2003 AFL Grand Final

The 2003 AFL Grand Final was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 79,451 (a smaller crowd than previous years due to the construction of the ground for the 2006 Commonwealth Games). The two teams playing were the Brisbane Lions, who had won the AFL Premiership for the past two years, and the Collingwood Magpies, who had also contested the Grand Final with the Lions in 2002 but had fallen short.

Build-Up

The 2003 Grand Final had a unique build-up. History certainly repeated itself this year as Anthony Rocca, a Collingwood forward and thought to be one of the most important players in the team, was suspended during the week for an elbow to the head of a Port Adelaide Power player during the Preliminary Final, the match to play in the Grand Final. This suspension was thought to be a major blow to the Magpies chances.

The build-up was further magnified due to the Lions' chance of being the first team since the Melbourne Demons in the 1950's to win three premierships in a row. The Magpies were also under pressure to avenge their close loss to the Lions in the previous year's epic Grand Final.

Match Summary

The Rocca suspension ended being a big blow for the Magpies, the Lions winning the match 20.14 (134) to the Magpies' 12.12 (84).The Lions dominated the Magpies and lead throughout the match, leading 5.5 (35) to the Magpies' 3.3 (21) at quarter time. The Lions stretched their lead in the second quarter, leading 11.7 (73) to 4.7 (31) at half time. Collingwood fought back in the third quarter, but still had a long lead ahead of them at the last break, trailing 9.7 (61) to the Lions' 14.12 (96). The Magpies were at risk of being absolutely humiliated as the Lions piled on six goals during the last quarter, but the Magpies saved face by scoring four late goals, reducing the margin to an even 50 points. And so, the Lions became AFL Premiers for the third year in a row. (They would go on to contest a fourth Grand Final in a row in 2004, but would lose to the Port Adelaide Power).

Leading goal scorers

BrisbaneJason Akermanis 5, Lynch 4, Caracella, Brown 2, McRae, Pike, Hadley, Black, Leppitsch, Hart, Bradshaw

CollingwoodDidak 3, Burns 2, Davis, Woewodin, Buckley, Licuria, Tarrant, Fraser, Scotland

Norm Smith Medallist

The Norm Smith Medallist (or best afield) for the 2003 Grand Final was Brisbane midfielder Simon Black.