# 2024 AFL Women's Grand Final

The 2024 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match which was held on 30 November at Princes Park to determine the premiers of the ninth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. The match was between North Melbourne and Brisbane, and was the second consecutive grand final to feature the matchup. North Melbourne beat the Lions by 30 points. This was the club's first premiership in the AFLW and the first premiership of an expansion club.

## Entertainment

Pop rock band Lime Cordiale provided a 15-minute set for the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment, while actor, dancer and singer Bobby Fox sang the Australian national anthem.
Lime Cordiale's setlist included "Pedestal", "Temper Temper", "Robbery" and "Inappropriate Behaviour". The performance received mixed reviews from fans and viewers.
Scheduled on-field events :
| Time | Event |
| 7:03 pm | Lime Cordiale performs for the Telstra Pre-Game Entertainment |
| 7:24 pm | Teams enter the ground |
| 7:37 pm | Welcome to Country—Wurundjeri Elder Uncle Colin Hunter Jr. |
| 7:39 pm | Delivery of the premiership cup by Cup Ambassador, Erin Phillips |
| 7:40 pm | A moment of silence in memoriam of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, victims of the Laos methanol poisoning incident |
| 7:41 pm | The Australian National Anthem performed by Bobby Fox |
| 7:45 pm | Game starts |
| Post game | Post game presentation |
All times are in Australian Eastern Daylight Time (GMT +11)

## Teams

Both sides announced unchanged teams from their preliminary finals.
North Melbourne :
| B: | 17 Sarah Wright | 20 Jasmine Ferguson | |
| HB: | 2 Libby Birch | 9 Emma Kearney (c) | 12 Nicole Bresnehan |
| C: | 8 Taylah Gatt | 25 Jasmine Garner | 15 Amy Smith |
| HF: | 13 Vikki Wall | 3 Bella Eddey | 6 Alice O'Loughlin |
| F: | 16 Tahlia Randall | 33 Kate Shierlaw | |
| Foll: | 26 Kim Rennie | 7 Ash Riddell | 23 Mia King |
| Int: | 14 Erika O'Shea | 19 Ruby Tripodi | 5 Tess Craven |
| Int: | 60 Emma King | 35 Jenna Bruton | |
| Coach: | Darren Crocker | Darren Crocker | Darren Crocker |
| Emg: | 11 Eliza Shannon | 28 Niamh Martin | 24 Lulu Pullar |
Brisbane :
| B: | 8 Jennifer Dunne | 20 Shannon Campbell | |
| HB: | 10 Nat Grider | 3 Breanna Koenen (c) | 5 Jade Ellenger |
| C: | 9 Orla O'Dwyer | 18 Ally Anderson | 12 Sophie Conway |
| HF: | 28 Charlotte Mullins | 21 Courtney Hodder | 6 Lily Postlethwaite |
| F: | 31 Taylor Smith | 14 Dakota Davidson | |
| Foll: | 2 Tahlia Hickie | 17 Belle Dawes | 25 Cathy Svarc |
| Int: | 15 Poppy Boltz | 1 Eleanor Hartill | 29 Ruby Svarc |
| Int: | 16 Evie Long | 7 Ellie Hampson | |
| Coach: | Craig Starcevich | Craig Starcevich | Craig Starcevich |
| Emg: | 11 Shanae Davison | 4 Dee Heslop | 13 Kate Lutkins |

### Umpires

2024 AFL Women's Grand Final umpires :
| Position | Umpires | Emergency |
| Field umpires | Matt Adams, Gabby Simmonds, Sam Whetton | Jordyn Pearson |
| Boundary umpires | Kaitlin Barr, Ben Duce, Scott Hansford, Zachary Mousaco | Harrison Bell |
| Goal umpires | Georgia Henderson, John Varker | Matthew Edwards |

## Scoreboard

| | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final | | |
| Saturday, 30 November (7:45 pm) | North Melbourne | def. | Brisbane | Princes Park (crowd: 12,122) | afl.com.au report |
| | 3.0 (18) 4.1 (25) 4.1 (25) 6.3 (39) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 1.1 (7) 1.2 (8) 1.3 (9) 1.3 (9) | Umpires: Adams, Simmonds, Whetton Best on ground: Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne) Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy National anthem: Bobby Fox | Umpires: Adams, Simmonds, Whetton Best on ground: Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne) Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy National anthem: Bobby Fox |
| O'Loughlin 3, Wall 2, Craven | O'Loughlin 3, Wall 2, Craven | Goals | Hampson | Hampson |
| Garner, Riddell, Kearney, Craven, Wright | Garner, Riddell, Kearney, Craven, Wright | Best | Dawes, Anderson, O'Dwyer, Dunne | Dawes, Anderson, O'Dwyer, Dunne |
| Nil | Nil | Injuries | Hickie (elbow), Ellenger (ankle) | Hickie (elbow), Ellenger (ankle) |
| Nil | Nil | Reports | Nil | Nil |

## Match summary

The goal of the game was scored by North Melbourne's Tess Craven, who somehow found herself in space in front of goal to take an uncontested mark from a hurried kick from Jasmine Garner. Although the Brisbane Lions mounted a series of strong attacks, North Melbourne made more of its opportunities, and led the uncontested possession count by 29–8. A second goal was scored by North's Alice O'Loughlin from the top of the goal square after receiving a handball from Tahlia Randall. Soon after, O'Loughlin scored again after laying a tackle on Brisbane defender Poppy Boltz. In the dying minutes of the quarter, North ruck Emma King laid a late high tackle on Brisbane's Bre Koenen, resulting in Ellie Hampson being awarded a down-field free kick. A thumping and accurate one followed, and Brisbane had scored its first goal. North Melbourne took an eleven-point lead into quarter time.
North dominated the second term, but Brisbane's Jennifer Dunne, Shannon Campbell and Bre Koenen were staunch in defence and conceded only added one goal. North Melbourne's Vikki Wall marked 20 metres out and directly in front of goal. She was the only North Melbourne player without a touch in the first quarter, whereas eight Brisbane Lions players had not touched the football. At the other end of the ground, North's back line was impressively disciplined, with Sarah Wright, Jasmine Ferguson and Libby Birch maintaining their formation under pressure and dealing with Brisbane's forays forward. The Lions had one decent shot at goal, but Orla O'Dwyer missed. O'Dwyer and teammate Ally Anderson led the disposal count, but forward Dakota Davidson had still not had a touch.
Brisbane ruck Tahlia Hickie injured her elbow in the opening minutes of the third quarter, but later returned to the game after treatment. Brisbane's Jade Ellenger injured her ankle later in the quarter, and did not return. North Melbourne skipper Emma Kearney had only returned from a hamstring injury the week before, and had not racked up much time on ground in that preliminary final match, but there was no sign of it, and her 19th disposal sent the ball to O'Loughlin, who once again marked inside 50, but failed to score. Her strongest competition for best on ground came from teammate Jasmine Garner. Garner was loosely tagged by Ellenger in the first half, but Bre Koenen was moved on to her in the second, as was the case in the previous year's grand final. Brisbane actually won the quarter, but only by a solitary rushed behind.
In the final quarter, Wall kicked a second goal from 35 metres out, and a dangerous sling tackle by Brisbane's Nat Grider gave O'Loughlin a shot a goal from point blank range, which she easily converted. North Melbourne came out victors by thirty points. Libby Birch became the first AFLW player to win three premierships with three different clubs, having previously won with the Western Bulldogs in 2018 and with Melbourne in 2022.

## Best-on-ground medal

The best-on-ground medal was presented by former Richmond president Peggy O'Neal. The panel to decide the medal consisted of Kate McCarthy (chair, Seven Network), Sarah Black (AFL Media), Ed Bourke (NCA NewsWire) and Jess Webster (Fox Footy).

### Voting

Best on ground medal voting tally :
| Position | Player | Club | Total votes | Vote summary |
| 1st | Jasmine Garner | North Melbourne | 11 | 3, 3, 3, 2 |
| 2nd | Emma Kearney | North Melbourne | 8 | 3, 2, 2, 1 |
| 3rd | Ash Riddell | North Melbourne | 4 | 2, 1, 1 |
| 4th | Alice O'Loughlin | North Melbourne | 1 | 1 |
Best-on-ground votes :
| Voter | 3 votes | 2 votes | 1 vote |
| Kate McCarthy (chair, Seven Network) | Jasmine Garner | Emma Kearney | Ash Riddell |
| Sarah Black (AFL Media) | Jasmine Garner | Ash Riddell | Emma Kearney |
| Ed Bourke (NCA NewsWire) | Emma Kearney | Jasmine Garner | Alice O'Loughlin |
| Jess Webster (Fox Footy) | Jasmine Garner | Emma Kearney | Ash Riddell |

## Media coverage
### Television

Seven's coverage, simulcast on streaming service 7+, began at 7 pm AEDT. Abbey Holmes hosted the broadcast from the ground, with analysis coming from Kate McCarthy and Erin Phillips. The match was commentated by Jason Bennett, Jo Wotton, Abbey Holmes, Kate McCarthy, Erin Phillips and Nat Edwards. The game had a national reach of 1.236 million people with a national average audience of 354,000 across the Seven Network.
Fox Footy's coverage, simulcast on Kayo Sports and for the first time ever, BINGE, began at 7 pm AEDT. Kelli Underwood hosted the broadcast from Fox Footy's Studios in Southbank, with analysis coming from Collingwood star and 2-time AFLW All-Australian Ruby Schleicher and Western Bulldogs 2018 premiership player and 3-time AFLW All-Australian Ellie Blackburn. Fox Footy commentator Jess Webster provided interviews and updates from IKON Park during the broadcast. Fox Footy simulcast the Seven Network coverage with Seven's commentators and graphics for the game.

### Radio

Radio broadcasters :
| Station | Region | Callers | Special Comments | Boundary Riders |
| Triple M | National | Jack Heverin, Barry Denner | Sarah Hosking, Ethan Meldrum (statistician) | Joseph Pignataro |
| ABC Radio | National | Matt Clinch, Lauren Bordin | Chyloe Kurdas, Kerryn Peterson, Meg Hutchins | Marnie Vinall |
| AFL Nation | National | Matthew Cocks | Melissa Kuys | N/A |
| 3AW | Melbourne, VIC | Bruce Eva, Shane McInnes | Matt Skubis, Maddy Prespakis | Emilia Fuller |

### International

International broadcasters :
| Country | Channel | FTA/Pay/Stream | Live/Delay |
| Asia-Pacific | ABC Australia | FTA | Live |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 9 | Pay | Live |
| Pacific Islands | PacificAus TV | FTA | Live |
| United Kingdom | TNT Sports 2 discovery+ | Pay Stream | Live |
| Ireland | TG4 | FTA | Live |
| United States | Fox Sports 2 | Pay | Live |
| Canada | TSN 2 | Pay | Live |
| Latin America | Disney+ | Stream | Live |