The 2024 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match which was held on 30 November at Princes Park to determine the premiers of the ninth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. The match was between North Melbourne and Brisbane, and was the second consecutive grand final to feature the matchup. North Melbourne beat the Lions by 30 points. This was the club's first premiership in the AFLW.
| 2024 AFL Women's Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 30 November 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Princes Park | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 12,122 | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Matt Adams, Gabby Simmonds, Sam Whetton | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | Lime Cordiale | |||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Bobby Fox | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Seven Network, Fox Footy | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Jason Bennett, Jo Wotton, Abbey Holmes, Kate McCarthy, Erin Phillips, Nat Edwards | |||||||||||||||
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Broadcast and entertainment
editThe match was broadcast live in Australia on the Seven Network and Fox Footy. It was also available via streaming platforms 7plus, Kayo Sports and Binge.[1]
Entertainment
editPop rock band Lime Cordiale provided pre-game entertainment, while actor, dancer and singer Bobby Fox sang the Australian national anthem.[1]
Teams
editBoth sides announced unchanged teams from their preliminary finals.[2]
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Umpires
edit| Position | Umpires | Emergency |
|---|---|---|
| Field umpires | Matt Adams, Gabby Simmonds, Sam Whetton | Jordyn Pearson |
| Boundary umpires | Kaitlin Barr, Ben Duce, Scott Hansford, Zachary Mousaco | Harrison Bell |
| Goal umpires | Georgia Henderson, John Varker | Matthew Edwards |
Scoreboard
edit| Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 30 November (7:45 pm) | North Melbourne | def. | Brisbane | Princes Park (crowd: 12,122) | afl.com.au report |
| 3.0 (18) 4.1 (25) 4.1 (25) 6.3 (39) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
1.1 (7) 1.2 (8) 1.3 (9) 1.3 (9) |
Umpires: Adams, Simmonds, Whetton Best on ground: Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne) Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy National anthem: Bobby Fox | ||
| O'Loughlin 3, Wall 2, Craven | Goals | Hampson | |||
| Garner, Riddell, Kearney, Craven, Wright | Best | Dawes, Anderson, O'Dwyer, Dunne | |||
| Nil | Injuries | Hickie (elbow), Ellenger (ankle) | |||
| Nil | Reports | Nil | |||
Match summary
editThe goal of the game was scored by North Melbourne's Tess Craven, who somehow found herself in space in front of goal to take an uncontested mark from a hurried kick from Jasmine Garner. Although the Brisbane Lions mounted a series of strong attacks, North Melbourne made more of its opportunities, and led the uncontested possession count by 29–8. A second goal was scored by North's Alice O'Loughlin from the top of the goal square after receiving a handball from Tahlia Randall. Soon after, O'Loughlin scored again after laying a tackle on Brisbane defender Poppy Boltz. In the dying minutes of the quarter, North ruck Emma King laid a late high tackle on Brisbane's Bre Koenen, resulting in Ellie Hampson being awarded a down-field free kick. A thumping and accurate one followed, and Brisbane had scored its first goal. North Melbourne took an eleven-point lead into quarter time.[4][5]
North dominated the second term, but Brisbane's Jennifer Dunne, Shannon Campbell and Bre Koenen were staunch in defence and conceded only added one goal. North Melbourne's Vikki Wall marked 20 metres out and directly in front of goal.[4][5] She was the only North Melbourne player without a touch in the first quarter, whereas eight Brisbane Lions players had not touched the football.[6] At the other end of the ground, North's back line was impressively disciplined, with Sarah Wright, Jasmine Ferguson and Libby Birch maintaining their formation under pressure and dealing with Brisbane's forays forward.[6] The Lions had one decent shot at goal, but Orla O'Dwyer missed. O'Dwyer and teammate Ally Anderson led the disposal count, but forward Dakota Davidson had still not had a touch.[4]
Brisbane ruck Tahlia Hickie injured her elbow in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but later returned to the game after treatment. Brisbane's Jade Ellenger injured her ankle later in the quarter, and did not return. North Melbourne skipper Emma Kearney had only returned from a hamstring injury the week before, and had not racked up much time on ground in that preliminary final match, but there was no sign of it, and her 19th disposal sent the ball to O'Loughlin, who once again marked inside 50, but failed to score. Her strongest competition for best on ground came from teammate Jasmine Garner. Garner was loosely tagged by Ellenger in the first half, but Bre Koenen was moved on to her in the second, as was the case in the previous year's grand final. Brisbane actually won the quarter, but only by a solitary rushed behind.[4][5][6]
In the final quarter, Wall kicked a second goal from 35 metres out, and a dangerous sling tackle by Brisbane's Nat Grider gave O'Loughlin a shot a goal from point blank range, which she easily converted. North Melbourne came out victors by thirty points.[7] Libby Birch became the first AFLW player to win three premierships with three different clubs, having previously won with the Western Bulldogs in 2018 and with Melbourne in 2022.[8]
Best-on-ground medal
editThe best-on-ground medal was presented by former Richmond president Peggy O'Neal.[1] The panel to decide the medal consisted of Kate McCarthy (chair, Seven Network), Sarah Black (AFL Media), Ed Bourke (NCA NewsWire) and Jess Webster (Fox Footy).[9]
Voting
edit| Position | Player | Club | Total votes | Vote summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne | 11 | 3, 3, 3, 2 |
| 2nd | Emma Kearney | North Melbourne | 8 | 3, 2, 2, 1 |
| 3rd | Ash Riddell | North Melbourne | 4 | 2, 1, 1 |
| 4th | Alice O'Loughlin | North Melbourne | 1 | 1 |
| Voter | 3 votes | 2 votes | 1 vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kate McCarthy (chair, Seven Network) | Jasmine Garner | Emma Kearney | Ash Riddell |
| Sarah Black (AFL Media) | Jasmine Garner | Ash Riddell | Emma Kearney |
| Ed Bourke (NCA NewsWire) | Emma Kearney | Jasmine Garner | Alice O'Loughlin |
| Jess Webster (Fox Footy) | Jasmine Garner | Emma Kearney | Ash Riddell |
References
edit- ^ a b c Welsh, Sophie (29 November 2024). "AFLW Grand Final: How to watch, key players, cup presenters". AFL Women's. Melbourne. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "Undefeated footy history, or three flags in 12 months? AFLW Grand Final ultimate guide". Fox Footy. Melbourne. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "2024 AFLW Grand Final Umpires". AFL Umpires Association. Melbourne. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d Bilton, Dean (30 November 2024). "North Melbourne wins AFLW grand final over Brisbane by 30 points, completing undefeated premiership season for Kangaroos". ABC News. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Jovanovski, Jack (30 November 2024). "AFLW Grand Final 2024: North Melbourne defeat Brisbane Lions, match recap, report, updates, highlights, video, game stats, latest news". www.foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Black, Sarah (30 November 2024). "Match report: North Melbourne beats Brisbane Lions, completes unbeaten season to win first flag". www.afl.com.au. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ Croci, Danielle (30 November 2024). "North Melbourne crush Brisbane by 30 points in grand final to win first AFLW premiership". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ Kennelly, Hannah (29 November 2024). "Never been done before: How this player could make AFL history on Saturday". The Age. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ AFL House [@AFL_House] (November 29, 2024). "The Best on Ground panel for the 2024 NAB AFLW Grand Final has been announced" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Bolch, Dylan (30 November 2024). "Full votes: Garner's record haul earns Best on Ground Medal". AFL Women's. Melbourne. Retrieved 30 November 2024.