| 1994 AFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 1 October 1994 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 93,860 | |||||||||||||||
| Favourite | West Coast | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | David Howlett,Denis Rich,Bryan Sheehan | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | The Seekers and Debra Byrne | |||||||||||||||
| Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
| Norm Smith Medallist | Dean Kemp (West Coast) | |||||||||||||||
| Jock McHale Medallist | Mick Malthouse | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Seven Network | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Bruce McAvaney (host and commentator) Dennis Cometti (commentator) Gerard Healy (expert commentator) Robert Dipierdomenico (boundary rider) Neil Kerley (boundary rider) | |||||||||||||||
The1994 AFL Grand Final was anAustralian rules football game contested between theGeelong Football Club andWest Coast Eagles, held at theMelbourne Cricket Ground inMelbourne on 1 October 1994. It was the 98th annualgrand final of theAustralian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League), staged to determine thepremiers for the1994 AFL season. The match, attended by 93,860 spectators, was won by West Coast by a margin of 80 points.
Geelong was looking for its first premiership since winning the1963 VFL Grand Final and West Coast was attempting to repeat its success in the1992 AFL Grand Final, when it had defeated Geelong by a margin of 28 points, becoming the first non-Victorian team to win theAFL premiership.
At the conclusion of thehome and away season, West Coast had finished first on the AFL ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses, winning theMcClelland Trophy. Geelong had finished fourth (behindCarlton andNorth Melbourne) with 13 wins and 9 losses.
During the lead-up to the game, West Coast were the strong favourites to win. Geelong had won through to the decider after winning three tough finals, including two dramatic after-the-siren wins overFootscray and North Melbourne. West Coast had a relatively smooth run into the grand final, beatingCollingwood in a qualifying final to earn a week's rest, before easily accounting forMelbourne in a preliminary final.
It was an entertaining first quarter, which sawWest Coast stamp its authority early by bursting out of the blocks, before some stirring football byGeelong towards the end of the quarter (including a great long goal fromAndrew Wills) saw the Cats lead by a point at quarter time.From then on, though, West Coast started taking control. With Geelong's champion full-forwardGary Ablett well held and star Geelong midfielderGarry Hocking injuring his thigh (yet remaining on the ground), the Cats were in trouble as West Coast began to dominate general play.Billy Brownless took one of the great grand final marks halfway through the 2nd quarter and goaled, but it was the only highlight for the Cats in the term as the Eagles booted 4 of their own to lead by 23 points at half time.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Coast | 4.3 | 8.12 | 12.18 | 20.23 | 20.23 (143) |
| Geelong | 4.4 | 5.7 | 7.12 | 8.15 | 8.15 (63) |
Even though they led well from quarter time onwards, the Eagles could not convert their dominant play onto the scoreboard, with a constant margin of 4-5 goals seemingly keeping the game in the balance for much of the 3rd quarter. But the last term was all the Eagles, as they stormed home and steamrolled the Cats, kicking 8 final quarter goals to 1, winning the match by 80 points, with 20.23 (143) being the Eagles' highest score of the year.
TheNorm Smith Medal was awarded to West Coast'sDean Kemp for being judged the best player afield, with 23 disposals and 2 goals.
It was West Coast's second premiership in three years, and Geelong's third grand final appearance without success in six years.
Cats coachMalcolm Blight quit after the team's third grand final loss in six years. His next two grand finals as a coach came in1997 and1998 and both would be premierships withAdelaide againstSt Kilda andNorth Melbourne.
West Coast's next success in a grand final came twelve years later, when it won the2006 AFL Grand Final against theSydney Swans. It would take until 2007 for Geelong to finally win its firstAFL Premiership since 1963, when they defeatedPort Adelaide in the2007 AFL Grand Final.
      West Coast |    Geelong |
| 1994 AFL Grand Final | |||||
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| Saturday 1 October 1994 2:30pm | West Coast | def. | Geelong | MCG (crowd: 93,860) | Report |
| 4.3 (27) 8.12 (60) 12.18 (90) 20.23 (143) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 4.4 (28) 5.7 (37) 7.12 (54) 8.15 (63) | Umpires:Howlett,Rich,Sheehan Norm Smith Medal:Dean Kemp Television broadcast:Channel Seven | ||
| Evans 3 Ball,Bond,Heady,Kemp,Chris Lewis,Sumich,Waterman,Wilson 2 Banfield 1 | Goals | 4Brownless 1Ablett,Couch,Riccardi,Wills | |||
| Kemp,Jakovich,Pyke,McKenna,Brennan,Evans | Best | Mansfield,O'Reilly,Brownless,Riccardi,Couch,Handley | |||
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