Greatest Finals Wins of All Time

[SSSSSS]

West Coast v Pies was a great one.

Pies Hawks in 2011 was heartbreaking but was a great game to be a part of. Some huge moments that game. Ball paid off dividends, Buddy with one of the all time great finals goals, Daisy Thomas with a match saving tackle and Jordan Lewis announcing himself as one of the games future gun midfielders. Huge emotions in the game with Malthouse in tears knowing he was one step away from his final game with the Pies.

 

[eth-dog]

2000 QF was special. Beating the reigning premiers by a record margin.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

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"

Nahhhh... They had three or four extra playing for them...

 

[Marmozet]

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

5:05

I didn't know there was an original "I see it but I don't believe it"

 

[footyfan1978]

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

I reckon the Carlton 1972 one tops that. They played each other 3 times that finals series. Tigers never saw what was coming for the grand final. 84 semi is pretty good with Dons and Hawks.
1987, 1993 and 99 preliminary finals up there. Bloodbath grand final. 1970 grand final. 1989 grand final. 1982 grand final. 1984 grand final.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Not close ones but near enough to perfect footy.

Geelong v Port 2007 GF. You don't win by 119 pts without playing almost perfect footy. Everything worked on the day.
Geelong v Collingwood 2011 GF. Highest quality footy from both sides in tough conditions. I can't really remember another gf in my lifetime that has had the two combatants playing to such a high level on the big day.
Hawthorn v Sydney 2014 GF. Beautiful footy by the winners.

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

Geelong vs freo

2012 or 2013?

2013 was bigger as it was their home deck, no chance to win there etc.
But 2012. Gee. Reigning premiers. Bugger all MCG exposure to our list. And our first quarter was just insane

2012 underrated for most of us as 2013 overshadowed it

 

[MerryHell]

08 Grannie. Overwhelmingly massive underdog beats one of the most unbeatable sides of all time. To the point where some moron fan tattooed ‘Cats 2008 Premiers’ on his skin before a ball had even been bounced. Watching that unfold that day is absolutely surreal now. One of the biggest upsets in VFL/AFL history.

This year has the same feeling, Tigers overwhelming favourites. Perfectly setup for a highly underrated team from the west to pinch it and become my new favourite final.

 

[The Punter]

A 34 year old Robert Harvey was the difference with a lazy 3 goals.

Everyone remember Harvey. Gwilt gets mentioned a bit.

But we were awful through the first 20 minutes. We had no key defenders (Maguire and Penny were injured, Sam Fisher was playing on a broken foot and Matthew Ferguson played in this game as a KPD) and Ken McGregor threatened to tear us apart.

By the end of the first half McGregor was at full back on Gehrig. Grant Thomas was apparently "no coach" - well, he was better than Neil Craig.

Saints dominate the middle quarters, then Adelaide come hard in the last but the Saints survive. Inspired performances from the aforementioned Harvey and Gwilt, as well as Nick Dal Santo, and Lenny Hayes (12 tackles). God that was a good win.

 

[iluvparis]

I'm not reading through the thread but anyone not stating the 99 prelim is either still at high school or completely biased

 

[Freshwater]

1996 Preliminary Final, Tony Lockett kicks the winning point at the SCG. Still the best final I ever saw on TV. The whole game was manic.

 

[Stopher]

I'm not reading through the thread but anyone not stating the 99 prelim is either still at high school or completely biased

 

[Roobs321]

05 Semi v Geelong had an amazing last quarter, but the first 3 were some of the worst I've ever seen, so there were two sides to it.

Completely agreed. Last quarter was ecstatic but first three quarters were putrid. From that finals series alone the QFs, PFs and GF were better.

 

[Roobs321]

The Swannies choked but you're going just a tad over the top with the hyperbole.

2007 was the most systematic destruction of an opposition side in a Grand Final.

You also make it sound like the Hawks were some sort of 100-1 underdog. They made the finals with major injuries all year but got their best side back for the finals which has proven to be one of modern footy's greatest lineups.

Winners are grinners though.

Yeah if Nick Davis hadn't done that in the last nobody would remember that game. Wasn't great. Swans were pretty hard to watch around that time.

Even by Swans standards I hated that game. I watched the Swans every week back then, even found a vicarious pleasure in the awfulness of the Saints draw in 2002, but the first three quarters of that SF were horrid.

 

[JohnnyFontane90]

2014 hawks grand final win was the best performance from a football team that I've ever seen. just absolutely laid waste to probably the best swans team ever

 

[Roobs321]

2013 Geelong v Fremantle is one of the better ones I've seen. Enhanced by a QF win also being a pioneering result for the club.

Hawks GF performance in 2014 was the most awe-inspiring team performance. Even as a Swans lover I marveled at what I was seeing. You could not hope for a better show from them as coach. And the evening segue into Tom Jones meant that day just had a vibe about it which even the subsequent fairytales couldn't match.

That Collingwood win against Port in 02 is certainly one of the great 'wins'. Totally unforgettable boilover.

The 1992 GF has one of the best first halves. Really up until Wilson's cork in the ocean deep in the third quarter it is a fiercely contested, very talented decider, the type of football no longer witnessed. The amount of commentary-augmented iconic moments from that game enhances this.

From an Eagles perspective, we don't tend to upset much in finals, so the 1999 EF was an unexpected delight (not the greatest game necessarily, but thrilling). Left reverberations throughout that finals series as well.

 

[Listclogger]

I'm not reading through the thread but anyone not stating the 99 prelim is either still at high school or completely biased

Surely the 1970 GF tops all.

Carlton 44 points down at half time against arch rival Collingwood in front of the all time record crowd.

A shame it is getting forgotten now.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Every Bulldogs win in 2016. It's actually quite remarkable how in retrospect myself and many couldn't envision how they could lose that grand final considering the weeks that lead up to it. There just felt like there was a larger than life force riding them into that flag and the 3 finals before the granny weren't going to ever be for nothing.

 

[ioppolo]

I liked the entire 2013 finals series tbh. Was just very bizarre.

Essendon in 5th are banned from finals, meaning Carlton qualify from essentially 9th.

Fremantle beat Geelong at Kardinya Park against all odds and book a home prelim.

Port surprise Collingwood at the MCG after being a basket case the previous two seasons.

9th placed Carlton surprise Richmond, a team playing their first finals series in 11 years and living with a perpetual failure tag.

 

[Rotayjay]

It wasn't a massive upset in bookie terms and it burns me to this day, but do you know what was a big finals win? Richmond defeating Adelaide last year.

Adelaide had finished first and had (albeit with a reversed home ground advantage) dismantled Richmond by 76 in their previous meeting.

I'll never forget reading tips and preview articles to pass the time before the bounce: 'Adelaide by 28', 'Crows by 16', 'Adelaide easily', 'Crows by 63, let's get it done', 'Adelaide and it won't be close', 'I just can't see how Richmond are going to beat us' ...

The Crows come out of the blocks with the first two goals and still lead by two goals at quarter time. Then the Tigers hold us goalless in the second and kick away, putting nail after nail in our coffin, holding us to our lowest score all year, eventually stomping home by 48 points. It sucked for us Crows fans and yes they had the home ground advantage, but we must not allow hindsight to hide the fact that this was an upset. It was a huge win.

 

[footyfan1978]

Surely the 1970 GF tops all.

Carlton 44 points down at half time against arch rival Collingwood in front of the all time record crowd.

I was at the 99 prelim final. It was epic final but yep, 1970 grand final is another level of epic I would trade my 99 experience for to be at that 1970 famous day.

 

[Tbonefreo]

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.

That piece of play is one of my favorite finals footy moments. There is like a 9 second video of it back in the day. Cousins was awesome

 

[Listclogger]

The other game I kept hearing about when growing up was the 1958 GF.

Melbourne going for their 4th flag in a row against Collingwood who were trying to stop the Dees from matching their 4 in a row from the 20s.

Melbourne had finished 3 games clear on top and beat the Pies by 45 points in the second semi.

Folklore has it that wet conditions suited Collingwood that day and won what would be their last flag for 32 years.

Melbourne went on to win the next 2 flags, and thus 5 in 6 years.

 

[Channels]

Freo at KP then Freo belting the Swans in the prelim in 2013.

For the underdog victory, Geelong v Carlton semi in 1994. If memory is correct, the Cats best 3 mids in Hocking, Couch and Bairstow were all out with injuries and won the unexpected.

 

[The Gov]

Pies Hawks 2011 Prelim was something special. Not the most high scoring game of footy but boy what a contest. If you can watch that and not be emotional in some way you're not a footy fan.