1997 AFL season
The 1997 AFL season was the 101st season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season ran from 27 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
1997 AFL premiership season | |
---|---|
Teams | 16 |
Premiers | Adelaide (1st premiership) |
Minor premiers | St Kilda (2nd minor premiership) |
Pre-season cup | Carlton (1st pre-season cup win) |
Matches played | 185 |
Attendance | 6,402,997 (34,611 per match) |
Highest attendance | 99,645 (Grand Final, Adelaide vs. St Kilda) |
Leading goalkicker | Tony Modra (Adelaide) |
Brownlow Medallist | Robert Harvey (St Kilda) |
Before the season, the Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) was admitted to the league, increasing the South Australian membership to two clubs. Foundation club Fitzroy, which had gone into administration in 1996, merged with the Brisbane Bears to form a new Queensland-based club known as the Brisbane Lions. The Footscray Football Club changed its name to the Western Bulldogs. With these changes, the league's size remained at sixteen clubs.
The premiership was won by the Adelaide Football Club for the first time, after it defeated St Kilda by 31 points in the 1997 AFL Grand Final.
Premiership season
Round 1
Round 1 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, 27 March (7:40 pm) | North Melbourne 7.13 (55) | def. by | Melbourne 10.10 (70) | MCG (crowd: 35,802) | Report |
Saturday, 29 March (2:10 pm) | Collingwood 26.10 (166) | def. | Port Adelaide 13.9 (87) | MCG (crowd: 51,883) | Report |
Saturday, 29 March (2:10 pm) | Western Bulldogs 11.10 (76) | def. by | Fremantle 10.20 (80) | Optus Oval (crowd: 8,664) | Report |
Saturday, 29 March (7:40 pm) | St Kilda 10.11 (71) | def. by | Hawthorn 11.11 (77) | Waverley Park (crowd: 35,732) | Report |
Saturday, 29 March (6:40 pm) | West Coast 12.6 (78) | def. | Sydney 5.7 (37) | Subiaco Oval (crowd: 29,965) | Report |
Sunday, 30 March (1:40 pm) | Adelaide 20.12 (132) | def. | Brisbane Lions 14.12 (96) | Football Park (crowd: 36,602) | Report |
Sunday, 30 March (2:10 pm) | Richmond 15.14 (104) | def. | Geelong 13.17 (95) | MCG (crowd: 48,358) | Report |
Monday, 31 March (2:10 pm) | Essendon 16.10 (106) | def. | Carlton 15.9 (99) | MCG (crowd: 82,363) | Report |
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Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Ladder
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St Kilda | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2294 | 1918 | 119.6 | 60 | Finals |
2 | Geelong | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2111 | 1791 | 117.9 | 60 | |
3 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2100 | 2062 | 101.8 | 56 | |
4 | Adelaide (P) | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2151 | 1769 | 121.6 | 52 | |
5 | West Coast | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 1969 | 1770 | 111.2 | 52 | |
6 | Sydney | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2093 | 1801 | 116.2 | 48 | |
7 | North Melbourne | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2051 | 1835 | 111.8 | 48 | |
8 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2076 | 1973 | 105.2 | 42 | |
9 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1852 | 2017 | 91.8 | 42 | |
10 | Collingwood | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2138 | 1919 | 111.4 | 40 | |
11 | Carlton | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1978 | 2045 | 96.7 | 40 | |
12 | Fremantle | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1748 | 1902 | 91.9 | 40 | |
13 | Richmond | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1883 | 2253 | 83.6 | 40 | |
14 | Essendon | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2004 | 2170 | 92.4 | 36 | |
15 | Hawthorn | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1873 | 2144 | 87.4 | 32 | |
16 | Melbourne | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1477 | 2429 | 60.8 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers
Ladder progression
Finals series
Week one
Qualifying finals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
QF1: Sunday, 7 September (2:30 pm) | Adelaide 14.15 (99) | def. | West Coast 9.12 (66) | Football Park (crowd: 43,761) | Report |
QF2: Saturday, 6 September (2:30 pm) | Western Bulldogs 18.11 (119) | def. | Sydney 12.12 (84) | MCG (crowd: 62,432) | Report |
QF3: Sunday, 7 September (7:00 pm) | Geelong 9.7 (61) | def. by | North Melbourne 11.13 (79) | MCG (crowd: 55,561) | Report |
QF4: Sunday, 7 September (2:30 pm) | St Kilda 20.15 (135) | def. | Brisbane Lions 13.11 (89) | Waverley Park (crowd: 50,035) | Report |
Week two
Semi-finals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SF1: Saturday, 13 September (2:30 pm) | North Melbourne 15.8 (98) | def. | West Coast 12.13 (85) | MCG (crowd: 55,781) | Report |
SF2: Saturday, 13 September (7:45 pm) | Adelaide 11.10 (76) | def. | Geelong 9.14 (68) | Football Park (crowd: 46,319) | Report |
Week three
Preliminary finals | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
PF2: Friday, 19 September (7:45 pm) | St Kilda 15.14 (104) | def. | North Melbourne 11.7 (73) | MCG (crowd: 77,531) | Report |
PF1: Saturday, 20 September (2:30 pm) | Western Bulldogs 13.13 (91) | def. by | Adelaide 12.21 (93) | MCG (crowd: 70,088) | Report |
Week four
Grand final | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 27 September (2:45 pm) | St Kilda 13.16 (94) | def. by | Adelaide 19.11 (125) | MCG (crowd: 99,645) | Report |
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Attendance
Team | Hosted | Average | Highest | Lowest | Total | Last Season | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Essendon | 11 | 52,848 | 83,271 | 25,636 | 581,330 | 49,526 | + 3322 |
Collingwood | 11 | 48,708 | 78,704 | 23,433 | 535,789 | 44,723 | + 3985 |
Adelaide | 11 | 40,173 | 47,256 | 36,297 | 441,905 | 39,428 | + 745 |
Port Adelaide | 11 | 35,829 | 45,498 | 31,757 | 394,115 | 11,017* | + 24812* |
Sydney | 11 | 35,818 | 46,168 | 23,598 | 393,999 | 24,574 | + 11244 |
St Kilda | 11 | 35,232 | 54,699 | 17,752 | 387,553 | 27,137 | + 8095 |
Richmond | 11 | 34,515 | 58,812 | 15,461 | 379,670 | 38,624 | - 4109 |
Carlton | 11 | 33,634 | 61,650 | 18,187 | 369,972 | 35,891 | - 2257 |
West Coast | 11 | 32,582 | 39,294 | 21,164 | 358,401 | 32,448 | + 134 |
North Melbourne | 11 | 32,520 | 54,901 | 13,056 | 357,725 | 34,627 | - 2107 |
Hawthorn | 11 | 32,380 | 51,494 | 15,939 | 356,179 | 23,624 | + 8756 |
Geelong | 11 | 28,324 | 65,228 | 16,467 | 311,567 | 25,161 | + 3163 |
Melbourne | 11 | 27,714 | 61,138 | 13,392 | 304,853 | 30,315 | - 2601 |
Fremantle | 11 | 21,982 | 39,711 | 14,721 | 241,801 | 22,473 | - 491 |
Brisbane Lions | 11 | 19,550 | 21,348 | 17,123 | 215,051 | N/A | N/A |
Western Bulldogs | 11 | 19,335 | 35,438 | 8664 | 212,681 | 18,073 | + 1262 |
Totals | 176 | 33,197 | 83,271 | 8664 | 5842,591 | 29,637 | + 3560 |
Venue | Hosted | Average | Highest | Lowest | Total | Last Season | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MCG | 53 | 43,488 | 83,271 | 13,392 | 2,304,865 | 46,114 | - 2626 |
Football Park | 22 | 38,001 | 47,256 | 31,757 | 836,020 | 39,428 | - 1427 |
SCG | 11 | 35,818 | 46,168 | 23,598 | 393,999 | 24,574 | + 11,244 |
Waverley Park | 22 | 33,806 | 54,699 | 15,939 | 743,732 | 25,545 | + 8261 |
Subiaco Oval | 17 | 28,371 | 39,711 | 14,721 | 482,310 | 28,289 | + 82 |
Whitten Oval | 1 | 26,704 | 26,704 | 26,704 | 26,704 | 10,482 | + 16,222 |
Victoria Park | 3 | 24,473 | 25,323 | 23,433 | 73,419 | 23,581 | + 892 |
WACA | 5 | 23,578 | 29,838 | 18,198 | 117,892 | 25,253 | - 1675 |
Kardinia Park | 9 | 21,269 | 24,099 | 16,467 | 191,417 | 22,670 | - 1401 |
Optus Oval | 22 | 20,781 | 34,922 | 8664 | 457,182 | 15,641 | + 5140 |
Gabba | 11 | 19,550 | 21,348 | 17,123 | 215,051 | 18,088 | + 1462 |
Totals | 176 | 33,197 | 83,271 | 8664 | 5842,591 | 29,637 | + 3560 |
Notable events
- The last AFL game at Whitten Oval was played.
- The first qualifying final between Adelaide and West Coast was rescheduled from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon to allow the Seven Network to screen the funeral of Princess Diana live across Australia.[2] This meant that it was played at the same time as the fourth qualifying final between minor premiers St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions, who were competing in their first season as a merged entity. The game is also notable for being the first ever final between two non-Victorian teams.
- Gary Ablett Sr., arguably one of the games best and most well known players, officially announced his retirement during the Preliminary Final weekend. Ablett failed to play a game in 1997 due to a knee injury.
References
- "Eight of the longest AFL suspensions". Zero Hanger. 7 August 2018.
- Warner, Michael; Ralph, Jon; Wade, Nick (4 July 2015). "Cats game cancelled". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
External links
- "1997 AFL Season results". AFL Tables.