2000 AFL Grand Final

2000 AFL Grand Final
2000 AFL Grand Final
	The Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the 2000 AFL Grand Final took place
19.21 (135)	11.9 (75)
Date	2 September 2000
Stadium	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Attendance	96,249
Favourite	Essendon
Umpires	Darren Goldspink (32), Brett Allen (10), Hayden Kennedy (7)
Coin toss won by	David Neitz, Melbourne
Kicked toward	City End
Ceremonies
Pre-match entertainment	The Idea of North, Trish Delaney-Brown, Megan Corson, Andrew Piper and Nick Begie
National anthem	Bachelor Girl
Post-match entertainment	Mike Brady, Russell Morris and Rick Price
Accolades
Norm Smith Medallist	James Hird (Essendon)
Jock McHale Medallist	Kevin Sheedy (Essendon)
Broadcast in Australia
Network	Seven Network
Commentators	Bruce McAvaney (host and commentator); Sandy Roberts (commentator); Jason Dunstall (expert commentator); Gerard Healy (expert commentator); Malcolm Blight (expert commentator); Tony Lockett (boundary rider); Anthony Hudson (boundary rider); Robert DiPierdomenico (boundary rider)

The 2000 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Essendon Football Club and the Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 2 September 2000 rather than in its usual last Saturday of September date to avoid conflicting with the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It was the 104th annual grand final (counting replays) of the Australian Football League (formerly the Victorian Football League),^[1] staged to determine the premiers for the 2000 AFL season. The match, attended by 96,249 spectators, was won by Essendon by a margin of 60 points. It was Essendon's 16th premiership, drawing the club equal for the most VFL/AFL premierships.

^ In 1897 and 1924 there were no grand finals and instead the premier was decided by a finals play-off. In 1948 and 1977 there were grand final replays after initial draws.