1985 VFL Grand Final 1985 VFL Grand Final The 1985 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1985. It was the 89th annual grand final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1985 VFL season. The match, attended by 100,042 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 78 points, marking that club's 14th premiership victory. It was the third consecutive year in which the two clubs met in the premiership decider, with Hawthorn having
1996 AFL Grand Final 1996 AFL Grand Final The 1996 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the North Melbourne Football Club and the Sydney Swans, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1996. It was the 100th annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League), staged to determine the premiers for the 1996 AFL season. The match, attended by 93,102 people, was won by North Melbourne by a margin of 43 points, marking that club's third premiership victory. North Melbourne were awarded a gold premiership cup instead of the usual