The AFL Grand Final ~ Melbourne

Published 7 October 2013, by Jess

AFL is the Australian Football League, our countrys National sport and one I happen to absolutely love! The AFL Grand Final is the equalivant to the NFL Super Bowl in terms of it is the final game that decides who is the champion of AFL for that year.  In comparison to the Super Bowl it is on a much much smaller scale, however this was the best example I could give to provide a better understanding.

Flights

$1000 each return with Qantas from Perth.

The earlier you book flights, the cheaper they are.  I know of people who flew via Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore & Hong Kong to Melbourne and their flights were cheaper than a direct flight to Melbourne.

Last minute tickets, if you could get on the flights were around $1500 return.

I also know people who paid approximately $800 return to Adelaide and then drove a car to Melbourne.

The Week Lead Up for 2014

There is a lot on in Melbourne in the lead up to the AFL Grandfinal, never a dull moment.

Federation Square during Grand Final week

Sunday – 21^st September 2014

VFL Grandfinal at Ethihad Stadium

Monday – 22nd September 2014
10am – The Brownlow Medal panel and fashion parade at Federation Square.

5pm – Red carpet presentation at Crown followed by the Brownlow Medal Count

Tuesday – 23^rd September 2014

10am – Auskick where the kids enjoy activities at Federation Square, meet players and stars from the NAB AFL Rising Star program.

Wednesday – 24^th September 2014

Live Music in Federation Square at Noon

Variety Great Grandfinal Luncheon at Crown Palladium

Thursday – 25^th September 2014

12.30pm – AFL Premiership Cup on display at Federation Square

Noon – 9pm – Grand Final experience at Crown Riverside

The AFL Footy Show spectacular at Rod Laver Arena

Friday – 26^th September 2014

Players and coaches.
Noon – Parade makes its way through the city from Victorian Arts Centre (St Kilda Road) travelling along Swanston and Collins Streets before finishing at the OldTreasuryBuilding (Spring and Collins)

Jarrad Roughead – Hawthorn

Paul Duffield – Fremantle

Lance “Buddy” Franklin – Hawthorn

Luke McPharlin – Fremantle

 Saturday – 27^th September 2014

Grandfinal at the MCG

2:30pm Live on the Big Screen at Federation Square the AFL Grandfinal

The Home of the AFL Grandfinal – the MCG

AFL Grand Final Breakfast/Ticket Package

$1795 + credit card fees & postage fees = $1826 (Silver seating at the game)

The breakfast was sponsored by CGU and ran for approximately 2 hours.

Hosted by Tim Watson

Entertainment included Daryl Braithwaite, Mike Brady, Rusty and the Other Guy & Vince Sorrenti.

Panel of footy experts including; Brian Taylor, Billy Brownless, Jobe Watson, Matthew Lloyd, Matthew Richardson, Jonathan Brown, Cameron Ling, Luke Darcy and Danny Frawley.

Tables of 10 were set up with beer and champagne all inclusive. The actual breakfast included fruit, danishes, croissants, muffins and Eggs Benedict.

Other breakfasts of interest are the North Melbourne Breakfast held at Etihad Stadium.  I’m told this is extremely well done & one of the better breakfasts.

Each of the football clubs hold breakfast for anyone to attend.  Contact the individual clubs for details.

AFL Tickets

8000 tickets are released and sold on the day of the AFL Grandfinal.

Tickets can also be sold through ballot systems from each team playing in the Grand Final.

AFL Members and other members can also buy tickets.

The AFL Grandfinal

What a spectacular experience, and now I can finally say I’ve seen one.

I attended the 2013 AFL Grandfinal where the Hawthorn Hawks were victorious over the Fremantle Dockers.

This was the Dockers first appearance in a Grand Final since entering the competition 19 years ago.

The ground was filled with each of the teams colours, wherever you looked yellow & purple were everywhere and the atmosphere was electric.  Being somewhat of a neutral supporter it was fantastic to see these two teams battle it out.

I was cheering on the Fremantle Dockers for two reasons;

1.  My Dad was a Fremantle Dockers member since the club joined the competition in 1995 attending every home game and even a few games in Melbourne.  Unfortunately in 2008 he passed away and never lived to see Fremantle make a Grand Final.  My family & I always said that if Fremantle ever made the Grand Final, we would make the trip in my Dads honour (hopefully next time they can come away with the win for him).

2.  Being a proud West Australian, when my team The West Coast Eagles aren’t playing, I always support the Fremantle Dockers.  I grew up in a house of Fremantle supporters and that’s just the way our family is, support WA before other clubs.

The players lined up for the National Anthem

Pre-game entertainment at the 2013 AFL Grand Final was ‘The Birds of Tokyo’, a well known Australian band from Perth, Western Australia.  All players who retire from the game that season are also given a lap of honour along with the Winner of the Brownlow Medal and the Winner of the Rising Star for that year.

Half-time entertainment included ‘The Hunters and Collectors’ and ‘Mike Brady’.

The MCG is a fantastic venue, lines for drinks and food were minimal and quick and exiting the arena was relatively fast and flowed.  The MCG is also the place where the line for the mens bathroom was bigger than the womens line, there’s a first for everything!

Whether your team is at the AFL Grand Final or not, it’s well worth the experience.

Another thing to ticket off my bucket list!

Melbourne, Australia ~ Part Two

Published 1 July 2013, by Jess

Getting To and From the Airport.

A taxi from the Melbourne airport into the CBD will set you back approximately $70-80 AUD including the toll fare. This depends on the time of day, as traffic will obviously play a big part.

The Skybus runs to and from the Airport to the Southern Cross Station on Spencer Street in the CBD and costs approximately $17AUD for an Adult one way and takes approximately 20 minutes.  See the link below for schedule times.

 http://www.skybus.com.au/fares/

 The CBD

 Melbourne’s CBD is energetic, fast paced and quite beautiful, with a mixture of historic and modern architecture co-existing in close proximity.

Flinders Street Station is the CBD’s hub for the train network. A truly beautiful building, and a perfect centrepiece for the city. 

Federation Square is located opposite Flinders Street Station, it is the culture precinct of the city and civic centre and opened not long ago in 2002.  A strange building I must say, but somehow it works and marries the mix of modern and historic architecture that I spoke of earlier being so closely built to Flinder Street Station.

Queen Victoria Markets opened as a small market in the 1850’s, it is now the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere located on 17 hectares. A major tourist attraction, the markets offer fresh fruit and vegetables, hand made arts and crafts, clothing and shoes. The markets have a great variety of products.

Laneways – Melbourne have some really cute laneways that they have made excellent use of, including for Shopping, Restaurants and Bars.  During Christmas, the Royal Laneway in the CBD is beautifully decorated and a great place to walk through to get into the festive spirit.  Hardware Lane is a fantastic option for bars and food.  Do yourself a favour and checkout Hardware Lane, you won’t be disappointed.

Royal Arcade Laneway

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

Built in 1853, and known to locals as ‘The G’ – The MCG hosts Test Cricket and is home to the Australian Football League (AFL) hosting games throughout the year and the Grandfinal each year. 

In 1956 it also hosted the Olympic Games for track and field events. Besides sporting events, the MCG also holds music concerts including U2, The Rolling Stones and Madonna to name a few.

Whether you are a fellow Australian visiting Melbourne, or an overseas traveller, I highly recommend catching an AFL game at the MCG.  The atmosphere is fantastic, the stadium is well set up and it’s a chance to see our National game played in the largest stadium in the country with a seating capacity of 100,018.  Recommended games due to atmosphere would be Carlton vs Collingwood, or Essendon vs Richmond.  Friday night football also tends to draw a big crowd.  With most of the leagues teams residing in Melbourne (10 out of 18), games against two Victorian teams naturally draw a larger crowd at the MCG.

Make sure you rug up at the G – It gets cold!

Having a beer during Friday night footy!

The MCG is a short distance from the CBD, a short tram or train ride or approximately a 20 minute walk.

The Great Ocean Road

While I am yet to do this one myself, it is most definitely on the bucket list and therefore I had to add it as a must see. Australian Heritage Listed, the Great Ocean Road stretches between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool for 243 kilometres.

The road was built by soldiers who had returned from war between 1919 – 1932, it is the world’s largest war memorial.  It was built in honour of World War 1 casualities. 

A highlight I’m told is the 12 Apostles limestone stack formations in the water.