Best grand final of the millennium so far?

[Demon13304]

2006 - the sequel was just as good as the original. The 5 minute warning on Ten made the last few minutes stressful

I would've had a heart attack if I was a west coast supporter then. Watching Sydney just relentlessly pressure the ball into their forward line ending with a throw-in not knowing how much time left would've been agonising.

 

[Handsuper47]

I ended up picking 2009 because how much I enjoyed it, but I could really pick out of a bunch of them like 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 drawn, 2011, 2012, 2015 because of the threepeat, 2016, 2017 because of the drought.. don't really remember the grand finals Brisbane were in so I can't judge those.

 

[Gydafud]

2012 for sure. Momentum swings, big goals, huge moments, and thrilling to the very end. Plus it had the right result

 

[Elmer_Judd]

2005 still gets my vote, such a tough, brushing affair between 2 evenly matched star studded teams, the longest flag drought in VFL/AFL history broken and of course "LEO BARRY YOU STAR"

So lovely to see Bobby Skilton and all the long time Swans/South Melbourne stalwart fans emotional after the win.

2018 is my runner up, that game had it all, plus one of the most clutch goals in Grand Final History (I didn't give Dom Sheed much hope of kicking it at the time)

 

[windyhill]

2005 still gets my vote, such a tough, brushing affair between 2 evenly matched star studded teams, the longest flag drought in VFL/AFL history broken and of course "LEO BARRY YOU STAR"

It's for the best not the worst Elmer.

 

[Chaisa]

Favourite non-Sydney one? Probably 2018. The draw and 2011 also up there.

If we include Sydney ones, then 2012.

 

[Lsta062]

2008, 2012 and 2018 are the three best Grand Finals in my opinion. The 2010 draw comes next

 

[Tarkyn_24]

Hard to split 2002, 2011 and 2016 I reckon.

 

[The King!]

i thought 2012 was better quality footy than 2018

but obvious bias here

2018 was the best neutral one imo, 2010 draw but frustrating result

2009 very good

2008 was actually a pretty good clash hawks ran Away in end

05 i love but its not a great display

2002 close but collingwood were not a patch on the lions, weather helped

 

[Truckosaurus]

They did. Has nothing to do with the current millennium though.

Nobody likes a maths nerd, Andrew

 

[The King!]

I would've had a heart attack if I was a west coast supporter then. Watching Sydney just relentlessly pressure the ball into their forward line ending with a throw-in not knowing how much time left would've been agonising.

i always blamed mrs jolly for 2006

 

[Numero Uno]

2012 was the first GF I actually attended..Great game as a neutral, plenty of ebbs and flows plus a dramatic finish
I went last year also. Great game but as a supporter there was plenty of nerves and tension
But when the siren goes and your team is in front its the best feeling

I also attended in 2015..horrible day and game

 

[PhatBoy]

Fair degree of bias in this but for the quality of the football played, I think 2011 is the best grand final display I can remember. Two awesome sides at the peak of their powers playing daring, skilful footy and combining that with huge intensity.
It’s not uncommon to get grand finals where skill level is high, or where the pressure is insane, but pretty rare for a game to have both those things. The final margin changes it a bit obviously.

 

[Barlos Crathwaite]

Fair degree of bias in this but for the quality of the football played, I think 2011 is the best grand final display I can remember. Two awesome sides at the peak of their powers playing daring, skilful footy and combining that with huge intensity.
It’s not uncommon to get grand finals where skill level is high, or where the pressure is insane, but pretty rare for a game to have both those things. The final margin changes it a bit obviously.

How bout Pickett's spin tho bro. Deadset broke his marker's ankles. Casual AF

 

[windyhill]

Depressing that we aren't on that list. Same for Carlton fans I imagine.

We need to get our skates on down at Arden Street to bag our record equaling 16th flag!

4x4 doesn't equal 16

 

[BEEG]

2011 the first 3 quarters are the best GF you will see it's only the last quarter that let's that game down

 

[BigVic]

2011 the first 3 quarters are the best GF you will see it's only the last quarter that let's that game down

The entertainment that day overshadowed it

 

[NonPhixion]

2011 the first 3 quarters are the best GF you will see it's only the last quarter that let's that game down

highest standard for sure

 

[Xtreme]

2001 - 2002 - 2003: Great matches with the dream result.

2004: Port Adelaide finally salute after years of promise. Shame it came at the expense of Brisbane's dream of a 4peat.

2005/2006: Disliked the back and forth with the low scoring nature. But it paid off in the fourth quarter.

2007: A non event really.

2008: One of the great upsets in modern footy.

2009: That toe poke!

2010 v1/v2: Mehhhhhhhhhhh

2011: The behind the scenes drama with Collingwood made this one a juicy contest. One of the only times I openly cheered for Geelong

2012: Awesome game of football, 2014 made up for the result.... The 2012 grand final is a great contest and one I watch regularly despite the end result.

2013: A very good match. Isaac Smith's long bomb goal is the best grand final goal of the AFL era .

2014: The greatest modern day grand final in AFL history. The defending premier absolutely smashed the overwhelming favourites for the flag.

2015: Too old, Too Slow, Too GOOD! :-D

2016: An unlikely underdog gets the chocolates (with umpire assistance )

2017: YELLOW AND BACK upset the minor premiers. It was good to witness.

2018: The second best modern day grand final. The Eagles willed themselves into the contest and got there in the end.

2019: One team showed up, the other team were still celebrating their preliminary final win

 

[The Falcon Strike]

Always depends on what you want out of a game

For mine 2009 was the toughest, most skilled and best showpiece for our game

Two absolutely elite sides going at it for four quarters without relenting

I couldnt genuinely judge 2018 objectively to consider

 

[De Iulio2Wiggins]

2001 is so very underrated. Two absolute dynasties having 17-5 seasons, one on the rise and one faltering, although nobody watching knew the future trajectories - despite some late season losses, Essendon looked very close to the juggernaut they were in 2000, and Brisbane was still an unknown quantity that was just starting to gel.

At half-time, Brisbane looked to have kicked themselves out of it and Essendon were winding up for a demolition of a second half. Lloyd and Lucas were firing. Even Brisbane's herculean third quarter seemed to just put the teams on level footing at three quarter time. This was the Essendon team that, a couple of months previously, had come back from 69 points down against a pretty handy North Melbourne.

In the context of the game, it wasn't over until mid-way through the last quarter. A slightly closer scoreline and this would be the undisputed classic - both teams were stuffed to the gills with quality players across every line.

 

[blitzer]

For me 2009 was just fantastic. The whole season felt like it was building to the matchup between these 2 clubs and they delivered a fantastic game. Exactly what you want as a neutral.

I really enjoyed 2018. I don't think the 2 sides were as good talent wise compared to 2009 but there was something compelling about watching West Coast clawing back from a 5 goal deficit. The Dom Sheed goal was an epic moment as well.

 

[PCORF]

2005, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2018

 

[kickazz]

I was at 2011 and during the game, when it was truly still up for grabs, my mate says "whatever happens, this is a good granny" As mentioned earlier it had flow but it also had tackling and contested marking.

2012 had momentum swings which I think is the key to a classic game and key to crowd involvement.

2018 was great but I can't help but think that last quarter was dominated by the eagles who just couldn't kick straight. Still a great game.

2009 was a tough, tense, slog. The 2010 draw had some great moments.

My vote: 2012.

 

[domus]

I love 2018 - watched it numerous times - but what stops it from being one of the greats for me is that I really don’t think Collingwood played all that well. They had that awesome start, but after that Eagles were clearly the better side. If it weren’t for their poor start, west coast would have been a four goal better side.

As opposed to 2009, 2011, 2012 where it was two very good sides battling each other and had constant momentum swings and lead changes.

Still an amazing grand final but it just doesn’t rank as one of the true greats.

Why did it take a side that was clearly superior after quarter time (according to you) right up to the last couple of minutes to take the lead? I think the Eagles clawed their way back slowly and had a great ten minute period in the last term where they locked us in their forward line, but even in the last term we had multiple chances to seal the game. With five minutes remaining in the second term we were still in control. I recall Taylor saying the Eagles are in desperate need of a goal just before they got that Joe the Goose. Eagles dominance is an overhyped narrative.