The AFL finals involve the top eight teams from the home-and-away season competing in a four-week knockout tournament to determine the season's champion. The system is designed to reward the top four teams by giving them a "double chance" — if they lose in the first week, they get another chance in the semi-finals, while teams ranked 5th to 8th face immediate elimination if they lose any match.
How the AFL Finals Work
- Week One (Qualifying and Elimination Finals):
- Qualifying Finals: 1st ranked team plays 4th, and 2nd plays 3rd. Winners get a bye to Week Three's Preliminary Finals.
- Elimination Finals: 5th plays 8th, and 6th plays 7th. Losers are immediately knocked out; winners proceed to Week Two.
- Week Two (Semi-Finals):
- Losers of the Qualifying Finals host the winners of the Elimination Finals.
- The losers are eliminated, and winners advance.
- Week Three (Preliminary Finals):
- Winners of Week One's Qualifying Finals host winners from Week Two's Semi-Finals.
- Winners go to the Grand Final.
- Week Four (Grand Final):
- Winners of the Preliminary Finals face off in the Grand Final to contest the Premiership.
This finals format creates a thrilling competition emphasizing both resilience and performance, rewarding higher-ranked teams with a safety net while forcing lower-ranked teams into knockout mode from the start.
The 2025 AFL Finals schedule is as follows:
- Week One: September 4-7
- Semi-Finals: September 12-13
- Preliminary Finals: September 19-20
- Grand Final: September 27.
