The
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
finals series, more generally known as the
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
finals, and known from 1897 until 1989 as the Victorian Football League finals series or VFL finals, is a
playoff tournament held at the end of each AFL season to determine the premier. The top eight teams qualify for the finals based on the home-and-away season results, and finals matches are played over four weeks under the conventions of the
AFL final eight system
The AFL final eight system is an eight-team championship playoff tournament developed and adopted by the Australian Football League in the 2000 season. The eight teams, which are ranked or seeded in advance of the tournament, participate in a fo ...
, culminating in the
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...
. The finals series is traditionally held throughout September.
The playing of a finals series at the end of the season dates back to the establishment of the Victorian Football League in 1897. After experimenting with different systems in the early years, the league utilised variations of the four-team
Argus finals system
The Argus finals systems were a set of related systems of end-of-season championship playoff tournament used commonly in Australian rules football competitions in the early part of the 20th century. The systems generally comprised a simple four-te ...
from 1901 until 1930, then different variations of the
McIntyre System
The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...
from 1931 until 1999, beginning with four teams and expanding gradually to eight. Since 2000, the finals have been conducted under the eponymous
AFL final eight system
The AFL final eight system is an eight-team championship playoff tournament developed and adopted by the Australian Football League in the 2000 season. The eight teams, which are ranked or seeded in advance of the tournament, participate in a fo ...
. The systems in use have typically been combinations of
single- and
double elimination tournament
A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimina ...
s designed to give higher ranked teams an easier path to the premiership.
Inception
The
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
was established at the end of 1896 by eight clubs which seceded from the
Victorian Football Association
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
, which had previously been the peak competition and administrative body for football in Victoria. As part of its arrangements, the league introduced a system of finals in its inaugural season, to be contested after the home-and-away matches by the top four teams. The new system meant that the premiership could not be decided until the final match had been played, generating greater public interest at the end of the season; by comparison, the VFA system awarded the premiership to the team with the best win–loss record across the season, with the provision for a single playoff match only if two teams were tied for first place. Additionally, it was arranged that the gate from finals matches be shared amongst all teams, guaranteeing a better dividend to the league's weaker clubs.
Systems
The VFL/AFL has used a total of twelve different finals tournament systems in its history:
*
1897 (top four) – the top four played a three-week
round-robin series; the premiership was won by either the undefeated winner of the round-robin, or by the winner of a grand final between the top two if no team was undefeated
*
1898–1900 (full participation) – the eight teams were split into two pools, each playing a three-week round-robin. The two pool winners played off in a preliminary final, and the winner of that game played off against the
minor premier (if required)
*1901 (top four) –
First Argus system
*1902–1907 (top four) –
First amended Argus system
*1908–1923, 1925–1930 (top four) –
Second amended Argus system
The Argus finals systems were a set of related systems of end-of-season championship playoff tournament used commonly in Australian rules football competitions in the early part of the 20th century. The systems generally comprised a simple four-te ...
*1924 (top four) –
Round-robin Argus system
The Argus finals systems were a set of related systems of end-of-season championship playoff tournament used commonly in Australian rules football competitions in the early part of the 20th century. The systems generally comprised a simple four-tea ...
*1931–1971 (top four) –
Page–McIntyre system
The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...
*1972–1990 (top five) –
McIntyre final five system
The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...
*1991 (top six) –
First McIntyre final six system
*1992–1993 (top six) –
Second McIntyre final six system
The McIntyre System, or systems as there have been five of them, is a playoff system that gives an advantage to teams or competitors qualifying higher. The systems were developed by Ken McIntyre, an Australian lawyer, historian and English lect ...
*1994–1999 (top eight) –
McIntyre final eight system
The McIntyre Final Eight System was devised by Ken McIntyre in addition to the McIntyre Four, Five and Six systems. It is a playoff system of the top 8 finishers in a competition to determine which two teams will play in the grand final. The tea ...
*2000–present (top eight) –
AFL final eight system
The AFL final eight system is an eight-team championship playoff tournament developed and adopted by the Australian Football League in the 2000 season. The eight teams, which are ranked or seeded in advance of the tournament, participate in a fo ...
Venues
Current system
With the exception of the
AFL Grand Final
The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. From its inception until 1989, it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league at that time was the Victori ...
(which is contracted to be staged at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
), finals matches are played in the state of the home team, giving a
home state advantage
Home state advantage, in electoral politics, and particularly in United States presidential elections, is the presumption that a candidate will receive a higher proportion of votes in their home state as compared to other states with similar popul ...
to the higher placed team. Venue contracts for finals matches are held by the AFL and are not related to the clubs' home venue contracts; consequently, the home team is not necessarily entitled to play at its usual home venue if the AFL's finals contracts are held with a different venue in its state.
Under the current arrangement, all Victorian finals matches are scheduled at the MCG – except in cases when two finals are to be held in Victoria on the same day, in which case
Docklands Stadium
Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...
or (in the event of being the home team)
Kardinia Park
Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of ...
may be used for the match expected to draw the lower crowd.
The current contract requires that at least ten finals matches (plus all Grand Finals) be played at the MCG during every rolling five-year period. This stipulation could require the AFL to schedule a non-Victorian team's home match at the MCG to meet the quota, in the event that non-Victorian teams dominate the competition for an extended period.
Based on the current contract between the AFL and the Victorian Government, the Grand Final will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground every year until at least 2059, regardless of the states of origin of the teams involved.
History
In the early years of the VFL finals, matches were generally played at neutral suburban venues. Starting from 1902, the Melbourne Cricket Ground became the primary venue for finals, including Grand Finals, and from 1908, when all finals were played on different days, it became the sole venue for finals (except from 1942 until 1945, when it was commandeered for military use during World War II). Long term contracts were signed between the
Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia.
The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, ...
and the VFL for use of the venue in finals, including a ten-year deal running from 1932 to 1941, followed by a deal running until 1956, and a subsequent deal ending in 1971. The VFL always resented the arrangement, as the MCC held most of the negotiating leverage and ended up with the more favourable deal in the contract, and the VFL sought actively to break its reliance on the deal.
The opening in 1970 of the VFL-owned
VFL Park
Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian-based Victorian Football Lea ...
with a capacity for almost 80,000 spectators gave the league a viable new finals venue. In November 1971, the VFL signed a new three-year deal for finals to be played at the MCG; but shortly afterwards it announced the expansion of the finals to the McIntyre Final Five system, providing two new finals matches which could be staged at VFL Park while still fulfilling the requirement for four finals at the MCG. It became standard to stage the Elimination Final and Second Semi-Final at VFL Park;
and in 1975 (after the three-year contract signed in November 1971 had ended), a new agreement shifted the Preliminary Final to VFL Park also, resulting in three matches at each venue during the finals.
This arrangement persisted from 1975 until 1990. Attempts were made during the late 1970s and early 1980s to shift the Grand Final to VFL Park, but a bitter political struggle which included the
Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
State Government ultimately blocked this move at the end of 1983.
As the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the home of (and from 1965 onwards ), those teams automatically held a home ground advantage in the finals. Prior to the nationalisation of the league, it was considered philosophically desirable that the finals be played on neutral ground, and one club delegate went as far as proposing in 1961 – after Melbourne had won five premierships in six years – that the MCG's goal posts should be moved prior to each Melbourne finals match to nullify its home ground advantage (the idea was overwhelmingly voted down and the delegate was roundly laughed at for his suggestion). The desire for neutral venues persisted, and from 1977 until 1986, a rule existed requiring that any finals featuring Melbourne or Richmond, other than the Grand Final, would be played at VFL Park instead of the MCG.
Two events in 1987 changed the nature of finals scheduling:
* Firstly, the VFL expanded interstate to become the Australian Football League, introducing the desire to allow non-Victorian clubs to host finals in their home states and reversing the traditional notion that finals should be held in neutral locations.
* Secondly, the AFL and the MCC agreed to terms to jointly fund the replacement of the MCG's ageing Southern Stand, reducing the AFL's commercial desire to stage finals at VFL Park.
The changes began to be seen in 1991: had won the minor premiership and the replacement work on the Southern Stand had temporarily halved the MCG's capacity, so all of the finals were played at VFL Park except for West Coast's home qualifying final at Perth's
Subiaco Oval
Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood.
Subiaco Oval was the high ...
, which was the first final played outside Victoria. The use of VFL Park for finals declined thereafter, and the venue's last finals match was staged in 1997.
Under the new finals contract beginning in 1992, non-Victorian clubs could host their home finals in their own states, subject to the stipulation that at least one final be played at the MCG each week during the finals. This became increasingly controversial in the early 2000s, a period of time when non-Victorian clubs dominated the competition, after several non-Victorian clubs were forced to host their home finals in Victoria. This led to a renegotiation of the contract in 2005, which introduced the current requirement for ten finals matches (plus all Grand Finals) to be staged at the MCG every rolling five-year period. The AFL was forced to make some concessions to secure this renegotiation on finals matches, which included giving up the exclusivity it held over MCG access on weekends in winter, allowing the MCG new rights to schedule other major sporting events.
Under the 1992–2004 contract, non-Victorian clubs were forced to play their home finals at the MCG on five occasions: 1993 (Preliminary Final, Adelaide vs Essendon), 1996 (First Semi-Final, West Coast vs Essendon), 1999 (First Semi-Final, West Coast vs Carlton), 2002 (Second Semi-Final, Adelaide vs Melbourne) and 2004 (Second Preliminary Final, Brisbane vs Geelong).
Drawn games
Until 1991, if a finals match was drawn, it would be replayed in full on the following weekend; consequently, all subsequent finals would also be delayed by one week.
Extra time
Due to various logistical issues that arose following the drawn 1990 Qualifying Final, replays in finals matches (with the exception of the Grand Final) were abolished in 1991 in favour of the provision to play extra time to determine a result. In 2016, the provision to replay a drawn Grand Final was also replaced with extra time.
Since 2020, extra time consists of two periods of play, each lasting three minutes plus
time on (these periods were five minutes plus time on between 1991 and 2015), with a change of ends between periods. These periods are played in full, and the team leading at the end of the second period of extra time wins the match; if the scores are still level when the second period of extra time has expired, additional pairs of periods will be played until a winner is determined.
From 2016 to 2019, if the scores were level at the end of the second period of extra time, there would have been a third untimed golden point period of extra time, where the siren would not sound until the next team scored; this was never required.
As of 2021, extra time has been played in a Final on three occasions:
* 1994 Second Qualifying Final: North Melbourne v Hawthorn (won by North Melbourne)
* 2007 Second Semi-Final: West Coast v Collingwood (won by Collingwood)
* 2017 First Elimination Final: Port Adelaide v West Coast (won by West Coast)
Grand finals
Grand final replays were played on three occasions:
"AFL consigns Grand Final Replays to the history books"
/ref>
* 1948 VFL Grand Final: Melbourne v Essendon (replay won by Melbourne)
* 1977 VFL Grand Final: Collingwood v North Melbourne (replay won by North Melbourne)
* 2010 AFL Grand Final
The 2010 AFL Grand Final was a series of two Australian rules football matches between the Collingwood Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club. They are considered the 114th and 115th grand finals of the Australian Football League (formerly ...
: Collingwood v St Kilda (replay won by Collingwood)
See also
*NRL finals system
The NRL finals system is the finals series that is currently being used by the National Rugby League competitions of Australia and New Zealand since 2012. The NRL finals system replaced the McIntyre System which was used from 1999 to 2011.
A s ...
References
{{Australian Football League
Australian Football League