Hayden Kennedy (born 16 October 1965) is a former Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League (AFL) and is also a teacher at St. Bernard's College, Melbourne .
120-548: After five AFL Grand Finals and a then-record 495 games, Kennedy announced his retirement on 10 August 2011. Kennedy was a very promising junior footballer with St Christophers Football Club in the Oak Park Junior Football League, a club which also produced AFL legends Simon and Justin Madden. Kennedy completed his secondary schooling at St. Bernard's College, Melbourne where he previously taught as
240-637: A Physical Education and a maths teacher. He now umpires the VFL. Kennedy commenced a career as an umpire in the Essendon District Football League in 1983. After one season there, he was recruited into the VFL cadets squad. In 1986, Hayden Kennedy umpired the under 19 VFL grand final, and by 1987 had been promoted to the senior list. At this level he umpired the VFL reserves and country football matches. Kennedy had his Australian Football League umpiring debut in 1988, officiating
360-494: A $ 55 million refurbishment of the facilities in the Great Southern Stand, including renovations to entrance gates and ticket outlets, food and beverage outlets, etc., without significantly modifying the stand. New scoreboards, more than twice the size of the original ones, were installed in the same positions in late 2013. From November 2019 until February 2020 all the playing field lights, including those in
480-483: A challenge match to win the premiership. In all, eleven 'finals' are now considered grand finals: eight which were won by the minor premiers and would have resulted in a challenge match had the result been reversed (1899, 1904 , 1907 , 1908 , 1911 , 1918 , 1927 and 1928 ); and three which decided the premiership but which could not have been followed by a challenge match due to the finals systems and circumstances of those years ( 1901 , 1903 and 1906 ). In 1902 ,
600-509: A corridor of land running diagonally across Yarra Park was granted to the Melbourne & Hobson's Bay Railway Company and divided Yarra Park from the river. The Mounted Police barracks were operational until the 1880s when it was subdivided into the current residential precinct bordered by Vale Street. The area closest to the river was also developed for sporting purposes in later years including Olympic venues in 1956. The first grandstand at
720-595: A crowd of more than 3000 people. The team was taken on a parade through the streets wearing white-trimmed hats with blue ribbons given to them for the occasion. Wherever they went they were mobbed and cheered by crowds to the point where the tour sponsors had to take them out of Melbourne so that they could train undisturbed. Their first game was at the MCG on New Year's Day 1862, against a Victorian XVIII. The Englishmen also wore coloured sashes around their waists to identify each player and were presented with hats to shade them from
840-707: A deal was made with the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), the Grand Final has been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground every season, except when it has been unavailable. Under the current agreement among the AFL, MCC and Victorian Government , the ground is contracted to host the game every year until 2059. Since 1902, only seven Grand Finals have been played at other grounds: The match sells out most years, and routinely qualifies as
960-415: A game between North Melbourne and Carlton . Kennedy's partner on the day was fellow 300 game umpire Peter Cameron. In the 1995 AFL season, Kennedy umpired in all 22 weeks of Home and Away games, and a further 4 weeks of finals . He was the first umpire to achieve this in 38 years, and the 11th field umpire to do so. He umpired his first AFL Grand Final in 1995. The game, involving Carlton and Geelong ,
1080-462: A motorcade is staged, in which players who have retired since the previous grand final are given a lap of honour in open top cars. Curtain raiser matches are played on the main arena prior to the musical entertainment. Since 2008, this has been an under-16s or under-17s match, presently an exhibition match among the country's top under-17s players known as the AFL Futures match . Previously,
1200-580: A new set of drop-in pitches will be grown and ready for use by the early 2020s. The highest first class team score in history was posted at the MCG in the Boxing Day match against New South Wales in 1926–27. Victoria scored 1107 in two days, with Bill Ponsford scoring 352 and Jack Ryder scoring 295. One of the most sensational incidents in Test cricket occurred at the MCG during the Melbourne test of
1320-407: A preliminary final in the previous week, ending the long-standing custom of one qualifier enjoying a bye in the week before the grand final. The third and final drawn grand final occurred in 2010 between Collingwood and St Kilda , with Collingwood winning the replay; extra time has since been introduced to decide drawn grand finals, but it is yet to have been required. Hawthorn was dominant in
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#17327878228821440-530: A record eight premierships. The medal was first awarded in 2001, and it was retrospectively awarded to all premiership-winning coaches starting from 1950, the first season after McHale's retirement from coaching. The captain or co-captains of the winning team receive the Ron Barassi Medal , named in honour of ten-time premiership player and coach Ron Barassi Jr . The medal was first awarded in 2024. The game's leading goalkicker or goalkickers receive
1560-571: A single unbroken stand, the individual sections retain the names of W.H. Ponsford, Olympic and Members Stands. The redevelopment cost exceeded A$ 400 million and pushed the ground's capacity to just above 100,000. Since redevelopment, the highest attendance has been 100,024 at the 2022 and 2023 AFL grand finals. From 2011 until 2013, the Victoria State Government and the Melbourne Cricket Club funded
1680-548: A superb bowling performance by Tom Kendall who took 7 for 55 in England's second innings. A fortnight later there was a return game, although it was really more of a benefit for the English team. Australia included Spofforth, Murdoch and T.J.D. Cooper in the side but this time the honours went to England who won by four wickets. Two years later Lord Harris brought another England team out and during England's first innings in
1800-482: A telephone was installed at the ground, and the wickets and goal posts were changed from an east–west orientation to north–south. In 1882 a scoreboard was built which showed details of the batsman's name and how he was dismissed. When the Lillywhite tour stand burned down in 1884 it was replaced by a new stand which seated 450 members and 4500 public. In 1897, second-storey wings were added to 'The Grandstand', as it
1920-619: Is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park , Melbourne , Victoria . Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club , it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the 11th largest globally , and the second-largest cricket arena by capacity . The MCG is within walking distance of the Melbourne CBD and is served by Richmond and Jolimont railway stations, as well as the route 70 , 75 and 48 trams. It
2040-483: Is adjacent to Melbourne Park and is an integral part of the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct . Since it was built in 1853, the MCG has undergone numerous renovations. It served as the main stadium for the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games , as well as hosting two Cricket World Cups finals : 1992 and 2015 . Noted for its role in the development of international cricket,
2160-501: Is also recorded on the perpetual E. L. Wilson Shield , which resides at AFL House. The shield, inaugurated in 1929, was named after long-serving VFL secretary Edwin Lionel Wilson . It was initially discontinued after 1978, when there was no room remaining on the shield. In 2016, it was rediscovered under a stairwell at AFL House; it was refurbished, extra space was added, and it was brought up to date. It, too, does not feature in
2280-420: Is awarded only to the players who participate in the winning grand final team (or in a drawn grand final team if their team won the replay). Players who do not play in the grand final itself do not receive the medal, regardless of their contribution to the club's season; this has been a point of contention, with many observers believing medals should be more broadly awarded across the premier's squad. Criteria for
2400-611: Is built atop a Wurundjeri camping ground and site of numerous corroborees . Founded in November 1838 the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) selected the current MCG site in 1853 after previously playing at several grounds around Melbourne. The club's first game was against a military team at the Old Mint site, at the corner of William and La Trobe Streets. Burial Hill (now Flagstaff Gardens ) became its home ground in January 1839, but
2520-502: Is known as the Boxing Day Test . The venue also hosts one-day international matches each year, and Twenty20 international matches most years. No other venue in Melbourne has hosted a Test, and Docklands Stadium is the only other venue to have hosted a limited-overs international. The Victorian first-class team plays Sheffield Shield cricket at the venue during the season. Prior to Test cricket being played on Boxing Day, it
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#17327878228822640-475: Is presented to the player judged best on ground in the grand final by a panel of experts. The award is named in honour of ten-time Melbourne premiership player and coach Norm Smith . It was first awarded in 1979 , and has come to carry great prestige as an individual prize. The coach of the winning team receives the Jock McHale Medal , named in honour of Collingwood coach Jock McHale who coached
2760-467: Is still widely used as a metonym for the premiership itself in Australian rules football parlance, including in many of the league's team songs . The most prestigious award for supporters is the AFL premiership cup, which is presented to the captain and coach of the winning team in a ceremony after the game. Prior to the Grand Final, it is traditional for the captain of each side to hold one side of
2880-795: The Jack Collins Medal from the AFL Premiership Players' Club. The first four Grand Finals were played at different neutral venues chosen by the league's match committee a week in advance: these were played at the St Kilda Cricket Ground ( 1898 and 1899 ), the East Melbourne Cricket Ground ( 1900 ) and the South Melbourne Cricket Ground ( 1901 ). Since the fifth Grand Final in 1902, after
3000-415: The 1956 Olympic Games , the ground was upgraded again with a new stand and extra capacity, and the 1956 grand final was seen as a dry run for the opening ceremony of the games two months later. Although the official capacity was 120,000, the ground could not comfortably accommodate the record crowd of 115,802. Some spectators who gained entry perched dangerously on the back fences of the grandstands and even
3120-500: The 1992 Cricket World Cup , at a final cost of $ 150 million by John Holland . It was renamed the Shane Warne Stand after Victorian bowler Shane Warne in 2022 shortly after his death. The 1928 Members' stand, the 1956 Olympic stand and the 1968 W.H. Ponsford stand were demolished one by one between late 2003 to 2005 and replaced with a new structure in time for the 2006 Commonwealth Games . Despite now standing as
3240-601: The Australian Sports Museum , the MCG has hosted other major sporting events, including international rules football matches between Australia and Ireland , international rugby union matches, State of Origin ( rugby league ) games, and FIFA World Cup qualifiers . Concerts and other cultural events are also held at the venue with the record attendance standing at 143,750 for a Billy Graham evangelistic crusade in 1959. Grandstand redevelopments and occupational health and safety legislation have limited
3360-536: The Geelong–Collingwood grand final attracted 88,540, with spectators crossing the fence and sitting eight deep along the boundary line; the following year, another record of 96,486 watched Collingwood play Carlton . Melbourne dominated the final years before the Pacific War , comfortably winning grand finals in 1939, 1940 and 1941. Football served as a distraction for people and as a war fundraiser on
3480-520: The Women's Big Bash League (WBBL). By the 1980s, the integral MCG pitch – grown from Merri Creek black soil – was considered the worst in Australia, in some matches exhibiting wildly inconsistent bounce which could see balls pass through as grubbers or rear dangerously high – a phenomenon which was put down to damage caused by footballers in winter and increased use for cricket during the summers of
3600-425: The 'final' to a playoff match for the premiership. At the time, it was only this challenge match, if played, which was known as the grand final; however, all 'final' matches which decided the premiership have since retrospectively been considered grand finals. The 1899 VFL grand final is the earliest such game; it was won by Fitzroy , while losing team South Melbourne would have had to have defeated Fitzroy again in
3720-517: The 15 years after 1897 the grandstand capacity at the ground increased to nearly 20,000, while the full ground capacity was almost 60,000. In 1927, the second brick members' stand was replaced at a cost of £60,000. The Harrison and Wardill Stands were demolished to make way for the Southern Stand which was opened at the end of 1936. The Southern Stand, which spanned almost half of the field's circumference, seated 18,200 under cover and 13,000 in
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3840-405: The 1960s, the VFL constructed its own privately owned ground, VFL Park (later Waverley Park), to a capacity of 75,000. The league announced that it would move the grand final to VFL Park starting from 1984 , and submitted plans to expand its ground's capacity to 104,500; but the upgrade was blocked by the state government, which even threatened to pass legislation requiring that the game remain at
3960-449: The 1970s. The integral pitch has since been removed and drop-in pitches have been cultivated and used since 1996, generally offering consistent bounce and a fair balance between bat and ball. The decade-and-a-half-old pitches degraded again through the late 2010s, seeing the pitch receive the first official International Cricket Council 'poor' rating by an Australian pitch in 2017, and saw another Sheffield Shield match abandoned in 2019;
4080-565: The 1980s and when rival codes such as the NRL began regularly broadcasting the NRL Grand Final in the evening for primetime television. AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has stated that it is out of respect for tradition that the afternoon timeslot has remained, even though playing in the twilight or night timeslots would attract more lucrative television deals. Only the two grand finals played outside Victoria strayed from this, each being played in
4200-471: The AFL Umpires' Association in 1993. After reaching the milestone of 300 games in 2002, he qualified for a life membership with the AFL. At that stage he had umpired 294 premiership season games, as well as 22 pre-season matches and three State of Origin games. In 2006 he umpired the match between St Kilda and Fremantle , along with Matthew Nicholls and Michael Vozzo , where the officials missed
4320-637: The AFL season, it attracts one of the largest audiences in Australian sport, regularly attracting a crowd of more than 100,000 and a television audience of millions. The club which wins the grand final receives the AFL's premiership cup and flag; players on the winning team receive a gold premiership medallion, and the best player receives the Norm Smith Medal . As of the end of 2024, a total of 129 grand finals have been played, including three grand final replays . The Carlton Football Club and Collingwood Football Club have both won 16 grand finals,
4440-432: The E. L. Wilson Shield, and A$ 1.2 million in prize money. The premiership flag is the most symbolic and longest-standing award for the clubs. It is a large, triangular pennant in league colours (navy blue fimbriated with white) and emblazoned with the league logo, the word 'premiers' and the year of the premiership. It does not feature in post-match presentations, but tradition dictates that it be ceremonially unfurled from
4560-692: The Grand Final was first played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , when Collingwood 9.6 (60) defeated Essendon 3.9 (27) before a then-record Australian football crowd of 35,000. By 1908, every finals match was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and new attendance records were set in 1908 (50,261), 1912 (54,463) and 1913 (59,479). During this period, Carlton became the first club to win three consecutive premierships, winning 'finals' in all three years. Football and grand finals continued through World War I , albeit with reduced attendances, and some controversy that it distracted from
4680-514: The MCC took a large portion of the gate and retained free entry privileges for its members, an entitlement it had held since 1902. In the early 1950s, Princes Park was almost upgraded to become the Olympic Stadium , which would have provided an alternative venue; but when the Melbourne Cricket Ground was upgraded instead, it remained the only ground large enough to accommodate the game. In
4800-502: The MCG hosted both the first Test match and the first One Day International , played between Australia and England in 1877 and 1971, respectively. It has also maintained strong ties with Australian rules football since its codification in 1859, and has become the principal venue for Australian Football League (AFL) matches, including the AFL Grand Final , the world's highest attended league championship event . Home to
4920-534: The MCG hosted the world's first Test match. In 1881, the original members' stand was sold to the Richmond Cricket Club for £55. A new brick stand, considered at the time to be the world's finest cricket facility, was built in its place. The foundation stone was laid by Prince George of Wales and Prince Albert Victor on 4 July and the stand opened in December that year. It was also in 1881 that
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5040-603: The MCG improved but the ever-ambitious Melburnians were always on the lookout for more than the usual diet of club and inter-colonial games. In 1861, Felix William Spiers and Christopher Pond, the proprietors of the Cafe de Paris in Bourke Street and caterers to the MCC, sent their agent, W.B. Mallam, to England to arrange for a cricket team to visit Australia. Mallam found a team and, captained by Heathfield Stephenson, it arrived in Australia on Christmas Eve 1861 to be met by
5160-402: The MCG was the original wooden members' stand built in 1854, while the first public grandstand was a 200-metre long 6000-seat temporary structure built in 1861. Another grandstand seating 2000, facing one way to the cricket ground and the other way to the park where football was played, was built in 1876 for the 1877 visit of James Lillywhite 's English cricket team. It was during this tour that
5280-470: The Melbourne Cricket Club about paying £175 for damages to the MCG despite a prior arrangement to do so. The last match of the tour was against a Victorian XXII at the MCG after which the English team planted an elm tree outside the ground. Following the success of this tour, a number of other English teams also visited in subsequent years. George Parr's side came out in 1863–64 and there were two tours by sides led by William Gilbert Grace . The fourth tour
5400-455: The Melbourne Cricket Ground has hosted one Test match each summer. Until 1979, the ground almost always hosted its match or one of its matches over the New Year, with the first day's play falling somewhere between 29 December and 1 January; in most years since 1980 and every year since 1995, its test has begun on Boxing Day, and it is now a standard fixture in the Australian cricket calendar and
5520-401: The Melbourne Cricket Ground. Eventually, the VFL, MCC and Victorian government negotiated for the game to remain at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with better terms and access privileges for VFL members. Since the expansion of the league interstate beyond Victoria, the long-term deals at the Melbourne Cricket Ground have been criticised as unfair for non-Victorian clubs, who play fewer games at
5640-690: The Olympic stand. In 1985, light towers were installed at the ground, allowing for night football and day-night cricket games. During the 1980s, the Olympic Stand had corporate suites installed which led to the reduction of seating and standing capacity in the stand, the Ponsford Stand had seats installed on the ground level replacing the standing room and both the Southern Stand and Olympic Stand had their wooden bench seats removed and replaced with plastic bucket seats. In 1988, inspections of
5760-474: The Test at the MCG, Fred Spofforth took the first hat-trick in Test cricket. He bagged two hauls of 6 for 48 and 7 for 62 in Australia's ten wicket win. Through most of the 20th century, the Melbourne Cricket Ground was one of the two major Test venues in Australia (along with the Sydney Cricket Ground ), and it would host one or two Tests in each summer in which Tests were played; since 1982,
5880-588: The Victorians had included two professionals in the 1853 team upsetting the Tasmanians and causing a cooling of relations between the two colonies. To replace the disgruntled Tasmanians the Melbourne Cricket Club issued a challenge to play any team in the colonies for £ 1000. Sydney publican William Tunks accepted the challenge on behalf of New South Wales although the Victorians were criticised for playing for money. Ethics aside, New South Wales could not afford
6000-683: The Yarra River. By 1853 it had become a busy promenade for Melbourne residents. An MCC sub-committee chose the Richmond Park option because it was level enough for cricket but sloped enough to prevent inundation. That ground was located where the Richmond, or outer, end of the current MCG is now. At the same time the Richmond Cricket Club was given occupancy rights to six acres (2.4 hectares) for another cricket ground on
6120-449: The absence of Victorian clubs. On the first public holiday parade in 2015, a record 150,000 spectators attended. The North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast has been held annually since 1967 on the morning of the grand final. It is a corporate-style breakfast event, featuring keynote speakers and guests including prime ministers, state premiers and football celebrities. It is the most well-known corporate hospitality event associated with
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#17327878228826240-627: The area was already set aside for Botanical Gardens and the club was moved on in October 1846, to an area on the south bank of the Yarra about where the Herald & Weekly Times building is today. The area was subject to flooding, forcing the club to move again, this time to a ground in South Melbourne . It was not long before the club was forced out again, this time because of the expansion of
6360-537: The arena after the presentations and player celebrations have concluded, which is free and open to the general public. The pre-match entertainment frequently features traditional football and Australian songs performed live, including " Up There Cazaly ", " One Day in September ", " That's the Thing About Football ", " Holy Grail ", " Waltzing Matilda " and the competing teams' club songs. Each year,
6480-480: The armistice with Japan was declared. When the Melbourne Cricket Ground was relinquished by the government in August 1946, there was great expectation in the buildup to the grand finals, and attendances were soon back to 1930s levels. In 1948, Essendon and Melbourne played the first drawn grand final in history; a full replay was played the following week, which Melbourne won. The sight of thousands sitting between
6600-419: The club-awarded medals prior to 1977 depended on the individual clubs' decisions. From 1977 until 1981 , runners-up medals were also presented during the post-match ceremony. This was discontinued after 1981, popularly attributed to the negative spectacle of Collingwood 's Peter Moore — in his fourth losing grand final — throwing the medal on the ground shortly after receiving it. The Norm Smith Medal
6720-486: The cup in official promotional photos. The premiership cup is silver (with the exception of the 1996 cup, which was gold to commemorate the league's 100th season), and it is adorned with ribbons in the winning team's colours when presented. A new cup is manufactured each year by Cash's International at its metalworks in Frankston . The cup was first introduced in 1959 after league president Kenneth Luke sought to recreate
6840-723: The early 1860s, this last option, which is now Yarra Park , was known as the Government or Police Paddock and served as a large agistment area for the horses of the Mounted Police , Border Police and Native Police . The north-eastern section also housed the main barracks for the Mounted Police in the Port Phillip district . In 1850 it was part of a 200-acre (81 ha) stretch set aside for public recreation extending from Governor La Trobe's Jolimont Estate to
6960-456: The early 2010s, winning three grand finals in a row between 2013 and 2015. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the scheduling of the match in 2020 and 2021 , as outbreaks of the virus in Melbourne during finals precluded unrestricted travel and mass gatherings in Victoria. In 2020, when most of the league's clubs had been relocated to Queensland for the majority of the season, the grand final
7080-587: The east-coast night timeslot: the pandemic-delayed 2020 grand final , to avoid a broadcasting clash with the Cox Plate ; and the 2021 grand final in Perth, which would have needed an impractically early 12:30pm local start to meet the traditional timeslot. Until the 2015 season, a drawn grand final would be replayed the following Saturday to determine the premier. This occurred on three occasions: in 1948 , 1977 and 2010 . The provision to play extra time in
7200-476: The eastern side of the Government Paddock. In 1861, a board of trustees was appointed to be responsible for the ground. Over the first forty years, most of the trustees were appointed by the MCC, giving the cricket club relative autonomy over the use of the ground. In 1906, the state governments' Lands ministry appointed five new trustees, putting the government-appointed trustees in the majority; and
7320-526: The end only five Australian-born players were selected. The same could be said for Lillywhite's team which, being selected from only four counties, meant that some of England's best players did not take part. In addition, the team had a rough voyage back across the Tasman Sea and many members had been seasick. The game was due to be played on 15 March, the day after their arrival, but most had not yet fully recovered. On top of that, wicket-keeper Ted Pooley
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#17327878228827440-428: The event of a draw was introduced in 2016, ensuring that future grand finals will always be decided on the scheduled day. In the event of a drawn game, the teams will play two extra time periods in full, each lasting three minutes plus time on , with a change of ends after the first period: if still tied, further pairs of extra time periods will be played in the same manner until a winner is determined. From 2016 to 2019,
7560-453: The exception of MCC members, who are entitled to gain free entry to the members' area on the day of the match without pre-purchase of tickets, or with pre-purchase of a $ 30 reserved seat. As the largest venue in Melbourne, long-term contracts have secured the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground since as early as the 1930s. The VFL resented its reliance on the arrangement, as the ground's government-appointed trust fixed admission prices, and
7680-464: The fence and the boundary line was now usual at the grand final, often resulting in injuries to spectators when players collided with them. Spectators were admitted on a first-come basis, and thousands took to lining up outside the stadium from the Friday before the match to gain the best vantage point when the gates opened on the morning. As the Melbourne Cricket Ground was used as the main stadium for
7800-480: The first and only club to win four consecutive premierships, winning in 'finals' in 1927 and 1928, then grand finals in 1929 and 1930. In 1931, the Page–McIntyre Final Four system was introduced for finals, which eliminated the minor premier's right to challenge and guaranteed four finals and a genuine grand final each year. Under this system, and all systems which followed it until 1993, one team entered
7920-520: The first grand final took place in the league's second season, on 24 September 1898 , between Essendon and Fitzroy at the St Kilda Cricket Ground . This match too had been in doubt until the night before it was played, Essendon disputing the choice and fitness-for-use of the St Kilda ground, which had already been top-dressed for the cricket season. Despite appealing to the league and even announcing it intended to forfeit, Essendon relented and played
8040-452: The flagpole at the premiers' first home game of the following season. The awarding of a flag, and its ceremonial unfurling, have been tradition since the very first VFL premiership in 1897, and had been customary before that in the VFA and other sports in Victoria since around 1889. Although the flag is of lower physical importance than the cup, it retains its symbolic significance, and "the flag"
8160-517: The full-time siren. He umpired his 400th match on 8 June 2007 between Essendon versus West Coast at Telstra Dome . and was quickly catching Rowan Sawers in the umpiring record books. He finally surpassed his former colleague on 8 September 2007 when he umpired in the first elimination final between Hawthorn and Adelaide at the Telstra Dome to break the 410 game record held by Sawers. Kennedy achieved yet another umpiring honour when he
8280-399: The game, and Fitzroy won the inaugural grand final 5.8 (38) d. 3.5 (23) before a crowd of 16,538. Most VFL finals systems utilised until 1930 comprised a short finals system, usually a simple knockout tournament ending with a match called the 'final'; if the 'final' was not won by the home-and-away season's minor premiers , then the minor premiers had the right to challenge the winner of
8400-551: The government has appointed and overseen the trust since. This gives the state government, via the trust, a level of control over the ground's use. At the time of the land grant, the Government stipulated that the ground was to be used for cricket and cricket only. This condition technically remained until 1933 when the Melbourne Cricket Ground Act 1933 widened its allowable uses. The 1933 act has been replaced by separate acts in 1989 and 2009. In 1863,
8520-407: The grand final into Victoria began in 1977, which saw the second drawn grand final between North Melbourne and Collingwood . The Norm Smith Medal , awarded to the best on ground in the game, was introduced in 1979. The 1980s saw a concerted effort by the VFL to relocate the grand final to its privately owned VFL Park , in search of a better commercial deal, but the move was ultimately blocked by
8640-440: The grand final with a bye week after winning the second semi-final; and the other entered after winning the preliminary final in the week before the grand final. More often than not, the grand final was a rematch between the teams who played the second semi-final two weeks earlier. Several new record crowds were set through the 1930s, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground's new Southern Stand was constructed and opened in 1937. That year,
8760-531: The grand final, and it rose to prominence in the 1970s when it was first televised across Victoria; it was endorsed by the VFL as the official pre-match function. Since then, the event has grown into a significant money raiser for the North Melbourne Football Club . Today, the breakfast is broadcast live on Fox Footy . Since the match was televised live in the late 1970s, many big Australian and international music stars have performed on
8880-983: The grand finals of the VFL/AFL reserves (1919–1999), VFL/AFL under-19s (from 1962 to 1991), and the Victorian statewide under-18s (from 1992 until 2007) were usually scheduled as one or two curtain raisers — although sometimes a drawn final and replay meant that a minor grade preliminary final, or no final at all, would be available as curtain raiser. Melbourne Cricket Ground Melbourne Football Club (1858–present) Richmond Football Club (1965–present) Collingwood Football Club (1993–present) Essendon Football Club (1991–present) Hawthorn Football Club (2000–present) Carlton Football Club (2005–present) Australian cricket team (1877–present) Victoria cricket team (1851–present) Melbourne Stars (2011–present) Melbourne Storm (2000) The Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ), also known locally as The 'G ,
9000-406: The ground and are always forced to carry the travel burden of playing in the grand final. The grand final is conventionally played on the afternoon of the last Saturday in September; it is often referred to in popular culture as the "One day in September", which is also the name of a famous football song . Since the introduction of the four-term school year to Victoria in 1987, it has fallen during
9120-410: The ground as part of pre-match, or occasionally half-time, entertainment. The pre-match entertainment has at times been criticised as uninspiring; and two performances in particular — Angry Anderson in 1991 and Meat Loaf in 2011 — are routinely mocked for the poor performances of the artists. Since 2012, the main pre-match/half-time entertainer has also performed a post-match entertainment set on
9240-422: The health department's revised ground capacity of 102,000 over the following years. Melbourne dominated the 1950s, playing a record seven consecutive grand finals from 1954 to 1960, and winning five premierships, including three in a row from 1955 to 1957. The establishment of the modern premiership cup in 1959 gave the after-match a ceremonial focus and allowed the attention to settle on the premier team, ending
9360-605: The home front during the World War II . The Australian government requisitioned a number of VFL grounds, including the Melbourne Cricket Ground, so the grand finals were staged at Carlton's Princes Park in 1942 , 1943 and 1945 , and at the St Kilda Cricket Ground in 1944 . The last of those games, in 1945, saw a capacity crowd of 62,986 squeeze into the Carlton ground, which was played just weeks after
9480-403: The individual colonial sides, but Lillywhite felt that his side had done well enough against New South Wales to warrant a game against an All Australian team. When Lillywhite headed off to New Zealand he left Melbourne cricketer John Conway to arrange the match for their return. Conway ignored the cricket associations in each colony and selected his own Australian team, negotiating directly with
9600-559: The last eight decisive grand finals it had played since its 1958 premiership, a streak which became known as the " Colliwobbles "; this came to an end with its victory against Essendon in the 1990 grand final . Starting in the 1980s, the Victorian Football League (VFL) expanded interstate, and it was renamed the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1990. Perth-based West Coast , which joined
9720-484: The league in 1987, became the first non-Victorian club to both contest and win a grand final, in 1991 and 1992 , respectively; and, between 1992 and 2006, non-Victorian clubs won ten out of the fifteen grand finals, with the Brisbane Lions enjoying the greatest success, with three premierships in a row between 2001 and 2003 . Since 1994, new finals systems required both grand finalists to qualify by winning
9840-404: The league was not always guaranteed four finals, and there was the perception that semi-finals could be thrown to guarantee a grand final and the dividend which came with it. On several occasions during the 1920s, semi-final crowds exceeded that of the final or grand final. In 1924 , for the second and last time, no recognised grand final was played; a round-robin finals system was played, with
9960-524: The league's history, premiership medals were awards made by clubs or their benefactors to the players as part of their celebrations; however, since live telecasts of the game were introduced in 1977, the medal has been a league award presented in the on-field presentation following the match. Since 2002, the medals have been presented each year by children selected nationwide from the Auskick junior football program. The league-endorsed medal dating from 1977
10080-521: The light towers, were replaced with LED sports lighting with the lighting under the roof and in two of the light towers completed in time for the Boxing Day Test against New Zealand . The first cricket match at the venue was played on 30 September 1854, while the first inter-colonial cricket match to be played at the MCG was between Victoria and New South Wales in March 1856. Victoria had played Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land) as early as 1851 but
10200-575: The maximum seating capacity to approximately 95,000 with an additional 5,000 standing room capacity, bringing the total capacity to 100,024. The MCG is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and was included on the Australian National Heritage List in 2005. In 2003, journalist Greg Baum called it "a shrine, a citadel, a landmark, a totem" that "symbolises Melbourne to the world". The MCG
10320-530: The most of any club; the Essendon Football Club has also won 16 premierships, although only 14 were earned in grand finals. Collingwood has appeared in the most grand finals, a total of 45; and Collingwood has also won the most consecutive grand finals, with four between 1927 and 1930 . Every current AFL club has played in at least one grand final, with the exception of the 2011 expansion club Gold Coast . The Victorian Football League (VFL)
10440-424: The old Southern Stand found concrete cancer and provided the opportunity to replace the increasingly run-down 50-year-old facility. The projected cost of $ 100 million was outside what the Melbourne Cricket Club could afford so the Victorian Football League took the opportunity to part fund the project in return for a 30-year deal to share the ground. The new Great Southern Stand was completed in 1992, in time for
10560-403: The on-field presentation. As of 2019, the premier also receives $ 1.2 million in prize money, with $ 660k for the runners-up. Prior to its increase in 2007, the prize for the premier was only $ 250k, which was not even enough to cover an interstate club's participation in the finals series. Each player from the winning team who plays in the grand final is awarded a premiership medal. For much of
10680-482: The open and was the main public area of the MCG. The maximum capacity of the ground under this configuration, as advised by the Health Department, was 84,000 seated and 94,000 standing. The Northern Stand, also known as the Olympic Stand, was built to replace the old Grandstand for the 1956 Olympic Games. By Health Department regulations, this was to increase the stadium's capacity to 120,000; although this
10800-705: The parade began at the Old Treasury Building, and headed down Spring Street and Wellington Parade, ending within Yarra Park outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 and 2021 parades did not occur. In 2022 , part of the parade saw the teams travel down the Yarra River on boats. In the city centre, a parade featuring two Victorian teams in fine weather would generally attract in excess of 100,000 fans; attendances are typically lower in inclement weather or in
10920-473: The past appeared on parade floats it has become a motorcade of open-top vehicles, weather permitting. From its inception until 2014, the parade was based in the Melbourne city centre, usually proceeding along St Kilda Road , Swanston Street , Collins Street and ending at the steps of the Old Treasury Building . From 2015 (when the day of the parade became a public holiday) to 2019 ,
11040-433: The periods were to have lasted five minutes plus time on, with a third untimed period of golden point extra time to have been played if the game remained tied after the first two periods. As of season 2024, extra time has not yet been required to decide a grand final. Since 1977 , a grand final parade featuring the players from each team has been held around midday on the Friday before each grand final. The players have in
11160-482: The players. Not only was the team he selected of doubtful representation but it was also probably not the strongest available as some players had declined to take part for various reasons. Demon bowler Fred Spofforth refused to play because wicket-keeper Billy Murdoch was not selected. Paceman Frank Allan was at Warrnambool Agricultural Show and Australia's best all-rounder Edwin Evans could not get away from work. In
11280-412: The premiership based on win–loss record across the entire season, with a playoff match only in the event of tied records. The league arranged that the gate from finals matches be shared among all teams, which guaranteed a better dividend to the league's weaker clubs. Although the finals system used in 1897 had the possibility of a grand final, one was not required. As such, the match now recognised as
11400-434: The previous custom of the crowd descending on the arena and variously chairing or walking the players off the ground. Delayed telecasts of the match were first shown on television in 1961. The grandstands were expanded again in 1968, and an enduring record crowd of 121,696 saw one of the most famous grand finals of all in 1970 , in which Carlton overcome a 44-point half-time deficit to defeat Collingwood . Live telecasts of
11520-464: The profits for Speirs and Pond from this game alone was enough to fund the whole tour. At that time it was the largest number of people to ever watch a cricket match anywhere in the world. Local cricket authorities went out of their way to cater for the needs of the team and the sponsors. They provided grounds and sponsors booths without charge and let the sponsors keep the gate takings. The sponsors however, were not so generous in return. They quibbled with
11640-455: The railway. The South Melbourne ground was in the path of Victoria's first steam railway line from Melbourne to Sandridge (now Port Melbourne ). Governor La Trobe offered the MCC a choice of three sites; an area adjacent to the existing ground, a site at the junction of Flinders and Spring Streets or a ten-acre (about 4 hectares) section of the Government Paddock at Richmond next to Richmond Park. Between European settlement in 1835 and
11760-530: The roof of the southern stand to get a view of the game; and in violent scenes outside the ground, at least 2,500 gained entry by mobbing gates, climbing fences or sneaking in when the Military Band arrived, while at least 20,000 more were turned away at the gate. To finally prevent a recurrence of these growing crowd management problems, the VFL introduced a pre-purchase ticketing system for the finals and grand final from 1957, and attendances hovered around
11880-453: The spectacle he had observed at England's FA Cup final; a lap of honour with the cup by the winning team has become customary since 1966 . Since 2004 , it has become tradition for the cup to be presented by a past legend of the winning club, with each club's potential presenter nominated ahead of the game. In 2004, the AFL allowed clubs to purchase cups based on the current design for premierships won prior to 1959. The premier club's name
12000-524: The spring school holiday break; and, since 2015, the 'Friday before the AFL Grand Final' has been a gazetted public holiday in Victoria. Occasionally, the match is scheduled for the first Saturday in October, and prior to the introduction of extra time to finals in 1991, any drawn finals matches would be replayed, delaying all subsequent finals by a week and pushing the grand final into October. The earliest grand final date has been 2 September in
12120-427: The state government and the game remained at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The 1980s saw a sustained period of dominance by Hawthorn , which contested seven consecutive grand finals from 1983 to 1989, winning four of them. The 1989 Grand Final , a high scoring and very physical encounter in which Hawthorn defeated Geelong by six points, is considered to be one of the greatest of all time. By 1990, Collingwood had lost
12240-445: The sun. Some estimates put the crowd at the MCG that day at 25,000. It must have been quite a picture with a new 6000 seat grandstand, coloured marquees ringing the ground and a carnival outside. Stephenson said that the ground was better than any in England. The Victorians however, were no match for the English at cricket and the visitors won by an innings and 96 runs. Over the four days of the 'test' more than 45,000 people attended and
12360-452: The top team from the round robin to face the minor premiers in a grand final if required; but, when minor premiers Essendon also won the round robin, no grand final was staged. This new finals system was abandoned after one year. A new record crowd of 64,288 was set in 1925, when Geelong played and won its first grand final, attracting a huge contingent of both provincial and metropolitan supporters. Between 1927 and 1930, Collingwood became
12480-509: The toss but New South Wales captain George Gilbert successfully argued that the visiting team should decide who bats first. The MCG was a grassless desert and Gilbert, considering players fielded without boots, promptly sent Victoria into bat. Needing only 16 to win in the final innings, New South Wales collapsed to be 5 for 5 before Gilbert's batting saved the game and the visitors won by three wickets. In subsequent years conditions at
12600-518: The two competing clubs; up to 5,000 for staff, sponsors and guests of the competing clubs; up to 7,000 for staff, sponsors and guests of the non-competing clubs; 5,000 to 30,000 for corporate box, coterie and hospitality packages; and 16,000 to 26,000 for Melbourne Cricket Club members in the ground's permanently dedicated members' reserve area. Where demand outstrips supply within one of those groups, tickets are usually allocated by ballot, and must be pre-purchased at prices ranging from $ 155 to $ 422 — with
12720-490: The war effort, with one critic calling for the Carlton team to receive the Iron Cross as their premiership medallion. However, many diggers supported the continuance of the game, and returned servicemen were granted free admission to a portion of the grandstand for the 1918 grand final , with many attending in uniform. During the 1920s, the VFL grappled with the problems of the challenge final system — specifically that
12840-509: The war-shortened 1916 season, and in the 2000 season, which was scheduled early to avoid a clash with the Sydney Olympics . The latest grand final date has been 24 October, in the 2020 season, which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic . Throughout its history, the grand final has remained scheduled for the traditional Saturday afternoon timeslot, most recently at 2:30pm AEST, even after night premiership football became common in
12960-407: The world's most attended domestic sports championship event . The capacity of the Melbourne Cricket Ground is 100,024 and tickets to the game are allocated to different membership groups. In 2019, the allocations were: 13,000 to 23,000 for AFL members, with priority given to nominated supporters of the competing clubs; 3,000 to 5,000 for AFL Medallion Club members; 34,000 divided between the members of
13080-437: The £1000 and only managed to travel to Melbourne after half the team's travel cost of £181 was put up by Sydney barrister Richard Driver. The game eventually got under way on 26 March 1856. The Victorians, stung by criticism over the £1000 stake, argued over just about everything; the toss, who should bat first, whether different pitches should be used for the different innings and even what the umpires should wear. Victoria won
13200-535: Was a long-standing tradition for Victoria to host New South Wales in a first-class match on Boxing Day. Victoria also played its limited overs matches at the ground. Since the introduction of the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League (BBL) in 2011, the Melbourne Stars club has played its home matches at the ground. It is also the home ground of the Melbourne Stars Women team, which plays in
13320-695: Was appointed one of four field umpires to officiate in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match played on 10 May 2008 at the MCG . Hayden is married to wife Maree and resides in Aberfeldie with their three children. As a boy he had followed the team North Melbourne. AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it
13440-496: Was established for the 1897 season by eight clubs which seceded from the Victorian Football Association (VFA). The new league introduced a system of finals to be contested after the home-and-away matches; this ensured that the premiership could not be decided until the last match had been played, generating greater public interest at the end of the season — compared with the VFA's system, which awarded
13560-559: Was known as the VFL Grand Final , as the league was then known as the Victorian Football League , and both were renamed due to the national expansion of the competition. Played at the end of the finals series , the game has been held annually since 1898 , except in 1924 . It is traditionally staged on the afternoon of the last Saturday in September, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground . As the premier match of
13680-487: Was known, increasing capacity to 9,000. In 1900 it was lit with electric light. More stands were built in the early 20th century. An open wooden stand was on the south side of the ground in 1904 and the 2084-seat Grey Smith Stand (known as the New Stand until 1912) was erected for members in 1906. The 4000-seat Harrison Stand on the ground's southern side was built in 1908 followed by the 8000-seat Wardill Stand in 1912. In
13800-414: Was led by James Lillywhite . On Boxing Day 1866 an Indigenous Australian cricket team played at the MCG with 11,000 spectators against an MCC team. A few players in that match were in a later team that toured England in 1868 . Some also played in three other matches at the ground before 1869. Up until the fourth tour in 1877, led by James Lillywhite, touring teams had played first-class games against
13920-529: Was played at the Gabba in Brisbane, the first time it had been played outside Victoria. It was also played at night, the first time it was not played in the afternoon time slot. The following season, it was played at Optus Stadium in Perth in a twilight timeslot. Aside from the prestige of winning the premiership, the premiership-winning club receives four prizes: the premiership cup, the premiership flag ,
14040-624: Was revised down after the 1956 VFL Grand Final , which could not comfortably accommodate its crowd of 115,802. Ten years later, the Grey Smith Stand and the open concrete stand next to it were replaced by the Western Stand; the Duke of Edinburgh laid a foundation stone for the Western Stand on 3 March 1967, and it was completed in 1968; in 1986, it was renamed the W.H. Ponsford Stand in honour of Victorian batsman Bill Ponsford . This
14160-614: Was shared with boundary umpire Allan Cook. Both Kennedy and Cook had been field umpires together on the cadet squad at the beginnings of their careers and both reached the pinnacle of achievement on the same day having followed very different paths. Kennedy continued his dominance at the top of the AFL umpiring ranks, umpiring Grand Finals in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003 as well as taking part in every finals series. Kennedy has also obtained many other prestige appointments and honours including three State of Origin appointments and being named All Australian Umpire in 1997. He attained Life Membership of
14280-678: Was still in a New Zealand prison after a brawl in a Christchurch pub. England was nonetheless favourite to win the game and the first ever Test match began with a crowd of only 1000 watching. The Australians elected Dave Gregory from New South Wales as Australia's first ever captain and on winning the toss he decided to bat. Charles Bannerman scored an unbeaten 165 before retiring hurt. Sydney Cricket Ground curator, Ned Gregory , playing in his one and only Test for Australia, scored Test cricket's first duck . Australia racked up 245 and 104 while England scored 196 and 108 giving Australia victory by 45 runs. The win hinged on Bannerman's century and
14400-482: Was the stadium's highest capacity configuration, and the all-time record crowd for a sporting event at the venue of 121,696 was set under this configuration in the 1970 VFL Grand Final . The MCG was the home of Australia's first full colour video scoreboard, which replaced the old scoreboard in 1982, located on Level 4 of the Western Stand, which notably caught fire in 1999 and was replaced in 2000. A second video screen added in 1994 almost directly opposite, on Level 4 of
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