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The grand final can be decided by a single moment of brilliance or madness by the players and coaches. What are the most important plays in grand final history?
These moments would take some matching.
1918: Chris Laird’s last-minute goal
Collingwood had hit the front by a single point. In the final minute of play, South Melbourne went forward and a long kick towards the goal square by Gerald Ryan of South spilled from a pack of players.
South Melbourne rover Chris Laird came rushing through and rather than attempt to pick the ball up, soccered it off the ground for a goal that won the game.
Laird kicked three of South’s nine goals in a 62-57 win. Earlier in the season, Laird kicked three goals in the last five minutes of the match to help South Melbourne defeat Carlton.
Collingwood led by 12 points at the final break, but South’s other key move was the switching of Vic Belcher from defence to the ruck. Belcher played 226 games for South and until 2012 was the only person in VFL/AFL history to win two premierships with the Swans.
He also coached Fitzroy to the 1922 flag and umpired 17 games. Footage of Belcher’s Premierships success in 1909 remarkably exists and can be viewed below.
1935 – Bob Pratt gets hit by a truck
The outcome of the 1935 grand final might have been decided even before the opening bounce. Star full forward Bob Pratt was forced to withdraw from the game after he was hit by a truck. On the Thursday night prior to the grand final, Pratt was clipped by a truck carrying five tonnes of bricks moments after he stepped off a tram on High Street, Prahran.
Pratt injured an ankle and lacerated both legs due to the accident and was unable to play.
Pratt had booted 362 in three seasons, including a league record 150 in 1934 and 103 in 1935.
Without Pratt, the Swans lost to Collingwood by 20 points, despite having as many scoring shots as the Magpies.
In response to the accident, the South Melbourne Record wrote:
“The initial attack on the inhabitants of Adowa by Benito Mussolini’s invading army upon Emperor Haile Selassie, is no greater shock than that received by SMFC officials when they learned on Thursday afternoon, through the press, that Bob Pratt had been involved in a collision with a motor truck.”
The truck driver, a South Melbourne supporter, offered Pratt a packet of cigarettes as a way of apology.
1948: Jack strikes back!
In 1948 Jack Mueller was 34 and playing in the reserves for Melbourne. Apparently he was past it. Out of the blue he was recalled for the Demons preliminary final against Collingwood and kicked eight goals.
Mueller was a renowned marking forward whose aura was enhanced by the fact that he played with a glove on one hand to protect the gnarled stubs of two middle fingers. He had lost the tops of both fingers in a machinery accident.
In the grand final, Mueller kicked six of Melbourne’s ten goals as they earned a draw against a wasteful Essendon – the Bombers sprayed 27 behinds. In the replay, Melbourne won by 39 points and Muller bagged another six goals.
1964: A late goal by “Froggy” Crompton wins the Demons’ sixth flag in ten years
Collingwood looked set for a victory in the last quarter after Ray Gabelich’s goal put them up by two points. However Melbourne pressed forward and back pocket Neil “Froggy” Crompton became an unlikely hero.
Crompton defied master coach Norm Smith’s instructions and followed opponent Mick Bone across the centre. The ball fell to Crompton who threw it on his boot. The torpedo punt sailed high but true and the Demons won by four points.
The goal was Crompton’s first in five seasons. His previous goal had been against Essendon in Round 7, 1960, Crompton kicked 24 goals in 99 games and also played first class cricket for Victoria between 1957 and 1962.
Crompton passed away aged 66 in 2003. He gave his grand final jumper to his best mate, Bill Grant.
1966: Barry Breen behind
With only moments left, Collingwood and St. Kida were tied 73-all in a gripping grand final. St. Kilda’s Barry Breen collected a ball from a spillage and forced it forward 40-metres. The ball bounced through for a point and that was enough to win the Saints their first and only premiership since 1897.
Breen played 300 games for St. Kilda and kicked 308 goals. The behind in the 1966 grand final remains his most famous kick.
1977: Darryl Sutton moves to full-forward for the Roos
Heading into the final quarter of the 1977 grand final, North Melbourne trailed Collingwood by 27 points. North Melbourne had failed to kick a goal for two quarters. Coach Ron Barassi moved defender Darryl Sutton to full-forward and he kicked the first goal of the quarter. This started a comeback by North Melbourne that eventually earned them a draw.
A disastrous hand-pass by Collingwood’s Phil Manassa to North’s David Dench in the goal square led to another Kangaroos goal. Then in the dying minutes of the game, two goals to Phil Baker gave North the lead, but they couldn’t hold on.
Ross Dunne marked directly in front for Collingwood and goaled with just 40 seconds remaining to level the scores.
Arnold Briedis had a game to forget, kicking seven behinds for the match. The following week Briedis kicked five goals as North Melbourne won the replay by 27 points.
1979: Wayne Harmes’ desperation wins the flag for Carlton
The 1979 grand final was played on a wet and heavy ground. The game was on a knife-edge until the dying stages of the fourth quarter when Carlton’s Wayne Harmes famously tapped the ball from the boundary line to the goal square.
Ken Sheldon was on hand to kick what proved to be the winning goal.
Harmes was awarded the inaugural Norm Smith Medal as best on field. Harmes is a nephew of Smith.
2005: Leo Barry, “you star!”
Sydney defeated West Coast by four points in a tight, low-scoring game to win their first premiership since 1933 (when they were South Melbourne), ending a record drought of 72 years.
A late, game-saving pack mark in defence by Leo Barry became an iconic finals moment. Dean Cox threw the ball onto the left boot, the pack converged towards the ball and Barry soared high and claimed in two-hands to become the game-saver for the Swans.
2010: Nick Maxwell touches on the line
The 2010 grand final between St. Kilda and Collingwood was drawn. The Magpies led for most of the game, but the Saints charged home in the last-quarter and only trailed by a point with seven and a half minutes to go.
Saints captain Nick Riewoldt tumbled the ball towards the goal square. Collingwood’s captain Nick Maxwell scrambled back in retreat and touched the ball just before the line.
Collingwood only conceded a behind instead of a goal. The following week they won the replay by 56 points.
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