In the group stages, the Brisbane Lions, Port Adelaide, Hawthorn and Kangaroos finished top of their respective groups and qualified for the semi-finals. Port Adelaide won Group A with 3 wins out of 3, qualifying ahead of Sydney and Geelong. The win over Geelong that secured Port Adelaide a place in the semi-finals was marred however by a serious broken leg suffered by key ruckman Brendon Lade. In Group B, Kangaroos won their place in the semi-finals after a 28-point win in the final group game against Collingwood. Group C was won by Brisbane Lions after they defeated Carlton by 13 points in the deciding game of the group. Group D was secured by Hawthorn after a 100-point thumping of Melbourne meant they qualified ahead of Richmond on percentage.
In the knockout semi-finals, Brisbane Lions and Port Adelaide beat Hawthorn and Kangaroos respectively to qualify for the Grand Final. Port Adelaide trailed Kangaroos at three-quarter time but kicked the first 5 goals of the final term to secure a 16-point victory in front of their own fans at Football Park. In the other semi-final at Colonial Stadium, the Brisbane Lions kicked the final 4 goals of the game against Hawthorn to win by 15 points. The win by Brisbane Lions was significant. as it broke a finals hoodoo in Melbourne, and it set up the first grand final between two non-Victorian teams in VFL/AFL history.
The Brisbane Lions (the eventual regular season premiers) were playing in its first grand final of any kind (since the merger with Fitzroy), while Port Adelaide were playing in their second pre-season grand final after going down to Hawthorn back in 1999. The Brisbane Lions were unhappy with the arrangements for the final, as they had to travel interstate for the 4th time in 5 games, while Port Adelaide played their 4th game at home.
In the final, Port Adelaide took out their first pre season title with a convincing 85-point thumping of the Brisbane Lions. After an even first 1/4, Port took control in the second term with an 8 goal to 0 blitz, during which Stuart Dew kicked 3 goals in 3 minutes, and comfortably held on to secure the first silverware the club had won since their 1997 entry into the AFL.[1]
The Essendon vs. Richmond match was originally scheduled to be played Friday 16 March (7:00pm) at Lavington Oval, Albury. The match was abandoned due to a torrential thunderstorm, despite approximately 8,000 people still attending the ground. The match was hastily rescheduled for the next morning at Trevor Barker Beach Oval in Sandringham.[6][7]
