a stand-alone women's sporting event in Australia. It was won by Adelaide, 10.3 (63) to 2.6 (18), and Adelaide claimed its second premiership in three years. Its co-captain Erin Phillips was voted best on ground, despite suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the third quarter.
The 2020 AFL Women's season was the fourth season of the AFL Women's competition, the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured fourteen clubs, with four new teams joining the league: Gold Coast, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast.
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The 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at the Adelaide Oval on 17 April to determine the premiers of the fifth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. The match was contested by the Adelaide Crows and Brisbane Lions. It was the second grand final between the two clubs after the 2017 Grand Final which was won by Adelaide. Both clubs were appearing in their third grand final, following Adelaide's premierships in 2017 and 2019, and Brisbane's losses in the 2017 and 2018 grand finals.
2022 AFL Women's season 6 was the sixth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season was the last to feature 14 clubs, ran from 7 January until 9 April 2022, and comprised a ten-game home-and-away season, followed by a finals series featuring the top six clubs. It was the first of two seasons to take place in the 2022 calendar year, with the competition's seventh season held from August to November.
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The 2022 AFL Women's season 6 Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at the Adelaide Oval on 9 April to determine the premiers of the sixth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition.
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The 2022 AFL Women's season 7 Grand Final was an Australian football match held at the Brighton Homes Arena on 27 November 2022 to determine the premiers of the seventh season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. The match was contested between the Brisbane Lions and the Melbourne Football Club. It was played in 30 °C (86 °F) heat. Melbourne emerged as winners by four points.
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.