2003 AFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League
season of 2003.
See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.
defeat Collingwood
15.14 (104) to 10.13 (73) in the Final. (For an explanation of pre-season scoring see Pre-season rule changes
)
Round 11 (Queen's Birthday
played a finals match and the first time that all non-Victorian teams played in a finals series.
Qualifying and Elimination Finals (Father's Day
v Sydney
game of Round 21.
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
season of 2003.
See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.
National Cup
The 2003 Wizard Home Loans Cup saw Adelaide CrowsAdelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
defeat Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
15.14 (104) to 10.13 (73) in the Final. (For an explanation of pre-season scoring see Pre-season rule changes
Australian Football League pre-season competition
The Australian Football League pre-season competition, which is known at present as the NAB Cup, is a competition held before the beginning of the Australian Football League premiership season...
)
Round 11 (Queen's BirthdayQueen's Official BirthdayThe Queen's Official Birthday is the selected day on which the birthday of the monarch of Commonwealth realms is officially celebrated in Commonwealth countries and in Fiji, which is now a republic. It is an invention of the early 20th century...
)
- The Kangaroos-Tigers game was especially notable as the comeback of Kangaroos player Jason McCartney from life-threatening burns suffered in the 2002 Bali bombing2002 Bali bombingThe 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was claimed as the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia according to the current police general, killing 202 people,...
. McCartney retired immediately after the match.
Round 21
The Sydney-Collingwood game is notable as it is the highest attended Aussie Rules match ever played outside of Victoria.Ladder
This marks the first time that FremantleFremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
played a finals match and the first time that all non-Victorian teams played in a finals series.
Qualifying and Elimination Finals (Father's DayFather's DayFather's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...
)
Semi Finals
Preliminary Finals
Grand Final
Match attendance
Total match attendance for all games was 5,872,352 people. Attendance at the Grand Final was 79,451 people. The largest non-finals attendance was 72,393 people for the CollingwoodCollingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
v Sydney
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
game of Round 21.
Awards
- The Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
was awarded to Mark RicciutoMark RicciutoMark Anthony Ricciuto is a former Australian rules football player, who played for the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League...
of Adelaide, Nathan BuckleyNathan BuckleyNathan Charles Buckley is a former professional Australian rules football player, commentator and coach, best known for his time as captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
of CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
, and Adam GoodesAdam GoodesAdam Goodes is a professional Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League ....
of SydneySydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
. - The Leigh Matthews TrophyLeigh Matthews TrophyThe Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...
was awarded to Michael VossMichael VossMichael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
of the Brisbane LionsBrisbane LionsThe Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
. - The Coleman MedalColeman MedalThe Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
was awarded to Matthew LloydMatthew LloydMatthew James Lloyd is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and was the captain of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League...
of EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
. - The Norm Smith MedalNorm Smith MedalThe Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
was awarded to Simon BlackSimon BlackSimon Black is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.Black is a midfielder with a reputation for hard work and skill...
of the Brisbane LionsBrisbane LionsThe Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
. - The AFL Rising Star awardAFL Rising Star awardThe NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League. Since 2007 the winner has been presented with the Ron Evans Medal and was first awarded in 1993...
was awarded to Sam MitchellSam Mitchell (footballer)Samuel Mitchell is an Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Debut season :...
of HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
. - The Wooden SpoonWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
was "awarded" to the Western BulldogsWestern BulldogsThe Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
for coming last.