1996 AFL premiership season
AFL Centenary logo
Teams	16
Premiers	North Melbourne 3rd premiership
Minor premiers	Sydney 7th minor premiership
Pre-season cup	St Kilda 1st pre-season cup win
Brownlow Medallist	James Hird(Essendon) Michael Voss(Brisbane Bears)
Coleman Medallist	Tony Lockett(Sydney)
Attendance
Matches played	185
Total attendance	5,694,921 (30,783 per match)
Highest	93,102(Grand Final,North Melbourne vs.Sydney)
← 1995 1997 →

The1996 AFL season was the 100th season of theAustralian Football League (AFL), the highest level seniorAustralian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixteen clubs and ran from 29 March until 28 September. It comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs, as well as several celebrations of the league's centenary.

The premiership was won by theNorth Melbourne Football Club for the third time, after it defeatedSydney by 43 points in the1996 AFL Grand Final.

In the1996 AFL Lightning Premiership final,Essendon defeated theBrisbane Bears 6.2 (38) to 2.9 (21) atWaverley Park.

In the1996 Ansett Australia Cup final,St Kilda defeatedCarlton 20.10 (130) to 10.12 (72) at Waverley Park.

Note: The opening four matches of this round replicated the opening round of the inaugural1897 VFL season, with Essendon and Geelong playing each other on the day of the 99th anniversary.

Note: Ben Hart took the mark of the year in Adelaide's win over St Kilda.
Note: Fitzroy's victory was the last win they had in the AFL before departing.

NOTE: St Kilda vs Essendon match on Saturday night was disrupted by a power failure during the third quarter, resulting the match being completed the following week on the Tuesday night with 2 12-minutes halves.

Note: Last game of Fitzroy Lions before merger with Brisbane Bears to become Brisbane Lions.

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 94.0
Source:AFL Tables

• TheBrownlow Medal was awarded toMichael Voss ofBrisbane Bears andJames Hird ofEssendon.
• TheLeigh Matthews Trophy was awarded toCorey McKernan ofNorth Melbourne.
• TheColeman Medal was awarded toTony Lockett ofSydney.
• TheNorm Smith Medal was awarded toGlenn Archer ofNorth Melbourne.
• TheAFL Rising Star award was awarded toBen Cousins ofWest Coast.
• TheWooden Spoon was "awarded" toFitzroy in their final season before the club merged with theBrisbane Bears.
• The reserves premiership was won byNorth Melbourne
• The seniors premiership was won byNorth Melbourne

• North Melbourne'sCorey McKernan received the same number ofBrownlow Medal votes as the joint-winners James Hird and Michael Voss, but was ineligible to receive a medal as McKernan was suspended for one match during the season for kneeing. McKernan went on to win theAFL Players Association MVP, which is not subject to the same eligibility criteria.
• The Round 10 game betweenSt Kilda andEssendon was interrupted at the twenty-minute mark of the third quarter whenWaverley Park lost power, causing the floodlights to go off. The remaining 24 minutes was played three nights later on Tuesday, 11 June.^[1]
  • Subsequently, the AFL introduced contingencies that a game could be abandoned, with the progress result accepted as final at any point beyond half time, at the agreement of the captains when (a) any unexpected incident delays a game by an hour, or (b) if dangerous weather conditions, most typically lightning, prevail.
• Footscray's 1996 season became the subject of the sports film,Year of the Dogs, which was released theatrically the following year.
  • After their round 17 loss to Collingwood, caretaker coachTerry Wallace infamously sprayed the players during his post-match address.^[2]
• North Melbourne received a special gold-coloured premiership cup, instead of the typical silver, to signify what the AFL had represented as its Centenary Season throughout 1996. (Note: 1996 was the VFL/AFL'shundredth season, which by strictest definition is not the same as the centenary year, which would have been in 1997).
• Sydney recorded its first finals win since 1945 in the qualifying final against Hawthorn, and reached its first grand final since the same season (as South Melbourne).
• The season is perhaps best remembered for its preliminary final between minor premiersSydney and sixth-placedEssendon. With scores level on 10.9 (69), Sydney'sTony Lockett scored a behind with a kick after the siren to win the game, and sent the Swans into their first Grand Final since 1945.
  • Lockett had been under an injury cloud with a groin problem during the preceding week, and there was some doubt whether he would play.

• 1996 AFL season at AFL Tables
• 1996 AFL season at Australian Football

• 1996 Australian Football League season
• Australian Football League seasons
• 1996 in Australian rules football

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