The 2021 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held at the Adelaide Oval on 17 April to determine the premiers of the fifth season of the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. The match was contested by the Adelaide Crows and Brisbane Lions. It was the second grand final between the two clubs after the 2017 Grand Final which was won by Adelaide. Both clubs were appearing in their third grand final, following Adelaide's premierships in 2017 and 2019, and Brisbane's losses in the 2017 and 2018 grand finals.
The match was won by Brisbane, who defeated Adelaide by 18 points and claimed their first senior women's premiership. It was the first AFLW grand final since 2019, as there was no grand final match staged during the 2020 season following the cancellation of the latter stage of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
Adelaide and Brisbane entered the 2021 season after disappointing performances in the previous season. Adelaide failed to qualify for the finals series, which was expanded to eight clubs and brought two weeks forward during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, before ultimately being abandoned after the first week of matches. Brisbane did qualify for the series, though were eliminated in the opening week of semi-finals following a comprehensive defeat to . Despite their relatively poor finishes in 2020, both clubs were rated strong chances to compete for the AFLW premiership in 2021. This season marked the return of the traditional single ladder to rank the fourteen teams, after the previous two seasons were formatted via conferences.
Adelaide finished the home-and-away season in 2021 with seven wins and two losses and claimed the minor premiership on percentage over three other teams. Due to finishing inside the top two on the ladder, the Crows earned the week off from the qualifying finals and proceeded direct to a home preliminary final at the Adelaide Oval against . Against an inaccurate Melbourne side, Adelaide led comfortably after the mid-way point of the match and finished 18-point winners over the Demons. The victory was soured by a concussion sustained by Adelaide captain Chelsea Randall in the first quarter of the match. Under the AFL's concussion protocols, any player ruled out of a match with concussion was required to not play for a further 12 days, meaning Randall was not eligible to play in the grand final.
Like Adelaide, Brisbane entered the 2021 finals series with a record of seven wins and two losses. They finished the home-and-away season in second position, beneath Adelaide but ahead of and Melbourne on percentage. The Lions thus earned a home preliminary final at the Gabba, which was held against Collingwood after the Magpies defeated in the qualifying final. The match was a see-sawing and very close contest, with the margin never exceeding more than two-and-a-half goals. Collingwood kicked the first two goals and led at quarter time, before the Lions responded with goals of their own to lead at half time. Trailing by two points at the end of the third quarter, Brisbane opened up a 10-point lead with two goals in quick succession in the last quarter. Collingwood scored a goal with under half-a-minute remaining in the match, but Brisbane held on for a narrow victory and qualified for their third AFL Women's grand final. Brisbane forward Dakota Davidson was the most influential player in the game, kicking three goals, which included one in the last quarter.
Venue and date
On 7 April 2021, shortly after the finals series commenced, the AFL announced that the grand final would be held on 17 April. It also revealed the three potential venues it had booked to host it: Adelaide Oval, the Gabba and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The ultimate venue would be determined by the results of the preliminary finals. Following Adelaide's 18-point win over in the first preliminary final, the Crows qualified for a home grand final at the Adelaide Oval. It was the oval's second AFLW grand final, after hosting a sell-out crowd of more than 53,000 people for the Adelaide-Carlton grand final in 2019. The match commenced at 1:30 pm local time in Adelaide, which was 2:00 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). Tickets were priced at $10 for adults and free entry for children aged under 18, making it the first AFL Women's grand final to not allow free entry for all spectators. The stadium capacity of the Adelaide Oval was capped at 40,000, roughly 75% of its usual capacity, due to the COVID-19 safety protocols imposed by the South Australian government.