At the Western Oval the cheer when news arrived that Hawthorn had taken the lead at Geelong was so loud that television commentators thought it was the final siren, and a real ground invasion followed seconds later.
Melbourne's win over Footscray, plus Hawthorn's, sent the Demons to their first finals series since 1964.
Oddities
The Melbourne Carnival final between Victoria and Western Australia drew about 15,000, a crowd held down because it was also the first day of the American Fleet's eight-day visit to the city.
Oddities
Corio Oval set its attendance record when 26,025 fans watched Geelong beat Collingwood by nine points, a mark for a Geelong home match that stood until 1951.
Grounds
Australians stationed on the USS Bataan introduced Australian rules in South Korea during the Korean War, playing a game with locals in front of bemused onlookers.
Overseas
South Melbourne played its last senior match at Lake Oval, losing to North Melbourne before 8,484 fans, before moving to Sydney and becoming the Swans.
Grounds
Brisbane sacked coach Justin Leppitsch the day after its 2016 season ended, despite having given him a one-year contract extension at the start of that season.
People
University's last VFL match
VFL · Round 18 · MCG · crowd 4,766
Wildcard Final
AFL · MCG · crowd 91,733
Finals Week 1
AFL · UTAS Stadium · crowd 9,760
Semi Final
VFL · MCG · crowd 92,231
Semi Final
VFL · Princes Park · crowd 25,000
Grand Final
VFA · Olympic Park · crowd 18,000
Geelong v Essendon, first of 284 VFL/AFL games
Richmond v Port Adelaide, first of 234 VFL/AFL games
Geelong v Essendon, first of 184 VFL/AFL games
Essendon v Richmond, first of 149 VFL/AFL games so far
Melbourne, 255 games (2010-2026)
Geelong, 185 games (2018-2026)
Geelong, 122 games (2021-2026)
Richmond, 12 games (2024-2026)
