Match Summary
West Coast opened the game aggressively, with Sydney struggling to get the ball to their end of the field. However, better goal kicking accuracy by the Swans put them ahead by two points at the first change.
In the second quarter Sydney appeared to be asserting control of the game, kicking three goals while the Eagles got none. However, after the long break, West Coast put their stamp on the game, kicking three goals while the Swans went goalless.
At the end of the day, both teams would remember seemingly easy goals that were missed, but the Eagles most clearly would remember theirs from the fourth quarter. With just under five minutes remaining in the match, West Coast's Brent Staker almost cost his team the match following a 50-metre penalty to the Swans sending them out of their defensive 50 in a very costly play. With the Swans holding a five point lead in the closing moments, Sydney's Tadhg Kennelly rushed a behind to blunt a ferocious Eagles attack. After the ensuing kick in, West Coast again regained control of the ball and sent a long kick back to the half forward line by Dean Cox. Sydney's Leo Barry responded by taking a mark in the midst of the pack full of Eagles players (with the commentator Stephen Quartermain mentioning words made famous through frequent replays - "Leo Barry you star!"), denying the Eagles an opportunity to kick a game winner on or after the final siren, thus ensuring that the Swans would win their first premiership in 72 years (when they were South Melbourne), ending the longest premiership drought in VFL/AFL history.
The match has been labelled as a 'classic', with the final margin being the closest since the 1977 drawn Grand Final. This was the first time since the 1989 VFL Grand Final that the Grand Final was decided by a goal or less.
Eagles player Chris Judd was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield, despite the fact that he finished on the losing side. This is only one of four instances of a Grand Final player having won a Norm Smith Medal without being on the winning premiership team.
The same teams met again in the 2006 AFL Grand Final, another close match, with the Eagles emerging victors by one point.
Read more about this topic: 2005 AFL Grand Final
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