| 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Adelaide Oval, venue for the 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final, as seen in 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 17 April 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Adelaide Oval | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 22,934 | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Nicholas McGinness, Michael Pell, Nathan Toner | |||||||||||||||
| Coin toss won by | Brisbane | |||||||||||||||
| Kicked toward | Hill end | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Chloe Bremner | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Seven Network | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Jason Bennett, Nigel Carmody,Abbey Holmes,Mark Soderstrom,Sam Lane | |||||||||||||||
The2021 AFL Women's Grand Final was anAustralian rules football match held at theAdelaide Oval on 17 April to determine thepremiers of thefifth season of theAFL Women's (AFLW) competition.[1] The match was contested by theAdelaide Crows andBrisbane Lions. It was the second grand final between the two clubs after the2017 Grand Final which was won by Adelaide. Both clubs were appearing in their third grand final, following Adelaide's premierships in 2017 and2019, and Brisbane's losses in the 2017 and2018 grand finals.[2]
The match was won by Brisbane, who defeated Adelaide by 18 points and claimed their first senior women's premiership.[3] It was the first AFLW grand final since2019, as there was no grand final match staged during the2020 season following the cancellation of the latter stage of the season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[4]
Adelaide and Brisbane entered the 2021 season after disappointing performances in theprevious season. Adelaide failed to qualify for the finals series, which was expanded to eight clubs and brought two weeks forward during the early stages of theCOVID-19 pandemic, before ultimately being abandoned after the first week of matches.[5] Brisbane did qualify for the series, though were eliminated in the opening week of semi-finals following a comprehensive defeat toCarlton.[6] Despite their relatively poor finishes in 2020, both clubs were rated strong chances to compete for the AFLW premiership in 2021.[7][8] This season marked the return of the traditional single ladder to rank the fourteen teams, after the previous two seasons were formatted via conferences.[9]
Adelaide finished the home-and-away season in 2021 with seven wins and two losses and claimed theminor premiership on percentage over three other teams.[10] Due to finishing inside the top two on the ladder, the Crows earned the week off from the qualifying finals and proceeded direct to a home preliminary final at theAdelaide Oval againstMelbourne. Against an inaccurate Melbourne side, Adelaide led comfortably after the mid-way point of the match and finished 18-point winners over the Demons.[11] The victory was soured by aconcussion sustained by Adelaide captainChelsea Randall in the first quarter of the match. Under the AFL's concussion protocols, any player ruled out of a match with concussion was required to not play for a further 12 days, meaning Randall was not eligible to play in the grand final.[12]
Like Adelaide, Brisbane entered the 2021 finals series with a record of seven wins and two losses. They finished the home-and-away season in second position, beneath Adelaide but ahead ofCollingwood and Melbourne on percentage.[13] The Lions thus earned a home preliminary final atthe Gabba, which was held against Collingwood after the Magpies defeatedNorth Melbourne in the qualifying final. The match was a see-sawing and very close contest, with the margin never exceeding more than two-and-a-halfgoals. Collingwood kicked the first two goals and led at quarter time, before the Lions responded with goals of their own to lead at half time. Trailing by two points at the end of the third quarter, Brisbane opened up a 10-point lead with two goals in quick succession in the last quarter. Collingwood scored a goal with under half-a-minute remaining in the match, but Brisbane held on for a narrow victory and qualified for their third AFL Women's grand final.[14] Brisbane forwardDakota Davidson was the most influential player in the game, kicking three goals, which included one in the last quarter.[14]
On 7 April 2021, shortly after the finals series commenced, the AFL announced that the grand final would be held on 17 April. It also revealed the three potential venues it had booked to host it:Adelaide Oval, theGabba and theMelbourne Cricket Ground. The ultimate venue would be determined by the results of the preliminary finals.[15] Following Adelaide's 18-point win overMelbourne in the first preliminary final, the Crows qualified for a home grand final at the Adelaide Oval.[1] It was the oval's second AFLW grand final, after hosting a sell-out crowd of more than 53,000 people for the Adelaide-Carlton grand final in 2019.[16] The match commenced at 1:30 pm local time in Adelaide, which was 2:00 pmAustralian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).[17] Tickets were priced at $10 for adults and free entry for children aged under 18, making it the first AFL Women's grand final to not allow free entry for all spectators.[17][18] The stadium capacity of the Adelaide Oval was capped at 40,000, roughly 75% of its usual capacity,[19] due to theCOVID-19 safety protocols imposed by theSouth Australian government.[20]
Australianindie-pop artistG Flip was booked by the AFL to perform the pre-match musical entertainment.[21][22][23] Actress and musical theatre graduate Chloe Bremner sang the national anthem.[24]
This grand final was the first to feature a sprint running race between several of the league's footballers not competing in the match. The tradition of agrand final sprint commenced in the1979 VFL Grand Final, and has been staged annually in the men's competition since that occasion.[25]Ruby Svarc of the Brisbane Lions won the sprint.[26]
The match was broadcast by theSeven Network and simulcast onFoxtel,Kayo Sports, the afl.com.au and women's.afl websites, and on the AFL and AFLWapps.[27] It was also available on radio nationally viaABC Radio Grandstand.[20]
The two teams were announced on 16 April 2021. The only change in either side was the forced removal of Adelaide captainChelsea Randall, who suffered concussion in the preliminary final and was required to not play for 12 days. She was replaced by2019 premiership playerAilish Considine,[28] who was playing her fourth senior game for the year and had herself been effected by concussion earlier in the season.[29]Ange Foley was appointed captain for the grand final in Randall's absence.[28] The Lions team was unchanged from their preliminary final win against Collingwood.[28] The three field umpires for the match were Nicholas McGinness, Michael Pell and Nathan Toner.[24]
The Lions scored with an opening goal, with Courtney Hodder kicking a snap shot from the pocket despite being sandwiched between Adelaide defenders Najwa Allen and Marijana Rajcic. The Lions' Cathy Svarc had the job of tagging the Crows' Ebony Marinoff, and managed to keep her to four disposals in the first quarter. The Lions as a team exerted great tacking pressing, running up 16 tackles to the Crows' 7 for the quarter.[30] Marinoff would finish the day with just 16 possessions.[31] The Lions defence came under great pressure. Stevie-Lee Thompson managed to score an equalising goal. To do so she had to gather a loose ball, break through a tackle and bounce one through.[30][32]
An early goal in the second quarter by Danielle Ponter with an assist by Eloise Jones briefly gave Adelaide the lead, but Hodder hit back with an extraordinary goal from a tight angle in the pocket while cornered by defenders. Brisbane managed to keep Erin Phillips quiet as well, with only four possessions in the first half, but she had a shot at goal that missed, scoring abehind.[30] With only seconds to go in the first half, Jess Wuetschner managed to kick another goal from long range.[33] The Brisbane back line, consisting of Kate Lutkins, Breanna Koenen and Shannon Campbell, were superb in defence, holding up under enormous pressure.[34] Although Adelaide had 21 inside-50s in the first half, they could not capitalise, and managed only two goals in the first half. In contrast, Brisbane kicked three from just ten entries to lead by five points at half time.[33]
Both teams lost their captains in the third quarter. Emma Zielke suffered a hamstring injury early in the third quarter, leaving her on the bench in tears.[33] She would announce her retirement after the game.[35] Moments later, Ange Foley also went down, injuring her knee in an awkward fall. Brisbane's lead was extended when Wuetschner kicked a second goal from 50 metres out that bounced through.[30][33][32] Things started to look grim for the Crows when Lauren Arnell managed to get her toe on along bomb from Cathy Svarc just soon enough to score another major.[34] Like Zielke, Arnell had been playing since the competition began in 2017, and would retire after the game.[35] Isabel Dawes scored one more goal for the Lions before the siren, leaving Brisbane with a 22-point lead at the final change.[34]
At three quarter time, with Foley out of action, the Crows turned to their old captain, Chelsea Randall. Not being a player, she could not go on to the field, so the team gathered around her on the sideline.[34] The final quarter opened as they hoped, with Eloise Jones taking a mark for a shot at goal, then being given a 50-metre penalty that made it a certainty. However, the Lions' defence continued to hold up, and the Crows were unable to score another, leaving Brisbane the winners.[33]
Brisbane defender Kate Lutkins was awarded the medal for thebest player on the ground. She finished with 18 disposals, seven of them contested, and had ten rebound 50s.[36][37] She played in pain, and was scheduled to have surgery on both feet, having torn theplantar fascia in her left foot during round eight.[34][36]
| Position | Player | Club | Total votes | Vote summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (winner) | Kate Lutkins | Brisbane Lions | 12 | 3, 3, 3, 3 |
| 2nd | Ally Anderson | Brisbane Lions | 9 | 3, 2, 2, 2 |
| 3rd | Emily Bates | Brisbane Lions | 5 | 2, 1, 1, 1 |
| 4th - tied | Breanna Koenen | Brisbane Lions | 2 | 2 |
| 4th - tied | Stevie-Lee Thompson | Adelaide Crows | 2 | 1, 1 |
| Voter | 3 Votes | 2 Votes | 1 Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Vanderloo (chair) | Kate Lutkins | Ally Anderson | Emily Bates |
| Sarah Black | Kate Lutkins | Ally Anderson | Stevie-Lee Thompson |
| Courtney Cramey | Ally Anderson | Emily Bates | Stevie-Lee Thompson |
| Chyloe Kurdas | Kate Lutkins | Breanna Koenen | Emily Bates |
| Debbie Lee | Kate Lutkins | Ally Anderson | Emily Bates |
| 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 17 April (1:30 p.m.) | Adelaide | def. by | Brisbane | Adelaide Oval (crowd: 22,934) | [39][40][3] |
| 1.0 (6) 2.1 (13) 2.2 (14) 3.2 (20) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 1.0 (6) 3.0 (18) 6.0 (36) 6.2 (38) | Umpires: McGinness, Pell, Toner Best on ground:Kate Lutkins Television broadcast:Seven Network National anthem: Chloe Bremner | ||
| Ponter,Thompson,Jones1 | Goals | 2Hodder,Wuetschner 1Arnell,Dawes | |||
| Thompson,Hatchard,Considine,Marinoff,Allan | Best | Lutkins,Anderson,C Svarc,Koenen,Bates,O'Dwyer | |||
| Foley (knee) | Injuries | Zielke (hamstring) | |||
