[2][3] The grand final gained national media attention, and is considered one of the ugliest moments in Australian rules football history.

[8] The brawl, which involved all 44 players, eventually ended when umpires ran to the centre of the field and bounced the ball to start the game.

[9] Video broadcast on Nine News showed a North Cairns supporter punching another man in the face as fighting continued.

[2] Medal presentations were not held out of fear for more violence, and Port Douglas players almost fought with spectators as they left the field.

Port Douglas coach Andy Viola said that "all week [...] Jason Love had indicated it was going to be fiery, he was in the radio, in the paper, saying 'watch for the start of the game'".

[11] The probe was headed by Jim Henry, a former Crown prosecutor and future Supreme Court of Queensland judge.

Love, who was banned from coaching for three years after being found guilty of striking, described the tribunal as "a witch hunt with a foregone conclusion".

[15] In 2015, AFL Queensland called the brawl "one of the ugliest incidents in [Australian rules football] history".