In 2008, Geelong won 21 of 22 games in the home-and-away season to equal that record, but they lost the grand final.

Melbourne captain David Neitz won the toss and chose to kick towards the City/Members end of the MCG in the opening quarter.

The Bombers never looked threatened from after quarter time and comfortably won its record-equaling 16th premiership by 60 points after arguably the most dominant season in VFL/AFL history.

One downside for the Bombers was an incident in which Melbourne's Troy Simmonds was hit high by Essendon's Michael Long, resulting in a 25-man brawl.

Essendon's triumph would be the last by any Victorian team until the 2007 AFL Grand Final when Geelong won its first premiership in 44 years.