The Lions had made it into their second consecutive grand final after finishing second on the AFL ladder behind Port Adelaide, and overcoming Adelaide and Port Adelaide in their early finals, shooting for back-to-back successes after their 2001 triumph over Essendon. Collingwood had reached the finals for the first time since 1994 and found their way into their first premiership decider since their 14th premiership over the Bombers in the 1990 Grand Final. They finished fourth on the ladder, and not much was expected of them in the final month of the year. However, the Magpies upset minor premiers Port Adelaide by 13 points in a dramatic Qualifying Final at AAMI Stadium, earning a week's rest before beating Adelaide 13.13 to 9.9 in the preliminary final at the MCG. Jason Cloke from Collingwood was suspended during the week after being charged for striking Tyson Edwards in the nose during their preliminary final victory against Adelaide. This controversy dominated headlines during the week in the buildup to the grand final. Also in the week leading up to the grand final, Brisbane's Simon Black was awarded the Brownlow Medal.
Match summary
In a tight and overly enthralling exhibition of AFL football, Brisbane withstood a brave challenge from Collingwood to win the 2002 AFL Grand Final by nine points, taking out their second successive flag. It was the first grand final to be decided by less than four goals since 1989. The first goal of the match wasn't scored until very late in the first quarter - in fact it was the only one scored, by Collingwood's Anthony Rocca. This snapped Brisbane's VFL/AFL record streak of 253 consecutive quarters in which it scored at least one goal. It was the lowest-scoring quarter in a grand final since 1960. In the second quarter, Brisbane looked like pulling away at half time with a late run of second quarter goals before Collingwood surged back in the third quarter. It was goal for goal in the last quarter with a controversial goal umpiring decision going against Collingwood's Anthony Rocca not long before Brisbane's Jason Akermanis slotted a snap shot for goal late in the last term to drag the margin out by more than a kick. In the end it was enough for the Lions to hold on for back-to-back premierships. An enduring image of the game is of emotionally exhausted Collingwood players including Paul Licuria, Nathan Buckley and coach Mick Malthousebreaking down in tears after the full-time siren. Nathan Buckley of the Magpies was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for being judged the best player afield, despite the fact that he finished on the losing side. This is only one of four instances of a grand final player having won a Norm Smith Medal without being on the winning premiership team. Out of respect for his teammates, Buckley took the medal off as he returned from the dais.
