2024 AFL Grand Final

2024 AFL Grand Final
Sydney Swans Brisbane Lions 9.6 (60) 18.12 (120)
1 2 3 4 SYD 3.1 (19) 4.3 (27) 5.4 (34) 9.6 (60) BL 4.3 (27) 11.7 (73) 16.11 (107) 18.12 (120)
Date	28 September 2024
Stadium	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Attendance	100,013
Favourite	Sydney
Umpires	Matt Stevic, Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer, Nick Foot
Coin toss won by	Brisbane Lions
Kicked toward	Punt Road
Ceremonies
Pre-match entertainment	Katy Perry, Tina Arena & Mike Brady
National anthem	Cody Simpson
Accolades
Norm Smith Medallist	Will Ashcroft
Jock McHale Medallist	Chris Fagan
Broadcast in Australia
Network	Seven Network
← 2023 AFL Grand Final 2025 →

The 2024 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match that was contested between the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, 28 September 2024.^[1][2] It was the 129th annual grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL), staged to determine the premiers of the 2024 AFL season. The match was attended by 100,013 spectators, a record for an AFL match between two non-Victorian teams. The match was won by Brisbane by a margin of 60 points, marking the club's fourth AFL premiership.^[3] Will Ashcroft of the Lions was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground.^[4]

Sydney came into the 2024 season after a six-point 2023 elimination final loss to Carlton. They dominated the start of the season, at one stage having a win–loss record of 13–1. Although becoming somewhat less dominant in the second half of the year (which included a 112-point loss to Port Adelaide in round 21), they ultimately finished on top of the ladder in 2024 with a 17–6 win–loss record to claim the minor premiership.^[5] They defeated Greater Western Sydney by six points in the first qualifying final to progress to a preliminary final in which they defeated Port Adelaide by 36 points. Sydney's last grand final appearance was the 2022 AFL Grand Final, which they lost to Geelong by 81 points.^[6]

Brisbane came into the 2024 season after a grand final loss to Collingwood by four points in 2023. They struggled early, sitting with a win–loss record of 2–5 after seven games, before a strong second half to the year which saw them qualify for the finals with a 14–8–1 record, finishing fifth on the ladder.^[7] They beat Carlton by 28 points in the first elimination final to advance to the semi-finals,^[8] in which they came back from a 44-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat Greater Western Sydney by five points.^[9] In their preliminary final, they came back from a 25-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat Geelong by 10 points to advance to the grand final.^[10]

Sydney were aiming to win its sixth premiership, and its first since 2012, having lost its last three grand finals in 2014, 2016 and 2022. Brisbane were aiming to win its fourth premiership, and its first since winning three in a row in 2001, 2002 and 2003.^[11] It was the first grand final meeting between Sydney and Brisbane, though South Melbourne (who relocated to Sydney in 1982) and Fitzroy (who merged their AFL operations with Brisbane in 1996 to become the Brisbane Lions) did meet in the 1899 VFL Grand Final, which saw the latter prevail by one point. It was the first grand final since 2006 in which both teams competing are from outside of Victoria, and the first ever between two teams from states traditionally dominated by rugby league.^[12]

In the 2024 home-and-away season, the two sides met once, in which Brisbane 11.13 (79) defeated Sydney 11.11 (77) during round 19 at the Gabba. Sydney was the favourite among bookmakers, with odds of $1.73 for the win against Brisbane's $2.10.^[13]

The 2024 Grand Final was the first in which the Ron Barassi Medal was to be awarded. The new award, named in honour of ten-time premiership player and coach Ron Barassi, Jr, was to be awarded to the captain or co-captains of the winning team.^[14]

The opening term was a tight, contested affair. No goals were scored by either team in the first ten minutes, until Will Hayward kicked the first for Sydney. A Tom Papley goal followed soon after, before Brisbane kicked two quick goals from Kai Lohmann to take a lead they did not relinquish for the remainder of the match. Three more goals followed, with Hugh McCluggage kicking a goal for the Lions at the 23-minute mark followed by goals from Sydney’s James Rowbottom and Brisbane’s Charlie Cameron in the final four minutes of the quarter. The Lions took an eight-point lead at the quarter time.^[15]

The Lions broke away from the Swans in the second quarter. Across the first 15 minutes, both sides scored a goal apiece; Brisbane had the majority of scores during this time, but they converted poorly, scoring 1.4 to only lead by 11 at the 15-minute mark. However, a Joe Daniher goal midway through the quarter saw the Lions begin to receive proper reward for their control around the contest. Brisbane ended the quarter with six consecutive goals in a 13-minute run, including a goal by Eric Hipwood, whose forward-flank goal and post-goal celebration mimicked a memorable Jason Akermanis goal and subsequent celebration from a game in 2005.^[16] At half time, Brisbane held a commanding 46-point lead.

Callum Ah Chee kicked a goal at the eight-minute mark to increase the Lions’ lead, and although an Isaac Heeney goal for the Swans at the 12-minute mark temporarily reduced the margin, the Lions continued to dominate for the rest of the quarter. Four more goals for Brisbane from Will Ashcroft, Cameron Rayner, Logan Morris and Ah Chee, who ensured the three-quarter time margin was an unassailable 73 points.^[17]

With Brisbane’s premiership victory assured, the final quarter was played at a more gentle pace. The Swans kicked four consolation goals, three coming from veteran Luke Parker and the other coming from Chad Warner. Brisbane kicked two final-quarter goals from Lohmann at the 17th minute and Daniher in the final minutes, finishing a 60-point victory to exactly double Sydney's score (120–60).^[18][19][20]

At approximately 1:40pm, US pop star Katy Perry performed on-stage as the pre-game entertainment, singing "Roar", "Dark Horse", "Gorgeous", "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "I Kissed a Girl" (with Tina Arena), "Chains" (with Tina Arena), "Lifetimes", and "Firework".^[21][22] The pre-game entertainment was supported by 4× ARIA Award winner Christine Anu with her daughter Zipporah Corser-Anu for the First Nations Ceremony alongside the Songlines Youth Choir, and singer Mike Brady performed "Up There Cazaly".^[22] The national anthem was performed by Australian singer, actor and athlete Cody Simpson.^[23] The 17-minute set from Perry featured a surprise appearance from Tina Arena, with the pair performing the Arena's hit song Chains and Perry's song I Kissed A Girl. The performance was greeted with reasonably positive reviews.^[24][25]

Scheduled on-field events^[26]

Time	Event
9:35 am	AFL Grand Final curtain-raiser: AFL Futures Match
12:38 pm	AFL Grand Final Sprint heats
1:30 pm	AFL Grand Final motorcade
1:33 pm	Mike Brady performs "Up There Cazaly"
1:40 pm	Katy Perry performs
2:13 pm	Teams enter the ground
2:24 pm	Delivery of the premiership cup by Josh J. Kennedy
2:25 pm	Welcome to Country—Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Colin Hunter Jr.
2:26 pm	The Australian National Anthem performed by Cody Simpson
2:30 pm	Game starts
Half time	AFL Grand Final Sprint final
Post game	Post game presentation

All times are in Australian Eastern Standard Time (GMT +10)

2018 premiership player and former West Coast Eagles forward Josh Kennedy was the AFL premiership cup ambassador; he delivered the cup to Brisbane's premiership cup ambassador, Leigh Matthews, who coached the club to its three-peat from 2001 to 2003. Sydney had nominated a former club captain and 200-game player with the Swans, Stuart Maxfield. Four-time premiership coach David Parkin presented the Jock McHale Medal, and 1963 Geelong premiership captain Fred Wooller presented the inaugural Ron Barassi Medal.^[27]

Brisbane Lions midfielder Will Ashcroft at 20 was the youngest medalist since inaugural winner Carlton's Wayne Harmes in 1979, scoring 14 out of a maximum 15 votes.^[28] Ashcroft, son of triple-premiership-winning Brisbane player Marcus Ashcroft, had 30 disposals, 11 score involvements and one goal. Lachie Neale finished second, with 35 disposals, including 18 contested, at 86% efficiency.^[29]

The medal was presented by three-time Geelong premiership player and 2007 winner Steve Johnson.

	Player	Club	Votes
1st	Will Ashcroft	Brisbane Lions	14
2nd	Lachie Neale	Brisbane Lions	8
3rd	Callum Ah Chee	Brisbane Lions	7
4th	Kai Lohmann	Brisbane Lions	1

2024 Norm Smith Medal Voting Panel
Voting Panellist	3 Votes	2 Votes	1 Vote
Jack Riewoldt (Chair, Fox Footy)	Will Ashcroft (BL)	Callum Ah Chee (BL)	Lachie Neale (BL)
Riley Beveridge (AFL.com.au)	Lachie Neale (BL)	Will Ashcroft (BL)	Callum Ah Chee (BL)
Shaun Burgoyne (Channel 7)	Will Ashcroft (BL)	Lachie Neale (BL)	Callum Ah Chee (BL)
Anna Harrington (AAP)	Will Ashcroft (BL)	Lachie Neale (BL)	Callum Ah Chee (BL)
Rory Sloane (2024 Retiree)	Will Ashcroft (BL)	Callum Ah Chee (BL)	Kai Lohmann (BL)

The teams were announced on Thursday, 26 September. Sydney made no changes to its preliminary final 23. Sydney captain Callum Mills was ruled out on Wednesday, 25 September, despite getting through training. Forward Logan McDonald was named to play despite an ankle injury suffered in his side's preliminary final win over Port Adelaide.^[30] Brisbane made one change to its preliminary final 23: ruckman Oscar McInerney was ruled out after twice dislocating his shoulder in the preliminary final, and he was replaced by Darcy Fort.^[31]

At age 63, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan became the oldest coach to win a grand final^[32] and the third not to have played in the VFL/AFL.^[33] If the VFA is included, however, Fagan is the first and only.^[33]

Sydney

Brisbane

Sydney B: 24 Dane Rampe (c) 30 Tom McCartin 22 Nick Blakey HB: 44 Jake Lloyd 7 Harry Cunningham 43 Lewis Melican C: 17 James Jordon 1 Chad Warner 13 Oliver Florent HF: 26 Luke Parker 6 Logan McDonald 21 Errol Gulden F: 11 Tom Papley 36 Joel Amartey 9 Will Hayward Foll: 4 Brodie Grundy 5 Isaac Heeney 8 James Rowbottom Int: 34 Matthew Roberts 42 Robbie Fox 27 Justin McInerney 2 Hayden McLean 16 Braeden Campbell (sub) Coach: John Longmire

Brisbane Lions B: 15 Dayne Zorko 31 Harris Andrews (c) 43 Noah Answerth HB: 44 Darcy Wilmot 40 Jack Payne 35 Ryan Lester C: 28 Jaspa Fletcher 8 Will Ashcroft 6 Hugh McCluggage HF: 23 Charlie Cameron 3 Joe Daniher 7 Jarrod Berry F: 16 Cameron Rayner 30 Eric Hipwood 33 Zac Bailey Foll: 32 Darcy Fort 5 Josh Dunkley 9 Lachie Neale (c) Int: 1 Kai Lohmann 4 Callum Ah Chee 13 Logan Morris 37 Brandon Starcevich 26 Conor McKenna (sub) Coach: Chris Fagan

The umpiring panel, comprising four field umpires, four boundary umpires, two goal umpires and an emergency in each position, was announced on Wednesday, 25 September.

2024 AFL Grand Final umpiring panel^[34]

Position						Emergency
Field	2 Nick Foot (1)	9 Matt Stevic (12)	21 Simon Meredith (9)	26 Craig Fleer (2)		12 Andrew Stephens
Boundary	Matthew Tomkins (6)	Matthew Konetschka (6)	Michael Barlow (3)	Daniel Field-Read (1)		Damien Main
Goal	Matthew Dervan (3)	Sam Walsh (2)				Steven Piperno

Numbers in brackets represent the number of grand finals umpired, including 2024.

	Grand final
28 September (2:30 pm)	Sydney	def. by	Brisbane Lions	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 100,013)	Report
	3.1 (19) 4.3 (27) 5.4 (34) 9.6 (60)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	4.3 (27) 11.7 (73) 16.11 (107) 18.12 (120)	Umpires: Craig Fleer, Nick Foot, Simon Meredith, Matt Stevic[35] National anthem: Cody Simpson[36]
Parker 3, Fox, Hayward, Heeney, Papley, Rowbottom, Warner		Goals	Ah Chee 4, Lohmann 4, Daniher 2, Morris 2, Ashcroft, Berry, Cameron, Hipwood, McCluggage, Rayner
Rowbottom, Florent, Fox, Gulden, Parker		Best	Neale, Ashcroft, Lohmann, Ah Chee, Daniher, McCluggage

Seven's coverage, simulcast on streaming service 7+, began at 9 am AEST with the Grand Final Brunch, hosted by Rebecca Maddern, followed by the Grand Final Countdown from 10:30 am with Luke Darcy. Pre-match coverage began from 12 pm with Hamish McLachlan and Bruce McAvaney hosting. The match was commentated by James Brayshaw, Brian Taylor, Luke Hodge, Matthew Richardson, Abbey Holmes and Dale Thomas. This was the final match before the new AFL television broadcast deal begins, allowing all matches on the network to be streamed via 7+.^[37]

Fox Footy's coverage, simulcast on Kayo Sports, began at 9 am with the annual North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast from the Plenary Hall at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Fox Footy televised its own Grand Final Day coverage from the AFL Fan Festival in Yarra Park with their own talent, which, for the first time since 2020, did not include the annual Fox Footy Longest Kick due to a revitalisation project at Birrarung Marr on the banks of the Yarra River.^[38] Due to Seven's exclusive rights to the live broadcast, Fox Footy's coverage went dormant during the game, instead showing a full replay of Seven's match coverage broadcast at 6 pm AEST.^[39]

Radio broadcasters^[40]

Station	Region	Callers	Special Comments	Boundary Riders
Triple M	National	Mark Howard, Luke Darcy[i]	Jason Dunstall, Nathan Brown, Ash Chua (statistician)	Michael Roberts
ABC Radio	National	Corbin Middlemas, Clint Wheeldon	Mick Malthouse, Cameron Ling, Brett Deledio	Kelli Underwood
AFL Nation	National	Andy Maher, Matt Hill	Dermott Brereton, Brad Johnson	Matthew Cocks
NIRS	National	Barry Denner, Peter Cardamone	Darryl White, Robbie Ahmat	Sam Duncan
3AW FiveAA	Melbourne, VIC Adelaide, SA	Anthony Hudson, Tim Lane	Matthew Lloyd, Jimmy Bartel	Jacqui Reed
SEN	Melbourne, VIC	Gerard Whateley, Dwayne Russell	Gerard Healy, Kane Cornes	Sam Edmund
K Rock	Geelong, VIC	Tom King, Ben Casanelia	Mark Neeld, Troy Selwood	Jason Doherty
6PR	Perth, WA	Adam Papalia, Karl Langdon	Brad Hardie, Mark Stone	Mark Foreman

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