while carlton’s unexpected feat of reaching the grand final in 1999 has undoubtedly gone into australian football folklore, the finals system at the time was widely criticised for allowing a team that had finished as low as 6th to reach the grand final after losing its first finals match (a similar instance also occurred the year prior, with the 5th placed adelaide crows advancing on to ultimately win the 1998 premiership despite losing in the first week of the finals). carlton were beaten by the brisbane lions in the qualifying final, yet still progressed to the second week of the finals to play the west coast eagles. this match, which was won by carlton, also created a lot of controversy as the eagles, who subsequently finished a place higher than carlton and won its first finals match, had earned the right to host the final in perth, yet were forced to play the match at the mcg due to a contractual agreement with the afl that required at least one match to be played at that venue every week of the finals.