1991 AFL premiership season
Teams15
PremiersHawthorn
9th premiership
Minor premiersWest Coast
1st minor premiership
Pre-season cupHawthorn
2nd pre-season cup win
Brownlow MedallistJim Stynes (Melbourne)
Coleman MedallistTony Lockett (St Kilda)
Attendance
Matches played172
Total attendance4,178,884 (24,296 per match)
Highest75,230 (Grand Final, Hawthorn vs. West Coast)

The 1991 AFL season was the 95th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), which was known previously as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season ran from 22 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top six clubs, an increase from the top five clubs which had contested the finals since 1972.

The season saw expansion of the league to fifteen clubs, with the admission of the newly established Adelaide Crows, based in Adelaide, South Australia. With at least one team representing each of the three major Australian rules football states, the league was now the highest level senior Australian rules football competition across Australia, as well as the top administrative body for football in Victoria.

The premiership was won by the Hawthorn Football Club for the ninth time, after it defeated West Coast by 53 points in the 1991 AFL Grand Final.

Foster's Cup

Hawthorn defeated North Melbourne 14.19 (103) to 7.12 (54) in the final.

Home-and-away season

The league expanded to 15 teams with the admission of the Adelaide Crows, meaning byes were required for the first time since 1943.

Each team played 22 games for the season with two byes: seven teams had a bye in round 1, and one team had a bye in each subsequent round.

Round 1

Round 1
Friday, 22 March (7:40 pm) Adelaide 24.11 (155) def. Hawthorn 9.15 (69) Football Park (crowd: 44,902) Report
Saturday, 23 March (2:10 pm) St Kilda 16.11 (107) def. Richmond 12.10 (82) Waverley Park (crowd: 33,192) Report
Sunday, 24 March (2:10 pm) Footscray 11.10 (76) def. by Collingwood 21.20 (146) Waverley Park (crowd: 38,861) Report
Sunday, 24 March (2:10 pm) West Coast 14.15 (99) def. Melbourne 2.8 (20) Subiaco Oval (crowd: 26,105) Report
Bye
Brisbane Bears, Carlton, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, North Melbourne, Sydney
  • The Jarman brothers Andrew (for Adelaide) and Darren (for Hawthorn) made their AFL debuts against each other in the season opener.

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 4
Friday, 12 April (7:40 pm) West Coast 18.19 (127) def. North Melbourne 8.7 (55) WACA Ground (crowd: 28,362) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Essendon 12.20 (92) def. Adelaide 6.11 (47) Windy Hill (crowd: 20,197) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Melbourne 23.17 (155) def. Carlton 17.8 (110) AFL Park (crowd: 32,573) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) St Kilda 13.16 (94) drew with Collingwood 13.16 (94) Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 31,213) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Fitzroy 12.18 (90) def. by Footscray 15.16 (106) Princes Park (crowd: 10,351) Report
Saturday, 13 April (2:10 pm) Richmond 19.13 (127) def. by Sydney 24.20 (164) MCG (crowd: 17,294) Report
Sunday, 14 April (2:10 pm) Brisbane Bears 12.16 (88) def. by Geelong 27.28 (190) The Gabba (crowd: 12,654) Report
Bye
Hawthorn
  • This was the first time since 1981 that a match for VFL/AFL premiership points had been staged at The Gabba. Under the insistence of coach Robert Walls, the Bears would eventually relocate there permanently in 1993.

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 7
Friday, 3 May (7:40 pm) North Melbourne 21.15 (141) def. Fitzroy 14.13 (97) MCG (crowd: 13,111) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) St Kilda 24.18 (162) def. Adelaide 4.7 (31) Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 25,057) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) Melbourne 18.18 (126) def. Brisbane Bears 17.11 (113) MCG (crowd: 14,722) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) Essendon 17.13 (115) def. Carlton 13.16 (94) Waverley Park (crowd: 47,651) Report
Saturday, 4 May (2:10 pm) Hawthorn 8.14 (62) def. by West Coast 21.18 (144) Princes Park (crowd: 18,585) Report
Sunday, 5 May (2:10 pm) Footscray 20.13 (133) def. Richmond 14.17 (101) Western Oval (crowd: 18,644) Report
Sunday, 5 May (2:10 pm) Sydney 20.24 (144) def. Geelong 14.14 (98) SCG (crowd: 11,244) Report
Bye
Collingwood
  • St Kilda stars Nicky Winmar and Tony Lockett marked their long-awaited return to action with outstanding performances as the Saints set a new club record for biggest win, eclipsing their 110-point win against Fitzroy in 1970. The signs were ominous when Lockett goaled in the opening minute after marking a pass from Robert Harvey, eventually finishing with 12 goals. The Crows weren't helped by the loss of Andrew Jarman to a shoulder injury in the first quarter.[1]
  • In their match at the MCG, Brisbane Bears led Melbourne for much of the afternoon, and appeared to have won when former Geelong player Shane Hamilton put the Bears 19 points ahead at the 19-minute mark of the final quarter. The Demons mounted a comeback when Darren Cuthbertson goaled from a controversial free kick after Bears defender John Gastev was penalized for holding the ball, and hit the front with goals to Jim Stynes and Ricky Jackson to eventually run out 13-point winners. Cuthbertson and Darren Bennett kicked five goals each for the winners.[2]

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 13
Friday, 14 June (7:40 pm) West Coast 25.15 (165) def. Footscray 7.5 (47) WACA Ground (crowd: 25,117) Report
Saturday, 15 June (2:10 pm) Richmond 6.11 (47) def. by Adelaide 12.13 (85) MCG (crowd: 16,235) Report
Saturday, 15 June (2:10 pm) Hawthorn 22.17 (149) def. Brisbane Bears 9.8 (62) Princes Park (crowd: 5,741) Report
Saturday, 15 June (2:10 pm) Essendon 10.14 (74) def. by Collingwood 11.10 (76) Waverley Park (crowd: 41,948) Report
Sunday, 16 June (1:10 pm) Fitzroy 15.8 (98) def. by St Kilda 17.9 (111) North Hobart Oval (crowd: 13,746) Report
Sunday, 16 June (2:10 pm) Melbourne 16.8 (104) def. by Geelong 20.14 (134) MCG (crowd: 40,930) Report
Sunday, 16 June (3:10 pm) Sydney 18.16 (124) def. Carlton 17.8 (110) SCG (crowd: 12,769) Report
Bye
North Melbourne
  • In the Friday evening game in Perth, West Coast continued their unbeaten start to the season and extended their winning streak to 12 games when they pounded Footscray by 118 points, equalling their biggest winning margin which was set against Brisbane Bears in 1988. Full-forward Peter Sumich became the first Eagles player to kick ten or more goals in a game and finished with a career-best 13 goals.
  • Going into three-quarter time with a one-point lead, Adelaide kicked six goals to none in the final quarter to defeat Richmond and win their first game in Melbourne. After the match, Crows coach Graham Cornes acknowledged the significance of the win and took the opportunity to accuse the Victorian football media of a "xenophobic" attitude towards non-Victorian teams, also claiming that South Australian football crowds were "angels" compared to the crowds at Melbourne's suburban football grounds.[3]
  • The game between Melbourne and Geelong marked the much-anticipated return of Gary Ablett from his premature retirement announcement earlier in the year. He had a modest game with ten touches and two goals, while teammate Bill Brownless took several spectacular marks and kicked seven goals as the Cats ran out winners by 30 points and consigned the Demons to a fourth straight loss.[4]

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 19
Friday, 26 July (7:40 pm) North Melbourne 12.13 (85) def. West Coast 11.16 (82) MCG (crowd: 19,399) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Geelong 24.15 (159) def. Brisbane Bears 8.10 (58) Kardinia Park (crowd: 13,639) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Carlton 10.8 (68) def. by Melbourne 11.14 (80) Princes Park (crowd: 16,110) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Collingwood 13.7 (85) def. St Kilda 7.11 (53) Waverley Park (crowd: 53,315) Report
Saturday, 27 July (2:10 pm) Footscray 16.12 (108) def. Fitzroy 7.9 (51) Western Oval (crowd: 8,977) Report
Sunday, 28 July (2:10 pm) Sydney 14.15 (99) def. Richmond 12.20 (92) SCG (crowd: 9,276) Report
Sunday, 28 July (7:40 pm) Adelaide 16.12 (108) def. Essendon 12.9 (81) Football Park (crowd: 41,716) Report
Bye
Hawthorn

Round 20

Round 20
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) Carlton 16.9 (105) def. Geelong 14.19 (103) Princes Park (crowd: 20,277) Report
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) Essendon 22.19 (151) def. Sydney 12.12 (84) Windy Hill (crowd: 14,341) Report
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) Hawthorn 12.11 (83) def. Footscray 10.9 (69) Waverley Park (crowd: 20,670) Report
Saturday, 3 August (2:10 pm) North Melbourne 13.10 (88) def. by Melbourne 20.20 (140) MCG (crowd: 28,323) Report
Saturday, 3 August (7:40 pm) Brisbane Bears 10.11 (71) def. by Collingwood 26.16 (172) Carrara Stadium (crowd: 9,302) Report
Sunday, 4 August (2:10 pm) Richmond 13.19 (97) def. by Fitzroy 23.18 (156) MCG (crowd: 16,434) Report
Sunday, 4 August (2:10 pm) Adelaide 11.14 (80) def. by West Coast 14.11 (95) Football Park (crowd: 45,864) Report
Bye
St Kilda
  • Carlton produced its second major upset of the season, shaking off four consecutive narrow losses and surviving a last-quarter fightback from second-placed Geelong to win by two points. The Blues players kept a promise to coach David Parkin that they would produce a four-quarter effort, while Cats coach Malcolm Blight lamented his side's inconsistency.[5]

Round 21

Round 22

Round 23

Round 24

Ladder

(P)Premiers
Qualified for finals
# Team P W L D PF PA  % Pts
1West Coast22193024851532162.276
2Hawthorn (P)22166027932055135.964
3Geelong22166026602021131.664
4St Kilda22147125122087120.458
5Melbourne22139023552123110.952
6Essendon22139022032017109.252
7Collingwood22129123492033115.550
8North Melbourne22121002456269391.248
9Adelaide22101202041228289.440
10Footscray2291211815206487.938
11Carlton2281401878211388.932
12Sydney2271412360277885.030
13Richmond2271502141245087.428
14Fitzroy2241801837277166.316
15Brisbane Bears2231901976284269.512

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 102.6
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

Finals week 1

Finals week 2

Preliminary final

Grand final

Season notes

  • The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, entered the AFL competition.
  • The McIntyre "final five" system, which had operated from 1972 until 1990, was replaced by the first McIntyre "final six" system. This system lasted only this season, and it was replaced by the second McIntyre "final six" system in 1992.
  • St Kilda broke an eighteen year finals drought, making the finals for the first time since 1973.
  • In round 6, North Melbourne and Sydney kicked a combined 32.18 (210) in the first half. It is the only aggregate of 200 points for a half in VFL/AFL history.
  • In round 11, Carlton kicked its only goal through Mark Arceri 33 seconds from the end of its match with Footscray.[6] It was the Blues' lowest score since 1904, and the closest a team has come to a goalless match since 1961.
  • In round 21, Essendon hosted its last senior VFL/AFL match at Windy Hill, its home venue since 1922. Essendon played its home matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the remainder of the 1990s.
  • Jim Stynes became the first, and as of 2023 only, foreign-born winner of the highest individual award, the Brownlow Medal.
  • West Coast did not concede more than 100 points in any game during the home-and-away season, being the first team to do this since 1967.
  • The qualifying final at Subiaco Oval between West Coast and Hawthorn was the first finals match played outside Melbourne since 1897, when one finals match was played in Geelong, and was the first final played outside Victoria.
  • The capacity of the Melbourne Cricket Ground was reduced by half during 1991 as the new Great Southern Stand was constructed in preparation for the 1992 Cricket World Cup, to be played there from February 1992. One consequence of this was that Waverley Park hosted all finals that were played in Melbourne, including the grand final for the first and only time in its history. The other was that Hawthorn's plans move its home games from Princes Park to Waverley Park were delayed by one year: Hawthorn had played five home games at Waverley Park and six at Princes Park in 1990 as part of transitional arrangements for a permanent move in 1991, but the AFL reneged on the deal when it became clear that the ground was needed for blockbuster games throughout the year: as a compromise, Hawthorn again played five home games at Waverley Park and six at Princes Park during 1991, and then moved permanently to Waverley Park in 1992.[7]
  • The reserves premiership was won by Brisbane, who became the first non-Victorian team to win a VFL/AFL premiership at any grade.
  • The final under-19s premiership was won by North Melbourne. The AFL under-19s competition was shut down at the end of the season, being replaced by an under-18s competition featuring six district-based clubs in Victoria that were unaffiliated to the VFL/AFL clubs.
  • At the end of the season, Hawthorn captain Michael Tuck retired, having played a then-record 426 VFL/AFL matches (including seven premierships from 11 grand finals). The record stood until passed by Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) in Round 16 of 2016.

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Saints go on record rampage". The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 476. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 May 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Demons pull a rabbit out of the hat at MCG". The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 476. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 May 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Crow pecks at media after win". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 June 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 11 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Demons sink out of top six". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 June 1991. p. 26. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "'One of those days' for Blues and Cats". The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 567. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 August 1991. p. 11. Retrieved 12 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ Lerner, Ronny. "Footy flashback: Blues had one goal against the Bulldogs". www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Daryl Timms (2 July 1990). "Feathers fly". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 88.
  • Rodgers, Stephen (1992). Every Game Ever Played: VFL/AFL Results 1897-1991 (3rd ed.). Australia: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-670-90526-7.

Sources

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