2021 AFL Grand Final
The 2021 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match played between the Melbourne Demons and the Western Bulldogs on 25 September 2021 at Optus Stadium in Perth. It was the 126th grand final in the Australian Football League (AFL) and determined the winner of the 2021 AFL season.
 Optus Stadium (pictured) where the 2021 AFL Grand Final was played at the moment Simon Goodwin and Max Gawn raise the premiership cup together. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 25 September 2021, 5:15pm AWST | |||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Perth Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 61,118[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Favourite | Melbourne | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Matt Stevic, Brett Rosebury, Jacob Mollison | |||||||||||||||
| Coin toss won by | Melbourne | |||||||||||||||
| Kicked toward | Train Station End | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | Baker Boy, Eskimo Joe, John Butler, Abbe May, Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse, Stella Donnelly, Vikki Thorn & Donna Simpson, Colin Hay (Performed from Los Angeles), Mike Brady (Performed from Melbourne) | |||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Amy Manford | |||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Birds of Tokyo with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra | |||||||||||||||
| Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
| Norm Smith Medallist | Christian Petracca | |||||||||||||||
| Jock McHale Medallist | Simon Goodwin | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Seven Network | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | James Brayshaw (host and commentator) Brian Taylor (commentator) Luke Hodge (expert commentator) Daisy Pearce (expert commentator) Abbey Holmes (boundary rider) Basil Zempilas (master of ceremonies) Nathan Fyfe (analyst) Nic Naitanui (analyst) | |||||||||||||||
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Melbourne defeated the Western Bulldogs by 74 points. It was the first time since 1964 that the Demons had won a Grand Final.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Final was not played at the traditional venue, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), for a second time in a row. It was the first Grand Final to be played in Western Australia and even though it was played between two Victorian teams during a pandemic, it set a new attendance record for Australian rules football in Western Australia.
Scoreboard
| Grand final | |||||
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| Saturday, 25 September (5:15 pm) | Melbourne | def. | Template:AFL WB |  Optus Stadium (crowd: 61,118)
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Report |
| 4.5 (29) 5.9 (39) 12.11 (83) 21.14 (140) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
1.2 (8) 7.5 (47) 9.5 (59) 10.6 (66) |
Umpires: Rosebury, Stevic, Mollison Norm Smith Medal: Christian Petracca Television broadcast: Seven Network National anthem: Amy Manford | ||
| Fritsch 6 B. Brown 3 Petracca, McDonald 2 Neal-Bullen, Salem, Spargo, Brayshaw, Sparrow, Oliver, Langdon, Jackson 1 |
Goals | Bontempelli, Treloar 3 R. Smith, Naughton, Hunter, Johannisen 1 | |||
| Petracca, Fritsch, Oliver, Brayshaw, Salem, Gawn, Jackson, Langdon, Viney, Neal-Bullen | Best | Bontempelli, Daniel, B. Smith, Treloar, Macrae, Liberatore, Dale | |||
| Nil | Injuries | Nil | |||
| Nil | Reports | Nil | |||
2021 AFL Grand Final Media
Optus Stadium, host venue of the 2021 AFL Grand Final.
Birds of Tokyo accompanied by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra provided the half-time entertainment.
Stefan Martin (Template:AFL WB) and Max Gawn (Melbourne) contest the opening bounce of the game.
Christian Petracca, Norm Smith Medallist
The Template:AFL WB players running through their banner. The last line reads: "Yield to none", which was the Bulldogs' finals slogan and an English translation of their club motto.
The Melbourne players running through their banner.
References
- ↑ "Saturday night lights: Massive TV audience for Perth Grand Final". Australian Football League. 26 September 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2021.