Major Australian Rules Football Events
The most prestigious Australian Rules Football event is the Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final and it is comparable to the National Football League's Superbowl in the US.
In 2006, the Sweeney Sports Report (regarded as the top source of data on Australian sport) concluded that the AFL Grand Final has become Australia's most important sporting event since it has the largest attendance, metropolitan television audience and overall interest of any annual Australian sporting event.
The AFL Grand Final is traditionally played every last Saturday of September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. The winner of the Grand Final is presented with the AFL Premiership Cup, similar to the NFL's Lombardi Trophy.
Through the years, the AFL Grand Final has become significant to Australian culture, spawning a number of traditions and surrounding activities which have grown in popularity since 1980s.
Here's a list of recent AFL Grand Final winners:
2009 - Geelong became the first team to ever win a Grand Final after losing the first three quarters defeating St. Kilda.
2008 - Hawthorn, in their first Grand Final since 1991, defeats the favorites Geelong, in front of a crowd of 100,012 - the first crowd of over 100 000 since the 1986 Grand Final
2007 - Geelong end a 44 year premiership drought, winning the match by the highest ever Grand Final winning margin of 119 points, against Port Adelaide Power.
2006 - In a rematch of the previous year, the West Coast Eagles avenge the previous year's narrow defeat with an even narrower win over Sydney becoming just the fourth Grand Final in history to be decided by a point.
2005 - In the closest result since the 1977 drawn Grand Final, the Sydney Swans win their first premiership in 72 years (and first for a New South Wales based club) by defeating the West Coast Eagles, a late pack mark by Leo Barry in the dying seconds deep in the West Coast forward 50 securing the 4-point victory. Chris Judd of the West Coast Eagles won the Norm Smith medal (similar to the NFL's MVP award).
2004 - The first Grand Final played between two non-Victorian teams; Port Adelaide won its first premiership, ending Brisbane's attempt at equaling Collingwood's record of four premierships in succession (1927-1930).
2003 - The Brisbane Lions defeated the Collingwood Football Club by 50 points, marking a three-peat.
2002 - The Brisbane Lions defeated the Collingwood Football Club, by nine points marking the club's second premiership victory. Nathan Buckley of Collingwood Football Club became only the third player to win the Norm Smith Medal despite being on the losing team.
2001 - A victory to the Brisbane Lions over Essendon results in the premiership cup going to Queensland for the first time.
2000 - The Essendon Bombers finished off one of the best AFL seasons of all time by defeating the Melbourne Demons by 60 points.
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