2001 Ansett Australia Cup

2001 Ansett Australia Cup
AFL pre-season competition
Season	2001
Teams	16
Winners	Port Adelaide (1st title)
Matches played	27
Michael Tuck Medallist	Adam Kingsley (Port Adelaide)

The 2001 Ansett Australia Cup was contested by all sixteen clubs of the Australian Football League prior to the beginning of the AFLs 2001 season. It ran for five weeks in February and March 2001. The competition took a round-robin format to provide all teams with at least 3 practice games to prepare for the 2001 regular season, with all clubs divided into four groups of four, and the group winners qualifying for the knockout semi finals. Group A comprised the defending premiers Essendon, Port Adelaide, Geelong and Sydney. Group B featured Kangaroos, Collingwood, West Coast and St Kilda. Group C featured Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Western Bulldogs and Adelaide while finally Group D comprised Hawthorn, Richmond, Fremantle and Melbourne.

In the group stages, the Brisbane Lions, Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and Kangaroos finished top of their respective groups and qualified for the semi finals. Port Adelaide won Group A with 3 wins out of 3, qualifying ahead of Sydney and Geelong. The win over Geelong that secured Port Adelaide a place in the semi finals was marred however by a serious broken leg suffered by key ruckman Brendon Lade. In Group B, Kangaroos won their place in the semi finals after a 28-point win in the final group game against Collingwood. Group C was won by Brisbane Lions after they defeated Carlton by 13 points in the deciding game of the group. Group D was secured by Hawthorn after a 100-point thumping of Melbourne meant they qualified ahead of Richmond on percentage.

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