The 1991 Australian Football League finals series was the 95th annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football play-off tournament staged to determine the winner of the 1991 AFL Premiership season. The series ran over four weekends in September 1991, culminating with the 1991 AFL Grand Final at Waverley Park on 28 September 1991.

The McIntyre final five system, which had operated from 1972 until 1990, was replaced by the first McIntyre final six system. The following season, it was replaced by the second McIntyre final six system.

Bracket

Venues In terms of venues, the 1991 AFL finals series was historically significant for two reasons. First, due to ongoing construction of the Great Southern Stand at the MCG, all but one of the matches of the 1991 AFL finals series were contested at Waverley Park. This was the first time since 1945 that a VFL/AFL finals series was not played at the MCG. Second, the Qualifying final at Subiaco Oval marked the first time a VFL/AFL final had been played outside of Victoria.

Week one (qualifying and elimination finals)

First Elimination final (Melbourne vs Essendon) The opening match of the 1991 AFL finals series saw fifth-placed play sixth-placed in the First Elimination final at Waverley Park. This marked the 14th VFL/AFL final between the two clubs, having previously met in the 1959 VFL Grand Final, which was won by Melbourne. They had also met in Grand Finals in 1941, 1946, 1948 (with the third game resulting in the first drawn VFL Grand Final) and 1957, with Melbourne winning all except the 1946 decider.

Teams

Essendon lost Salmon before the match with groin and ankle strains,Atkinson & Atkinson (2009), p. 434 and was replaced in the side by Peter Somerville. There were no late changes to the Melbourne team.

Match summary After Essendon had the better of the first half, Melbourne kicked thirteen goals to four in the second half to advance to the first semi-final. Allen Jakovich was on fire for the Demons with eight goals.

Scorecard

Second Elimination final (Geelong vs St Kilda) The Second Elimination final saw third placed play fourth placed at Waverley Park. Grand finalists two seasons prior, the Cats bounced back from a disappointing 1990, jumping into the Top Six after an important 40-point win against Hawthorn in Round 12 and spending much of the latter half of the season in second place behind West Coast. The Saints were the feel-good story of 1991, putting a difficult decade behind them and qualifying for their first VFL/AFL finals series since 1973. This was the second VFL/AFL final between the two clubs, having previously met in the 1968 First Semi-final, which was won by Geelong.

Teams Geelong made some late changes to its team, as Damian Bourke (calf injury) and Tim Darcy (sore ankle) were ruled unavailable; their places were taken by Stephen Hooper and Mark Neeld. There were no late changes for St Kilda. The Cats still boasted a number of players in their team from the 1989 VFL Grand Final while the Saints had only three players in their team with finals experience, albeit with other clubs: Russell Morris, Stephen Newport and Tim Pekin.

Match summary Although Geelong had opted to kick with the wind first, it was St Kilda who opened the scoring, to the delight of their long-suffering supporters. After three misses, Gilbert McAdam kicked truly on the run from 40 metres at the 9-minute mark. Frank Coghlan and Tony Lockett added further majors soon after to push the Saints' lead to 21 points at the 12-minute mark, with the Cats still not having registered a score. Bill Brownless finally got Geelong on the scoreboard at the 14-minute mark, with a long set shot resulting in a behind. However, Russell Morris' short kick-in did not reach Lazar Vidovic in the back pocket, and the resulting pressure allowed Sean Denham to swoop on the ball and score the Cats' first goal from a tight angle. After the slow start, Geelong's midfield took control and with quick goals to Brownless (two) and veteran Neville Bruns, the Cats had seized the lead at the 18-minute mark. Lockett then had two chances to regain the lead for St Kilda but missed both set shots, the second one from barely ten metres. He would later blame himself for the Saints' loss. Soon after, Brownless added his third for the quarter to give Geelong a ten-point lead at the first change.

In the second quarter, the Saints took full advantage of the breeze, kicking six unanswered goals to open up a 26-point lead. As in the opening term, McAdam kicked the first goal before Lockett went on a rampage, booting the next five goals (it would have been six if he had marked in the goal square from another brilliant pass by Nicky Winmar, just after kicking his sixth goal for the game) before Garry Hocking slammed through a much-needed goal for Geelong at the 27-minute mark. When the siren sounded for the main break several minutes later, the Saints held a 19-point lead.

Momentum swung back and forth in a pulsating third quarter. With their season on the line, the Cats hit back hard; their defensive pressure lifted, Garry Hocking was pivotal in numerous attacking thrusts, and Brownless began reimposing himself up front. After a long set shot from Brownless hit the post, Denham was in the perfect position to crumb and snap the first goal of the second half. Brownless then converted consecutive set shots, and when Hocking snapped his second, Geelong had regained the lead by seven points. St Kilda then scored the next three goals - through successive goals to Lockett and one awarded to Ricky Nixon which Geelong defenders protested was touched - to take back a 10-point lead with 8 minutes remaining in the term. Both coaches had made a number of positional changes; Blight dragged Ablett, who had been ineffective, moved Trevor Spencer off Lockett and replaced him with Barry Stoneham, who had kept Stewart Loewe quiet, while Sheldon shifted Loewe into defence on Brownless and Paul Harding was relocated to centre half-forward to oppose Spencer at centre half-back. The lead changed hands as Lockett registered his ninth goal, but when Brownless won a free kick against Saints skipper Danny Frawley and got his seventh major, the Cats took a one-point lead into the last change after Loewe's rushed shot from 50 metres drifted wide on the siren.

The last quarter was a tense and scrappy affair as tired players from both sides struggled to gain the advantage. Seven minutes had elapsed before Lockett had the first clear scoring chance of the term, which would have been his tenth goal for the match. Since the second quarter, he had kicked eight goals straight, but on this occasion a hooked set shot registered his fifth behind. After another rushed behind levelled the scores, the Cats worked the ball downfield where Paul Couch, who had been well tagged by Danny Craven, received a handball from Brownless and kicked truly from 50 metres to regain the lead. When Brownless slotted his eighth with nine minutes remaining, Geelong was in front by 13 points and looked home. St Kilda's hopes lifted briefly when Loewe finally scored his first goal with a magnificent kick from outside 50 to bring the margin back to eight points with six minutes left. Three minutes later, Dean Rice collected the ball in open space, but his running shot missed and would end up being the last score of the game. Any remaining hope the Saints had all but disappeared when Vidovic not only had a free kick for a mark reversed but was also reported by two umpires for striking Ken Hinkley, apparently in retaliation after copping some unwanted physical attention from Hinkley. From there, the Cats controlled the ball in their attacking half, running down the clock until the final siren sounded to end an enthralling contest.

After the game, both coaches praised the other team's efforts and commented on the nature of the Final Six system:

Scorecard

Qualifying Final (West Coast vs Hawthorn) The Qualifying Final saw minor premier host second-placed at Subiaco Oval. Not only was it the first VFL/AFL final to be played outside of Victoria, it was also the first time the two clubs had met in a VFL/AFL final. The Hawks had qualified for their tenth consecutive VFL/AFL finals series, while the Eagles had built on their third-placed finish in 1990 and won the first 12 games of 1991 to eventually finish three games clear on top of the ladder. The sides had met twice during the season - in Round 7 at Princes Park and Round 22 at Subiaco Oval - with West Coast winning both games. The build-up of excitement during the week leading up to the match resulted in Perth being dubbed 'Eagle City'.Atkinson & Atkinson (2009), p.435

Teams

Match summary This historic occasion was also reflected in the attendance as over 44,000 spectators crammed into Subiaco Oval, a figure which remains the venue's attendance record for a VFL/AFL match. Leading up to the match, there had been criticism about the condition of Subiaco's playing surface, which had not been helped by the playing of two WAFL finals there the previous day. Furthermore, rain had been forecast to sweep through Perth on match day, however both coaches dismissed weather and conditions as an influential factor.

Urged on by a parochial home crowd confident of a repeat result from Round 22, the Eagles threw everything at Hawthorn, but in a frenetic opening term the battle-hardened Hawks matched the home side blow for blow, with the lead changing hands seven times. When the dust settled for quarter time the Eagles led by only five points.

The forecast rain arrived in the second quarter, turning an already rough playing surface into a boggy mess. Even though Hawthorn lost key forward Dermott Brereton in the 12th minute with what appeared a serious knee injury (later diagnosed as a strained medial ligament), Paul Dear proved to be a more than handy replacement. In a prelude to his Grand Final performance, Dear's mobility gave Hawthorn extra options in attack, while his strong marking and aggression at every contest brought his on-ball teammates into the game as the Hawks gradually wrestled control. At half-time they had kicked more accurately,

In his report for The Age the following day, chief football writer Ron Carter noted that "[t]he perseverance and non-stop aggression at the ball in winning the qualifying final in Perth was reminiscent of the Hawks of old."

Scorecard

Week two (Semi-finals) First Semi-final (West Coast v Melbourne) The First Semi-final saw West Coast travel to Waverley to host Melbourne on Sunday 15 September. This was the third time both sides had met in a final, with the ledger standing at one win each. It was also the second consecutive year the two teams had met in the first semi-final.

Teams

Match summary Again, it was a step too far for Melbourne, with the Eagles winning comfortably.

Scorecard

Second Semi-final (Hawthorn v Geelong) The Second Semi-final saw Hawthorn host Geelong at Waverley Park on Saturday 14 September. This was the fourth finals meeting between both sides, with Geelong holding a 2–1 advantage. Their previous finals meeting was the unforgettable 1989 VFL Grand Final, which Hawthorn had won by six points. During the 1991 AFL season, the two sides had met in Round 12, with Geelong emerging victorious by 40 points.

Teams

Hawthorn made only one change to the team that had beaten West Coast, with Robran in for the injured Brereton. Geelong made three changes, two of which were forced - with Gary Ablett Sr. suspended and Spiro Malakellis out for the rest of the finals due to a shoulder injury, while the serviceable ruckman Stephen Hooper made way for Damian Bourke, who had been a late withdrawal the previous week. Tim Darcy, the other late withdrawal, was also reinstated, along with young half-forward Michael Mansfield.

Match summary