<P> In the early years, the MCG was the home ground of Melbourne Football Club, Australia's oldest club, established in 1858 by the founder of the game itself, Thomas Wills . Melbourne won five premierships during the 1870s using the MCG as its home ground . </P> <P> The first of nearly 3000 Victorian Football League / Australian Football League games to be played at the MCG was on 15 May 1897, with Melbourne beating Geelong 64 to 19 . </P> <P> Several Australian Football League (AFL) clubs later joined Melbourne in using the MCG as their home ground for matches: Richmond (1965), North Melbourne (1985), Essendon (1992), Collingwood (started moving in 1994, became a full - time tenant in 2000) and Hawthorn (2000). Melbourne used the venue as its training base until 1984, before being required to move to preserve the venue's surface when North Melbourne began playing there . </P> <P> The VFL / AFL Grand Final has been played at the MCG every season since 1902, except in 1924 when no Grand Final was held because of the season's round - robin finals format (it hosted three of the six games in the Finals Series) 1942--1945, when the ground was used by the military during World War II; and in 1991, as the construction of the Great Southern Stand had temporarily reduced the ground's capacity below that of Waverley Park . All three Grand Final Replays have been played at the MCG . </P>

What afl teams home ground is the mcg