2007 AFL Grand Final
The 2007 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 29 September 2007. It was the 111th annual grand final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League),[1] staged to determine the premiers for the 2007 AFL season. The match, attended by 97,302 spectators, was won by Geelong by a margin of 119 points, the biggest in VFL/AFL grand final history. The victory marked Geelong's seventh premiership win, and ended its 44-year premiership drought.
| 2007 AFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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 Players in action during the first quarter of the game. Geelong would hold the lead for all four quarters of the game. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 29 September 2007 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 97,302 | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Stephen McBurney (3), Shane McInerney (30), Scott McLaren (11) | |||||||||||||||
| Coin toss won by | Geelong | |||||||||||||||
| Kicked toward | City end | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | Natalie Bassingthwaighte, JET | |||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Natalie Bassingthwaighte | |||||||||||||||
| Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
| Norm Smith Medallist | Steve Johnson (Geelong) | |||||||||||||||
| Jock McHale Medallist | Mark Thompson (Geelong) | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Network Ten | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Anthony Hudson (Host) Tim Lane (Commentator) Michael Voss (Special Comments) Robert Walls (Special Comments) Malcolm Blight (Special Comments) Corey Wingard (boundary Rider) Andrew Maher (Boundary Rider) | |||||||||||||||
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Background
Geelong entered the season after finishing 10th in 2006. Geelong was the best performing side of the home and away season, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed Port Adelaide, with an 18–4 record and a percentage of 152.76, thus winning the McClelland Trophy. Geelong had lost only one game since Round 5: by five points to Port Adelaide at Skilled Stadium in Round 21 when Domenic Cassisi goaled with 3 seconds remaining. The grand final was Geelong's first appearance in a premiership decider since 1995 AFL Grand Final, where they lost to Carlton. Geelong defeated the Kangaroos in their qualifying final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 106 points, earning them a second week bye, before they met Collingwood in a preliminary final showdown at the MCG. Geelong won a tight contest with the Magpies by 5 points in front of a crowd of 98,002.
Port Adelaide, having finished 12th the previous season, rose 10 places to become 2nd on the ladder in 2007, with a 15–7 record and a percentage of 113.54. Port Adelaide had hosted reigning premiers West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium in their qualifying final, winning by three points after trailing all night. Having also earned a second week bye, they proceeded to the third week and hosted the Kangaroos in a preliminary final at AAMI Stadium, winning by 87 points. The 2007 AFL Grand Final was Port Adelaide's first since winning the 2004 Grand Final.
This was the first grand final fought between two teams that missed the finals the previous year since 1997.
Match summary
The Cats outscored the Port Adelaide Power 5.7 to 2.2 in the opening term, before kicking five goals in the first 12 minutes of the second quarter to build a 52-point lead. Geelong excelled in their defence – which had been the best in the competition all season – keeping the Power to their lowest score of the year. The backlines, led by Matthew Scarlett at fullback, repeatedly turned defence into attack, rushing the ball forward to support the forward line. Half-forwards Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson kicked four goals each and set up numerous others. Johnson was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for best-on-ground in the grand final after the Cats’ triumph. Chapman's day included a sensational high mark over Port Adelaide captain Warren Tredrea during the third quarter. Key forwards Cameron Mooney (five goals) and Nathan Ablett (three) also performed strongly. Power players Kane Cornes and Domenic Cassisi performed reasonably well against Geelong stars Jimmy Bartel and Gary Ablett, Jr. respectively; however, Geelong was still able to dominate the midfield with Joel Corey, James Kelly, Joel Selwood and Cameron Ling all making solid contributions and Brad Ottens and Steven King both performing strongly in the ruck.
The match ended with Geelong winning by the score of 24.19 (163) to 6.8 (44), recording the greatest winning margin in AFL grand final history, 119 points. This broke the previous record of 96 points set by Hawthorn against Melbourne in the 1988 VFL Grand Final; it was also, at the time, Port Adelaide's heaviest defeat in an AFL match (this record was surpassed in 2011). Geelong’s 417 disposals was also a grand final record. Meanwhile, Port Adelaide became the only finals side in history to have more handballs than kicks. Geelong scored 17.10 from Port Adelaide turnovers, while the Power scored just 1.2 from the Cats’.
The Cats’ win ended a 44-year premiership drought for the club. Their last flag had come in 1963, and since then the club had lost five grand finals. It was also the first premiership won by a team from Victoria since Essendon’s 2000 victory.
As of the 2018 season, this remains the last grand final appearance for Port Adelaide. It would in fact prove the last time the Power participated in the finals until 2013, whilst in the five intervening seasons Port Adelaide won just 34 and drew one of 110 matches for a success rate of 31.36 percent – the longest finals drought and worst five-season record in Port’s AFL history. They bottomed out at just three wins and ahead only of expansion club Gold Coast by percentage in 2011. In contrast, Geelong would finish all but two home-and-away seasons in the next decade in the top three, although they would not play a grand final after their 2011 premiership win. Between 2007 and 2014 the Cats would win 143 of 176 home-and-away matches for a success rate of 81.25 percent, a record unequalled in the 121 seasons of VFL/AFL history.
Scorecard
| Geelong vs Port Adelaide | ||||
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| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Final |
| Geelong | 5.7 (37) | 11.13 (79) | 18.17 (125) | 24.19 (163) |
| Port Adelaide | 2.2 (14) | 4.3 (27) | 5.5 (35) | 6.8 (44) |
| Venue: | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | |||
| Date: | 29 September 2007 – 2:30 pm AEST | |||
| Attendance: | 97,302 | |||
| Umpires: | Stephen McBurney (3), Shane McInerney (30), Scott McLaren (11) | |||
| Goal scorers: | Geelong | 5: Mooney 4: Chapman, S. Johnson 3: N. Ablett 2: Bartel 1: Ottens, Byrnes, G. Ablett, Rooke, Ling, Mackie. | ||
| Port Adelaide | 2: Tredrea, S. Burgoyne 1: C. Cornes, Logan. | |||
| Best: | Geelong | S. Johnson, Chapman, Scarlett, King, Ottens, Mooney, Corey, Enright, Bartel. | ||
| Port Adelaide | Tredrea, P. Burgoyne, K. Cornes. | |||
| Reports: | nil | |||
| Injuries: | nil | |||
| Coin toss winner: | Geelong | |||
| Norm Smith Medal: | Steve Johnson, Geelong | |||
| Australian television broadcaster: | Network Ten | |||
| National Anthem: | Natalie Bassingthwaighte | |||
Teams
      Geelong
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  Port Adelaide
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See also
- 2007 AFL season
- 2007 AFL Finals Series
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 AFL Grand Final. |
- In 1897 and 1924 there were no grand finals and instead the premier was decided by a finals play-off. In 1948 and 1977 there were grand final replays after initial draws.