2020 AFL Grand Final

2020 AFL Grand Final

The 2020 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between Richmond and Geelong at the Gabba in Brisbane, Queensland. It was the 124th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League, and the first to be held at night. The match was won by Richmond by a margin of 31 points, marking the club’s thirteenth VFLAFL premiership and their third in four seasons. Richmond’s Dustin Martin won the Norm Smith Medal as the player judged best on ground, becoming the first player in VflAFL history to win three Norm Smith Medals. Brisbane’s first win in 15 attempts meant that they were defeated by Richmond in what was their first win over the past 15 attempts.

About 2020 AFL Grand Final in brief

Summary 2020 AFL Grand FinalThe 2020 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between Richmond and Geelong at the Gabba in Brisbane, Queensland, on Saturday 24 October 2020. It was the 124th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League, and the first to be held at night. The match was won by Richmond by a margin of 31 points, marking the club’s thirteenth VFLAFL premiership and their third in four seasons. Richmond’s Dustin Martin won the Norm Smith Medal as the player judged best on ground, becoming the first player in VflAFL history to win three Norm Smith Medals. The top eight teams at the conclusion of the home-and-away season qualified for the grand final, with the winners of the two preliminary finals to meet in the final. Richmond ended the season in third place after defeating Adelaide by 15 points in the second qualifying final. Brisbane’s first win in 15 attempts meant that they were defeated by Richmond in what was their first win over the past 15 attempts. The game was originally scheduled for the last Saturday of September but was delayed several weeks due to the suspension of the season stemming from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The venue’s normal capacity of 42,000 was reduced to 30,000 to comply with health department restrictions still in force at the time, and many tickets were available for general public sale for the first time in more than 20 years. The reduced capacity was all but filled, with 29,707 attending the match; the restrictions meant it was the lowest crowd to attend a grand final since 1917, during World War I.

A 3 m² section of Melbourne Cricket Ground turf was transplanted into the Gabbas surface as a symbolic stunt to ensure the traditional venue was still part of the event. The deal to play the Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket ground was extended by one year to 2058, and two extra home- and-away matches were granted to the ground in 2022 and 2023. The season was suspended entirely for almost three months between 22 March and 11 June as Australia dealt with its first wave of the virus. This adjusted fixture had the effect of delaying the end of the regular season until mid-September, and pushing the Grand final back to a provisional date of 17 October. The first time that a VFLaFL grand final was played outside of Victoria, and first time since 1991 that the match was played away from the Melbourne cricket ground. The Grand Final is the first played in the evening to avoid the Cox Plate, the traditional start time of 6:30pm AEST. It is also the first AFL grand final to be staged outside the state of Victoria. The final was held on a Saturday night to avoid a clash with major Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival races. The match had not been scheduled for a traditional afternoon timeslot, but was shifted on the public holiday, observed in Victoria, observed on the 23 October in line with the date of 23 October.