Grand final day 2005 kicked off in fine style at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in Southbank on Saturday morning with the annual AXA Grand Final Breakfast run by the Kangaroos football club.More than 1500 people turned out to begin the biggest day on the football calendar with members of the Australian government, the sporting media and the entertainment industry.Guests included Prime Minister John Howard, the Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley, Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, the Governor of Victoria John Landy, the Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks, the CEO of the AFL Andrew Demetriou, and the Chairman of the AFL Ron Evans, with the guest of honour channel ten entertainer Rove McManus.Musical entertainment was provided by Australian Idol runner-up Shannon Noll and entertainment legend Normie Rowe while Vince Sorrenti and Dave Hughes added some comic relief.AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou opened proceedings and took time to thank the supporters of the AFL who assisted in creating record attendances in 2005, as well as thanking the grand final opponents for their contribution to football this year.Kim Beazley went on to praise football as "a great game that we're all devoted to", as well as comment that 2005 has been a "fascinating" year as far as the unpredictable nature of the season was concerned.Many of the guest speakers including the Prime Minister, Kim Beazley, Peter Costello and Ron Evans took time to acknowledge the contribution of Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, who reached his 25-year coaching milestone in 2005. Sheedy was particularly praised for his commitment to young indigenous players and assisting them in obtaining AFL careers.Evans introduced the Prime Minister and took the opportunity to comment on how much the game has become a national spectacle, reflected in the Sydney versus West Coast grand final.The Prime Minister Howard spoke about the strength of sport in Australia and also praised the positive spread of the game throughout the country."It's frequently said that there is no greater and stronger national cement in this country than the common love of sport amongst Australians. Probably more than any other gathering, more than any other day, that is reflected in this gathering here in Melbourne and on this grand final day," the Prime Minister said."We now see thousands upon thousands of people from Sydney passionately supporting the Sydney Swans. We see the team from Perth and a team based in Sydney fighting out the grand final in front of arguably I think without question the most passionate, most dedicated and loyal sporting spectators anywhere in Australia."The award for the AXA Grand Final Breakfast Personality of the Year was presented to Brisbane's Jason Akermanis, while Collingwood utility Bryan Strauchan (as seen on Channel Ten's Before the Game) was also honoured.The Age journalist Caroline Wilson became the first woman to take out the Media Personality of the Year award, while jockey Damien Oliver and tennis legend Todd Woodbridge were both honoured as sporting heroes.