2001 AFL Grand Final

The 2001 AFL Grand Final was contested between Essendon and the Brisbane Lions. Essendon were defending their 2000 premiership crown, and went into the game finishing on top of the ladder on percentage ahead of second placed Brisbane (both had won 17 games). Brisbane were chasing their sixteenth successive win in the Grand Final, a streak which was started with a major upset of Essendon at the Gabba in round 10. Essendon were the dominant team between 1999 and 2001, losing just 11 games from the start of 1999 until the start of the 2001 Grand Final. In the lead up to the match, Jason Akermanis won the Brownlow Medal.

Match Summary

Brisbane started off the game well, getting the first goal for the match from a free kick awarded to Lynch for holding against Fletcher. Essendon fought back late in the first quarter then took control of the game in the second quarter. Brisbane's poor kicking for goal almost put them out of the game in the second quarter as Essendon blew their lead out to 20 points late in the second quarter. Brisbane kicked 5.11 at half time.

Brisbane managed to overrun Essendon in the third quarter kicking six goals to two and turing a 14 point deficit into a 16 point lead. Brisbane's pace in the midfield and the tiring legs of most of the Essendon players played a pivital role in Brisbane taking full control of the game in the second half to win comfortably. Essendon had scored two late goals in the last quarter after being down by as much as 38 points.

James Hird in his post match speech was visually shattered and disappointed, a quick congratulations to Brisbane for winning in his short speech was followed by saying sorry to Bombers fans for letting them down.

This was Brisbane's first flag since they joined the AFL in 1987 as well as the first flag since the merger in 1997.

Teams

These are the selected teams as they were announced prior to the game.Aussie rules team | title = 2001 Brisbane Lions Grand Final Team
backpocket1 = Chris Johnson
fullback = Justin Leppitsch
backpocket2 = Darryl White
halfbackflank1 = Nigel Lappin
centrehalfback = Chris Scott
halfbackflank2 = Marcus Ashcroft
wing1 = Jason Akermanis
centre = Michael Voss
wing2 = Robert Copeland
halfforwardflank1 = Shaun Hart
centrehalfforward = Jonathan Brown
halfforwardflank2 = Luke Power
forwardpocket1 = Daniel Bradshaw
fullforward = Alistair Lynch
forwardpocket2 = Martin Pike
ruck = Clark Keating
ruckrover = Simon Black
rover = Brad Scott
interchange1 = Beau McDonald
interchange2 = Craig McRae
interchange3 = Tim Notting
interchange4 = Mal Michael
interchange5 =
interchange6 =
coach = Leigh MatthewsAussie rules team | title = 2001 Essendon Grand Final Team
backpocket1 = Danny Jacobs
fullback = Dustin Fletcher
backpocket2 = Sean Wellman
halfbackflank1 = Mark Johnson
centrehalfback = Dean Solomon
halfbackflank2 = Damien Hardwick
wing1 = Adam Ramanauskas
centre = Chris Heffernan
wing2 = Blake Caracella
halfforwardflank1 = James Hird
centrehalfforward = Scott Lucas
halfforwardflank2 = Dean Rioli
forwardpocket1 = Gary Moorcroft
fullforward = Matthew Lloyd
forwardpocket2 = Steven Alessio
ruck = John Barnes
ruckrover = Jason Johnson
rover = Joe Misiti
interchange1 = Mark McVeigh
interchange2 = Justin Blumfield
interchange3 = Mark Mercuri
interchange4 = Paul Barnard
interchange5 =
interchange6 =
coach = Kevin Sheedy

Result

AFLScorecardGF2006
team1 = AFL Ess
team1 abbr = AFL Ess
team1 q1 = 3.2 (20)
team1 q2 = 8.6 (54)
team1 q3 = 9.8 (62)
team1 total = 12.10 (82)
team2 = AFL BL
team2 abbr = AFL BL
team2 q1 = 3.7 (25)
team2 q2 = 5.10 (40)
team2 q3 = 11.12 (78)
team2 total = 15.18 (108)
venue = Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
date = September 29, 2001
attendance = 91,482
umpires = Scott McLaren, Martin Ellis, Mathew James
team1 goals = 5: Lloyd
4: Lucas
1: Caracella, Johnson, Misiti
team2 goals = 3: L Power
2: Akermanis, J Brown, N Lappin, A Lynch
1. Ashcroft, Notting, Pike, M Voss
team1 best = Lloyd, Lucas, J Johnson
team2 best = Hart, Johnson, Voss, Lappin, Power
reports = nil
injuries = nil
coin toss = Michael Voss, AFL BL
nsm = Shaun Hart, AFL BL
tv = Seven Network
national anthem = Julie Anthony
time = 2:40pm