THE BIG crowd that turned out for Sunday's elimination final between Carlton and Essendon at the MCG helped the AFL break two attendance records.
A total of 90,161 people saw the clash between the Blues and the Bombers, which broke the previous record mark for an elimination final of 84,284, established in 2006 when the Western Bulldogs defeated Collingwood.
It also took the weekend's total attendance to 270,145.
That is the best result since the competition expanded to a final eight in 1995 and began playing four finals on the opening weekend.
The best week one crowds in history are:
2011 - 270,145 (for Geelong v Hawthorn; Collingwood v West Coast; St Kilda v Sydney Swans; Carlton v Essendon)
2009 - 241,315 (Adelaide v Essendon; Brisbane Lions v Carlton; St Kilda v Collingwood; Geelong v Western Bulldogs)
2006 - 237,130 (for Western Bulldogs v Collingwood; Melbourne v St Kilda; Sydney Swans v West Coast; Adelaide v Fremantle)
2007 - 216,559 (for Hawthorn v Adelaide; Collingwood v Sydney Swans; Geelong v North Melbourne; Port Adelaide v West Coast)
1995 - 216,309 (for Essendon v West Coast; North Melbourne v Richmond; Geelong v Footscray, Carlton v Brisbane Bears)
