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The 1999 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and Carlton Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 25 September 1999. It was the 103rd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1999 AFL season. The match, attended by 94,228 spectators, was won by North Melbourne by a margin of 35 points (the second consecutive year in which the premiership decider was determined by that margin). It was North Melbourne's fourth premiership victory.

Background

This was North Melbourne's first appearance in a Grand Final since losing the previous year's Grand Final, whilst it was Carlton's first since winning the 1995 AFL Grand Final.

North Melbourne finished the 1999 home and away season in second position with 17 wins and 5 losses, a game behind Essendon, with the Western Bulldogs, West Coast, Carlton, Port Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney making up the final eight. Carlton had finished sixth with a record of 12 wins and ten losses.

The Kangaroos had an easy 45 point win over Brisbane in the Preliminary Final, and whilst many experts predicted a North Melbourne-Essendon Grand Final, Carlton unexpectedly beat Essendon by just one point in the second Preliminary Final in what was widely considered to be a huge upset victory. Consequently, the Kangaroos went into the match as heavy favourites.

Match summary

Carlton scored the first goal, but North Melbourne, who were without suspended defender Jason McCartney, also started well and led by 12 points at quarter time. Then, during the second quarter, ruckman Corey McKernan booted two inspirational goals, the first from 65 metres out and the second from a tight angle just a minute later. The Kangaroos were in control and went into half time with a 20-point lead.

North Melbourne extended their lead in the third quarter; Winston Abraham kicked an easy goal and Carlton midfielder Justin Murphy injured his knee. The Blues managed to reduce the Kangaroos' lead to just 13 points, but that was as close as they could get, as the Kangaroos added goals through McKernan and Shannon Motlop. Gradually wearing down their opponents through intense pressure and tackling, they led by 43 points at three quarter time.

The final quarter was simply a formality for the Kangaroos, eventually triumphing by 35 points. Shannon Grant of the Kangaroos was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield. Grant had come under heavy criticism for his performance in the previous grand final, which the Kangaroos had lost.

Teams

Scorecard

See also

• 1999 AFL season

References

• 1999 Grand Final Report

External links

• Match Stats