AFL grand final: Western Bulldogs get their fairytale finish, beating Sydney Swans by 22 points

Updated

The Western Bulldogs have beaten the Sydney Swans in the AFL grand final by 22 points at the MCG, to end a 62-year premiership drought.

AFL grand final: SYD v WB 10.7 (67)

Sydney

v

Western Bulldogs

13.11 (89) at MCG, October 1 2016 372 Disposals 383 30 Clearances 37 41 Inside 50 59 101 Tackles 89

Sydney: 10.7 (67) - J Kennedy 3, T Mitchell 2, L Franklin, N Smith, G Rohan, L Parker, G Hewett



Western Bulldogs: 13.11 (89) - T Dickson 3, T Boyd 3, L Picken 3, Z Cordy, T McLean, C Smith, J Stringer



The Dogs made history, becoming the first team to ever win the AFL flag after finishing seventh on the ladder, with a 13.11 (89) to 10.7 (67) victory.

In 2005, the Swans under Paul Roos had had the bulk of fan support behind them as they broke a 72-year premiership drought that dated back to the club's days as South Melbourne.

Since then, the Bulldogs were the ones with the longest wait between premierships.

This time, it was their turn to try and secure a fairytale finish and in a gripping second half they came home over the top of their fancied rivals.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge paid tribute to the Swans, describing them as "an unbelievable side" before speaking of his playing group.

"This group of players are just incredible. Their hearts are so big," Beveridge said.

"We know how long you've waited for some success. And we really thought at half time that it was going to take something extra special, even though they had given their all already."

Speaking to Grandstand, Bulldogs' utility Lachie Hunter put the win in perspective.

"We haven't won since '54 and all the prelim losses and things like that it seems liked there was a bit of a curse going on for a while but it just makes it that much more special," he said.

"It's been such a long wait for the fans and everyone at the club, it's just unreal.

"You never want to think you won, but I wasn't going to go too early but I looked to the bench and saw that everyone was in tears and hugging each other so I though it was probably time for me to start celebrating as well.

"That was nice to run around for the last minute or two knowing that you were going to win the flag."

For the Swans, midfielder Josh Kennedy played an incredible game - with 34 disposals including 17 contested possessions and three goals - but he was left to wonder what might have been.

"Credit to the Bulldogs they were just a little bit more consistent over the four quarters, a real team effort, an even contribution across the board," Kennedy said. "In the end they hurt us on our turnovers."

He said coach John Longmire's post-match message was that the turnovers had been critical and that the Swans had been "probably a little bit conservative with our ball movement."

Kennedy deflected suggestions that the lop-sided free kick count - which favoured the Bulldogs 20-8 - had any impact on the result.

"I feel like at the end of the day those sort of things tend to even themselves out and credit to the way the Doggies' went about it," he said.

"It's a great brand of footy, their contested footy is elite. They kept the ball in motion and try to surge it forward at all costs and it seemed to play dividends."

Before Saturday, the Swans had played 16 grand finals for five premiership wins.

The Bulldogs had played twice, for a win in 1954 and a loss in 1961.

Buddy injury an early scare for Swans as Dogs bite

If there was any doubt where the crowd's allegiance lay, they were quickly dispelled by the howls of derision as the Swans came out of the tunnel from the 80 per cent of fans supporting the red, white and blue.

It was hard and tight football as expected early - the Swans quickly had a problem when spearhead Lance Franklin went down to the rooms in the first five minutes after turning his ankle in a marking contest, but he returned minutes later to set up an attack.

Bulldogs grand final captain Easton Wood led from the front, crunching Kieren Jack and making him pay for a mark inside 50, but he pushed it wide to get the opening score.

A few minutes later, Jack was involved again when he found Luke Parker with a kick across field. Parker kicked truly for the opening goal.

The Swans were getting on top, but they weren't taking their chances. Franklin took a mark 15 metres out on the left, but his left-foot shot curled wide.

The Bulldogs blew a chance through Zaine Cordy, but he made amends minutes later when he caught Callum Mills holding the ball, and then bent one through from near the boundary to lift his team and the crowd.

The Bulldogs then took the lead in deep time on when Lachie Hunter hit Tory Dickson on the chest, and the small forward converted to give his team a four-point lead, which they held at the first change.

The Dogs were good value for their lead, in front in clearances, stoppages and contested possessions. They had avoided being blown away in the first quarter, and grabbed the advantage.

Swans bounce back with six-goal term

The action was fierce to start the second term, as the Bulldogs sensed an opportunity.

When Tom Boyd took a mark next to the goals and bent it around for a major, the Dogs were out to a 10-point break. Then Jack missed a chance at the other end, as the Swans ramped up the defensive pressure inside their forward line.

The Dogs tried and failed to get it out of their defensive 50, and quick hands found Dane Rampe, who nailed the kick for the Swans' second goal of the day.

At the other end, Heath Grundy dropped a mark, Dickson picked up the scraps and hooked the ball home, then Liam Picken brought the crowd to its feet with a snap over his head from the left forward pocket to extend the lead to 16 points.

Tom Mitchell answered quickly with a vital goal, bombing a left-foot set shot from beyond 50 to halt the momentum.

Rohan kicked another for the Swans, then Franklin's fend-off inside 50 allowed him to find Kennedy, who snapped truly from 30 to give Sydney the lead.

Just before time on Kennedy was at it again, grabbing the ball and kicking another to make it four goals on the spin for the Swans.

The Bulldogs stopped the rot with a mark and goal to Tom Boyd, but the Swans answered within a minute through an outrageous snap from Tom Mitchell.

Toby McLean hooked one round his shoulder with 10 seconds left for a goal to the Dogs - as the half-time siren sounded, it was the Swans 7.3 (45), the Bulldogs 7.1 (43).

The Bont steps up as Bulldogs move ahead

The second half started as the first ended, with both sides cracking in hard.

Dickson gave the Bulldogs a boost, with a kick that floated through from 15 metres out, then they had another chance when Jeremy Laidler gave away a 50 for a late hit - but Jack Macrae missed the kick for goal badly.

After a couple of misses, Franklin delivered a brilliant pass to Kennedy, who marked and was levelled by McLean to earn a 50-metre penalty.

He kicked his third, but just before time on a lucky free kick to Clay Smith resulted in a goal and the fifth lead change of the day.

The Swans were being well served at the back by Dane Rampe, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith, intercepting so many of the Dogs' attacks with strong marking and spoiling.

On the other side of the ball, Bontempelli was lifting, the Bulldogs run and carry through the middle was improving and big man Tom Boyd was marking everything in sight.

However, a series of misses meant they led by just eight points at three-quarter time, 9.7 (61) to 8.5 (53).

Hannebery injury the beginning of the end

The final term was tight early, but the Bulldogs seemed to be making headway against a tired Swans line-up.

The news got worse for Sydney, as a Swans' attack was halted after Dan Hannebery took a hit to his knee and then twisted it in a contest with Wood.

He was taken off the ground, and re-emerged briefly before his day was over. Franklin took a mark 40 metres out and slotted his first of the day to cut the margin to a single point.

But Jake Stringer - who had been almost absent for most of the day, snapped a great goal from a pack 20m out to restore a seven-point lead for the Dogs.

That only lasted 90 seconds, however, before George Hewett won a free inside 50, and converted for Sydney.

The tension was rising remorselessly, and both sides were missing targets, but Picken bobbed up again at the 17-minute mark to kick the Bulldogs' 11th major.

The Dogs went forward again a minute later, as Jason Johannisen got the ball on the left forward 50 and booted it home, only for it to be overturned on review and called a behind.

It didn't matter, however, as Stringer kicked a goal with five minutes left to all but ice the game and the flag.

The siren sounded, setting off delirious scenes in the crowd and on the field, as the Bulldogs celebrated the end of the drought and the start of a new era.

Johannisen's 33 disposals, seven rebound 50s and nine inside 50s won him the Norm Smith Medal.

Topics: sport, australian-football-league, sydney-2000, nsw, footscray-3011, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

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