110-583: Primarily in Australian sports , a grand final is a game that decides a sports league 's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North American sports, grand finals have become a significant part of Australian culture . The earliest leagues to feature a grand final were in Australian rules football , followed soon after by rugby league . Currently
220-414: A two-legged round, based on the combined scores from both games, to determine the winner. From 1996 to 1998, Wheel of Fortune have a Friday Finals system where the three top-scoring contestants from the first four episodes that week returned again on a Friday for one more game; the winner in that episode will play for an extra prize package (in addition to the current prize the contestant chose) during
330-405: A 13–5 record from their 18 matches. The play-off match was fixed for October 6, and despite a provision for 20 minute periods of extra time in the event of a draw at full time, the match was abandoned due to darkness with the scores level at 4.8 apiece. The SAFA fixed a replay for October 10, Labor Day: this was the first of seven grand final replays in elite Australian football history. Norwood won
440-594: A 44-year waiting period until it won its next premiership, a Grand Final-record 119-point victory in 2007 . Geelong won a further three premierships in 2009 , 2011 and 2022 . The Cats have fierce competitive rivalries with Hawthorn and Collingwood . Geelong play most of their home games at Kardinia Park (known for sponsorship reasons as GMHBA Stadium) and play the remainder at the Melbourne Cricket Ground . Geelong's traditional guernsey colours are white with navy blue hoops. The club's nickname
550-769: A budget of A$ 150 million, up from A$ 5 million when it first was created. Amateur sport has been able to draw large audiences. In the 1950s, 120,000 fans would go to the MCG to watch major athletics events. Australian amateur sport has dealt with financial problems. In the 2000s, Athletics Australia was facing duel problems of financial problems and failure for the sport to consistently medal at major international sporting events compared to other sports and their representative organisations like Swimming Australia and Rowing Australia . Major professional sports leagues in Australia are similar to major professional sports leagues in
660-581: A concern during the 1980s and more active steps were taken to combat it in Australia in the early 1990s. In 1990, the Australian Sports Drug Agency Act 1990 was passed and took control of doping test away from the Australian Sport Commission and put it into the hands of an independent doping control agency as of 17 February 1991. In 2006, Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games . Later that year,
770-584: A decrease in 1980 to 10,860 but increased to 12,073 by 1990 and improved on that to 14,043 by 2000. Founded later, the National Basketball League had an average per game attendance of 1,158 in 1985, increased this to 4,551 by 1990, and kept attendance steady with 4,636 average fans per game in 2000. In March 1999, 104,000 fans attended a double header match in the National Rugby League at Stadium Australia four days after
880-817: A department with responsibility for sport and recreation. These departments provide assistance to state sports organisations, develop and manage sporting facilities, provide financial assistance for major sporting events and develop policies to assist sports across their state or territory. Each Australian State and Territory has established its own institute/academy of sport – ACT Academy of Sport (established 1989), New South Wales Institute of Sport (1996), Northern Territory Institute of Sport (1996), Queensland Academy of Sport (1991), South Australian Sports Institute (1982), Tasmanian Institute of Sport (1985), Victorian Institute of Sport (1990) and Western Australian Institute of Sport (1984). There are 560 local councils across Australia. Local governments generally focus on
990-692: A form of social integration across classes. Victorian rules football (later known as Australian rules) was codified in 1859. Australian football clubs still around in the current Australian Football League were founded by 1858. Originally formed as the South Australian Football Association on 30 April 1877, the SANFL (South Australian National Football League) is the oldest surviving football league of any code in Australia. The Melbourne Cricket Ground , Australia's largest sporting arena, opened in 1853. The Melbourne Cup
1100-478: A mascot might bring a football club good luck in his Herald cartoon of 6 July 1923 . "We Are Geelong" is the song sung after a game won by the Geelong Football Club. It is sung to the tune of " Toreador " from Carmen . The lyrics were written by former premiership player John Watts . Only the first verse is used at matches and by the team after a victory. The song currently used by the club
1210-473: A massive 86 points, but the teams did not meet in the finals. They would meet in preliminary finals in 2009 and 2010, each winning one en route to a premiership. They finally met again in a Grand Final in 2011, which Geelong won by 38 points; Geelong inflicted Collingwood's only three losses for the 2011 season. At 99 years as of 2024, Geelong's sponsorship with the Ford Motor Company is one of
SECTION 10
#17327724889441320-848: A million adult players are also the most popular team activities for children. Tennis and golf are the most popular individual sports among Australians with more than a million players each. Sport has shaped the Australian national identity through events such as the Melbourne Cup and the America's Cup . Australia has a number of professional sport leagues, including the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (Australian rules football), National Rugby League (NRL) and NRL Women's (rugby league), Super Rugby Pacific (Australia/New Zealand) (Rugby Union),
1430-569: A national pastime was so comprehensive that Anthony Trollope remarked in his book, Australia , published in 1870, "The English passion for the amusements which are technically called 'sports', is not a national necessity with the Americans, whereas with the Australians it is almost as much so as home." The first team formally organised soccer team was formed in Sydney in 1880 and was named
1540-454: A number of selected finalists after surviving a pre-determined number of elimination rounds moved on to compete in the finals. Some shows, such as the earlier seasons of The Voice (notably the first two American seasons ) and Project SuperStar , adopted a group-type format with an equal number of finalists from each group eliminated and advancing each show until one such finalist remain, at this point these finalists compete head-to-head for
1650-452: A playoff match or matches would be scheduled amongst those teams to decide the premiership. This was required in 1896 , when South Melbourne and Collingwood finished level on top of the ladder with records of 14 wins and one draw. The playoff match between them, which is retrospectively treated as Victoria's first Grand Final (it was actually the first match referred to as such), saw Collingwood defeat South Melbourne by 6.9 – 5.10 to win
1760-483: A record for the competition, at an average attendance of 36,687 for each match. The Big Bash League (BBL) was established in 2011. The first season attracted an average of 18,021 spectators per match. In the 2014–15 season, the average attendance for each match was 23,590 with the Adelaide Strikers attracting a record average home crowd of 36,023 spectators each game. The 2015 Cricket World Cup final
1870-485: A scooter topping the list of activities for children, with 66% of all boys bike riding and 55.9% of all boys skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter in 2009 and 2010. Girls also participated in these activities at high rates with 54.4% of them doing bike riding and 42.4% skateboarding, rollerblading or riding a scooter. Other sports popular for Australian girls include dancing, which had 26.3% participation, swimming with 19.8% participation and netball at 17%. For boys,
1980-488: A separately maintained list of players eligible only for VFL matches. Home games are played at GMHBA Stadium , with some played as curtain-raisers to senior AFL matches. The side is also known as the Bendigo Bank Cats, referring to the club's commercial partnership with Bendigo Bank . In 2017, following the inaugural AFL Women's (AFLW) season, Geelong was among eight clubs that applied for licenses to enter
2090-604: A sporting event, documented in England as "grand match" in 1836, was used in Australia from the 1850s. A steeplechase in England has been called the " Grand National Steeple Chase" ("Grand National" alone for short) since at least 1839. Use of the term in Australian Football dates back to the first organised and widely publicised match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College on 7 August 1858 at Yarra Park, Melbourne (formerly Richmond Park). The game
2200-499: A time when top level soccer matches in England would draw six thousand fans. A finals match between the Carlton Football Club and Collingwood in 1938 drew 96,834 fans. In 1909, at a time when rugby union had not yet become professionalised, 52,000 people in Sydney attended a game between New South Wales and New Zealand. The spectators accounted for 10% of the total population of Sydney at the time. 60,922 fans attended
2310-459: A universal language in this country – we are a nation of players and enthusiasts." — Kevin Rudd , January 2008 Sport came to Australia in 1810 when the first athletics tournament was held; soon after cricket, horse racing and sailing clubs and competitions started. Australia's lower classes would play sports on public holidays, with the upper classes playing more regularly on Saturdays. Sydney
SECTION 20
#17327724889442420-476: Is "We Are Geelong". The club was founded in 1859 in the city of Geelong , Australia, and is the second oldest AFL club. It is believed to be the fourth oldest football club in Australia and one of the oldest in the world and one of the most successful. Initially playing under its own rules, some of which, notably, were permanently introduced into Australian Football , it adopted the Laws of Australian Football in
2530-499: Is being used for other events. The rivalry between Hawthorn and Geelong is defined by two Grand Finals: those of 1989 and 2008. In the 1989 Grand Final , Geelong played the man, resulting in major injuries for several Hawks players, Mark Yeates knocking out Dermott Brereton at the opening bounce; Hawthorn controlled the game, leading by approximately 40 points for most of the match; in the last quarter, Geelong almost managed to come from behind to win, but fell short by six points. In
2640-516: Is important as government funding for most sport in Australia comes from the national government, state and territory governments, and local governments. In the late 1990s, government support for sport was double that of public non-financial corporations. Amateur sport was transformed in Australia in the 1980s with the creation of the AIS Australian Institute of Sport . The institute, formally opened by Malcolm Fraser in 1981,
2750-594: Is maintained by the present-day NRL National Rugby League . The term "Grand Final" was introduced to Europe in 1995 in a completely different sport—golf. In that year, the Challenge Tour , the official developmental tour for the European Tour , launched its season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final . British rugby league would adopt the term in 1998, two years after the start of Super League . The Super League Grand Final has now become an accepted part of
2860-414: The 1943 NSWRFL Grand Final between Norths and Newtown , and 78,056 attended the 1965 Grand Final between Souths and the then 9-time champion St George , although estimates including those who climbed onto roofs and over the perimeter fence put the actual crowd as high as 200,000. A world record was set for cricket attendance on 30 December 1932 when 63,993 fans watched England take on Australia at
2970-428: The 2008 Grand Final , Geelong was the heavily backed favourite and had lost only one match for the season, but lost by 26 points; Geelong then won its next eleven matches against Hawthorn over the following five years, under a curse, which was dubbed the " Kennett curse " which was attributed to disrespectful comments made by Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett following the 2008 Grand Final. It was later revealed that after
3080-554: The Athletics Australia . A 2007 estimate claimed that Australian football had 615,549 participants, Basketball has become one of the most popular participation sports in Australia. In Victoria , and Melbourne , particularly, it has more participants than any other sport. Australia's warm climate and long coastline of sandy beaches and rolling waves provide ideal conditions for water sports such as swimming . The majority of Australians live in cities or towns on or near
3190-599: The Australia II win the competition. That year, the Liberals used Australian tennis star John Newcombe and race car drivers Peter Brock and Alan Jones in their political advertising. Athletes would again be used, this time by the Labor Party, in the 1989 elections. During the 1980s, Australian soccer players began to start playing regularly in overseas professional leagues, with the most successful player of
3300-450: The Australian Football League . During the 1990s, soccer in Australia faced a challenge in attracting youth players because of the ethnic nature of the sport at the highest levels of national competition. The sport's governing body made an effort to make the game less ethnically oriented. At the same time, rival football codes were intentionally trying to bring in ethnic participants in order to expand their youth playing base. Doping became
3410-693: The Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Sports Commission . Below them is the state level, which includes state sporting organisations, state institute of sport and state departments of sport. The last level is district/regional associations and local clubs and community sports along with local government. At the national level, the national sport organisations govern most sports in Australia, with over 120 different national sports organisation overseeing sport in Australia. The role of government in this structure
Grand final - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-611: The Australian Olympic team (from 1908). Netball Australia was founded in 1927 as the All Australia Women's Basket Ball Association. During the 1930s, the playing of sport on Sunday was banned in most of the country outside South Australia. The Bodyline cricket series between Australia and England took place in 1932–33. The English side were determined to win and employed physical intimidation against Australia to ensure victory. The bowling style used by
3630-500: The Australian team competed in the 2006 FIFA World Cup , their second FIFA World Cup appearance after 32 years of failing to qualify for the tournament. In 2012, the Australian Rugby League Commission was formed, bringing to an end the involvement of News Limited in the administration of Rugby League and the media companies' conflict of interests in the sport, finally concluding the fall-out from
3740-481: The Australian team qualified for the 1974 FIFA World Cup , the first successful qualification to the FIFA World Cup in the country's history after failing to qualify to the 1966 and 1970 tournaments. It would prove to be the only appearance for the Australian team for more than three decades. The regional football code divide in Australia was still present in the 1980s, with rugby league football being
3850-470: The Barassi Line ) between areas where rugby football and Australian rules are the dominant code (the north east and south west respectively) however this has become less evident over time with the expansion of national professional competitions. These two codes are generally played in winter whereas soccer, despite being the most popular in terms of participation, is played in summer to avoid a clash with
3960-687: The Bendigo Bank Cats for sponsorship reasons) are the reserves side of the club, playing in the Victorian Football League . Geelong's reserves side began competing in the Victorian Junior Football League , later known as the VFL/AFL reserves , in 1922 . The team won thirteen premierships during that time ( 1923 , 1924 , 1930, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1975, 1980, 1981 and 1982),
4070-577: The Caledonian Challenge Cup , however the match did not proceed until the following year. The earliest known event described as "grand" in Sydney was a cricket match in 1862. In the 1871 South Yarra Challenge Cup , Carlton and Melbourne drew their three matches, but both clubs had won their remaining matches against the other clubs, Albert Park and South Yarra, meaning the Challenge Cup's only tiebreaker, head-to-head record,
4180-606: The Herald Sun and The West Australian . Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club , nicknamed the Cats , is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong , Victoria , Australia . The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. The club formed in 1859, making it the second-oldest AFL side after Melbourne and one of
4290-763: The National Basketball League and the Women's National Basketball League , A-League Men and A-League Women ( soccer ), the Australian Baseball League (baseball), the Big Bash League (cricket), Women's Big Bash League (cricket) and Sheffield Shield (cricket), Suncorp Super Netball and the Supercars Championship ( touring car racing ). Australia has a culture of attendance to sports with some of
4400-508: The National Sport and Active Recreation Policy Framework . The framework "provides a mechanism for the achievement of national goals for sport and active recreation, sets out agreed roles and responsibilities of governments and their expectations of sport and active recreation partners." In 1993, National Elite Sports Council was established to provide a forum for communication, issues management and national program coordination across
4510-803: The Super League war in the 1990s. From 2008 until 2013, the Australian thoroughbred mare Black Caviar was undefeated for her entire 25-race career, a record not equaled in over 100 years. Notable wins include the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, as well as being named the top sprinter from 2010 to 2012 in the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings and entering the Australian Racing Hall of Fame while still in training. Another thoroughbred mare, Winx , though not finishing unbeaten for her career, surpassed Black Caviar's record for consecutive wins by winning
Grand final - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-646: The VFL , the concept of finals football was high on the agenda, with teams buoyed by the success and attendance from the 1896 Grand Final. Over the following ten years, all top-level Australian football leagues adopted a finals structure. In 1931, the VFL adopted a system, the Page–McIntyre system , which ensured a Grand Final, and the concept became entrenched. Prior to 1889, the South Australian Football Association (SAFA, now SANFL)
4730-469: The VFL/AFL premiers ten times, with four in the AFL era (since 1990) in 2007, 2009, 2011, and most recently, 2022, to be the second most successful club over that period one behind Hawthorn. They have also won ten McClelland Trophies , the most of any AFL/VFL club. Many of the club's official records before 1920 have disappeared. Geelong's traditional navy blue and white hooped guernsey has been worn since
4840-789: The Victorian Football Association . The first badminton competition in Australia was played in 1900. The first ice hockey game was played in Melbourne on 12 July 1906 between a local Melbourne team and a team from the crew of the visiting US warship USS Baltimore . Motor racing began in the first years of federation with motorcycle racing beginning at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1901 with automobile motorsport following in 1904 at Aspendale Racecourse in Melbourne. A dedicated race track
4950-548: The oldest football clubs in the world. In the 1860s, Geelong participated in a series of Challenge Cup competitions, and was a foundation member of both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897, now the national AFL. The club won the Western District Challenge Cup in 1875, a then-record seven VFA premierships between 1878 and 1886, and six VFL premierships by 1963, after which it experienced
5060-556: The "right to challenge" the winners to a second premiership decider. In the Victorian Football Association, which was Victoria's top level of senior football from 1877 until 1896, the premiership was typically awarded solely on the basis of the rostered premiership matches (known today as the home-and-away season). However, the VFA's rules stipulated that where two or more teams finished equal on premiership points,
5170-535: The 'sporting capital of the world', and one of its stadiums, the Melbourne Cricket Ground , is considered the home of Australian rules football and one of the world's premier Cricket grounds. After the United States, which is considered the greatest sporting nation in the world, Australia is considered one of the best sports nations in the world. "Australia's sporting history is marked by great successes, great stories and truly great moments. Sport speaks
5280-523: The 1930s, the NSWRFL adopted the term "grand final" to describe the premiership decider. Up until 1954 a 'grand final' match was only held if the minor premiers were beaten. The adoption of the VFL's Page–McIntyre system for the 1954 NSWRFL season meant for the first time grand finals would become necessary every season, so the term grand final has become used to describe all premiership deciders. The tradition
5390-549: The 1950s and 1960s through the support of the National Fitness Council and international sporting teams such as the Australian Olympic team. The Australian Government 's serious involvement and investment into sport came with it establishing the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1981. AIS was set up to improve Australia's performances in international sport which had started to decline in
5500-996: The 1960s and 1970s culminating in Australia winning no gold medals at the 1976 Montreal Olympics . In 1985, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) was established to improve the Australian Government 's administration of sport in terms of funding, participation and elite sport. The 1989 Senate Inquiry into drugs in sport resulted in the establishment of the Australian Sport Drug Agency (now called Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA)) in 1990 to manage Australia's anti-doping program. The most popular sports in Australia by adult participation are: swimming, athletics, cycling, soccer, golf, tennis, basketball, surfing, netball and cricket. The highest rates of participation for Australian sport and recreation are informal, non-organised sports with bike riding, skateboarding, rollerblading or riding
5610-625: The 2008 grand final, Paul Chapman initiated a pact between other Geelong players to never lose to Hawthorn again. The curse was broken in a preliminary final in 2013, after Paul Chapman played his final match for Geelong the previous week. Hawthorn went on to win the next three premierships. In 2016 Geelong again defeated Hawthorn in the qualifying final. In twenty matches between the two sides between 2008 and 2017, twelve were decided by less than ten points, with Geelong victorious in eleven of those twelve matches. In 1925, Geelong won their first flag over Collingwood. In 1930, Collingwood defeated Geelong in
SECTION 50
#17327724889445720-404: The AFL decided that replays will no longer decide grand finals that end as a draw, rather replacing it with extra time. Most sports leagues in Australia have a grand final breakfast to mark the beginning to grand final day. It is a social highlight on the Australian sporting calendar. Watching the event is a ritual for many footy fans and the function plays a huge role in the pre-match build-up for
5830-580: The Adelaide test. Following a successful Australian racing career, the race horse Phar Lap went to the United States where he died. There were many conspiracy theories at the time and later that suggested people in the United States poisoned the horse to prevent him from winning. Australian women's sports had an advantage over many other women's sport organisations around the world in the period after World War II. Women's sports organisations had largely remained intact and were holding competitions during
5940-732: The Australian Rugby League Board of Control, later to be known as the Australian Rugby League , was formed to administer the national team (the Kangaroos), and later as the national governing body for the sport of Rugby league . In 1928 the team also adopted the national colours of green and gold for the first time, having previously used blue and maroon, making the Kangaroos the third national sporting body to do so after cricket (from 1899) and
6050-684: The British scene, and the term 'grand final' is used to describe the final of leagues below Super League as well, such as the Championship , Championship 1 and the Conference . Prior to this, a Championship Final was introduced to determine the winner of the British Rugby Football League Championship in 1904, though it only became a regular fixture from 1906 onwards. In 1973, the competition format
6160-722: The Melbourne Cricket Ground. In 2010, the National Rugby League 's premiership set its record for regular season attendance, with 3,490,778 attending across the season, at an average of 17,367 people at each match. Total average game attendance for the Australian Football League and the National Rugby League increased between 1970 and 2000, with the AFL going from an average attendance of 24,344 people per match in 1970 to 27,325 by 1980 to 25,238 in 1990 and 34,094 by 2000. The National Rugby League had an average per game attendance of 11,990 in 1970, saw
6270-599: The Sport and Recreation Minister's Council. More recently is referred to as Meeting of Sport and Recreation Ministers. The Meeting is assisted by the Committee of Australian Sport and Recreation Officials (CASRO) previously called the Standing Committee on Sport and Recreation (SCORS). The Meeting works cooperatively on issues such as match fixing, sport participation and water safety. In 2011, Minister's signed
6380-560: The United States and Canada in that they are closed leagues that do not practice promotion and relegation , unlike sports leagues in Europe and Latin America. Australian sport fans have historically attended events in large numbers, dating back to the country's early history. An early football game played in Melbourne in 1858 had 2,000 spectators. By 1897, tens of thousands of spectators attended an early Australian rules football match at
6490-581: The Wanderers. Sport was receiving coverage in Australian newspapers by 1876 when a sculling race in England was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald . In 1877, Australia played in the first Test Cricket match against England. In 1882, The Ashes were started following the victory of the Australia national cricket team over England. Field hockey teams for men and women were established by 1890. The Sheffield Shield cricket competition
6600-601: The administration of the Queensland Rugby Union . The Australia national rugby union team had their first international test against New Zealand in 1903, and first international tour in 1908, earning their nickname of the Wallabies after two British journalists used it to refer to the team. The team won gold at the 1908 Summer Olympics ; however the majority of the squad joined rugby league clubs upon returning to Australia. Women represented Australia for
6710-502: The armed services. Controversy resulted and Darcy died at the age of 21 in the United States. When his body was returned to Australia, 100,000 people attended his Sydney funeral. Darcy would remain significant to Australians into the 2000s, when Kevin Rudd mentioned his story. In 1922, a committee in Australia investigated the benefits of physical education for girls. They came up with several recommendations regarding what sports were and were not appropriate for girls to play based on
SECTION 60
#17327724889446820-405: The bonus round. A grand final replay is a method of deciding the winner of a competition when a grand final is drawn by replaying the entire match the following week, rather than playing overtime or extra time on the same day. It is commonly used in Australian rules football and most notably in the Australian Football League , where it has been used three times, most recently in 2010 , however
6930-502: The champion. Taiwanese show One Million Star (and its sequel successor Chinese Million Star ) uses a cumulative point system and the scores are progressively added until at one point the contestant with a lower score is eliminated; in the final round, these scores are converted as a percent weightage and the champion is decided based on the weighed scores. In game shows, notably Jeopardy! (such as Tournament of Champions and The Greatest of All Time ), these finalists compete in
7040-462: The club's first ever premiership. While there had been one previous premiership playoff match during this time in the VFA, between Melbourne and Geelong in 1878 , this match did not break a tie at the top of the ladder, as Geelong had a superior win–loss record to Melbourne: the match was organised to resolve a dispute between the two clubs. In 1897, when eight teams broke away from the VFA to form
7150-453: The club's inception in the mid-1800s. The design is said to represent the white seagulls and blue water of Corio Bay . The team has worn various away guernseys since 1998, all featuring the club's logo and traditional colours. Geelong has been nicknamed the 'Cats' since 1923, when the Herald sporting local cartoonist, "Wells" (Samuel Garnet Wells) , suggested that adopting a black cat as
7260-564: The coast, and so beaches are a place that millions of Australians visit regularly. According to the National Cricket Census, a record 1,650,030 people played Cricket across Australia in 2018–19. Women participation also reached record figures in growing to 496,484 players. Amateur sport in Australia follows a corporate management system, with the national tier composed of national sport organisations that support and fund elite sport development. These organisations include
7370-492: The competition now known as the United Rugby Championship is simply called the "Final". In the Philippines, the term " grand finals " (pluralized) usually refer to a final of TV series competition. Notable series that had a "grand finals" are The Voice of the Philippines and Idol Philippines . It was used as early as 1994 for the Battle of the Brains quiz show. The Grand Finals are also adopted in numerous reality television and even game shows . In reality television,
7480-423: The country, and enjoyed support across class lines. Gambling was part of sport from the time horse racing became an established sport in the colony. Horse racing was also happening in Melbourne at Batman's Hill in 1838, with the first race meeting in Victoria taking place in 1840. Cricket was also underway with the Melbourne Cricket Club founded in 1838. Sport was being used during the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s as
7590-448: The country. This was so well known that in a 1962 edition of Sports Illustrated , Australia was named the most sports-obsessed country in the world. In 1967, Australia hosted the second World Netball Championships in Perth. That same year, South Australia became the last state to lift its ban on the playing of sports on Sunday. Starting in the early 1970s, Australian sport underwent a paradigm shift with sponsorship becoming one of
7700-426: The decade being Craig Johnston who scored a goal in the 1986 FA Cup Final for Liverpool. During the 1980s, the federal government created a number of sport programs including Aussie Sports and Active Australia. The Australia women's national field hockey team began their run as one of the top teams in the world in 1985, a place they would hold until 2000. In 1990, the Victorian Football League changed its name to
7810-491: The dominant code in Queensland , ACT and New South Wales while Australian rules football dominated in the rest of the country. When codes went outside of their traditional geographic home, they had little success in gaining new fans and participants. The Australian Institute of Sport was founded in 1981. In the lead up to and during the 1982 Commonwealth Games , the police were called upon to stop protests by Aboriginal land rights activists who staged protests timed with
7920-578: The early 1860s after a series of compromises with the Melbourne Football Club. Geelong went on to play for most of its existence in the premier competitions, the first competition, the Caledonian Society Cup, a foundation club of both the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877 and the Victorian Football League (VFL) in 1897., VFL and continues in the elite Australian Football League (AFL). The Cats have been
8030-509: The event in order to politicise the event. Australia had competitors in the America's Cup yacht race for a number of years. Going into the 1983 race, the Australian media was not that interested in the race as they expected a similar result and in the media lead-up to the event, made it out to be a race for rich people. This lack of interest continued throughout the early races. Near the end, when Australia finally appeared poised to win it, millions of Australians turned on their television to watch
8140-460: The first time at the Olympics in 1912 . Surfing came to Australia by 1915 with the first surf life saving competition being held that year. Les Darcy began his boxing career in 1915, with some of his later fights taking place at Sydney Stadium . The following year, an American promoter encouraged Darcy to go to the United States at a time when Australia was actively recruiting young men for
8250-498: The fundamental drivers of earnings for Australian sport on amateur and professional levels. By the mid-1980s, the need for the ability to acquire sponsorship dollars in sport was so great that job applicants for sport administrator positions were expected to be able to demonstrate an ability to get it. During the 1970s, Australia was being routinely defeated in major international competitions as Eastern Bloc countries enjoyed strong government support for sport. The Liberal governments at
8360-458: The grand final making it four flags in-a-row for the Pies. Geelong would later deny Collingwood three successive premierships in 1937, winning a famous grand final by 32 points. The two sides played against each other in 6 finals between 1951 and 1955, including the 1952 Grand Final when Geelong easily beat Collingwood by 46 points. In 1953, Collingwood ended Geelong's record 23-game winning streak in
8470-867: The grand final. The North Melbourne Football Club host the North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast , while the National Rugby League typically host the NRL Grand Final Breakfast at Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour . Australian sports Sport is an important part of Australian culture and dates back to the early colonial period. The first of the country's mainstream sports to become established in order of their organisation were cricket , Australian rules football , rugby union , tennis , soccer , basketball , netball and rugby league . According to Ausplay, in 2024
8580-611: The high performance in Australia. It includes representatives from AIS, State Institute /Academies, Australian Olympic Committee , Australian Paralympic Committee , and the Australian Commonwealth Games Association . In 2011, National Institute System Intergovernmental Agreement provides "guidance on how the sector will operate, with a principal focus on the delivery of the high performance plans of national sporting organisations." The Australian government provided small amounts of funding in
8690-424: The highest per capita attendances in the world, however television has the faster growing audience. Australian rules football is the most attended sport with the 2024 AFL season attracting an attendance of more than 8.2 million. However rugby league is the most watched on television with a cumulative audience of over 174 million in 2023. Australia's football culture features a distinct geographical split (known as
8800-458: The home and away season, and later defeated them by 12 points in the grand final, denying the Cats a third successive premiership. Since 2007, the clubs have again both been at the top of the ladder and have met regularly in finals. Geelong won a memorable preliminary final by five points on their way to their first flag in 44 years. In 2008, Collingwood inflicted Geelong's only home-and-away loss, by
8910-469: The largest grand finals are in the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL). Their popularity influenced other competitions such as soccer 's A-League Men and A-League Women , the National Basketball League , Suncorp Super Netball and European rugby league's Super League to adopt grand finals as well. Most grand finals involve a prestigious award for the player voted best on field. The Anglo-Norman term "grand" to describe
9020-532: The last 33 races of her career, a streak running from May 2015 to April 2019. She also entered the Hall of Fame while in training, and set a world record for most Group 1 wins with 25. Among her wins were four consecutive Cox Plates . The organisation of sport in Australia has been largely determined by its Federal system of government – Australian Government and six states and two territories governments and local governments . State and Territory governments have
9130-399: The league conducted a knockout competition in its early years, it was a parallel cup competition instead of a championship tournament.) The final match was branded as a grand final. This usage continued for the 2010–11 season , the first that included teams from Italy. Starting with the 2011–12 season , the league's first as Pro12, the "Grand Final" terminology was scrapped; the final match of
9240-548: The level of fitness required. It was determined that for some individual girls that for medical reasons, the girls should probably not be allowed to participate in tennis, netball, lacrosse, golf, hockey, and cricket. Football was completely medically inappropriate for girls to play. It was medically appropriate for all girls to be able to participate in, so long as they were not done in an overly competitive manner, swimming, rowing, cycling and horseback riding. Dick Eve won Australia's first Olympic diving gold medal in 1924. In 1924
9350-680: The longest active sports sponsorship of any sports team in the world, with continuous sponsorship dating back to 1925. The sponsorship had previously been ratified as the longest in the world by the Guinness World Records , until a change in definitions. In recent years Geelong-based retail company Cotton On Group has become synonymous with the club, with the company manufacturing on-field and other team merchandise since 2016. Head coach Assistant coaches Updated: 27 November 2024 Source(s): Playing list , Coaching staff The Geelong reserves (also known as
9460-483: The most of any club. Since the demise of the AFL reserves competition, the Geelong reserves have competed in the Victorian Football League . Unlike all other Victorian AFL clubs, Geelong has never operated in a reserves affiliation with an existing VFL club, having instead operated its stand-alone reserves team continuously. The team is composed of both reserves players from the club's primary and rookie AFL lists, and
9570-420: The most practiced physical activities for Australians were walking including bushwalking , fitness, running cycling , pilates and yoga each practised by more than a million adults. The most played team sports in order of participation are soccer, basketball, Australian rules football, cricket and netball each played by more as many as half a million adults. Soccer and basketball, in particular have more than
9680-450: The other popular sports for participation included soccer with a rate of participation of 19.9%, swimming with a participation rate of 17.2%, Australian rules at 16%. Participation rates for adults in Australia were much lower than that of Australian children. For adult women in Australia, the number one sport activity they participate in is walking with 30% having done this in 2009 and 2010. The second most popular form of exercise and sport
9790-406: The provision of facilities such as swimming pools, sporting fields, stadiums and tennis courts. Government involvement in sport up until the 1970s was fairly limited with local governments playing a major role through the provision of sporting facilities. However, this changed over the next two decades with an Australian Bureau of Statistics survey in 2001–2002 finding that approximately $ 2 billion
9900-412: The replay 4.7 to South Adelaide 3.5, with Anthony "Bos" Daly kicking the winning goal as the final bell rang. The New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) experimented with a finals system in 1908, its inaugural year, but abandoned it the following season. Finals were reintroduced in 1926, and the premiership decider appeared to only be called a "grand final" if it involved the minor premiers. By
10010-498: The season recording a total attendance of 284,551 at 15 April 2024, and finishing with a final total attendance of 312,199. Spectatorship Media coverage of Australian sport and athletes predates 1876. The first all Australian sport publication, The Referee , was first published in 1886 in Sydney. The major newspapers for sport coverage in the country include the Sydney Morning Herald , The Courier Mail ,
10120-400: The team known as body-line bowling was devised by Douglas Jardine with advice from Frank Foster in England ahead of the series in order to defeat Australian batsman Donald Bradman . Going into the start of the series, Bill Voce told the media "If we don't beat you, we'll knock your bloody heads off." The style of play was such that the Australians contemplated cancelling the series after
10230-478: The time were opposed to similar intervention in Australia's sporting system as they felt it would be government intrusion into an important component of Australian life. In the 1974 elections , several Australian sporting competitors endorsed the Liberal party in advertisements that ran on television. Competitors involved included Ron Barassi , NSWRL player Johnny Raper and horse trainer Tommy Smith . That year,
10340-690: The two major codes for spectators. As a nation, Australia has competed in many international events, including the Olympics and Paralympics . The country has also twice hosted the Summer Olympics in Melbourne ( 1956 ) and Sydney ( 2000 ), as well as the Commonwealth Games on five occasions. A third Olympics will be held in Brisbane in 2032. The city of Melbourne is famous for its major sports events and has been described as
10450-532: The venue formally opened. In 2000, during the soccer gold medal match between Cameroon and Spain, 114,000 fans watched the game live inside Stadium Australia. In the 2006–07 season, the A-League Melbourne Victory averaged 27,728 people to their home matches throughout the season. The 2009–10 regular season was considerably lower. In 2019, the Australian Football League achieved its highest total attendance for any season of 7,594,302,
10560-497: The war period. This structure survived in the post war period. Women's sport were not hurt because of food rationing, petrol rationing, population disbursement, and other issues facing post-war Europe. In September 1949, Australian Canoeing was founded as the Australian Canoe Federation. By the 1960s, Australia had an international identity as a sport-obsessed country, an identity which was embraced inside
10670-445: Was Aerobics/fitness/gym with a rate of 16.7%. The third most popular for adult women was swimming and diving with 8.4%. For men, the most popular sport activity was also walking with a participation rate of 15.6%. This was followed by Aerobics/fitness/gym with 11.2%. The third most popular sport for adult males was cycling/BMXing with a participation rate of 8.2%. There are 34,000 athletes, officials and coaches currently registered with
10780-586: Was added to Aspendale's horse racing track in 1906, although it fell into disuse almost immediately. Rugby league has been the overwhelmingly dominant rugby code in Australia since 1908 (this position remains unchallenged to this day). When Messenger and the All Golds returned from Great Britain in 1908, they helped the new clubs adapt to the rules of rugby league prior to the inaugural 1908 NSWRFL season . The Queensland Rugby Football League also formed early in 1908 by seven rugby players who were dissatisfied with
10890-609: Was advertised as the "grand football match" in the Melbourne Morning Herald and several other local newspapers. In 1859, a "grand football match" was advertised in Richmond, Tasmania for St Patrick's Day on Friday 18 March. In The Argus of 1861, the Royal Caledonian Society of Melbourne invited clubs to compete in a "grand football-match" which was to be football's first ever trophy,
11000-438: Was awarded to the team that finished top of the end-of-season ladder placings. In 1889, Norwood and Port Adelaide finished equal first with 14 wins and one draw, meaning a play-off was required to determine the premiership. In promoting the play-off, the local press referred to it as a "premiership match". This was played on October 5, and Norwood won the match 7.4 to 5.9. In 1894, Norwood and South Adelaide finished with
11110-558: Was changed so that the championship was won by the team finishing top of the league table, with an end of season knock-out competition for the top teams that became known as the Premiership being created. Starting in 2009–10 , the rugby union competition historically known as the Celtic League , at the time involving teams from Ireland, Scotland and Wales , introduced a playoff system to determine its champion. (Although
11220-555: Was designed to make Australian amateur sport at major world competitions, like the Olympics, competitive with the rest of the world and increase the number of medals won by the country. A few years later, in 1984, the Australian Sports Commission was created to better address the distribution of funds to support sport. It had a budget of A$ 109 million in 2000. By 2009, the Australian Sports Commission had
11330-503: Was first held in 1891 with New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia participating in the inaugural competition. The remaining states would not participate until much later, with Queensland first participating in 1926–27, Western Australia in 1947–48 and Tasmania in 1982–83. In 1897 the Victorian Football League , which later became the AFL the Australian Football League, was founded after breaking away from
11440-610: Was first run in 1861. A rugby union team was established at the University of Sydney in 1864. Regular sport did not begin to be played in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia until the late 1860s and early 1870s. The first Australian cricket team to go on tour internationally did so in 1868. The Australian side was an all Aboriginal one and toured England where they played 47 games, where they won 14 games, drew 19 and lost 14. Australia's adoption of sport as
11550-532: Was first used in 1923 after a run of losses prompted a local cartoonist to suggest that the club needed a black cat to bring it good luck. Geelong also field teams in other competitions; a reserves men's team in the Victorian Football League (VFL), a senior women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and a reserves women's team in the VFL Women's (VFLW) competitions. The club's official team song and anthem
11660-403: Was played in front of 93,013 spectators, a record crowd for a day of cricket in Australia. BBL in its sixth season in 2016–17 , drew an average crowd in excess of 30,000 for the first time in history, with overall count crossing 1 million for 35 matches. In April 2024, the 2023–24 A-League Women season set the record for the most attended season of any women's sport in Australian history, with
11770-623: Was recorded by the Fable Singers in April 1972. Geelong's administrative headquarters is its home stadium, GMHBA Stadium or also known as Kardinia Park . The club trains here during the season, however it also trains at its alternate training venue, the Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct . The latter features an MCG -sized oval and is used often by the club in the pre-season, when Kardinia Park
11880-729: Was spent on sport by three levels of government – 10 per cent from the Australian Government, 40 per cent from state and territory governments, and the remaining 50 per cent from local government. State, territory and local government spending was predominantly directed to facilities and their upkeep. In 1973, the Recreation Minister's Council was established to provide a forum for Australian Government and State and Territory Minister's responsible for sport and recreation to discuss matters of interest. With government's taking an increased involvement in sport, it became
11990-576: Was the early hub of sport in the colony. Early forms of football were played there by 1829. Early sport in Australia was played along class lines. In 1835, the British Parliament banned blood sports except fox hunting in a law that was implemented in Australia; this was not taken well in the country as it was seen as an attack on the working classes. By the late 1830s, horse racing was established in New South Wales and other parts of
12100-596: Was unable to separate them. Both teams' captains and the Cup organisers subsequently arranged a "grand match" (as advertised in The Argus ) at the Lake Oval to decide the premiership on October 7, a week after the season had finished: Carlton won the match by two goals to nil. Initially, a football premiership final appeared to be called a "grand final" only when the losers of a final were the minor premiers and they exercised
#943056