2008 AFL Grand Final
| 2008 AFL Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
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The Hawthorn Hawks running through the banner prior to the match. The Hawks would win the match against the defending premiers, winning their first premiership in 17 years.
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| Date | 27 September 2008 | |||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 100,012 | |||||||||||||||
| Umpires | Scott McLaren (11), Michael Vozzo (2), Shaun Ryan (25) | |||||||||||||||
| Coin toss won by | Geelong | |||||||||||||||
| Kicked toward | City end | |||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | ||||||||||||||||
| Pre-match entertainment | Powderfinger AC/DC, Ian Moss, Lucy Durack and Amanda Harrison | |||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Amanda Harrison and Lucy Durack | |||||||||||||||
| Accolades | ||||||||||||||||
| Norm Smith Medallist | Luke Hodge (Hawthorn) | |||||||||||||||
| Jock McHale Medallist | Alastair Clarkson (Hawthorn) | |||||||||||||||
| Broadcast in Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Network | Seven Network | |||||||||||||||
| Commentators | Bruce McAvaney and Dennis Cometti | |||||||||||||||
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The 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 27 September 2008. It was the 112th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League), staged to determine the Premiers for the 2008 AFL season.
The game was the third Grand Final meeting between the two teams in their long history, having previously contested in the 1963 and 1989 VFL Grand Finals. The 2008 Grand Final was the first Grand Final contested by two Victorian-based teams since Essendon and Melbourne met in 2000. It was attended by 100,012 spectators, the first crowd to exceed 100,000 for a VFL/AFL game since the 1986 VFL Grand Final. Geelong entered the match as the favourites to win; however, Hawthorn won by 26 points, earning its 10th Premiership, the Club's first since 1991.
Geelong, the 2007 Premiers, won 21 of 22 games during the home and away season to win its second consecutive McClelland Trophy, and tied the 2000 Essendon Bombers for most wins ever in a home and away season. They were convincing 58-point winners in their Qualifying Final against St Kilda, earning them a week's rest and a home Preliminary Final. They then defeated the Western Bulldogs by 27 points to qualify for the Grand Final. Leading up to the Grand Final Geelong had won its past fifteen games.
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