1992 AFL Grand Final
The 1992 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Geelong Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 26 September 1992. It was the 96th annual grand final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers for the 1992 AFL season. The match, attended by 95,007 spectators, was won by West Coast by a margin of 28 points, marking that club's first premiership victory and the first by a team based outside the state of Victoria.
| 1992 AFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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 The Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the 1992 AFL Grand Final took place. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 26 September 1992 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 95,007 | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Carey, Rich | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | Joan Carden | |||||||||||||||
| Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
| Norm Smith Medallist | Peter Matera (West Coast) | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Seven Network | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Bruce McAvaney (host) Dennis Cometti (commentator) Sandy Roberts (commentator) Ross Glendinning (expert commentator) Bernie Quinlan (boundary rider) Tim Watson (boundary rider) Don Scott (analyst) Peter McKenna (analyst) | |||||||||||||||
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Background
This was Geelong's first appearance in a grand final since losing the 1989 VFL Grand Final, whilst West Coast was making its second successive appearance in the premiership decider, having been defeated by Hawthorn in the 1991 AFL Grand Final
At the conclusion of the home and away season, Geelong had finished first on the AFL ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses, winning the McClelland Trophy. West Coast had finished fourth (behind Footscray and Collingwood) with 15 wins, 6 losses and a draw.
In the finals series leading up to the game, West Coast defeated Hawthorn in the elimination final, before convincingly defeating Geelong by 38 points in the second semi-final to advance to the grand final. Geelong defeated Footscray in the qualifying final, and after their loss to the Eagles in the second semi-final, defeated Footscray once again in the preliminary final to advance to the grand final.
Match summary
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
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| West Coast | 2.6 | 6.8 | 11.15 | 16.17 (113) |
| Geelong | 5.5 | 8.8 | 9.10 | 12.13 (85) |
The match was fairly even until half time, with Geelong pushing hard in the first quarter and the Eagles initially looking nervous. The Cats held a 12-point half time lead.
The Eagles moved ahead in the third quarter when they kicked five goals to Geelong's one, leading by 17 points at three-quarter-time. The teams traded goals in the final term.
The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Eagles player Peter Matera for being judged the best player afield, with 18 disposals and 5 goals from the wing. One of these goals was a stunning right-foot 60-metre running goal from the right forward flank to put the Eagles in front.
Peter Sumich kicked 6 goals for the Eagles whilst Gary Ablett and Billy Brownless each kicked 3 goals for the Cats.
Teams
      West Coast
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   Geelong
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Match Scorecard and Details
| 1992 AFL Grand Final | |||||
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| Saturday, 26 September 2:30pm | West Coast | def. | Geelong | MCG (crowd: 95,007) | |
| 2.6 (18) 6.8 (44) 11.15 (81) 16.17 (113) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
5.5 (35) 8.8 (56) 9.10 (64) 12.13 (85) |
Umpires: Carey, Rich Norm Smith Medal: Peter Matera Television broadcast: Seven Network | ||
| 6 Sumich 5 Matera 3 Evans 2 Wilson |
Goals | Brownless, Ablett 3 Couch, Riccardi, Bruns, Poole, Stoneham, Hinkley 1 | |||
| Matera, McIntosh, Kemp, Heady, Evans, Worsfold | Best | Hinkley, Ablett, Bairstow, Stoneham, Couch, Hocking, McGrath | |||
| Langdon (knee) | Injuries | ||||
| nil | Reports | ||||
References
- Wright, Gerard (27 September 1992). "IT'S A VICTORIAN NIGHTMARE: THE FLAG'S GONE WEST". Sydney Morning Herald.
- Lovett, 2012, p. 914