| 2021 AFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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 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 | |||||||||||||||
| 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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The 2021 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday 25 September 2021. It was the 126th annual grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL), staged to determine the premiers of the 2021 AFL season.
The match was played at Optus Stadium in Perth because an ongoing COVID-19 lockdown prevented the match from being played with spectators at its contracted ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria.[2] It was the first grand final played in Perth and the second consecutive grand final to be played outside Victoria.[3] The event set a new attendance record for Australian rules football in Western Australia.
Melbourne won the match by a 74-point margin, defeating the Western Bulldogs 21.14 (140) to 10.6 (66). Christian Petracca won the Norm Smith Medal. The win was Melbourne's first premiership since 1964.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Western Australians rewarded as Perth hosts historic AFL Grand Final". mediastatements.wa.gov.au. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "AFL grand final moves to Perth, will be played at Optus Stadium". The Age. Nine Entertainment. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2021.