Greatest Finals Wins of All Time

[JRyan23]

With the 2018 finals series only a short time away I was thinking what are some of the greatest wins in finals. West Coast's Prelim win in Adelaide in 2006 after being 5 goals down at HT is the best for me. The game was also one of the greatest finals of all time with legends such as Goodwin, Judd, Cousins, Kerr, McLeod, Edwards, Cox and Embley all playing. What are some of yours?

 

[RAPPA]

I'm bias. For me, Carlton's '99 preliminary final win against essendon was magnificent. We were the heavy underdogs and it was essendon's game to lose as they were set to start a dynasty. There were lead changes, it was decided by the smallest of margins, Kouta put on a fantastic final quarter effort and Fraser Brown's match winning tackle was indescribable. The grand final itself was disappointing but somehow the PF final was gratifying enough (probably because it was against an arch rival).

 

[moses]

With the 2018 finals series only a short time away I was thinking what are some of the greatest wins in finals. West Coast's Prelim win in Adelaide in 2006 after being 5 goals down at HT is the best for me. The game was also one of the greatest finals of all time with legends such as Goodwin, Judd, Cousins, Kerr, McLeod, Edwards, Cox and Embley all playing. What are some of yours?

Heartbreaking that loss.

 

[Gydafud]

Pretty much the entire Bulldogs finals run of 2016. They were all unfavourable situations (Eagles in Perth, Hawks at the MCG, Giants at Spotless, 1st GF in 50+ years) but they got it done.

Pure definition of "up against it"

 

[Righteo]

Nobody gave us a chance



Being the first and only final played there (so far) made it even more special and it led to our first ever GF appearance.

 

[Baird]

This is one of my favourite finals matches. 2 traditional victorian teams playing on the MCG in front of 95,000 on a perfect day. And the match itself was awesome with Carlton coming back from 6 goals to win

 

[brutus76]

2000 Qualifying or 1984 Prelim.

Never get bored of it. Never.

 

[Bradesmaen]

This is one of my favourite finals matches. 2 traditional victorian teams playing on the MCG in front of 95,000 on a perfect day. And the match itself was awesome with Carlton coming back from 6 goals to win

Carlton played finals? Lies.

1993 Prelim obviously strikes me as a great final win for the bombers.

 

[Xtreme]

What a game, the Woods and Maxfield goals were top shelf


And have a look at this little beauty



Buddy's Swans vs his old team who just happened to be defending premiers. Not many rated Hawthorn as a decent chance as Sydney had a team full of stars that would surely triumph against a Hawthorn outfit that was not that good.

The script was flipped on it's head on grand final day. The most systematic destruction of an opposition side, in the grand final - the most important game of the year. #thatswhatimtalkingabout

 

[JRyan23]

Heartbreaking that loss.

Injuries killed you. No Ricciuto, Hart or Hentschel really hurt, and then the fact that Bighlands did his knee meaning Clarke was up against Cox and Seaby destroyed you. That Adelaide team of 2005-07 deserved a GF at least, let alone a flag

 

[chunkylover53]

Carlton played finals? Lies.

1993 Prelim obviously strikes me as a great final win for the bombers.

Yeah mate, finished 9th and beat 5th in the elimination. Had never been done before and will never be done again.

 

[JRyan23]

Also this win by the Swans over the Power who finished three games clear on top and on their home deck, is a very underrated finals upset win

 

[Gavin Excell]

I'm bias. For me, Carlton's '99 preliminary final win against essendon was magnificent. We were the heavy underdogs and it was essendon's game to lose as they were set to start a dynasty. There were lead changes, it was decided by the smallest of margins, Kouta put on a fantastic final quarter effort and Fraser Brown's match winning tackle was indescribable. The grand final itself was disappointing but somehow the PF final was gratifying enough (probably because it was against an arch rival).

No

You are categorically not "bias"

 

[James Colorado]

The 2013 prelim.

The heartbreak of 2012 prompted a H&A season that had only three losses, two of them to the team we had not been able to beat in almost five years. Geelong had a decent lead at 3/4 time, and it looked like it'd be more heartbreak for the Hawks.

Some Mitchell and Burgoyne magic, together with a missed shot by Varcoe, and the King Kong-sized monkey wearing blue & white hoops was off our back, and we were on our way to a 3-peat.

If the result had gone the other way, who knows? Clarko may have decided the list had gone as far as it could, and gone the rebuild, Geelong could have joined us on the 10 premierships we may have been stuck on (or Freo won their first), and even Kennett's views on individuals occupying positions for too long may have been acted upon, and Alastair Clarkson remembered as the byline for an opinion piece in the sports section of a tabloid rather than an all-time coaching great.

 

[SuperSub17]

2002 QF against Port is probably my favourite. We were an honest team of hard-workers - they’d won 18 of 20 heading in, including 11 in a row at home, while we were without Buckley and on the back of a horrible run of form. We were paying something like $5, happy to be corrected but I don’t remember many other recent finals considered that one-sided (let alone the outsider actually winning).

 

[RAPPA]

No

You are categorically not "bias"

My name could be bias. But yes, autocorrect on the phone had the word revert to "bias", as opposed to "biased"

 

[SloppyJoe]

With the 2018 finals series only a short time away I was thinking what are some of the greatest wins in finals. West Coast's Prelim win in Adelaide in 2006 after being 5 goals down at HT is the best for me. The game was also one of the greatest finals of all time with legends such as Goodwin, Judd, Cousins, Kerr, McLeod, Edwards, Cox and Embley all playing. What are some of yours?

That piece of play at the 30:22 mark where Butler fluffs the pass and Cousins collects the ground ball and then proceeds to part the seas between those 2 crow tacklers before hitting Stenglein lace out is something that will forever stick in my memory.

 

[Scotland]

That 06 prelim finished 11.19 to 11.9 so arguably we should've won it comfortably.

Our greatest finals win is easily the 1992 GF. First non-Vic side to win a flag. 10 goal to 4 second half led by Peter Matera.

1993 was a good backs against the wall victory beating 3rd placed North from 6th at Waverley. Jakovich 26 touches, Carey 6 and no goals. 1999 QF over the Dogs was a nail biter, as were all 4 finals against Sydney in 05/06. Last year's after the siren overtime win was exciting but Port kicked themselves out of a comfortable win. Dixon was in beast mode and kicked 3.6.

Enjoyed the 2016 Dogs' run after our EF shemozzle, enjoyed Melbourne's run in 2000, enjoyed Carlton knocking off Essendon in 1999. Sydney have had some big wins. Knocked off Port in 03 in Adelaide to get a home prelim, knocked off St Kilda at the G in 2005 to make the GF, beat us in the 2006 QF in Perth, beat Hawthorn in the 2012 GF, beat Geelong to make the 2016 GF at the G... but they let themselves down in the 2014 and 2016 GFs as heavy favourites. Weird as an Eagles fan but I enjoyed Freo rolling Geelong at Kardinia Park. Was completely disrespectful to play the game there and they stuck it up the Cats and the AFL and ruined any chance of a Hawks/Cats GF rematch from a few years earlier.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

Injuries killed you. No Ricciuto, Hart or Hentschel really hurt, and then the fact that Bighlands did his knee meaning Clarke was up against Cox and Seaby destroyed you. That Adelaide team of 2005-07 deserved a GF at least, let alone a flag

Can't even watch it, and I remember hiding in the fourth quarter, so I still haven't seen it.

We just had to avoid WC in a prelim and ran into them in both year. They had so much more belief than us.

 

[raskolnikov]

1993 Adelaide Essendon prelim
2005 Geelong Sydney Semi Final
1994 Geelong North prelim
1987 Hawthorn Melbourne prelim

 

[Gavin Excell]

The 2012 GF
Hawks an unbackable favourite looking the goods during September and then a brilliant Swans second half overpowers Hawthorn who throw the towel in when going got tough

 

[Woody15]

One of my personal favourites was the Collingwood vs Port Adelaide QF in 2002 in Adelaide. Port were pretty dominant that year and we pinched it.

 

[beta_condition]

The 2012 GF
Hawks an unbackable favourite looking the goods during September and then a brilliant Swans second half overpowers Hawthorn who throw the towel in when going got tough

You know Hawthorn won the second half right?

 

[BoxMatrix]

One of my personal favourites was the Collingwood vs Port Adelaide QF in 2002 in Adelaide. Port were pretty dominant that year and we pinched it.

No Buckley as well

 

[Woody15]

No Buckley as well

We had Rupert though.