AFL Grand Final 2011
The AFL Grand Final is one of, if not the, largest and most important annual events on the Australian sporting landscape. Historically, the AFL Grand Final is hosted at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on the last Saturday in September: AFL Draw 2011
In 2011, the AFL Grand Final will be contested between Collingwood and Geelong, held on Saturday October 1, 2011, starting at 2.30pm (AEST) from the MCG and will be broadcast on Channel Ten.
Collingwood finished as Minor Premiers after finishing atop of the home and away ladder after 24 rounds before beating West Coast Eagles and Hawthorn in the AFL Finals to progress to the AFL Grand Final. Geelong finished second, and beat Hawthorn and West Coast Eagles to progress.
The 2011 AFL Grand Final winner will be presented with the AFL Premiership Cup, and will also receive the AFL Flag, to be unfurled at the winning team’s first home game the following season.
Currently, both Carlton and Essendon hold the record for the highest number of VFL/AFL Premierships, at 16 apiece.
As one of Australia’s largest sporting events, the AFL Grand Final has been a ‘sell-out’ for over two decades, and is notorious as one of the most difficult events to obtain tickets, with only a small number of tickets available to the general public. The largest-ever crowd at an VFL/AFL Grand Final was 121,696 in 1970. The AFL Grand Final regularly draws television attendances in excess of 2.5 million viewers.
After spending the entire season as pronounced favourite, Collingwood will start the 2011 AFL Grand Final as $2.05 outsider while Geelong, who come into this match with momentum after convincing wins so far in the AFL Finals, will start a $1.80 favourite.
AFL Grand FInal 2011: Collingwood vs Geelong
AFL-Grand-Final Articles
by Vince Rugari - February 28th 2012 @ 2:55am
The AFL does a lot of things right. That much is obvious. It’s one of the best-run sporting leagues in the world, with a first-class product and attendance figures that have the other codes green with envy. But there’s some things, largely because of history or tradition, that the AFL is behind on. They’re not [...]
by Ben Somerford - October 13th 2011 @ 4:41am
It’s funny to think this is what it takes, but finally after two incidents in the past four Grand Finals where a goal has been incorrectly awarded after the ball glanced off the post, the AFL are seriously investigating goal-line technology. Well, at least that’s what they’re telling us. Fresh in the memory for most [...]
by Ben Somerford - October 6th 2011 @ 5:59am
Cameron Ling is representative of Geelong. After an inconsistent start to his career, the Cats skipper, who announced his retirement yesterday, has squeezed every little bit of effort and ability out of himself over the past five years and achieved greatness with three flags. But his retirement doesn’t mean the end of the ‘dynasty’. In [...]
by John Davidson - October 5th 2011 @ 1:38pm
Deciphering the ratings for the NRL and AFL grand finals is a delicate and tiring process that ultimately leads to multiple conclusions. Grand final weekend is a time when the AFL and NRL properly go head-to-head and their popularity can be tested. And judging from the conflicting media coverage, both sports have emerged as winners, [...]
by Joe Karsay - October 5th 2011 @ 8:50am
If you want one, overarching reason why Geelong have been the best team in the AFL for half a decade – it is that unlike most modern teams who talk about mateship, these boys live it. In an era where financial self-interest has eroded loyalty, the Geelong players have put success and mateship above it [...]
by J-Cow - October 5th 2011 @ 4:39am
Throughout the entire year, the experts talked about nothing but the strategic innovation of the ‘Malthouse Press’, its ability to strangle the opposition, and the implication that the best press would emerge victorious. Enter the finals, and the Geelong Football Club reigned supreme over the press, with an obvious throwback to traditional football. The Cats [...]
by The Radical - October 4th 2011 @ 4:27am
As a die-hard Collingwood supporter, Saturday’s result was hard to swallow. But that is now in the past. The best team prevailed, but the time has come, already, to look towards 2012. Also hard to swallow is the notion that the mighty Geelong Cats may not be done quite yet. We can write off the [...]
by Roger Vaughan - October 3rd 2011 @ 7:54am
by Michael Filosi - October 3rd 2011 @ 7:08am
In a season that the AFL chose ‘Greatness’ as its one-word promotional theme for the finals, it was fitting that the Geelong Cats confirmed their greatness by securing the 2011 Premiership in a match befitting the hype that surrounded it. The Cats – like Serena Williams at the Australian Open – seem to favour winning [...]
by Michael DiFabrizio - October 2nd 2011 @ 6:13am
Three premierships in five years. When you see how hard it is for some clubs to secure one flag – heck, when you see Collingwood go undefeated against 15 teams all year and still fall short – you know that kind of record can only be attained by a truly great football team. And Geelong, [...]
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