Best grand final of the modern era (since 1999)

[iameviljez]

2011. The final margin was not reflective of the quality.

First three quarters were just gobsmackingly good. Game did not get the finish it deserved.

 

[iameviljez]

What do we have, 125ish years of Grand Finals? I think this Geelong Premiership should be Top 100 for starters; likely a lot higher. Dominant season.

Eh, it's hard to put it in perspective. Just one of those years where talent and luck all came together; a team playing fantastic footy and brilliantly well-coached, a clean bill of health pretty much all the way through, a draw as soft as a marshmallow, a lucky escape against Collingwood in the QF, and Brisbane doing us the serious favour of dumping out Richmond and Melbourne before rolling over in PF week.

 

[bacon buster]

2009 was the most brutal game of footy i've ever seen.

both teams, statistically, would be up there in the top 30-40 teams of all time

 

[kickazz]

This. If the margin didn't blow out in the last quarter it would be considered the best game of football ever played.

Yeah I was there and at three quarter time my mate managed to step us both outside the tension of being an interested party and just say - "This has been a good grannie"

 

[kickazz]

2012 for the momentum swings.

 

[SSSSSS]

2008 had the 2021 like quality of a team just ripping a game apart with momentum. Left the opposition team absolutely shell shocked. Couldn't believe my eyes as a neutral watching Melbourne dismantle Bulldogs in such a short duration, and I'd like to think neutrals in 2008 would have witnessed something similar.

From a neutral perspective my 3 favourite GF have been in order

2018 (People rightly will talk about Sheed's goal for eternity but this game had so many memorable individual moments that even the runners were getting into it)
2010 Drawn GF (I think if there was a result this would be number 1, but some could argue that the draw only added to the drama)
2002 (Cream rises to the top, Collingwood really played out of their skins and it required the absolute best out of a legendary team to get over the top)

 

[iameviljez]

2012 for the momentum swings.

I voted 2012 as well. I think it suffers slightly in the public estimation because (a) the margin was greater than a goal, and (b) Sydney escapes a bit of scrutiny from the press.

2018... it was a fantastic game, and a great finish, but it wasn't a consistently even contest. The Pies jumped the Eagles early, and then the Eagles held sway over the rest of the game, with the Pies getting enough counter-punches in to keep it close. Compare to 2012, 2009 or 2002 which had more ebb and flow.

 

[RichLeMonde]

In no particular order:
2009
2010
2011
2012
2020
2018
2002

2001, 2004, 2016, 2017 and 2008 were all interesting games too, with underdogs getting up.

Given that they were decided by less than a goal, I didn’t love the 05-06 ones as much as might be expected, personally. 03, 07, 13-15, 19, 21 and 22 all pretty boring for neutrals too

Edit: weirdly, I think my top 4 would be 09, 10, 11, 12

 

[Demon13304]

2008 had the 2021 like quality of a team just ripping a game apart with momentum. Left the opposition team absolutely shell shocked. Couldn't believe my eyes as a neutral watching Melbourne dismantle Bulldogs in such a short duration, and I'd like to think neutrals in 2008 would have witnessed something similar.

From a neutral perspective my 3 favourite GF have been in order

2018 (People rightly will talk about Sheed's goal for eternity but this game had so many memorable individual moments that even the runners were getting into it)
2010 Drawn GF (I think if there was a result this would be number 1, but some could argue that the draw only added to the drama)
2002 (Cream rises to the top, Collingwood really played out of their skins and it required the absolute best out of a legendary team to get over the top)

A lot of my mates were saying 2021 was one of the best Grandfinals they've seen up until the 4th quarter. Closest 74 point win you'll ever see. Hell we were only up by a goal with a minute to go in the third. That last minute in the third has got to be one of the best minutes you'll see in football history.
I'm biased as hell of course, but I thought it was a great grandfinal.

Everyones will always gravitate towards games that finish by under a goal, for me close finish doesn't necessarily mean best; 2011, 2008, 2016 are all great games. 2002, and 2012 would get talked about more if the scoreline read 3point margin instead of 9/10pts.

That being said, 2018 and 2012 are my favourite (neutral), grandfinal. I'm a sucker for momentum shifts and comebacks

 

[adammania9]

Ranking grand finals inc. 1999

1. 2012
2. 2002
3. 2018
4. 2009
5. 2010 draw
6. 2011
7. 2006
8. 2021
9. 2005
10. 2008
11. 2001
12. 2004
13. 2020
14. 2013
15. 2017
16. 1999
17. 2014
18. 2007
19. 2003
20. 2000
21. 2015
22. 2019
23. 2022
24. 2010 replay
25. 2016

 

[kickazz]

A lot of my mates were saying 2021 was one of the best Grandfinals they've seen up until the 4th quarter. Closest 74 point win you'll ever see. Hell we were only up by a goal with a minute to go in the third. That last minute in the third has got to be one of the best minutes you'll see in football history.
I'm biased as hell of course, but I thought it was a great grandfinal.

Whilst it killed off the contest, that last minute of the third quarter is definitely a big part of what makes that grand final great - simply for its awesomeness. Yeah as a neutral I felt a bit robbed at 3/4 time that it was game over, but at the same time I was very much "Wow, I have witnessed an iconic minute of Grand Final folklore"

Great games are not just about closeness and stuff like that. Sometimes breathtakingly good football is just as important.

 

[Demon13304]

Whilst it killed off the contest, that last minute of the third quarter is definitely a big part of what makes that grand final great - simply for its awesomeness. Yeah as a neutral I felt a bit robbed at 3/4 time that it was game over, but at the same time I was very much "Wow, I have witnessed an iconic minute of Grand Final folklore"

Great games are not just about closeness and stuff like that. Sometimes breathtakingly good football is just as important.

I'm glad some others have seen it that way!

To me , its the same as kicking a great sealer to win the game , except it happened in the last minute of the 3rd instead of the 4th.

I still love close games, but we gotta respect good footy. I honestly prefer games like 2008 (sorry to bring that up lol but Stuart Dew in the 3rd quarter was crazy good) and 2011 compared to 2005 (still good though) cos the footy in those games were just so good even though the margin blew out.

 

[demondavey]

2018. Comfortably.

Agreed.

1. 2018
2. 2002
3. 2011
4. 2005
5. 2001

 

[demondavey]

2011 was so underrated, as was 2001

 

[Evolved1]

2011 was so underrated, as was 2001

Why 2001? I'd rate it well down the list, especially in comparison to epics like 2009 and 10.

I voted 2009 for the pure quality of both teams. An argument could be made for any year of 2009-11 to have the strongest teams, but my personal choice is 2009. Some people forget how good that St Kilda side were.

 

[PhatBoy]

I voted 2009. The football wasn’t as clean as 2011 but it is the most intense game of footy I’ve ever watched and I’ve never ever watched a game that pinned to the edge of my seat for its entirety

 

[hewetta]

1. 2012
2. 2010
3. 2008
4. 2009
5. 2018

 

[Phipppppa]

2022

 

[Roobs321]

As per previous thread

2012 for me

nearest challengers were:
2006
2009
2018
(I can't help it, the Eagles have been in a few close ones)

 

[demondavey]

Why 2001? I'd rate it well down the list, especially in comparison to epics like 2009 and 10.

I voted 2009 for the pure quality of both teams. An argument could be made for any year of 2009-11 to have the strongest teams, but my personal choice is 2009. Some people forget how good that St Kilda side were.

I just felt it was on Essendon’s terms a lot of the game, and they threatened to really blow it away, but it was the classic premiership quarter that Brisbane stepped up in that showed how good a side they were against a seriously good opponent.

 

[iameviljez]

Why 2001? I'd rate it well down the list, especially in comparison to epics like 2009 and 10.

I voted 2009 for the pure quality of both teams. An argument could be made for any year of 2009-11 to have the strongest teams, but my personal choice is 2009. Some people forget how good that St Kilda side were.

That StKilda team is the best side I've seen to never win a flag. Better than Adelaide 2017, late-2000s Dogs, mid-2000s Adelaide and early 90s Geelong. Better in 2009 than a lot of flag-winning teams, too.

 

[Redleg_24]

Imma wait for that one dude who posts a meticulous - if opaque - list of every single Premiership winner in freakin' order.

I'm not sure of their metrics for ranking each Premiership win, but - the 2022 Geelong Cats Premiership win should rank in the upper echelon because a) they finished the H+A season 2 wins clear on top of the ladder, and b) they won two of their Finals - on the way to the Premiership - but 10+ goals.

What do we have, 125ish years of Grand Finals? I think this Geelong Premiership should be Top 100 for starters; likely a lot higher. Dominant season.

By your logic, the 2021 Melbourne one must be up there too. Finished top of the ladder, average winning margins of 10+ goals across all finals, and a 70+ point win on a neutral deck.

 

[Cuzz09]

2001 was pretty good.

Essendon got out to I reckon a 27 point lead in thr 2nd qtr and I for one thought it was over.

Couple of late goals before half time then a 6 goal to 1 third qtr gave Lions a 14 point lead at 3qtr time.

Arm wrestle last qtr but it was party time for the Brisbane Lions first flag.

Actually very similar to Eagles first flag in 1992...
Cats up by close to 5 goals in the 2nd qtr. Eagles chipped away. Late goals before half time.

Big Eagles third with a 6 goal to 1 qtr sane as Lions then party time in the 4th.

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[iameviljez]

Actually very similar to Eagles first flag in 1992...
Cats up by close to 5 goals in the 2nd qtr. Eagles chipped away. Late goals before half time.

One big difference: it was pretty clear that the Eagles were a better side in 1992.

We had lost 8 of our last 9 against West Coast leading into that game, including the semi-final at the G a few weeks earlier.

I think 1992 was more akin to 2018 - we got the jump, the better side came out eventually. Same with 2020.

In 2001, Brisbane were still the contender, Essendon were still the champions.

 

[Cursed Cat]

By your logic, the 2021 Melbourne one must be up there too. Finished top of the ladder, average winning margins of 10+ goals across all finals, and a 70+ point win on a neutral deck.

I think it had been rated pretty highly last year, yes.