The North Melbourne Kangaroos won the 2024 AFLW Grand Final on Saturday beating the Brisbane Lions 39-9. The Kangaroos had a near-perfect season, remaining undefeated and becoming the first professional Australian rules team to do so. The final victory marked the Kangaroos’ first title, having joined the competition in 2019.
AFLW Grand Final
In a rematch of last year’s Grand Final, which the Lions won, the Kangaroos scored the opening three goals of the match and never looked back. The Roos held the Lions to just one goal all game. Kangaroos star Jasmine Garner was named Best on Ground with the midfielder recording 35 disposals, the most ever in an AFLW Grand Final. Alice O’Loughlin also starred for the winners, kicking three of the six goals.
Libby Birch also nabbed some history of her own, becoming the first player in the AFL or AFLW to win three premierships with three different clubs.
This year’s edition of the AFLW Grand Final was the first to be played at night, with the first bounce at 7:45pm at Ikon Park in Melbourne. A sellout crowd of over 12,000 were in attendance.
What they said
Kangaroos coach Darren Crocker said: “I feel relief, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little bit of weight of expectation coming into tonight. I would have never said it to the players or the people around me but to go through a season undefeated to this point, to have made a grand final last year and be in front at three-quarter time and get overrun.”
Lions coach Craig Starcevich said: “Pretty disappointed, obviously, but full of admiration for the opposition to be honest… What I saw in the first half today was the best footy I’ve ever seen in the AFLW, to be honest. And we were on the receiving end just trying to keep our heads above water to be competitive.”
