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AFL finals systems

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This article is about the tournament systems used in the Australian Football League since 2000. For the Australian Football League finals series itself, see AFL finals series.

The AFL finals systems are the premiership playoff tournaments developed and used by the Australian Football League since the 2000 season. There have been two systems: the AFL final eight system, used by the league between 2000 and 2025; and the AFL final ten system, to be used from 2026 onwards. In both systems, the teams are ranked or seeded in advance of the tournament, and the higher ranked teams have an easier path to the premiership, including double chances and the opportunity to receive byes. The tournament culminates in a grand final between the last two remaining teams, with the winning team awarded the premiership.

The AFL introduced the final eight system in 2000 to address several perceived issues with the McIntyre final eight system that had been in use in that competition from 1994 to 1999; and introduced the final ten system in 2026 to increase interest and meaningful matches deeper into the home-and-away season.[1] The systems have also been adopted by the Victorian Football League, which was the first to adopt the final ten system, doing so in 2023; and National Rugby League, which adopted the final eight in 2012.[2] Similar systems are used by Super League, and were previously used by the Australian Rugby League in the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

Summary

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Final eight system

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Qualifying and elimination finalsSemi-finalsPreliminary finalsGrand final
1st Qualifying Final
11stHome
44thAway1st Semi Final
Loser of QF1Home
1st Elimination FinalWinner of EF1Away1st Preliminary Final
55thHomeWinner of QF1Home
88thAwayWinner of SF2AwayGrand Final
Winner of PF1
2nd Elimination Final2nd Preliminary FinalWinner of PF2
66thHomeWinner of SF1Away
77thAway2nd Semi FinalWinner of QF2Home
Winner of EF2Away
2nd Qualifying FinalLoser of QF2Home
22ndHome
33rdAway

The final eight system is played over four weeks:

Week one
  • 1st qualifying final: 1st ranked team hosts 4th ranked team.
  • 2nd qualifying final: 2nd ranked team hosts 3rd ranked team.
  • 1st elimination final: 5th ranked team hosts 8th ranked team.
  • 2nd elimination final: 6th ranked team hosts 7th ranked team.

The eight finalists are split into two groups for the opening week of the Finals Series. The top four teams have the best chance of winning the premiership and play the two Qualifying Finals. The winners get a bye through to Week Three of the tournament to play home Preliminary Finals, while the losers play home Semi-Finals in Week Two. The bottom four teams play the two Elimination Finals, where the winners advance to Week Two away games and the losers' seasons are over.

Week two
  • 1st semi-final:[3] Loser of 1st QF hosts winner of 1st EF
  • 2nd semi-final: Loser of 2nd QF hosts winner of 2nd EF
Week three
  • 1st preliminary final:[3] Winner of 1st QF hosts winner of 2nd SF
  • 2nd preliminary final: Winner of 2nd QF hosts winner of 1st SF
Week four
  • Grand final: Winner of 1st PF meets Winner of 2nd PF.

Final ten system

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Wildcard finalsQualifying and elimination finalsSemi-finalsPreliminary finalsGrand final
1st Qualifying Final
11stHome
44thAway1st Semi Final
Loser of QF1Home
1st Wildcard Final1st Elimination FinalWinner of EF1Away1st Preliminary Final
77thHome55thHomeWinner of QF1Home
1010thAwayLow wildcard seedAwayWinner of SF2AwayGrand Final
Winner of PF1
2nd Wildcard Final2nd Elimination Final2nd Preliminary FinalWinner of PF2
88thHome66thHomeWinner of SF1Away
99thAwayHigh wildcard seedAway2nd Semi FinalWinner of QF2Home
Winner of EF2Away
2nd Qualifying FinalLoser of QF2Home
22ndHome
33rdAway

The final ten system plays over five weeks, using mostly the same bracket:

Week one
  • 1st wild card game: 7th ranked team hosts 10th ranked team
  • 2nd wild card game: 8th ranked team hosts 7th ranked team
  • Teams ranked 1st to 6th all have a bye to the second week
Week two
  • 1st qualifying final: 1st ranked team hosts 4th ranked team.
  • 2nd qualifying final: 2nd ranked team hosts 3rd ranked team.
  • 1st elimination final: 5th ranked team hosts lower ranked WC winner.
  • 2nd elimination final: 6th ranked team hosts higher ranked WC winner
Weeks three through five

Weeks three through five follow the same bracket as weeks two through four of the final eight system.

Advantages for ladder positions

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Final eight system

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Under the final eight system, the final eight teams are broken up into two halves of four teams which are in turn split into two pairs each. The higher a team's position on the ladder, the greater benefits they receive. The top half of the ladder has two key advantages. These teams only need to win twice to reach the grand final (either a qualifying or semi-final and a preliminary final), and they have the benefit of the double-chance; since the qualifying final is non-elimination, losers still have a second chance to reach the grand final by winning their two other finals. Teams in the top six get the benefit of at least one home final; the top two teams play two home finals.

Advantages by ladder position #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8
1st opponent's ladder position 3 lower 1 lower 1 higher 3 higher 3 lower 1 lower 1 higher 3 higher
Week 1-3 match venues host 2 (the 1st two) host 1 (the 2nd one) host 1 (the 1st one) host none (visit all)
Reaching grand final ... ... requires winning 2 matches ... requires winning 3 matches
Double-chance:
Result of week 1 win
Result of week 1 loss 		Has double-chance:
Week 1 win, earn bye in week 2
Week 1 loss, play semi-final in week 2 		No double-chance:
Week 1 win, play semi-final in week 2
Week 1 loss, eliminated
First and second

The top two seeds host their first two finals: the qualifying final and whatever final they play next (Preliminary Final if they win, Semi-Final if they lose). They also have the benefit of only needing to win twice to reach the grand final. If they win the qualifying final, they earn the bye to the Preliminary Final; otherwise they get the double-chance and can still reach the Preliminary Final by winning the Semifinal.

Third and fourth

The next two seeds visit for the qualifying final but then host their next final. Like the top two, these teams only need to win twice to reach the grand final. Winning the qualifying final earns them the bye to the Preliminary Final; losing gives them the double-chance via the Semi-Final.

Fifth and sixth

Fifth and sixth place host their Elimination Final and visit any other finals they reach. These teams must win all three of their finals (Elimination, Semi-, and Preliminary Finals) to avoid elimination.

Seventh and eighth

The last two teams visit throughout the finals and also must win all three of their finals to avoid elimination.

Final ten system

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Under the final ten system, the teams ranked 5th and 6th retain their advantages from the final eight system. Teams ranked 7th and 8th gain a home wild card final, but must now win five consecutive finals to win the premiership instead of four. Teams ranked 9th and 10th must win five away finals to win the premiership.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Biggest finals shake-up in 25 years as Wildcard Round introduced". afl.com.au. 10 November 2025.
  2. ^ "News Article". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  3. ^ a b Under the AFL finals series, the term "semi-final" has different usage to that a traditional knock out tournament. The two games played immediately before the grand final, which would be known as semi-finals in a knock out tournament, are called "preliminary finals". The semi-finals refer to the two games preceding the preliminary finals. This unusual terminology is a consequence of retaining aspects of the terminology used under the McIntyre systems from 1931 until 1993, when only one preliminary final was played.
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