Australian Rules Football
Sports > List > AFL > Grand Final > SprintVFL/AFL Grand Final Sprint
A player's sprint race has traditionally been held on the day of the Grand Final, at half time of the main match. The sprint was first held in 1979, though in 1977 and 1978 there was a mile race held. There has also been a kicking competition.
The sprint event is raced over 100m, and in some recent years a handicapping system was used like that for professional footraces. By tradition, starting blocks cannot be used, though running spike are allowed. Each club nominates one player, though players from the teams taking part in the Grand Final are not always present. The race was not held between 1988-2001. The below information is not all from official records - information about each sprint was collated from various sources online, is incomplete and may not be 100% accurate. The result from 1986 has not been found - was there a race that year? See all the videos of the races we could find. If you have comments to make or more information to add, please let me know.
Grand Final Sprint Winners List
| Year | Winner | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Patrick Dangerfield | Adelaide | The prize for 1st was $5000. See a video of the 2011 race. There were only 9 competitors in the final. Sam Blease of Melbourne did not start. Finalists: |
| 2010 | Luke Miles | St Kilda | Finalists: other competitors (who did not make the final): |
| 2009 | Rhys Stanley | St Kilda | The event reverted to a scratch race (all runners cover 100m) after 3 years as a handicap event. See a video of the 2009 race. Final: (scratch race) Heat 1: |
| 2008 | Matthew White | Richmond | A handicap event; Matthew White started from scratch in the final, all others from 2m. $5000 prize to the winner. See a video of the 2008 race. Final: |
| 2007 | Jake King | Richmond | It was a handicap event for the third and last time. Jake King started from 2m. Also in the final was Will Schofield (WC). See a poor video of the 2007 race. Heat 1 Heat 2 |
| 2006 | Brendan Fevola | Carlton | A handicap event for the first time, Fev was front marker by a good distance. Apparently the contestants' times over 20 metres were sourced from their clubs and sent to Athletics Australia, which then devised the handicap marks for each player. Behind Fev was Jason Winderlich (Essendon) (2nd) and Nathan Folely (Richmond) (3rd). Both Winderlich and Foley were off the same mark, about 8m behind Fev. Also in the field were Danyle Pearce (Port Adelaide) and Russell Robertson (Melbourne). Shannon Byrnes (Geelong) was in the heats but did not make the final. |
| 2005 | Brett Deledio | Richmond | 2nd was Daniel Bell (Melbourne), 3rd Shannon Byrnes (Geelong) Heat 1James Begley (Adelaide) Jordon Bannister (Carlton) Ricky Dyson (Essendon) Shannon Byrnes (Geelong) Shannon Watt (Kangaroos) Brett Deledio (Richmond) Troy Schwarze (St Kilda) Ben Sharp (West Coast) Heat 2 Leigh Ryswyk (Brisbane) Chris Egan (Collingwood) Byron Schammer (Fremantle) Campbell Brown (Hawthorn) Daniel Bell (Melbourne) Danyle Pearce (Port Adelaide) Guy Campbell (Sydney) Cameron Faulkner (Western Bulldogs) |
| 2004 | James Walker | Fremantle | $5000 prize money for the winner. The top 5 placings in the final were:
Luke Williams from Melbourne was in the race. |
| 2003 | James Walker | Fremantle | The final included: Fremantle’s James Walker The compete field for the heats:
|
| 2002 | Jared Crouch | Sydney Swans | The event was called the NINTENDO GAMECUBE AFL SPRINT. The winner collected three $5000 cheques - one for themselves, one for their club and one to be given to charity. Below is a published list for the sprint heats, though other less official sources has some other competitors: S. Burgoyne (Port Adelaide),
Shane Harvey (Essendon) and
Rhys Shaw (Collingwood).
Campbell Brown and Jared Crouch won their heats. In the final, Jordan McMahon got off to a blistering start, however, he was overtaken by Jared Crouch. Crouch just beat Chatfield at the line. Heat 1 Heat 2 |
| 1988-2001 | not held | ||
| 1987 | Russell Richards | Melbourne | Fourth time lucky for Richards. He had previously finished 3rd twice. |
| 1986 | ? | Russell Richards from Melbourne was in the race. That's all I know so far. | |
| 1985 | Geoff Ablett | St Kilda | Geoff Ablett had won the sprint three times previously, while representing Hawthorn. The prize money was $1000 for 1st, $300 for second and $200 for third. Included competitors from 11 out of the 12 clubs (no one from Hawthorn). Lineup: |
 There is some dispute about the final placing in this event, though this front view of the finish taken from the video clearly shows Ablett (St Kilda) winning. See the video of the race. |
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| 1984 | Doug Cox | Essendon | Geoff Ablett, competing for Richmond, came a close second. Third was Russell Richards. The prize money was $1000 for 1st, $300 for second and $200 for third. To qualify, the competitors must have competed in 5 senior matches in 1984. See video. Field: |
| 1983 | Frank Marchesani | Carlton | Frank Marchesani (Carlton) 1st Do you recognize any other players in this video of the 1983 race? If you do, let me know. |
| 1982 | Michael 'Mick' Conlan | Fitzroy | Frank Marchesani of Carlton was 2nd. Paul O'Brien from Melbourne was also competing. |
| 1981 | Geoff Ablett | Hawthorn | Geoff is the older brother of Geelong great Gary Ablett Snr. There was no competitors from Carlton and Collingwood as they were competing in the Grand Final. Prize money was $1000 for 1st, $300 for 2nd and $200 for 3rd. See video. Field: |
| 1980 | Geoff Ablett | Hawthorn | Ablett won $1,000 plus Moulinex kitchen appliances for his winning run. 2nd was Fitzroy's Frank Marchesani who won $200. Also competing was Carlton's Peter Francis, Melbourne's Tony Elshaug and Stephen Lunn of Geelong. Do you recognise the Essendon and Footscray players in the image of the finish below? Let me now if you do. |
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| 1979 | Geoff Ablett | Hawthorn | 2nd was Fitzroy's Michael Conlan. Cameron Clayton from Melbourne was also competing. |
Related Pages
- See all the videos of the races we could find.
- half time mile race from 1977 & 1978
- Grand Final kicking competition.
- AFL Grand Finalists
