AFL GRAND FINAL SPRINT
|
The 1977 season was one of unprecedented change for the VFL. Under the leadership of Allen Aylett the league adopted a number of innovations in order to market itself to a wider audience.
These included the return of the Night Series, the re-launch of the Reserves competition (renamed the Commodore Cup with a game shown each Sunday on Channel Seven) and the first-ever live television broadcast of a VFL-AFL Grand Final. Despite these changes half-time entertainment at the biggest game of the year remained the same, with spectators at the 1977 Grand Final treated to a traditional marching and music display by the Combined Services Band. Everything changed when the match between Collingwood and North Melbourne was drawn, requiring a replay to be held the following weekend. |
St Kilda's Doug Booth powers away in the 1978 VFL Grand Final Mile
|
Forced to create a second Grand Final day entertainment package at short notice the VFL were willing to explore new options, choosing to abandon the traditional half-time entertainment in favour of a one mile foot race between league footballers. The race proved a success, generating enough public and media interest for the event to be held again at half-time of the 1978 Grand Final.
In 1979 the format was altered to a 100 metre sprint and this quickly developed into a key part of Grand Final day. Many fans still fondly remember Geoff Ablett, a.k.a. "The Fastest Man in Football", not for his efforts in the big match but for his near-annual domination of the half-time sprint. The race was replaced in 1986 by the Foster's Grand Final Entertainment Spectacular which featured flag-waving and dancing. The response to this was lukewarm at best and the sprint was resurrected in 1987, only to make way the following season for a half-time dance spectacular.
The league continued to trial other forms of entertainment at half-time of the Grand Final and it wasn't until 2002 that the sprint made a popular return. During the 1977-1987 era participation was optional for clubs playing in the Grand Final, with most choosing not to take part. However, since 2002 all clubs are required to participate, with the Grand Finallists usually represented by a fringe player not selected for the match.
A sprint race was also held at the 1996 AFL Lightning Premiership, run under the same format as the Grand Final sprint with the fastest players in each heat advancing to the final which was run prior to the Lightning Premiership Grand Final. Further details can be found below...
In 1979 the format was altered to a 100 metre sprint and this quickly developed into a key part of Grand Final day. Many fans still fondly remember Geoff Ablett, a.k.a. "The Fastest Man in Football", not for his efforts in the big match but for his near-annual domination of the half-time sprint. The race was replaced in 1986 by the Foster's Grand Final Entertainment Spectacular which featured flag-waving and dancing. The response to this was lukewarm at best and the sprint was resurrected in 1987, only to make way the following season for a half-time dance spectacular.
The league continued to trial other forms of entertainment at half-time of the Grand Final and it wasn't until 2002 that the sprint made a popular return. During the 1977-1987 era participation was optional for clubs playing in the Grand Final, with most choosing not to take part. However, since 2002 all clubs are required to participate, with the Grand Finallists usually represented by a fringe player not selected for the match.
A sprint race was also held at the 1996 AFL Lightning Premiership, run under the same format as the Grand Final sprint with the fastest players in each heat advancing to the final which was run prior to the Lightning Premiership Grand Final. Further details can be found below...
TOP THREE PLACINGS
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*NOTE - in the video of the 1985 race, Geoff Ablett is initially declared the winner by the commentary team but in replays it appears Geelong's Michael Kol may have stolen the race with a lunge at the line. The footage ends before the official result is announced. In an interview with the Sunday Press newspaper [29-9-1985], Ablett confirms that he held on to win by the barest of margins, reversing the 1984 result when he was pipped at the post by Essendon's Doug Cox.
1980 VFL Grand Final Sprint - Geoff Ablett claims the title of the "Moulinex Fastest Man in Football" (source: Top End Sports, photographer: unknown)
ENTRANTS - CLUB BY CLUB
|
YEAR |
ADELAIDE CROWS |
BRISBANE LIONS |
CARLTON |
COLLINGWOOD |
ESSENDON |
|
GRAND FINAL MILE |
|||||
|
1977 |
- |
- |
Ken
Sheldon |
(dnp) |
Wayne
Primmer |
|
Michael
Young |
Andy
Wilson (1st) |
||||
|
1978 |
- |
- |
Vin
Cattogio |
Ted
Carroll |
Wayne
Primmer |
|
Peter
Halsall |
Wayne
Gordon |
Shane
Heard (2nd) |
|||
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (1979-87) |
|||||
|
1979 |
- |
- |
(dnp) |
(dnp) |
Shane
Heard (2nd) |
|
1980 |
- |
- |
Peter
Francis |
(dnp) |
Stephen
Carey |
|
1981 |
- |
- |
(dnp) |
(dnp) |
Neil
Clarke |
|
1982 |
- |
- |
Frank
Marchesani (2nd) |
Geoff
Miles |
Mark
Eustice |
|
1983 |
- |
- |
Frank
Marchesani (1st) |
Geoff
Miles |
(dnp) |
|
1984 |
- |
- |
Alex
Marcou |
Darren
Millane |
Doug
Cox (1st) |
|
1985 |
- |
- |
Fraser
Murphy |
Alan
Eade |
Steven
Clark |
|
1986 |
event not held |
||||
|
1987 |
- |
Tony
Beckett |
(dnp) |
Terry
Keays |
Brian
Winton |
|
AFL LIGHTNING PREMIERSHIP SPRINT (1996) |
|||||
|
1996 |
unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (2002-) |
|||||
|
2002 |
Andrew
Crowell |
Nathan
Clarke |
Brendan
Fevola |
Damien
Adkins |
Rob
Forster-Knight |
|
2003 |
Kris
Massie |
Anthony
Corrie |
Anthony
Franchina |
Glenn
Freeborn |
Damian
Cupido (3rd) |
|
2004 |
Luke
Jericho (3rd) |
Daniel
Merrett |
Jordan
Bannister |
Matthew
Lokan |
Damian
Cupido |
|
2005 |
James
Begley |
Leigh
Ryswyk |
Jordan
Bannister |
Chris
Egan |
Ricky
Dyson |
|
2006 |
unknown |
Tim
Notting |
Brendan
Fevola (1st) |
Heath
Shaw |
Jason
Winderlich (2nd) |
|
2007 |
Simon
Goodwin |
Robert
Copeland |
Simon
Wiggins |
Tyson
Goldsack |
Paddy
Ryder |
|
2008 |
Bernie
Vince |
Justin
Sherman |
Simon
Wiggins |
John
Anthony |
Ricky
Dyson |
|
2009 |
Andy
Otten |
Tom
Rockcliff |
Andrew
Walker |
Brad
Dick |
Paddy
Ryder |
|
2010 |
Richie
Douglas |
Jack
Redden |
Marc
Murphy |
Ryan
Cook |
Jake
Melksham |
|
2011 |
Patrick
Dangerfield (1st) |
Daniel
Rich |
unknown |
Luke
Rounds |
Jake
Melksham |
|
2012 |
Patrick
Dangerfield (1st) |
Ben
Hudson |
Kane
Lucas |
Paul
Seedsman |
Stewart
Crameri |
|
2013 |
Patrick
Dangerfield (1st) |
Richard
Newell |
Chris
Yarran |
Paul
Seedsman |
Paddy
Ryder |
|
2014 |
Brodie Smith |
Daniel
McStay |
Kane
Lucas |
Ben
Kennedy |
Patrick
Ambrose |
|
2015 |
Charlie
Cameron (2nd) |
Lewis
Taylor |
Andrejs Everitt |
Darcy
Moore |
Elliott
Kavanagh |
|
2016 |
Brodie Smith |
Mitch
Robinson |
Liam
Sumner |
Jordan
De Goey |
A.
McDonald-Tipungwuti |
|
2017 |
Jordan
Gallucci |
Dayne Zorko |
Jarrod
Pickett (2nd) |
Will
Hoskin-Elliott |
Kyle
Langford |
|
2018 |
Lachie Murphy |
Eric
Hipwood |
Cameron
Polson |
tbd |
Kyle
Langford |
|
YEAR |
FITZROY LIONS |
FREMANTLE |
GEELONG |
GOLD COAST |
GWS GIANTS |
|
GRAND FINAL MILE |
|||||
|
1977 |
Chris
Hansen |
- |
David
Clarke (3rd) |
- |
- |
|
Peter
Johnson |
Murray
Witcombe |
||||
|
1978 |
Mick
Conlan |
- |
Jeff
Fehring |
- |
- |
|
Garry
Wilson |
Tom
Floyd |
||||
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (1979-87) |
|||||
|
1979 |
Mick
Conlan (2nd) |
- |
Michael
Turner |
- |
- |
|
1980 |
Frank
Marchesani (2nd) |
- |
Stephen
Lunn |
- |
- |
|
1981 |
Peter
Francis |
- |
Robert
Neal |
- |
- |
|
1982 |
Mick
Conlan (1st) |
- |
Bernard
Toohey |
- |
- |
|
1983 |
Richard
Osborne |
- |
Michael
Kol |
- |
- |
|
1984 |
Bill
Lokan |
- |
Michael
Kol |
- |
- |
|
1985 |
Richard
Osborne |
- |
Michael
Kol (2nd) |
- |
- |
|
1986 |
event not held |
||||
|
1987 |
Darren
Kappler |
- |
Michael
Kol |
- |
- |
|
AFL LIGHTNING PREMIERSHIP SPRINT
(1996) |
|||||
|
1996 |
unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
- |
- |
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (2002-) |
|||||
|
2002 |
- |
Troy
Simmonds |
Adam
Chatfield (2nd) |
- |
- |
|
2003 |
- |
James
Walker (1st) |
David
Wojcinski |
- |
- |
|
2004 |
- |
James
Walker (1st) |
Mark
Blake |
- |
- |
|
2005 |
- |
Byron
Schammer |
Shannon
Byrnes (3rd) |
- |
- |
|
2006 |
- |
Brett
Peake |
Shannon
Byrnes |
- |
- |
|
2007 |
- |
Paul
Haselby |
Joel
Reynolds |
- |
- |
|
2008 |
- |
Garrick
Ibbotson |
Nathan
Djerkurra (3rd) |
- |
- |
|
2009 |
- |
Stephen
Hill |
Taylor
Hunt |
Trent
McKenzie (2nd) |
- |
|
2010 |
- |
Garrick
Ibbotson |
Daniel
Menzel |
Trent
McKenzie |
Tim
Golds (2nd) |
|
2011 |
- |
Josh
Mellington |
Dawson
Simpson |
Joel
Wilkinson |
Tim
Golds (2nd) |
|
2012 |
- |
Tendai Mzungu |
Billie
Smedts |
Campbell
Brown |
Thomas
Bugg |
|
2013 |
- |
Alex
Forster |
Jordan
Murdoch (3rd) |
Campbell
Brown |
Dom
Tyson |
|
2014 |
- |
Zac Dawson |
Jordan
Murdoch (1st) |
Jarrad Ellis (3rd) |
Adam
Tomlinson |
|
2015 |
- |
Hayden
Krozier |
Darcy
Lang |
Henry
Schade |
Rory
Lobb |
|
2016 |
- |
Darcy
Tucker |
Jed
Bews (2nd) |
Brandon
Matera |
Stephen
Coniglio
|
|
2017 |
- |
Tommy
Sheridan |
Mark
O'Connor |
Steven
May |
Tim
Taranto |
|
2018 |
- |
Matt
Taberner |
Jordan
Murdoch (3rd) |
Touk Miller |
Stephen
Coniglio
|
|
YEAR |
HAWTHORN |
MELBOURNE |
NORTH MELB. |
PORT ADELAIDE |
RICHMOND |
|
GRAND FINAL MILE |
|||||
|
1977 |
Don
Fletcher |
Brian
Cooke |
Kerry
Good |
- |
(dnp) |
|
Peter
Keays |
Alan
Jarrott |
||||
|
1978 |
(dnp) |
Garry
Cooke (2nd) |
Peter
Keenan |
- |
Gary
Parkes |
|
Kelvin
Richards |
Bruce
Tempany |
||||
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (1979-87) |
|||||
|
1979 |
Geoff
Ablett (1st) |
Cameron
Clayton |
Wayne
Schimmelbusch |
- |
Bruce
Tempany |
|
1980 |
Geoff
Ablett (1st) |
Tony
Elshaug |
Rodney
Wright |
- |
(dnp) |
|
1981 |
Geoff
Ablett (1st) |
Tony
Elshaug (3rd) |
Rodney
Wright |
- |
Matthew
Wall |
|
1982 |
Geoff
Ablett* |
Paul
O'Brien |
Doug
Smith |
- |
(dnp) |
|
1983 |
(dnp) |
Les
Bamblett |
John
Holt |
- |
David
Palm (2nd) |
|
1984 |
(dnp) |
Russell
Richards (3rd) |
Angelo
Petraglia |
- |
Geoff
Ablett (2nd) |
|
1985 |
(dnp) |
Russell
Richards (3rd) |
Jon
Collins |
- |
Peter
Czerkaski |
|
1986 |
event not held |
||||
|
1987 |
(dnp) |
Russell
Richards (1st) |
unknown |
- |
David
Palm |
|
AFL LIGHTNING PREMIERSHIP SPRINT
(1996) |
|||||
|
1996 |
unknown |
Marcus
Seecamp (1st) |
Glenn
Archer |
- |
Ben
Holland |
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (2002-) |
|||||
|
2002 |
Campbell
Brown |
Ross
Funcke |
Brent
Harvey |
Matthew
Bishop |
Greg
Tivendale |
|
2003 |
Campbell
Brown |
Luke
Williams |
Shannon
Watt |
Jared
Poulton |
Greg
Tivendale |
|
2004 |
unknown |
Luke
Williams |
Michael
Stevens (2nd) |
Michael
Pettigrew |
Daniel
Jackson |
|
2005 |
Campbell
Brown |
Daniel
Bell (2nd) |
Shannon
Watt |
Danyle Pearce |
Brett
Deledio (1st) |
|
2006 |
Brent
Guerra |
Russell
Robertson |
Brent
Harvey |
Danyle Pearce |
Nathan
Foley (3rd) |
|
2007 |
Brent
Guerra |
Russell
Robertson |
Eddie
Sansbury |
Nathan
Krakouer (2nd) |
Jake
King (1st) |
|
2008 |
Zac Dawson |
Stefan
Martin (2nd) |
Shannon
Watt |
Tom
Logan |
Matthew
White (1st) |
|
2009 |
Liam
Shiels |
Colin
Sylvia |
Warren
Benjamin |
Wade
Thompson (3rd) |
Alex
Rance |
|
2010 |
Ben
Stratton |
Jack
Watts |
Liam
Anthony |
Danyle Pearce |
Ben
Nason |
|
2011 |
Jordan
Williams |
Sam
Blease* |
Scott
McMahon |
unknown |
Ben
Nason |
|
2012 |
Angus
Litherland (3rd) |
Lynden
Dunn |
Shaun
Atley |
Aaron
Young |
Chris
Newman |
|
2013 |
Angus
Litherland (2nd) |
Neville
Jetta |
unknown |
Angus
Monfries |
Todd
Elton |
|
2014 |
Billy
Hartung (2nd) |
Jayden
Hunt |
Luke
McDonald |
Andrew
Moore |
Bachar Houli |
|
2015 |
Daniel
Howe* |
Jay
Kennedy-Harris |
Majak Daw (1st) |
Brad
Ebert |
Anthony
Miles |
|
2016 |
Billy
Hartung |
Clayton
Oliver |
Majak Daw (3rd) |
Karl
Amon |
Alex
Rance |
|
2017 |
Harry
Morrison |
Jayden
Hunt |
Josh
Williams (3rd) |
Jarman Impey |
Connor
Menadue (1st) |
|
2018 |
Jarman Impey |
Bayley Fritsch |
Luke
McDonald |
Dan
Houston |
Jack
Higgins |
|
YEAR |
ST KILDA |
SM/SYDNEY |
WEST COAST |
WEST. BULLDOGS |
NON-AFL |
|
GRAND FINAL MILE |
|||||
|
1977 |
Rodney
Hughes (2nd) |
Peter
Carter |
- |
Alan
Stoneham |
- |
|
Neil
Besanko |
Peter
Morrison |
Richard
Murrie |
|||
|
1978 |
Doug
Booth (1st) |
Paul
Morwood |
- |
Doug
Hawkins |
- |
|
Michael
Roberts |
Philip
Plumb |
Richard
Murrie |
|||
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (1979-87) |
|||||
|
1979 |
Graham
Bond |
Shane
Zantuck |
- |
Michael
Kelly |
- |
|
1980 |
Simon
Meehan |
David
Ackerly |
- |
Neil
Cordy |
- |
|
1981 |
Doug
Cox (2nd) |
Silvio Foschini |
- |
Brian
Perrin |
- |
|
1982 |
Doug
Cox (3rd) |
Silvio Foschini |
- |
Neil
Cordy |
- |
|
1983 |
Daryl
Cunningham (3rd) |
John
Lucas* |
- |
Stephen
Lunn |
- |
|
1984 |
Silvio Foschini |
David
Murphy |
- |
Darren
Baxter |
- |
|
1985 |
Geoff
Ablett (1st) |
Mark
Bayes |
- |
Michael
Ford |
- |
|
1986 |
event not held |
||||
|
1987 |
Tony
Evans |
unknown |
Adrian
Barich |
Angelo
Petraglia |
- |
|
AFL LIGHTNING PREMIERSHIP SPRINT
(1996) |
|||||
|
1996 |
unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
unknown |
- |
|
GRAND FINAL SPRINT (2002-) |
|||||
|
2002 |
Xavier
Clarke |
Jared
Crouch (1st) |
Daniel
Kerr |
Jordan
McMahon (3rd) |
- |
|
2003 |
Leigh
Montagna |
Jared
Crouch (2nd) |
Damien
Adkins |
Kieran
McGuinness |
- |
|
2004 |
Troy
Schwarze |
Jared
Crouch |
Brett
Jones |
Steven
Koops |
- |
|
2005 |
Troy
Schwarze |
Guy
Campbell |
Ben
Sharp |
Cameron
Faulkner |
- |
|
2006 |
Leigh
Montagna |
Simon
Phillips |
unknown |
Ryan
Griffen |
- |
|
2007 |
Aaron
Fiora |
Sean
Dempster |
Will
Schofield (3rd) |
Farren Ray |
- |
|
2008 |
Leigh
Montagna |
Jarryd McVeigh |
Mark
Seaby |
Jason
Akermanis |
- |
|
2009 |
Rhys
Stanley (1st) |
Mike
Pyke |
Nick
Natanui |
Liam
Picken |
- |
|
2010 |
Luke
Miles (1st) |
Lewis
Jetta (3rd) |
Dean
Cox |
Liam
Picken |
- |
|
2011 |
Jason
Blake |
Lewis
Jetta (3rd) |
Jacob
Brennan |
Jarrad Grant |
- |
|
2012 |
David
Armitage |
Harry
Cunningham (2nd) |
Ashley
Smith |
Liam
Picken |
- |
|
2013 |
Leigh
Montagna |
Gary
Rohan* |
Jamie
Bennell |
unknown |
- |
|
2014 |
Clint
Jones |
Daniel
Robinson |
Will
Schofield |
Jason
Tutt |
- |
|
2015 |
Leigh
Montagna |
Dean
Towers (3rd) |
Paddy
Brophy |
Caleb
Daniel |
Parminder Singh |
|
Gurdev Singh |
|||||
|
2016 |
Bailey
Rice* |
James
Rose |
Lewis
Jetta |
Brad
Lynch |
James
Shirley (1st) |
|
Harvinder Singh |
|||||
|
2017 |
Sam
Gilbert |
James
Rose |
Lewis
Jetta |
Matt
Suckling |
- |
|
2018 |
Bailey
Rice |
Ryley Stoddart |
Jarrod
Brander |
Patrick
Lipinski |
Godfrey Okereneyang
(1st)
|
|
Melvin
Monieh (2nd) |
|||||
HAWTHORN
1982 - reigning champion Geoff Ablett was a late scratching due to a groin injury (Sunday Press 26-9-1982). It is not known if he was replaced by another Hawthorn player or if the sprint was held minus one runner.
2015 - Angus Litherland was originally Hawthorn's representative but withdrew after being named as an emergency for their Grand Final team.
MELBOURNE
2011 - Sam Blease was the Demons' representative but did not appear for his race due to a family function! The heat went ahead without a replacement runner from the Demons. [My thanks to Adam from DemonBlog and DemonWiki for digging this info out of the twitter archives and sending it through]
ST KILDA
2016 - Dylan Roberton was St Kilda's entrant in the race but he was a late scratching due to injury; he was replaced by Bailey Rice.
SOUTH MELBOURNE/SYDNEY
1983 - Darryl Vernon was initially named in published lists as the Swans' entrant in the race. He was a late scratching, replaced by John Lucas.
2013 - The Swans website ran a feature naming Harry Cunningham as Sydney's entrant in the race. For reasons unknown he was replaced by Gary Rohan.
1982 - reigning champion Geoff Ablett was a late scratching due to a groin injury (Sunday Press 26-9-1982). It is not known if he was replaced by another Hawthorn player or if the sprint was held minus one runner.
2015 - Angus Litherland was originally Hawthorn's representative but withdrew after being named as an emergency for their Grand Final team.
MELBOURNE
2011 - Sam Blease was the Demons' representative but did not appear for his race due to a family function! The heat went ahead without a replacement runner from the Demons. [My thanks to Adam from DemonBlog and DemonWiki for digging this info out of the twitter archives and sending it through]
ST KILDA
2016 - Dylan Roberton was St Kilda's entrant in the race but he was a late scratching due to injury; he was replaced by Bailey Rice.
SOUTH MELBOURNE/SYDNEY
1983 - Darryl Vernon was initially named in published lists as the Swans' entrant in the race. He was a late scratching, replaced by John Lucas.
2013 - The Swans website ran a feature naming Harry Cunningham as Sydney's entrant in the race. For reasons unknown he was replaced by Gary Rohan.
SOURCES
Information on this page has been sourced from official lists, previews, reports, and articles located in/on the:
- newspaper archives at State Library of Victoria - newspaper websites - Football Record/AFL Record - AFL website - club websites - calls/emails to club media departments (2005-present) in years when no official list of players was released Be wary of information found in online forums, most of which is pure speculation about who was competing for any given club. Note also that there's a lot of misinformation online about the 2010/2011 Grand Final Sprint line-ups; this was due to a website re-publishing the 2010 field and labelling it as the 2011 field. The site has since fixed the error but that incorrect information continues to be quoted in various forums. If you are able to provide solid information for any of the missing names in the above lists, please feel free to contact me. |
|
VFL GRAND FINAL MILE (1977-78)
1977
Essendon's Andy Wilson claimed the title with a time of 4:41 (nearly a minute outside the then world-record time of 3:49.04) and received a cheque for $1000. Second place received $300, third $200. The medallions were presented by Australia's newly-crowned WBC Light Middleweight boxing champion, Rocky Mattioli. Participation was optional for the four clubs involved in the Grand Final and the curtain-raiser (see below).
Essendon's Andy Wilson claimed the title with a time of 4:41 (nearly a minute outside the then world-record time of 3:49.04) and received a cheque for $1000. Second place received $300, third $200. The medallions were presented by Australia's newly-crowned WBC Light Middleweight boxing champion, Rocky Mattioli. Participation was optional for the four clubs involved in the Grand Final and the curtain-raiser (see below).
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CARLTON - Ken Sheldon & Michael Young
COLLINGWOOD - (no entrants) ESSENDON - Andy Wilson (1st) & Wayne Primmer FITZROY - Chris Hansen & Peter Johnson FOOTSCRAY - Alan Stoneham & Richard Murrie GEELONG - David Clarke (3rd) & Murray Witcombe HAWTHORN - Don Fletcher MELBOURNE - Brian Cooke & Peter Keays NORTH MELB. - Kerry Good & Alan Jarrott RICHMOND - (no entrants) ST KILDA - Rodney Hughes (2nd) & Neil Besanko SOUTH MELB. - Peter Carter & Peter Morrison Grand Final teams: North provided two players, Collingwood did not participate. Curtain-raiser teams: Hawthorn provided one player, Richmond did not participate. 1978 St Kilda's Doug Booth won with a time of 4:41. As with the previous season, prizemoney was set at $1000, $300, and $200. The medallions were presented by teenage Olympic swimmer, Tracey Wickham CARLTON - Vin Catoggio & Peter Halsall COLLINGWOOD - Ted Carroll & Wayne Gordon ESSENDON - Shane Heard (3rd) & Wayne Primmer FITZROY - Mick Conlan & Garry Wilson FOOTSCRAY - Doug Hawkins & Richard Murrie GEELONG - Jeff Fehring & Tom Floyd HAWTHORN - (no entrants) MELBOURNE - Garry Cooke (2nd) & Kelvin Richards NORTH MELB. - Peter Keenan RICHMOND - Gary Parkes & Bruce Tempany ST KILDA - Doug Booth (1st) & Michael Roberts SOUTH MELB. - Paul Morwood & Philip Plumb |
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Grand Final teams: Hawthorn did not participate; North Melbourne initially did likewise but later decided to enter ruckman Peter "Crackers" Keenan in the race after he was suspended for an incident in the Preliminary Final, ruling him ineligible for their Grand Final team.
VFL GRAND FINAL SPRINT (1979-87)
This era was dominated by Geoff Ablett (Hawthorn/St Kilda/Richmond), Michael Kol (Geelong), Russell Richards (Melbourne), Frank Marchesani (Fitzroy/Carlton), and Doug Cox (St Kilda/Essendon) who renewed their rivalry on an annual basis. Prizemoney from 1979 to 1985 was set at $1000 for first, $300 for second, $200 for third. This increased to $2000 for first, $800 for second, and $200 for third in the 1987 race.
Most people's memories of this era revolve around one name - Geoff Ablett - and for good reason, his record in the sprint was exceptional:
1979 - 1st / 1980 - 1st / 1981 - 1st / 1984 - 2nd (beaten on the line) / 1985 - 1st
Most people's memories of this era revolve around one name - Geoff Ablett - and for good reason, his record in the sprint was exceptional:
1979 - 1st / 1980 - 1st / 1981 - 1st / 1984 - 2nd (beaten on the line) / 1985 - 1st
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1979
CARLTON - (no entrant) COLLINGWOOD - (no entrant) ESSENDON - Shane Heard (3rd) FITZROY - Mick Conlan (2nd) FOOTSCRAY - Michael Kelly GEELONG - Michael Turner HAWTHORN - Geoff Ablett (1st) MELBOURNE - Cameron Clayton NORTH MELB. - Wayne Schimmelbusch RICHMOND - Bruce Tempany ST KILDA - Graham Bond SOUTH MELB. - Shane Zantuck Grand Final teams: Carlton and Collingwood did not participate 1980
CARLTON - Peter Francis COLLINGWOOD - (no entrant) ESSENDON - Stephen Carey FITZROY - Frank Marchesani (2nd) FOOTSCRAY - Neil Cordy GEELONG - Stephen Lunn HAWTHORN - Geoff Ablett (1st) MELBOURNE - Tony Elshaug NORTH MELB. - Rodney Wright RICHMOND - (no entrant) ST KILDA - Simon Meehan SOUTH MELB. - David Ackerly Grand Final teams: Collingwood and Richmond did not participate |
Geoff Ablett - winner in 1979-80-81 and 1985
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1981
CARLTON - (no entrant) COLLINGWOOD - (no entrant) ESSENDON - Neil Clarke FITZROY - Peter Francis FOOTSCRAY - Brian Perrin GEELONG - Robert Neal HAWTHORN - Geoff Ablett (1st) MELBOURNE - Tony Elshaug (3rd) NORTH MELB. - Rodney Wright RICHMOND - Matthew Wall ST KILDA - Doug Cox (2nd) SOUTH MELB. - Silvio Foschini Grand Final teams: Collingwood and Richmond did not participate |
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1982
Reigning champion Geoff Ablett was a late scratching due to a groin injury (Sunday Press 26-9-1982). The medallions were presented by Essendon legend, Dick Reynolds. CARLTON - Frank Marchesani (2nd) COLLINGWOOD - Geoff Miles ESSENDON - Mark Eustice FITZROY - Mick Conlan (1st) FOOTSCRAY - Neil Cordy GEELONG - Bernard Toohey HAWTHORN - unknown MELBOURNE - Paul O'Brien NORTH MELB. - Doug Smith RICHMOND - (no entrant) ST KILDA - Doug Cox (3rd) SYDNEY - Silvio Foschini Grand Final teams: Carlton took part, Richmond did not participate |
Mick Conlan (Fitzroy) - winner in 1982
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1983
Geoff Ablett transferred to Richmond in 1983 but did not take part in the event, presumably due to injury. CARLTON - Frank Marchesani (1st) COLLINGWOOD - Geoff Miles ESSENDON - (no entrant) FITZROY - Richard Osborne FOOTSCRAY - Stephen Lunn GEELONG - Michael Kol HAWTHORN - (no entrant) MELBOURNE - Les Bamblett NORTH MELB. - John Holt RICHMOND - David Palm (2nd) ST KILDA - Daryl Cunningham (3rd) SYDNEY - John Lucas (late replacement for Darryl Vernon) Grand Final teams: Essendon and Hawthorn did not participate |
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1984
A new rule meant players must have played five premiership or Night Series games that season to be eligible. This ruled out Frank Marchesani, the reigning champion. CARLTON - Alex Marcou COLLINGWOOD - Darren Millane ESSENDON - Doug Cox (1st) FITZROY - Bill Lokan FOOTSCRAY - Darren Baxter GEELONG - Michael Kol HAWTHORN - (no entrant) MELBOURNE - Russell Richards (3rd) NORTH MELB. - Angelo Petraglia RICHMOND - Geoff Ablett (2nd) ST KILDA - Silvio Foschini SYDNEY - David Murphy Grand Final teams: Essendon took part, Hawthorn did not participate |
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1985
CARLTON - Fraser Murphy COLLINGWOOD - Alan Eade ESSENDON - Steven Clark FITZROY - Richard Osborne FOOTSCRAY - Michael Ford GEELONG - Michael Kol (2nd) HAWTHORN - (no entrant) MELBOURNE - Russell Richards (3rd) NORTH MELB. - Jon Collins RICHMOND - Peter Czerkaski ST KILDA - Geoff Ablett (1st) SYDNEY - Mark Bayes Grand Final teams: Essendon took part, Hawthorn did not participate |
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1986 - race not held, replaced by the Foster's VFL Grand Final entertainment spectacular which featured flag-waving, dancing and the unfurling of a large Foster's flag (which led to an outcry afterwards). [Football Record 1986 GF edition/Footystats Diary]
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1987
BRISBANE - Tony Beckett CARLTON - (no entrant) COLLINGWOOD - Terry Keays ESSENDON - Brian Winton FITZROY - Darren Kappler FOOTSCRAY - Angelo Petraglia GEELONG - Michael Kol HAWTHORN - (no entrant) MELBOURNE - Russell Richards (1st) NORTH MELB. - unknown RICHMOND - David Palm ST KILDA - Tony Evans SYDNEY - unknown WEST COAST - Adrian Barich Grand Final teams: Carlton and Hawthorn did not participate |
Russell Richards (Melbourne) - winner in 1987
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AFL LIGHTNING PREMIERSHIP SPRINT (1996)
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To launch the AFL's Centenary season, a Lightning Premiership was played at Waverley Park over three days; the first such event to be held by the VFL-AFL since the 1953 season.
In true "Arctic Park" style, the competition was plagued by gale force winds and icy rain. Such weather may well have been a factor in Melbourne's Marcus Seecamp - never known as a speedster during his AFL career - claiming the title. Heats were held on the Sunday before the semi-final matches then the final took place prior to the Lightning Premiership Grand Final. The photo at right reveals Glenn Archer (North Melbourne) and Nathan Bower (Richmond) took part but all other details remain a mystery. No mention of the participating players appears in the official matchday programme or Melbourne's daily papers in the lead up to the event, and the only report in the days after briefly mentions Seecamp's surprising victory. |
Melbourne's Marcus Seecamp outruns Nathan Bower and Glenn Archer
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AFL GRAND FINAL SPRINT (2002-present)
The event was re-launched in 2002 and quickly became a fan favourite once again. Throughout this era the winner has received prize money of $5000 and all entrants in the race receive two Grand Final tickets (plus accommodation and flights if based outside of Victoria). During the sprint's absence the VFL-AFL competition had expanded from 12 to 16 teams making it impractical for all entrants to run in the same race. To counter this, players were now divided into two heats, each consisting of 8 runners. The top four from each heat advanced to the final which continued to be run during the half-time break of the AFL Grand Final.
Heats were initially run on Friday night at Olympic Park and often broadcast in a live cross on Channel Ten's football program "Before the Game". However, by the late 2000s the heats had moved to pre-match with the final at half-time. In 2012 a further change saw the entire event moved to pre-match to allow more time for a musical performance at half-time. In 2014 the final of the Grand Final Sprint returned to its traditional timeslot and the musical performance moved to pre-match..
The Grand Final Sprint had always been run from scratch until 2006 when a handicapping system was introduced. This led to a controversial victory that year for Carlton's Brendan Fevola. Never known for his speed, Fevola benefitted from the large distance between him and speedsters Jason Winderlich (2nd) and Nathan Foley (3rd) and held on for a narrow victory. After some debate the event eventually reverted to a scratch race in 2009.
The 2015 race was the first to include runners who were not VFL-AFL footballers. Naming rights sponsor 13CABS invited any of their drivers who could run 100 metres in under 15 seconds to participate in a series of heats held during the month prior to the Grand Final. Heats were held in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Newcastle with the two fastest runners in each heat advancing to the Australia's Fastest Cabbie final which was held in Melbourne. The two fastest runners in the final (Parminder Singh and Gurdev Singh) earned the right to participate in the heats of the Grand Final Sprint.
Heats were initially run on Friday night at Olympic Park and often broadcast in a live cross on Channel Ten's football program "Before the Game". However, by the late 2000s the heats had moved to pre-match with the final at half-time. In 2012 a further change saw the entire event moved to pre-match to allow more time for a musical performance at half-time. In 2014 the final of the Grand Final Sprint returned to its traditional timeslot and the musical performance moved to pre-match..
The Grand Final Sprint had always been run from scratch until 2006 when a handicapping system was introduced. This led to a controversial victory that year for Carlton's Brendan Fevola. Never known for his speed, Fevola benefitted from the large distance between him and speedsters Jason Winderlich (2nd) and Nathan Foley (3rd) and held on for a narrow victory. After some debate the event eventually reverted to a scratch race in 2009.
The 2015 race was the first to include runners who were not VFL-AFL footballers. Naming rights sponsor 13CABS invited any of their drivers who could run 100 metres in under 15 seconds to participate in a series of heats held during the month prior to the Grand Final. Heats were held in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Newcastle with the two fastest runners in each heat advancing to the Australia's Fastest Cabbie final which was held in Melbourne. The two fastest runners in the final (Parminder Singh and Gurdev Singh) earned the right to participate in the heats of the Grand Final Sprint.
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2002 - Heat 1
BRISBANE - Nathan Clarke (Q) COLLINGWOOD - Damien Adkins FREMANTLE - Troy Simmonds (DNQ - 8th) GEELONG - Adam Chatfield (Q) NORTH MELB. - Brent Harvey SYDNEY - Jared Crouch (1st) WEST COAST - Daniel Kerr (DNQ - 7th) W. BULLDOGS - Jordan McMahon (Q) |
2002 - Heat 2
ADELAIDE - Andrew Crowell (Q) CARLTON - Brendan Fevola (Q) ESSENDON - Rob Forster-Knight HAWTHORN - Campbell Brown (1st) MELBOURNE - Ross Funcke PORT ADELAIDE - Matthew Bishop RICHMOND - Greg Tivendale ST KILDA - Xavier Clarke |
2002 - FINAL
1st - Jared Crouch (Sydney) 2nd - Adam Chatfield (Geelong) 3rd - Jordan McMahon (W. Bulldogs) 4th - Nathan Clarke (Brisbane) 5th - Campbell Brown (Hawthorn) Other known finallists: - Andrew Crowell (Adelaide) - Brendan Fevola (Carlton) |
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2003 - HEATS
Line-up for each heat unknown
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2003 - FINAL
1st - James Walker (Fremantle) 2nd - Jared Crouch (Sydney) 3rd - Damian Cupido (Essendon) Other known finallists: - David Wojcinski (Geelong) - Luke Williams (Melbourne) |
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2004 - HEATS
Line-up for each heat unknown
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2004 - FINAL
1st - James Walker (Fremantle) 2nd - Michael Stevens (North Melb.) 3rd - Luke Jericho (Adelaide) 4th - Daniel Jackson (Richmond) 5th - Damian Cupido (Essendon) Other known finallists: Steven Koops (W. Bulldogs) |
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2005 - Heat 1
ADELAIDE - James Begley (DNQ - 8th) CARLTON - Jordan Bannister (Q) ESSENDON - Ricky Dyson GEELONG - Shannon Byrnes (Q) NORTH MELB. - Shannon Watt RICHMOND - Brett Deledio (1st) ST KILDA - Troy Schwarze WEST COAST - Ben Sharp |
2005 - Heat 2
BRISBANE - Leigh Ryswyk COLLINGWOOD - Chris Egan FREMANTLE - Byron Schammer (DNQ) HAWTHORN - Campbell Brown (Q) MELBOURNE - Daniel Bell (Q) PORT ADELAIDE - Danyle Pearce (DNQ) SYDNEY - Guy Campbell (Q) W. BULLDOGS - Cameron Faulkner (DNQ) |
2005 - FINAL
1st - Brett Deledio (Richmond) 2nd - Daniel Bell (Melbourne) 3rd - Shannon Byrnes (Geelong) Other known finallists: - Jordan Bannister (Carlton) - Campbell Brown (Hawthorn) - Guy Campbell (Sydney) |
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2006 - HEATS
Run under a handicapping format for the first time. Line-up for each heat unknown. ADELAIDE - unknown BRISBANE - Tim Notting (Q) CARLTON - Brendan Fevola (Q) COLLINGWOOD - Heath Shaw ESSENDON - Jason Winderlich (Q) FREMANTLE - Brett Peake (Q) GEELONG - Shannon Byrnes HAWTHORN - Brent Guerra MELBOURNE - Russell Robertson (Q) NORTH MELB. - Brent Harvey PORT ADELAIDE - Danyle Pearce (Q) RICHMOND - Nathan Foley (Q) ST KILDA - Leigh Montagna SYDNEY - Simon Phillips (Q) WEST COAST - unknown WESTERN BULLDOGS - Ryan Griffen |
2006 - FINAL
1st - Brendan Fevola (Carlton) 2nd - Jason Winderlich (Essendon) 3rd - Nathan Foley (Richmond) 4th - Danyle Pearce (Port Adel.) 5th - Brett Peake (Fremantle) 6th - Russell Robertson (Melbourne) 7th - Simon Phillips (Sydney) 8th - Tim Notting (Brisbane) Known starting handicaps: 8 metres: - Fevola 4 metres: - Peake 2 metres: - Foley / Winderlich Scratch: - Pearce |
Brendan Fevola (Carlton) - winner in 2006
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2007 - Heat 1
Scratch BRISBANE - Robert Copeland (Q) CARLTON - Simon Wiggins COLLINGWOOD - Tyson Goldsack (Q) 2 metres RICHMOND - Jake King (1st) ST KILDA - Aaron Fiora (Q) 4 metres ADELAIDE - Simon Goodwin HAWTHORN - Brent Guerra NORTH MELB - Eddie Sansbury |
2007 - Heat 2
6 metres FREMANTLE - Paul Haselby 4 metres MELBOURNE - Russell Robertson WEST COAST - Will Schofield (1st) 2 metres ESSENDON - Paddy Ryder (Q) GEELONG - Joel Reynolds (Q) SYDNEY - Sean Dempster Scratch PORT ADELAIDE - Nathan Krakouer (Q) WESTERN BULLDOGS - Farren Ray |
2007 - FINAL
Two runners started from scratch, rest of the field from 2 metres. 1st - Jake King (Richmond) 2nd - Nathan Krakouer (Port Adel.) 3rd - Will Schofield (WCE) Other finallists: - Robert Copeland (Brisbane) - Tyson Goldsack (Collingwood) - Paddy Ryder (Essendon) - Joel Reynolds (Geelong) - Aaron Fiora (St Kilda) |
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2008 - HEATS
Handicapping system used for the last time. Line-up for each heat unknown ADELAIDE - Bernie Vince BRISBANE - Justin Sherman CARLTON - Simon Wiggins (Q) COLLINGWOOD - John Anthony ESSENDON - Ricky Dyson FREMANTLE - Garrick Ibbotson (Q) GEELONG - Nathan Djerkurra (Q) HAWTHORN - Zac Dawson (Q) MELBOURNE - Stefan Martin (Q) NORTH MELB. - Shannon Watt PORT ADELAIDE - Tom Logan (Q) RICHMOND - Matthew White (Q) ST KILDA - Leigh Montagna SYDNEY - Jarryd McVeigh WEST COAST - Mark Seaby W. BULLDOGS - Jason Akermanis (Q) |
2008 - FINAL
Matthew White (Richmond) started from scratch, the rest of the field from 2 metres.
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2009 - Heat 1
ADELAIDE - Andy Otten BRISBANE - Tom Rockliff CARLTON - Andrew Walker COLLINGWOOD - Brad Dick (Q) ESSENDON - Paddy Ryder (Q) FREMANTLE - Stephen Hill (Q) GEELONG - Taylor Hunt GOLD COAST - Tom McKenzie (Q) HAWTHORN - Liam Shiels 2009 - Heat 2
MELBOURNE - Colin Sylvia NORTH MELB. - Warren Benjamin PORT ADELAIDE - Wade Thompson (Q) RICHMOND - Alex Rance (Q) ST KILDA - Rhys Stanley (Q) SYDNEY - Mike Pyke (Q) WEST COAST - Nic Naitanui WESTERN BULLDOGS - Liam Picken |
2009 - FINAL
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2010 - Heat 1
ADELAIDE - Richie Douglas (Q) COLLINGWOOD - Ryan Cook ESSENDON - Jake Melksham GEELONG - Daniel Menzel (Q) GOLD COAST - Trent McKenzie (Q) HAWTHORN - Ben Stratton MELBOURNE - Jack Watts SYDNEY - Lewis Jetta (Q) WEST COAST - Dean Cox |
2010 - Heat 2
BRISBANE - Jack Redden (Q) CARLTON - Marc Murphy FREMANTLE - Garrick Ibbotson GWS - Tim Golds (Q) NORTH MELB. - Liam Anthony PORT ADELAIDE - Danyle Pearce RICHMOND - Ben Nason (Q) ST KILDA - Luke Miles (Q) WESTERN BULLDOGS - Liam Picken |
2010 - FINAL
1st - Luke Miles (St Kilda) 2nd - Tim Golds (GWS) 3rd - Lewis Jetta (Sydney) Other finallists: - Richard Douglas (Adelaide) - Jack Redden (Brisbane) - Daniel Menzel (Geelong) - Trent McKenzie (Gold Coast) - Ben Nason (Richmond) |
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2011 - HEATS
Line-up for each heat unknown. ADELAIDE - Patrick Dangerfield (Q) BRISBANE - Daniel Rich CARLTON - unknown COLLINGWOOD - Luke Rounds (Q) ESSENDON - Jake Melksham (Q) FREMANTLE - Josh Mellington GEELONG - Dawson Simpson (Q) GOLD COAST - Joel Wilkinson (Q) GWS - Tim Golds (Q) HAWTHORN - Jordan Williams (Q) MELBOURNE - Sam Blease (did not run) NORTH MELB. - Scott McMahon PORT ADELAIDE - unknown RICHMOND - Ben Nason ST KILDA - Jason Blake SYDNEY - Lewis Jetta (Q) WEST COAST - Jacob Brennan (Q) WESTERN BULLDOGS - Jarrad Grant |
2011 - FINAL
A graphic on the Channel Ten coverage (see below) incorrectly names Brisbane's Daniel Rich as the finallist in Lane 9; it was actually Essendon's Jake Melksham Sam Blease was the Demons' representative but did not appear for his race due to a family function! The heat went ahead without a replacement runner from the Demons. [My thanks to Adam from DemonBlog and DemonWiki for digging this info out of the twitter archives and sending it through]
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2012 - Heat 1
CARLTON - Kane Lucas (4th) COLLINGWOOD - Paul Seedsman FREMANTLE - Tendai Mzungu GWS - Thomas Bugg MELBOURNE - Lynden Dunn NORTH MELB. - Shaun Atley (2nd) ST KILDA - David Armitage SYDNEY - Harry Cunningham (1st) WEST COAST - Ashley Smith (3rd) 2012 - Heat 2
ADELAIDE - Patrick Dangerfield (1st) BRISBANE - Ben Hudson ESSENDON - Stewart Crameri (3rd) GEELONG - Billie Smedts GOLD COAST - Campbell Brown (4th) HAWTHORN - Angus Litherland (2nd) PORT ADELAIDE - Aaron Young RICHMOND - Chris Newman WESTERN BULLDOGS - Liam Picken |
2012 - FINAL
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2013 - Heat 1
ADELAIDE - Patrick Dangerfield (1st) COLLINGWOOD - Paul Seedsman GEELONG - Jordan Murdoch (2nd) GOLD COAST - Campbell Brown (4th) HAWTHORN - Angus Litherland (3rd) MELBOURNE - Neville Jetta NORTH MELB. - Kieran Harper WEST COAST - Jamie Bennell (5th) WESTERN BULLDOGS - Jackson Macrae |
2013 - Heat 2
BRISBANE - Richard Newell (2nd) CARLTON - Chris Yarran (4th) ESSENDON - Paddy Ryder FREMANTLE - Alex Forster GWS - Dom Tyson PORT ADELAIDE - Angus Monfries RICHMOND - Todd Elton (3rd) ST KILDA - Leigh Montagna SYDNEY - Gary Rohan* (1st) NOTE: *Harry Cunningham (Sydney) was a late scratching, replaced by Gary Rohan |
2013 - FINAL
1st - Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
2nd - Angus Litherland (Hawthorn) 3rd - Jordan Murdoch (Geelong) 4th - Richard Newell (Brisbane) 5th - Chris Yarran (Carlton) 6th - Gary Rohan (Sydney) - injured 7th - Todd Elton (Richmond) 8th - Jamie Bennell (West Coast) 9th - Campbell Brown (Gold Coast) |
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2014 - HEATS
Line-up for each heat unknown ADELAIDE - Brodie Smith BRISBANE - Daniel McStay (Q) CARLTON - Kane Lucas COLLINGWOOD - Ben Kennedy ESSENDON - Patrick Ambrose (Q) FREMANTLE - Zac Dawson GEELONG - Jordan Murdoch (Q) GOLD COAST - Jarrad Ellis (Q) GWS - Adam Tomlinson HAWTHORN - Billy Hartung (Q) MELBOURNE - Jayden Hunt (Q) NORTH MELB. - Luke McDonald (Q) PORT ADELAIDE - Andrew Moore (Q) RICHMOND - Bachar Houli ST KILDA - Clint Jones (Q) SYDNEY - Daniel Robinson WEST COAST - Will Schofield WESTERN BULLDOGS - Jason Tutt |
2014 - FINAL
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2015
The 2015 race was the first to include runners who were not VFL-AFL footballers. Naming rights sponsor 13CABS invited any of their drivers who could run 100 metres in under 15 seconds to participate in a series of heats held during the month prior to the Grand Final. Heats were held in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Newcastle with the two fastest runners in each race advancing to the Australia's Fastest Cabbie final which was held in Melbourne. The two fastest runners in the final (Parminder Singh and Gurdev Singh) earned the right to participate in the heats of the Grand Final Sprint.
The 2015 race was the first to include runners who were not VFL-AFL footballers. Naming rights sponsor 13CABS invited any of their drivers who could run 100 metres in under 15 seconds to participate in a series of heats held during the month prior to the Grand Final. Heats were held in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and Newcastle with the two fastest runners in each race advancing to the Australia's Fastest Cabbie final which was held in Melbourne. The two fastest runners in the final (Parminder Singh and Gurdev Singh) earned the right to participate in the heats of the Grand Final Sprint.
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2015 - Heat 1
ADELAIDE - Charlie Cameron (3rd) COLLINGWOOD - Darcy Moore (8th) GEELONG - Darcy Lang (9th) GOLD COAST - Henry Schade (4th) GWS - Rory Lobb (7th) HAWTHORN - Daniel Howe* (10th) NORTH MELB. - Majak Daw (1st) WEST COAST - Paddy Brophy (2nd) W. BULLDOGS - Caleb Daniel (6th) 13CABS - Parminder Singh (5th) |
2015 - Heat 2
BRISBANE - Lewis Taylor (4th) CARLTON - Andrejs Everitt (5th) ESSENDON - Elliott Kavanagh (8th) FREMANTLE - Hayden Krozier (3rd) MELBOURNE - Jay Kennedy-Harris (7th) PORT ADELAIDE - Brad Ebert (9th) RICHMOND - Anthony Miles (6th) ST KILDA - Leigh Montagna (10th) SYDNEY - Dean Towers (1st) 13CABS - Gurdev Singh (2nd) |
2015 - FINAL
1st - Majak Daw (NM) 2nd - Charlie Cameron (Adelaide) 3rd - Dean Towers (Sydney) 4th - Paddy Brophy (West Coast) 5th - Hayden Crozier (Fremantle) 6th - Henry Schade (Gold Coast) 7th - Gurdev Singh (13CABS) 8th - Lewis Taylor (Brisbane) 9th - Parminder Singh (13CABS) 10th - Andrejs Everitt (Carlton) |
*Angus Litherland was originally Hawthorn's entrant in Heat 1 but withdrew after being named as an emergency in their Grand Final team.
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2016
The race again featured two runners from outside the AFL but this time only one cab driver from 13CABS participated; Harvinder Singh, winner of the Australia's Fastest Cabbie final held in Adelaide. The other spot went to the fastest suburban footballer (James Shirley from Murrumbeena Football Netball Club) who qualified for the heats by winning a sprint at the E.J. Whitten Legends match.
Like the 2015 race both non-AFL runners qualified for the final but this time Shirley became the first non-AFL participant to win the sprint.
The race again featured two runners from outside the AFL but this time only one cab driver from 13CABS participated; Harvinder Singh, winner of the Australia's Fastest Cabbie final held in Adelaide. The other spot went to the fastest suburban footballer (James Shirley from Murrumbeena Football Netball Club) who qualified for the heats by winning a sprint at the E.J. Whitten Legends match.
Like the 2015 race both non-AFL runners qualified for the final but this time Shirley became the first non-AFL participant to win the sprint.
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2016 - HEATS
Line-up for each heat unknown ADELAIDE - Brodie Smith BRISBANE - Mitch Robinson CARLTON - Liam Sumner (Q) COLLINGWOOD - Jordan De Goey ESSENDON - A. McDonald-Tpingwuti (Q) FREMANTLE - Darcy Tucker (Q) GEELONG - Jed Bews (Q) GOLD COAST - Brandon Matera GWS - Stephen Coniglio HAWTHORN - Billy Hartung MELBOURNE - Clayton Oliver NORTH MELB. - Majak Daw (Q) PORT ADELAIDE - Karl Amon RICHMOND - Alex Rance ST KILDA - Bailey Rice* (Q) SYDNEY - James Rose (Q) WEST COAST - Lewis Jetta WESTERN BULLDOGS - Brad Lynch (Q) 13CABS - Harvinder Singh (Q) SUBURBAN FOOTBALLER - James Shirley (Q) |
2016 - FINAL
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*Dylan Roberton was originally St Kilda's entrant in the race but was scratched due to injury.
**some websites list Daw as finishing 2nd and Bews 3rd. However, video of the race (see above) shows Daw easing up about three metres short of the finish after Shirley breaks away for an unassailable lead. As Daw slows down, Bews makes a final burst, just pipping Daw on the line for 2nd place.
**some websites list Daw as finishing 2nd and Bews 3rd. However, video of the race (see above) shows Daw easing up about three metres short of the finish after Shirley breaks away for an unassailable lead. As Daw slows down, Bews makes a final burst, just pipping Daw on the line for 2nd place.
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2017 - Heat 1
ADELAIDE - Jordan Gallucci (Q) BRISBANE - Dayne Zorko ESSENDON - Kyle Langford GEELONG - Mark O'Connor HAWTHORN - Harry Morrison MELBOURNE - Jayden Hunt (Q) ST KILDA - Sam Gilbert WEST COAST - Lewis Jetta (Q) WESTERN BULLDOGS - Matt Suckling (Q) 2017 - Heat 2
CARLTON - Jarrod Pickett (Q) COLLINGWOOD - Will Hoskin-Elliott FREMANTLE - Tommy Sheridan GOLD COAST - Steven May (Q) GWS GIANTS - Tim Taranto NORTH MELB. - Josh Williams (Q) PORT ADELAIDE - Jarman Impey RICHMOND - Connor Menadue (Q) SYDNEY - James Rose (Q) |
2017 - FINAL
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MISSING INFO...
After exhaustive research some gaps still remain, can you help?
PLACINGS:
1980 - 3rd
1987 - 2nd & 3rd
1996 - 2nd & 3rd (Lightning Premiership Sprint held Feb.11)
NAMING RIGHTS SPONSOR:
1987 & 1996
ENTRANTS - runners from the following teams are yet to be determined:
1987 - North Melbourne / Sydney
1996 - all teams except Melbourne, North Melbourne and Richmond (Lightning Premiership Sprint held Feb.11)
2004 - Hawthorn
2006 - Adelaide / West Coast
2011 - Carlton / Port Adelaide
+ the line-ups for the heats in various years (see above).
Please contact me if you have race footage not yet added to YouTube or any other information.
PLACINGS:
1980 - 3rd
1987 - 2nd & 3rd
1996 - 2nd & 3rd (Lightning Premiership Sprint held Feb.11)
NAMING RIGHTS SPONSOR:
1987 & 1996
ENTRANTS - runners from the following teams are yet to be determined:
1987 - North Melbourne / Sydney
1996 - all teams except Melbourne, North Melbourne and Richmond (Lightning Premiership Sprint held Feb.11)
2004 - Hawthorn
2006 - Adelaide / West Coast
2011 - Carlton / Port Adelaide
+ the line-ups for the heats in various years (see above).
Please contact me if you have race footage not yet added to YouTube or any other information.
Last updated: 14/11/2018
