2000 AFL Grand Final

Grand final of the 2000 Australian Football League season March 2018 December 2017 December 2017 AFL 2000 2000 AFL Grand Final Logo.png MCG99.jpg The Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the 2000 AFL Grand Final took place 50px ESS 50px MEL 4.8 (32) 10.16 (76) 16.17 (113) 19.21 (135) 3.3 (21) 5.5 (35) 8.8 (56) 11.9 (75) 19.21 (135) 11.9 (75) 2 September 2000 Melbourne Cricket Ground 96,249 Darren Goldspink (32), Brett Allen (10), Hayden Kennedy (7) David Neitz, Melbourne City End The Idea of North, Trish Delaney-Brown, Megan Corson, Andrew Piper and Nick Begie Bachelor Girl Mike Brady, Russell Morris and Rick Price James Hird () Kevin Sheedy () Seven Network Bruce McAvaney (host and commentator)Sandy Roberts (commentator)Jason Dunstall (expert commentator)Gerard Healy (expert commentator)Malcolm Blight (expert commentator)Tony Lockett (boundary rider)Anthony Hudson (boundary rider)Robert DiPierdomenico (boundary rider) 1999 2001 The 2000 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 2000 rather than in its usual last Saturday of September date to avoid conflicting with the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It was the 104th annual grand final (counting replays) 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 2000 AFL season. The match, attended by 96,249 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 60 points. It was Essendon's 16th premiership, drawing the club equal for the most VFL/AFL premierships. It remains as of 2026 Essendon's most recent victory in a grand final. Background 2000 AFL season 2000 AFL finals series This was Essendon's first appearance in a grand final since winning the 1993 AFL Grand Final, whilst it was Melbourne's first since losing the 1988 VFL Grand Final by a then record margin of 96 points. In the previous week's preliminary finals, Essendon defeated Carlton by 45 points, while Melbourne defeated North Melbourne by 50 points. The following Monday saw Melbourne's Shane Woewodin awarded the Brownlow Medal with 24 votes, ahead of Western Bulldogs midfielder Scott West and Adelaide midfielder Andrew McLeod.Gruber James Surprise Brownlow medal winner (AM transcript) http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s168651.htm ABC 12 September 2010 Essendon won the most home-and-away games (21) and total games (24) in a single season in the history of the VFL/AFL, breaking the records set by Carlton in 1995 (20 and 23, respectively), and they broke Collingwood's 1929 record when it won its first twenty games; if the pre-season cup is included, Essendon won 30 games out of 31; all of these records still stand. In 2008, Geelong won 21 of 22 games in the home-and-away season to equal that record, but they lost the grand final. Essendon's grand final win was the last by a Victorian side until Geelong won in 2007. Match summary Scant on details. Mention specific plays, quarterly reports, details, etc. July 2023 Melbourne captain David Neitz won the toss and chose to kick towards the City/Members end of the MCG in the opening quarter. The first score of the game went to Melbourne. Neitz, from a very tight angle near the behind post on the Members side of the goals, kicked the ball into the far goal post resulting in one point. It was only a short time after the first score of the game that James Hird kicked the first goal of the game for Essendon. Melbourne's first goal was kicked by Stephen Powell. The Bombers never looked threatened from after quarter time and comfortably won its record-equaling 16th premiership by 60 points after arguably the most dominant season in VFL/AFL history. One downside for the Bombers was an incident in which Melbourne's Troy Simmonds was hit high by Essendon's Michael Long, resulting in a 25-man brawl. Simmonds was taken from the field on a stretcher; nine players were reported on ten offences by the umpires. Whilst this incident may not have influenced the final result, it was indicative of the nature of football Kevin Sheedy had instilled in the team, as Brad Green also suffered a throat injury off the ball. Hird was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield. Paul Barnard and Matthew Lloyd each kicked four goals for the Bombers. Essendon's triumph would be the last by any Victorian team until the 2007 AFL Grand Final when Geelong won its first premiership in 44 years. The National Anthem was sung by Tania Doko of Bachelor Girl. Teams _redrightsash _redsides _hoops_black 000000 000000 FF0000 Essendon _red_v_top _redsides 061A33 ffffff ff0000 Melbourne 1 Mark Johnson 31 Dustin Fletcher 6 Sean Wellman 11 Damien Hardwick 21 Dean Wallis 7 Dean Solomon 26 Chris Heffernan 24 Joe Misiti 33 Blake Caracella 2 Mark Mercuri 25 Scott Lucas 5 James Hird (c) 9 Adam Ramanauskas 18 Matthew Lloyd 13 Michael Long 22 John Barnes 32 Justin Blumfield 14 Jason Johnson 8 Darren Bewick 16 Paul Barnard 27 Steven Alessio 29 Gary Moorcroft Kevin Sheedy 26 Daniel Ward 27 Anthony Ingerson 44 Alistair Nicholson 42 Peter Walsh 28 Matthew Collins 21 Steven Febey 13 Adem Yze 22 Shane Woewodin 35 Anthony McDonald 18 Brad Green 5 David Schwarz 7 Stephen Powell 24 Russell Robertson 9 David Neitz (c) 33 Jeff Farmer 34 Jeff White 43 Guy Rigoni 36 Andrew Leoncelli 4 Brent Grgic 16 Travis Johnstone 47 Ben Beams 46 Troy Simmonds Neale Daniher Scorecard vs Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Final4.8 (32)10.16 (76)16.17 (113)19.21 (135)3.3 (21)5.5 (35)8.8 (56)11.9 (75)Venue:Melbourne Cricket Ground, MelbourneDate:2 September 2000Attendance:96,249Umpires:Darren Goldspink (32), Brett Allen (10), Hayden Kennedy (7)Goal scorers: Essendon4: Paul Barnard, Matthew Lloyd. 3: Blake Caracella. 2: James Hird. 1: Gary Moorcroft, Mark Mercuri, Michael Long, Justin Blumfield, Darren Bewick, Steven Alessio Melbourne3: Jeff Farmer, Stephen Powell. 2: David Neitz, Russell Robertson. 1: Brad GreenBest: EssendonHird, Barnes, Caracella, Misiti, Wallis MelbourneWhite, Powell, Johnstone, Neitz, WalshReports:Essendon: Wallis (striking), Long (rough play), Dustin Fletcher (striking) Melbourne: Brent Grgic (striking)Injuries:Melbourne: Simmonds (concussion), Green (fractured larynx)Coin toss winner: David Neitz, MelbourneNorm Smith Medal:James Hird, EssendonAustralian television broadcaster:Seven NetworkNational Anthem:Bachelor Girl See also 2000 AFL season 1948 VFL Grand Final 1957 VFL Grand Final References Match Stats Notes Jim Main 2001 Pennon Publishing 1-877029-00-9 More than a century of AFL Grand Finals External links AFL Website Category:VFL/AFL Grand Finals Category:2000 AFL season Afl Grand Final, 2000 Category:Essendon Football Club Category:Melbourne Football Club