The match, attended by 99,537 spectators, was won by Geelong by a margin of 38 points, marking the club's ninth VFL/AFL premiership victory.

Collingwood entered the 2011 season as the reigning premiers, having defeated St Kilda in the 2010 AFL Grand Final Replay.

Controversially, the broadcast was transmitted only in standard definition, as the costs of live high-definition coverage was deemed excessive; the HD channel was instead used for golf.

This was considered a major step backwards, as the drawn 2010 AFL Grand Final the previous year had not only been broadcast in HD but also in 3D.

From that point, Collingwood's backline held Geelong scoreless for fifteen minutes, and set shot goals from beyond the 50-metre arc by Travis Cloke at the 12- and 19-minute marks closed the gap to 14–13.

Cloke's early dominance forced Geelong to take Harry Taylor off him and make Tom Lonergan his new opponent, which helped the Cats stem the flow of goals.

[21] Mathew Stokes goaled for Geelong in the 11th minute, and Tom Hawkins and Johnson both missed opportunities to bring the margin closer; from Johnson's behind, Collingwood scored a coast-to-coast goal, with Krakouer converting from a strong contested mark, to give Collingwood a 51–35 lead at the 18th minute.

[19][20] At this stage, Geelong key forward James Podsiadly, who had scored one behind for the match, was stretchered from the ground with a right shoulder injury after having fallen on it in a marking contest.

There was no more scoring in the long second quarter (which lasted 36 minutes due to the delay for Podsiadly's injury), and Collingwood led 57–54 at half time.

In the 15th minute, when Bartel goaled from a long range set-shot, the margin was out to 26 points, and a Geelong victory was no longer in doubt.

Two more goals were scored by Geelong in the dying minutes—one to Steve Johnson in the 22nd minute, and one to popular captain Cameron Ling in the 24th minute—to complete a 38-point victory.

[19][20] The influential players in the midfield were Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood for Geelong, while Scott Pendlebury shone for Collingwood.

Collingwood midfielder and 2011 Brownlow Medallist Dane Swan was effectively tagged by Ling, and therefore he had a limited influence on the match.

The ruck contest was well won by Geelong's tandem of Ottens and Trent West, who beat Collingwood's primary ruckman Darren Jolly and his backup Leigh Brown.

[18] In Collingwood's forward line, Travis Cloke was influential in the first half, kicking three goals while playing against Geelong defender Harry Taylor.

He kicked 3.2 after half-time, and he set up another to Steve Johnson, with Collingwood defender Ben Reid unable to quell his influence.

Hawkins role was particularly crucial after fellow key forward James Podsiadly was substituted out of the game through injury in the second quarter.

Additionally, Steve Johnson kicked four goals despite suffering a knee injury in the preliminary final, which many speculated during the week would keep him out of the match.