Adelaide then progressed to the preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG, and won convincingly by 68 points.

A wasteful 5.8 to North Melbourne's 2.0 in the third quarter saw the Adelaide leading by two points at three-quarter time.

Then, Adelaide scored 6.4 in the final quarter, holding North Melbourne (0.7) goalless, to open a comfortable lead, and ultimately win the match by 35 points.

Darren Jarman was sensational with 5 goals and Andrew McLeod was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield, for the second straight year.

Adelaide is one of just three clubs in modern times to have won the premiership after finishing lower than fourth on the premiership ladder after the home-and-away season (Melbourne won the premiership after finishing sixth after the fourteen-game home-and-away season in 1900, qualifying for the semi-finals after a strong performance in the three-week sectional round robin that followed the home-and-away season; the Western Bulldogs won the premiership after finishing seventh in the home-and-away season in 2016; the Brisbane Lions won the premiership after finishing fifth in the home-and-away season in 2024).

The 1998 Grand Final pre-match entertainment was particularly notable for the appearance of former World Heavyweight Boxing champion Muhammad Ali, as he did a lap of honour of the ground.