2007 AFL Grand Final

Grand final of the 2007 Australian Football League season December 2017 December 2017 AFL 2007 2007AFLGrandFinal.png A vision of play during the 2007 AFL Grand Final.jpg Players in action during the first quarter of the game 50px GEE 50pxPA PA 5.7 (37) 11.13 (79) 18.17 (125) 24.19 (163) 2.2 (14) 4.3 (27) 5.5 (35) 6.8 (44) 24.19 (163) 6.8 (44) 29 September 2007 Melbourne Cricket Ground 97,302 Stephen McBurney (3), Shane McInerney (30), Scott McLaren (11) Geelong City End Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Jet Natalie Bassingthwaighte Steve Johnson () Mark Thompson (Geelong) Network Ten Anthony Hudson (host)Tim Lane (commentator)Michael Voss (special comments)Robert Walls (special comments)Malcolm Blight (special comments)Corey Wingard (boundary rider)Andrew Maher (boundary rider) 2006 2008 2007 AFL finals seriesThe 2007 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 2007. It was the 111th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League),In 1897 and 1924 there were no grand finals and instead the premier was decided by a finals play-off. In 1948 and 1977 there were grand final replays after initial draws. staged to determine the premiers for the 2007 AFL season. The match, attended by 97,302 spectators, was won by Geelong by a margin of 119 points, the greatest winning margin in VFL/AFL grand final history and the only one by 100 points or more. The victory marked Geelong's seventh premiership win, and ended its 44-year premiership drought. Background thumb|150px|2007 Brownlow Medal winner Jimmy Bartel of Geelong (pictured in 2008) 2007 AFL seasonGeelong entered the season after finishing 10th in 2006.AFL Tables - 2006 Season Scores https://afltables.com/afl/seas/2006.html 2026-09-15 afltables.com Geelong was the best performing side of the home and away season in 2007, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed Port Adelaide, with an 18–4 record and a percentage of 152.8,AFL Tables - 2007 Season Scores https://afltables.com/afl/seas/2007.html 2026-09-15 afltables.com winning the McClelland Trophy. After opening the season with a 2–3 record, Geelong had lost only one of its last 19 games: by five points against Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium in round 21 when Domenic Cassisi goaled with three seconds remaining.AFL Tables - Geelong v Port Adelaide - Sun, 26-Aug-2007 2:10 PM - Match Stats https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2007/091320070826.html 2026-09-15 afltables.com The grand final was Geelong's first appearance in a premiership decider since 1995, when they lost to Carlton. Geelong defeated the Kangaroos in their qualifying final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 106 points,AFL Tables - Geelong v Kangaroos - Sun, 9-Sep-2007 2:45 PM - Match Stats https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2007/091220070909.html 2026-09-15 afltables.com earning them a second week bye, before they met Collingwood in the preliminary final, which Geelong won by five points in front of a crowd of 98,002. Port Adelaide had finished 12th the previous season, but rose 10 places to finish second on the ladder in 2007, with a 15–7 record and a percentage of 113.54. Port Adelaide had hosted reigning premiers West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium in their qualifying final, winning by three points after trailing all night.AFL Tables - Port Adelaide v West Coast - Fri, 7-Sep-2007 7:50 PM (8:20 PM) - Match Stats https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2007/131820070907.html 2026-09-15 afltables.com Having also earned a second week bye, they hosted the Kangaroos in a preliminary final at AAMI Stadium, winning by 87 points. Having won the 2004 Grand Final, Port Adelaide was looking to secure two flags in four years. It was the first grand final fought between two teams that missed the finals the previous year since 1997. Match summary The grand final was a one-sided affair from start to finish. outscored PA 5.7 (37) to 2.2 (14) in the opening quarter, with only inaccurate goalkicking preventing a greater advantage. They then kicked five goals in the first 12 minutes of the second quarter to extend the margin to 52 points, all but ending any chances Port Adelaide had. Seven goals to one in the third quarter extended the lead to 90 points, and another six goals to one in the final quarter saw the lead reach a game-high 128 points, before eventually finishing at 119 points. Geelong excelled in its defence—which had been the best in the competition all season—keeping the Power to their lowest score of the year. The backlines, led by Matthew Scarlett at full-back, repeatedly turned defence into attack, rushing the ball forward to support the forward line, as evidenced by Scarlett's tally of 29 disposals (tied with Corey Enright for Geelong's most disposals), rare for a team, especially a team who had won by a 100-point-plus margin.AFL Tables - Geelong v Port Adelaide - Sat, 29-Sep-2007 2:30 PM - Match Stats https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2007/091320070929.html 2021-09-28 afltables.com Half-forwards Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson kicked four goals each and set up numerous others. Johnson was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for his best-on-ground performance in the grand final after the Cats’ triumph. Chapman's day included a high mark over Port Adelaide captain Warren Tredrea during the third quarter. Key forwards Cameron Mooney (five goals) and Nathan Ablett (three) also performed strongly. Power player Domenic Cassisi performed reasonably well against Geelong star Gary Ablett, Jr.; however, Geelong were still able to dominate the midfield, with Joel Corey, James Kelly, and Cameron Ling all making solid contributions, while Brad Ottens and Steven King both performing strongly in the ruck.Rucks in Ottens' hands https://www.geelongcats.com.au/news/329413/rucks-in-ottens-hands 2021-09-28 geelongcats.com.au 12 January 2016 en2017-05-25 Four things forgotten from the 2007 grand final Geelong Advertiser https://geelongadvertiser.com.au/sport/afl/four-things-you-may-not-remember-from-the-2007-afl-grand-final/news-story/df7694462b8269b688131f7c0e3e64f4 2021-09-28 The match ended with Geelong winning by the score of 24.19 (163) to 6.8 (44), recording the greatest winning margin in AFL grand final history, 119 points. This broke the previous record of 96 points set by Hawthorn against Melbourne in the 1988 VFL Grand Final.AFL Tables - Hawthorn v Melbourne - Sat, 24-Sep-1988 2:30 PM - Match Stats https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/1988/101119880924.html 2026-09-15 afltables.comAFL Tables - Grand Finals https://afltables.com/afl/teams/allteams/grandfinals.html 2026-09-15 afltables.com Geelong's 417 disposals was a new grand final record, while Port Adelaide became the first finals side in history to have more handballs than kicks. Aftermath The Cats’ win ended a 44-year premiership drought for the club. Their last flag had come in 1963, and since then the club had lost five grand finals. It was the first premiership won by a team from Victoria since Essendon’s 2000 victory. It was the start of a period of sustained dominance by Geelong, which saw it win three premierships from four grand finals over a five-year period from 2007 to 2011. 2026 10 As of the conclusion of the 2026 season, this remains the last grand final appearance for Port Adelaide. The success of the 2007 season proved an aberration, as the club's rise from 12th to 2nd on the ladder in 2007 was followed by a drop to 13th in 2008, with Port Adelaide not qualifying for another finals series until the 2013 season. Because the 44-year drought had been broken, celebrations in the homes, pubs, nightclubs, and streets of Geelong continued throughout the night and into the next day.2007 Grand Final Sunday Footy Show 23 October 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o33Kx9EW1U https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/8o33Kx9EW1U 2021-12-21 live en 2021-09-28Geelong cats football premiers 2007 grand final celebrations 30 September 2007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lDewB971aE https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/3lDewB971aE 2021-12-21 live en 2021-09-28 The day after the grand final, around 30,000 fans turned out to welcome the team back to their home ground at Kardinia Park.Hoerr Karl 2007-10-03 Geelong pays tribute to Cats heroes en-AU ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-10-03/geelong-pays-tribute-to-cats-heroes/688126 2021-09-28 alt=2007 AFL Grand Final post-match celebrations|864x864px|2007 AFL Grand Final post-match celebrations Norm Smith Medal +Norm Smith Medal voting tallyPositionPlayerClubTotal votesVote summary1st (winner)Steve JohnsonGeelong133,3,3,2,22ndPaul ChapmanGeelong103,3,2,1,13rdMatthew ScarlettGeelong72,2,1,1,1 Steve Johnson was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being voted as the best-performing player of the match. He recorded 23 disposals, 9 marks, and 4 goals. Also polling were Paul Chapman (21 disposals, 7 marks, and 4 goals), and Matthew Scarlett (29 disposals and 8 marks).AFL Tables - Geelong v Port Adelaide - Sat, 29-Sep-2007 2:30 PM - Match Stats https://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/2007/091320070929.html 2020-07-20 afltables.com The voters and their choices were as follows:AFL Grand Final 2007 - Norm Smith Medal https://forum.punterslounge.com/topic/52448-afl-grand-final-2007-norm-smith-medal/ 2020-07-20 Punters Lounge Forum 23 September 2007 en-US VoterRole3 votes2 votes1 voteSteve ButlerThe West AustralianSteve JohnsonPaul ChapmanMatthew ScarlettJosh Francou5AAPaul ChapmanSteve JohnsonMatthew ScarlettDanny FrawleyTriple MSteve JohnsonMatthew ScarlettPaul ChapmanJake NiallThe AgePaul ChapmanSteve JohnsonMatthew ScarlettDaryl TimmsHerald SunSteve JohnsonMatthew ScarlettPaul Chapman Scorecard 2007 AFL Grand Final Saturday, 29 September 2007 (2:30 pm) 5.7 (37) 11.13 (79) 18.17 (125) 24.19 (163) Mooney 5, Chapman 4, Johnson 4, N. Ablett 3, Bartel 2, Ottens, Byrnes, G. Ablett, Rooke, Ling, Mackie Johnson, Chapman, Scarlett, King, Ottens, Mooney, Corey, Enright, Bartel Nil Nil H 2.2 (14) 4.3 (27) 5.5 (35) 6.8 (44) Tredrea 2, S. Burgoyne 2, C. Cornes, Logan Tredrea, P. Burgoyne, K. Cornes Nil Nil MCG 97,302 McBurney (3), McInerney (30), McLaren (11) Norm Smith Medal Steve Johnson, Geelong Network Ten Natalie Bassingthwaighte Teams _thinwhitehoops _sides_on_white _hoops_white 1C3C63 1C3C63 1C3C63 Gee Geelong Gee - 2 Tom Harley (c) 30 Matthew Scarlett 8 Josh Hunt 4 Andrew Mackie 39 Darren Milburn 40 David Wojcinski 11 Joel Corey 3 Jimmy Bartel 44 Corey Enright 20 Steve Johnson 21 Cameron Mooney 14 Joel Selwood 35 Paul Chapman 23 Nathan Ablett 27 Mathew Stokes 6 Brad Ottens 45 Cameron Ling 29 Gary Ablett Jr. 1 Steven King 17 Shannon Byrnes 9 James Kelly 33 Max Rooke Mark Thompson _portadelaide_1997 _whitesides 000000 000000 000000 Port Adelaide Port - 36 Michael Pettigrew 28 Toby Thurstans 9 Jacob Surjan 25 Domenic Cassisi 30 Troy Chaplin 7 Peter Burgoyne 3 Steven Salopek 18 Kane Cornes 15 David Rodan 4 Daniel Motlop 1 Warren Tredrea (c) 16 Danyle Pearce 5 Brendon Lade 39 Justin Westhoff 33 Brett Ebert 20 Dean Brogan 35 Chad Cornes 8 Shaun Burgoyne 10 Travis Boak 23 Brad Symes 44 Tom Logan 2 Darryl Wakelin Mark Williams See also 2007 AFL season 2007 AFL finals series References Match stats at AFL Tables AFL Website Category:VFL/AFL Grand Finals AFL Grand Final Grand Final Category:Geelong Football Club Category:Port Adelaide Football Club