2026 AFL season

2026 AFL premiership season
Date	5 March – 26 September 2026
Teams	18
←  2025

The 2026 AFL season is the upcoming 130th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season will feature 18 clubs and run from 5 March to 26 September, comprising a 23-match home-and-away season over 25 rounds, with a five-week finals series featuring the top ten clubs to occur for the first time.

Background

The following rule and competition changes were made for the 2026 season: ^{[1] [2]}

• The ball would no longer be bounced in the centre of the ground by a field umpire at the start of quarters and after goals, and would be thrown up instead. This was done because the skill of bouncing the ball was hindering the development of umpires, and that the change would allow umpires to focus more on decision-making, reduce the likelihood of players making accidental contact with players, and reduce game length. ^[1]
• Ruckmen would no longer be allowed to cross the centre line during centre ball-ups.
• The substitute rule was removed in favour of a five-player interchange.
• The starting positions rule (6–6–6 rule) would no longer require at least one player from each team to be in each goal square for centre ball-ups.
• The out of bounds rules were amended to award a free kick against the last team to dispose of the ball, if the ball crossed the boundary line between the 50-metre arcs directly from that disposal.
• Players taking kick-ins would only be given eight seconds to advance the ball forward, down from approximately twelve seconds.
• Ruck nominations were no longer required for a field umpire to restart play at ball-ups.
• If a player shrugs a tackle, it will be adjudged prior opportunity, similar to fend-offs or other attempts to evade tackles.
• Players inside the five-metre 'protected area' after marks or free kicks will be required to stand rather than move out of the area.

The AFL introduced a wildcard finals round, adding an extra week to the existing finals series and increasing the number of finalists from eight to ten; at the end of the home-and-away season, the seventh-placed team would host the tenth-placed team and eighth would host ninth in wildcard finals, before the remainder of the finals series would continue as per the previous final eight system. ^[3] The change was the first change to the AFL finals system since 2000. ^[4] The change was negatively received by the AFL Fans Association; ^[3] however, sports rights analyst Colin Smith explained that the league was protecting the value of the current $4.5 billion broadcast right deal by implementing the new system, with more finalists meaning fewer dead rubber matches later in the home-and-away season. ^[5]

A State of Origin match will also take place for the first time since 1999, with Western Australia playing Victoria at Optus Stadium on 14 February 2026. ^[6]

Coach appointments

New coach	Club	Date of appointment	Previous coach	Ref.
Josh Carr	Port Adelaide	12 February 2025 [a]	Ken Hinkley	[7]
Steven King	Melbourne	12 September 2025	Simon Goodwin	[8]

Club leadership

Club	Coach	Leadership group
		Captain(s)	Vice-captain(s)	Other leader(s)
Adelaide
Brisbane Lions
Carlton	Michael Voss [9]
Collingwood
Essendon	Brad Scott [10]	Andrew McGrath		Jye Caldwell, Sam Durham, Brayden Fiorini, Kyle Langford, Nic Martin, Mason Redman [11]
Fremantle	Justin Longmuir [12]
Geelong
Gold Coast
Greater Western Sydney
Hawthorn	Sam Mitchell [13]
Melbourne	Steven King [14]
North Melbourne	Alastair Clarkson [15]	Nick Larkey	Harry Sheezel	Charlie Comben, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Tristan Xerri, Cameron Zurhaar [16]
Port Adelaide	Josh Carr [17]
Richmond
St Kilda
Sydney
West Coast
Western Bulldogs

Pre-season

State of Origin

Main article: 2026 AFL Origin

	2026 AFL Origin
Saturday, 14 February (4:40 pm)	Western Australia	v	Victoria	Optus Stadium
		Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Practice matches

All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au

	Official practice matches
Wednesday, 25 February (7:10 pm)	Carlton	v	Geelong	Ikon Park
Thursday, 26 February (4:10 pm)	Sydney	v	Greater Western Sydney	Henson Park
Thursday, 26 February (6:10 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Gold Coast	Brighton Homes Arena
Friday, 27 February (4:10 pm)	Melbourne	v	Richmond	Mars Stadium
Friday, 27 February (7:10 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Hawthorn	Mission Whitten Oval
Saturday, 28 February (3:10 pm)	St Kilda	v	Essendon	Mars Stadium
Saturday, 28 February (3:10 pm)	Fremantle	v	Adelaide	Lane Group Stadium
Sunday, 1 March (3:10 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Collingwood	Mars Stadium
Sunday, 1 March (3:10 pm)	West Coast	v	Port Adelaide	Mineral Resources Park

Home-and-away season

All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au

Opening Round

	Opening Round
Thursday, 5 March (7:30 pm)	Sydney	v	Carlton	Sydney Cricket Ground
Friday, 6 March (7:05 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Geelong	People First Stadium
Saturday, 7 March (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Hawthorn	Engie Stadium
Saturday, 7 March (6:35 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Western Bulldogs	The Gabba
Sunday, 8 March (7:20 pm)	St Kilda	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Bye Adelaide Essendon Fremantle Melbourne North Melbourne Port Adelaide Richmond West Coast

Round 1

	Round 1
Thursday, 12 March (7:30 pm)	Carlton	v	Richmond	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 13 March (7:40 pm)	Essendon	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 14 March (1:15 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Greater Western Sydney	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 14 March (4:15 pm)	Geelong	v	Fremantle	GMHBA Stadium
Saturday, 14 March (7:10 pm)	Sydney	v	Brisbane Lions	Sydney Cricket Ground
Saturday, 14 March (7:35 pm)	Collingwood	v	Adelaide	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 15 March (1:10 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Port Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 15 March (3:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	St Kilda	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 15 March (5:10 pm)	Gold Coast	v	West Coast	People First Stadium

Round 2

	Round 2
Thursday, 19 March (7:30 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Sydney	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 20 March (7:10 pm)	Adelaide	v	Western Bulldogs	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 21 March (1:15 pm)	Richmond	v	Gold Coast	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 21 March (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	St Kilda	Engie Stadium
Saturday, 21 March (4:35 pm)	Fremantle	v	Melbourne	Optus Stadium
Sunday, 22 March (2:45 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Essendon	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 22 March (3:10 pm)	West Coast	v	North Melbourne	Optus Stadium
	Bye Brisbane Lions Carlton Collingwood Geelong

Round 3

	Round 3
Thursday, 26 March (7:30 pm)	Geelong	v	Adelaide	GMHBA Stadium
Friday, 27 March (7:40 pm)	Collingwood	v	Greater Western Sydney	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 28 March (12:35 pm)	St Kilda	v	Brisbane Lions	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 28 March (1:15 pm)	Fremantle	v	Richmond	Optus Stadium
Saturday, 28 March (7:35 pm)	Essendon	v	North Melbourne	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 29 March (12:00 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	West Coast	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 29 March (3:15 pm)	Carlton	v	Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Bye Gold Coast Hawthorn Sydney Western Bulldogs

Round 4

	Round 4
Thursday, 2 April (6:30 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Collingwood	The Gabba
Friday, 3 April (3:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Carlton	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 3 April (6:45 pm)	Adelaide	v	Fremantle	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 4 April (4:15 pm)	Richmond	v	Port Adelaide	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 4 April (4:35 pm)	West Coast	v	Sydney	Optus Stadium
Sunday, 5 April (3:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Gold Coast	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 5 April (7:20 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Essendon	Marvel Stadium
Monday, 6 April (3:15 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Bye Greater Western Sydney St Kilda

Round 5

	Round 5 (Gather Round)
Thursday, 9 April (7:10 pm)	Adelaide	v	Carlton	Adelaide Oval
Friday, 10 April (7:10 pm)	Collingwood	v	Fremantle	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 11 April (12:05 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Brisbane Lions	Barossa Park
Saturday, 11 April (12:45 pm)	Essendon	v	Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 11 April (3:45 pm)	Sydney	v	Gold Coast	Norwood Oval
Saturday, 11 April (7:05 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Western Bulldogs	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 12 April (12:00 pm)	Geelong	v	West Coast	Norwood Oval
Sunday, 12 April (2:45 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Richmond	Barossa Park
Sunday, 12 April (6:45 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	St Kilda	Adelaide Oval

Round 6

	Round 6
Thursday, 16 April (7:30 pm)	Carlton	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 17 April (7:20 pm)	Geelong	v	Western Bulldogs	GMHBA Stadium
Friday, 17 April (7:50 pm)	Sydney	v	Greater Western Sydney	Sydney Cricket Ground
Saturday, 18 April (1:15 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Essendon	People First Stadium
Saturday, 18 April (4:15 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Port Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 18 April (7:05 pm)	Adelaide	v	St Kilda	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 19 April (1:10 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Richmond	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 19 April (3:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Brisbane Lions	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 19 April (3:10 pm)	West Coast	v	Fremantle	Optus Stadium

Round 7

	Round 7 (Anzac Appeal Round)
Thursday, 23 April (7:30 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Sydney	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 24 April (7:40 pm)	Richmond	v	Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 25 April (12:15 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Gold Coast	University of Tasmania Stadium
Saturday, 25 April (3:15 pm)	Essendon	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 25 April (6:05 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Geelong	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 25 April (6:15 pm)	Fremantle	v	Carlton	Optus Stadium
Sunday, 26 April (1:10 pm)	St Kilda	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 26 April (3:15 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Adelaide	The Gabba
Sunday, 26 April (4:40 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	North Melbourne	Corroboree Group Oval

Round 8

	Round 8
Thursday, 30 April (7:30 pm)	Collingwood	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 1 May (7:30 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Fremantle	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 1 May (7:40 pm)	Adelaide	v	Port Adelaide	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 2 May (12:35 pm)	Essendon	v	Brisbane Lions	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 2 May (2:15 pm)	West Coast	v	Richmond	Optus Stadium
Saturday, 2 May (4:35 pm)	Geelong	v	North Melbourne	GMHBA Stadium
Saturday, 2 May (7:35 pm)	Carlton	v	St Kilda	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 3 May (3:15 pm)	Sydney	v	Melbourne	Sydney Cricket Ground
Sunday, 3 May (7:20 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Greater Western Sydney	People First Stadium

Round 9

	Round 9
Thursday, 7 May (6:10 pm)	Fremantle	v	Hawthorn	Optus Stadium
Friday, 8 May (7:30 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Carlton	The Gabba
Friday, 8 May (7:40 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Western Bulldogs	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 9 May (12:35 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Sydney	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 9 May (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Essendon	Engie Stadium
Saturday, 9 May (6:40 pm)	Gold Coast	v	St Kilda	TIO Stadium
Saturday, 9 May (7:35 pm)	Geelong	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 10 May (1:10 pm)	Melbourne	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 10 May (3:15 pm)	Richmond	v	Adelaide	Melbourne Cricket Ground

Round 10

	Round 10 (Sir Doug Nicholls Round week 1)
Thursday, 14 May (7:30 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Geelong	The Gabba
Friday, 15 May (7:30 pm)	Sydney	v	Collingwood	Sydney Cricket Ground
Friday, 15 May (7:40 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Port Adelaide	TIO Stadium
Saturday, 16 May (12:45 pm)	Adelaide	v	North Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 16 May (4:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 16 May (7:35 pm)	Carlton	v	Western Bulldogs	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 17 May (1:10 pm)	Essendon	v	Fremantle	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 17 May (3:15 pm)	St Kilda	v	Richmond	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 17 May (4:15 pm)	West Coast	v	Greater Western Sydney	Optus Stadium

Round 11

	Round 11 (Sir Doug Nicholls Round week 2)
Thursday, 21 May (7:30 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Adelaide	University of Tasmania Stadium
Friday, 22 May (7:40 pm)	Richmond	v	Essendon	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 22 May (6:30 pm)	Fremantle	v	St Kilda	Optus Stadium
Saturday, 23 May (1:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Gold Coast	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 23 May (4:15 pm)	Geelong	v	Sydney	GMHBA Stadium
Saturday, 23 May (4:35 pm)	Collingwood	v	West Coast	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 23 May (7:05 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Carlton	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 24 May (12:30 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Brisbane Lions	Engie Stadium
Sunday, 24 May (3:15 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Melbourne	Marvel Stadium

Round 12

	Round 12
Thursday, 28 May (7:30 pm)	St Kilda	v	Hawthorn	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 29 May (7:40 pm)	Carlton	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 30 May (1:15 pm)	Sydney	v	Richmond	Sydney Cricket Ground
Saturday, 30 May (4:15 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Fremantle	The Gabba
Saturday, 30 May (7:35 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Collingwood	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 31 May (2:45 pm)	Melbourne	v	Greater Western Sydney	TIO Traeger Park
Sunday, 31 May (5:20 pm)	West Coast	v	Essendon	Optus Stadium
	Bye Adelaide Gold Coast North Melbourne Port Adelaide

Round 13

	Round 13
Thursday, 4 June (7:00 pm)	Adelaide	v	Geelong	Adelaide Oval
Friday, 5 June (7:40 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Western Bulldogs	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 6 June (12:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Fremantle	Hands Oval
Saturday, 6 June (5:15 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Brisbane Lions	People First Stadium
Saturday, 6 June (6:15 pm)	West Coast	v	Port Adelaide	Optus Stadium
Sunday, 7 June (3:15 pm)	Sydney	v	St Kilda	Sydney Cricket Ground
Sunday, 7 June (7:20 pm)	Essendon	v	Carlton	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Monday, 8 June (3:15 pm)	Collingwood	v	Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Bye Greater Western Sydney Richmond

Round 14

	Round 14
Thursday, 11 June (7:30 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 12 June (7:40 pm)	Geelong	v	Gold Coast	GMHBA Stadium
Saturday, 13 June (1:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Essendon	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 13 June (2:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	West Coast	Optus Stadium
Saturday, 13 June (7:05 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Sydney	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 14 June (1:10 pm)	Richmond	v	Brisbane Lions	Ninja Stadium
Sunday, 14 June (3:15 pm)	St Kilda	v	Greater Western Sydney	Marvel Stadium
	Bye Carlton Collingwood Fremantle Hawthorn

Round 15

	Round 15
Thursday, 18 June (6:10 pm)	Fremantle	v	Geelong	Optus Stadium
Friday, 19 June (7:40 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Hawthorn	People First Stadium
Saturday, 20 June (12:45 pm)	Adelaide	v	Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 20 June (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Carlton	Engie Stadium
Saturday, 20 June (7:35 pm)	Collingwood	v	Port Adelaide	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 21 June (1:10 pm)	Richmond	v	North Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 21 June (3:15 pm)	St Kilda	v	Western Bulldogs	Marvel Stadium
	Bye Brisbane Lions Essendon Sydney West Coast

Round 16

	Round 16
Dates and times TBC	Brisbane Lions	v	Sydney	The Gabba
	Carlton	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium
	Collingwood	v	Richmond	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Fremantle	v	Gold Coast	Optus Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	Greater Western Sydney	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	North Melbourne	v	Essendon	Marvel Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Adelaide	Adelaide Oval
	Bye Geelong Melbourne St Kilda Western Bulldogs

Round 17

	Round 17
Dates and times TBC	Essendon	v	St Kilda	Marvel Stadium
	Geelong	v	Brisbane Lions	GMHBA Stadium
	Gold Coast	v	Collingwood	People First Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Fremantle	Corroboree Group Oval
	Hawthorn	v	Melbourne	University of Tasmania Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	North Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	Carlton	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Sydney	v	Western Bulldogs	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Adelaide	Optus Stadium

Round 18

	Round 18
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Gold Coast	Adelaide Oval
	Brisbane Lions	v	Essendon	The Gabba
	Carlton	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Collingwood	v	North Melbourne	Marvel Stadium
	Fremantle	v	Sydney	Optus Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Geelong	Engie Stadium
	Melbourne	v	Richmond	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Port Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
	Western Bulldogs	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium

Round 19

	Round 19
Dates and times TBC	Collingwood	v	Carlton	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Essendon	v	Greater Western Sydney	Marvel Stadium
	Geelong	v	St Kilda	GMHBA Stadium
	Gold Coast	v	Western Bulldogs	People First Stadium
	North Melbourne	v	Melbourne	Marvel Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Fremantle	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Sydney	v	Adelaide	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Brisbane Lions	Optus Stadium

Round 20

	Round 20
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Collingwood	Adelaide Oval
	Brisbane Lions	v	Port Adelaide	The Gabba
	Carlton	v	Gold Coast	Marvel Stadium
	Fremantle	v	West Coast	Optus Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Sydney	Engie Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	Essendon	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Melbourne	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	North Melbourne	v	St Kilda	Marvel Stadium
	Western Bulldogs	v	Richmond	Marvel Stadium

Round 21

	Round 21
Dates and times TBC	Carlton	v	Brisbane Lions	Marvel Stadium
	Collingwood	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Essendon	v	Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
	Fremantle	v	Western Bulldogs	Optus Stadium
	Gold Coast	v	Melbourne	People First Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	North Melbourne	University of Tasmania Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Greater Western Sydney	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	West Coast	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Sydney	Marvel Stadium

Round 22

	Round 22
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Richmond	Adelaide Oval
	Brisbane Lions	v	Hawthorn	The Gabba
	Geelong	v	Essendon	GMHBA Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Gold Coast	Corroboree Group Oval
	Melbourne	v	Fremantle	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Carlton	Marvel Stadium
	Sydney	v	Port Adelaide	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Collingwood	Optus Stadium
	Western Bulldogs	v	North Melbourne	Marvel Stadium

Round 23

	Round 23
Dates and times TBC	Brisbane Lions	v	Gold Coast	The Gabba
	Essendon	v	Sydney	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Fremantle	v	Adelaide	Optus Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	West Coast	Engie Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	North Melbourne	v	Geelong	Marvel Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	St Kilda	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Western Bulldogs	v	Carlton	Marvel Stadium

Round 24

	Round 24
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Greater Western Sydney	Adelaide Oval
	Carlton	v	Fremantle	Marvel Stadium
	Collingwood	v	Brisbane Lions	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Essendon	v	Port Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
	Geelong	v	Richmond	GMHBA Stadium
	Melbourne	v	Western Bulldogs	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Gold Coast	Marvel Stadium
	Sydney	v	North Melbourne	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Hawthorn	Optus Stadium

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Adelaide	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0	Finals series
2	Brisbane Lions	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
3	Carlton	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
4	Collingwood	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
5	Essendon	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
6	Fremantle	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
7	Geelong	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
8	Gold Coast	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
9	Greater Western Sydney	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
10	Hawthorn	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
11	Melbourne	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
12	North Melbourne	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
13	Port Adelaide	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
14	Richmond	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
15	St Kilda	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
16	Sydney	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
17	West Coast	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0
18	Western Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	0

Source: afl.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for

Progression by round

4	Finished the round in first place	0	Finished the round in last place
4	Finished the round inside the top ten
41	Subscript indicates the ladder position at the end of the round
41	Underlined points indicate the team had a bye that round

Team	O	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Adelaide
Brisbane Lions
Carlton
Collingwood
Essendon
Fremantle
Geelong
Gold Coast
Greater Western Sydney
Hawthorn
Melbourne
North Melbourne
Port Adelaide
Richmond
St Kilda
Sydney
West Coast
Western Bulldogs

Home matches and membership

Team	Home match attendance							Membership
	Hosted	Total	Highest	Lowest	Average			2025 [18]	2026	Change
					2025 [19]	2026	Change
Adelaide	0				45,120			81,067
Brisbane Lions	0				30,598			75,115
Carlton	0				49,182			100,743
Collingwood	0				68,873			112,491
Essendon	0				40,034			85,568
Fremantle	0				45,758			66,179
Geelong	0				35,439			92,379
Gold Coast	0				15,679			30,107
Greater Western Sydney	0				12,026			37,705
Hawthorn	0				41,484			87,204
Melbourne	0				36,805			58,563
North Melbourne	0				25,266			56,283
Port Adelaide	0				35,556			72,656
Richmond	0				44,398			92,531
St Kilda	0				31,644			65,509
Sydney	0				34,277			76,674
West Coast	0				42,576			107,079
Western Bulldogs	0				36,764			65,584
Total/overall	0				37,306			1,363,437

Win–loss table

+	Win		Qualified for finals
−	Loss		Eliminated
X	Bye

Team	Home-and-away season																									Ladder	Finals series
	O	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24		F1	F2	F3	F4	GF
Adelaide	X	COL	WB	GEE	FRE	CAR	STK	BL	PA	RIC	NM	HAW	X	GEE	WB	MEL	PA	WC	GC	SYD	COL	ESS	RIC	FRE	GWS	1 (0–0–0)
Brisbane Lions	WB	SYD	X	STK	COL	NM	MEL	ADE	ESS	CAR	GEE	GWS	FRE	GC	RIC	X	SYD	GEE	ESS	WC	PA	CAR	HAW	GC	COL	2 (0–0–0)
Carlton	SYD	RIC	X	MEL	NM	ADE	COL	FRE	STK	BL	WB	PA	GEE	ESS	X	GWS	WC	RIC	HAW	COL	GC	BL	STK	WB	FRE	3 (0–0–0)
Collingwood	STK	ADE	X	GWS	BL	FRE	CAR	ESS	HAW	GEE	SYD	WC	WB	MEL	X	PA	RIC	GC	NM	CAR	ADE	GEE	WC	HAW	BL	4 (0–0–0)
Essendon	X	HAW	PA	NM	WB	MEL	GC	COL	BL	GWS	FRE	RIC	WC	CAR	MEL	X	NM	STK	BL	GWS	HAW	ADE	GEE	SYD	PA	5 (0–0–0)
Fremantle	X	GEE	MEL	RIC	ADE	COL	WC	CAR	WB	HAW	ESS	STK	BL	NM	X	GEE	GC	GWS	SYD	PA	WC	WB	MEL	ADE	CAR	6 (0–0–0)
Geelong	GC	FRE	X	ADE	HAW	WC	WB	PA	NM	COL	BL	SYD	CAR	ADE	GC	FRE	X	BL	GWS	STK	MEL	COL	ESS	NM	RIC	7 (0–0–0)
Gold Coast	GEE	WC	RIC	X	MEL	SYD	ESS	HAW	GWS	STK	PA	NM	X	BL	GEE	HAW	FRE	COL	ADE	WB	CAR	MEL	GWS	BL	STK	8 (0–0–0)
Greater Western Sydney	HAW	WB	STK	COL	X	RIC	SYD	NM	GC	ESS	WC	BL	MEL	X	STK	CAR	HAW	FRE	GEE	ESS	SYD	PA	GC	WC	ADE	9 (0–0–0)
Hawthorn	GWS	ESS	SYD	X	GEE	WB	PA	GC	COL	FRE	MEL	ADE	STK	WB	X	GC	GWS	MEL	CAR	RIC	ESS	NM	BL	COL	WC	10 (0–0–0)
Melbourne	X	STK	FRE	CAR	GC	ESS	BL	RIC	SYD	WC	HAW	WB	GWS	COL	ESS	ADE	X	HAW	RIC	NM	GEE	GC	FRE	PA	WB	11 (0–0–0)
North Melbourne	X	PA	WC	ESS	CAR	BL	RIC	GWS	GEE	SYD	ADE	GC	X	FRE	WC	RIC	ESS	PA	COL	MEL	STK	HAW	WB	GEE	SYD	12 (0–0–0)
Port Adelaide	X	NM	ESS	WC	RIC	STK	HAW	GEE	ADE	WB	GC	CAR	X	WC	SYD	COL	ADE	NM	STK	FRE	BL	GWS	SYD	MEL	ESS	13 (0–0–0)
Richmond	X	CAR	GC	FRE	PA	GWS	NM	MEL	WC	ADE	STK	ESS	SYD	X	BL	NM	COL	CAR	MEL	HAW	WB	WC	ADE	STK	GEE	14 (0–0–0)
St Kilda	COL	MEL	GWS	BL	X	PA	ADE	WC	CAR	GC	RIC	FRE	HAW	SYD	GWS	WB	X	ESS	PA	GEE	NM	SYD	CAR	RIC	GC	15 (0–0–0)
Sydney	CAR	BL	HAW	X	WC	GC	GWS	WB	MEL	NM	COL	GEE	RIC	STK	PA	X	BL	WB	FRE	ADE	GWS	STK	PA	ESS	NM	16 (0–0–0)
West Coast	X	GC	NM	PA	SYD	GEE	FRE	STK	RIC	MEL	GWS	COL	ESS	PA	NM	X	CAR	ADE	WB	BL	FRE	RIC	COL	GWS	HAW	17 (0–0–0)
Western Bulldogs	BL	GWS	ADE	X	ESS	HAW	GEE	SYD	FRE	PA	CAR	MEL	COL	HAW	ADE	STK	X	SYD	WC	GC	RIC	FRE	NM	CAR	MEL	18 (0–0–0)

Notes

1. Announcement of succession plan

References

1. "AFL ditches centre bounce for men's game, and sub rule after grand final criticism". ABC News. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
2. Beveridge, Riley (29 October 2025). "Watch examples of the seven rule changes that will impact 2026". afl.com.au. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
3. Australian Associated Press (10 November 2025). "AFL gives teams finishing 10th chance to win premiership through wildcard round in finals". ABC News . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
4. Australian Associated Press (10 November 2025). "Biggest finals shake-up in 25 years as Wildcard Round introduced". afl.com.au. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
5. Ryan, Peter (10 November 2025). "Many fans are asking why the AFL has introduced wildcard round. The answer is in the TV rights". The Age . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
6. "'Thrilled to see it back': AFL Origin fixture details revealed in end to 26-yr hiatus". Fox Sports. 15 September 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
7. Keane, Daniel (12 February 2025). "Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley to step down at end of 2025 season as Power anoints Carr as successor". ABC News . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
8. Cotton, Ben (12 September 2025). "Demons name Steven King as new senior coach for 2026". Fox Sports . Retrieved 13 November 2025.
9. "Carlton confirms coaching structure for 2026". Carlton Football Club. 3 October 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
10. "Bombers finalise 2026 coaching structure". Essendon Football Club. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
11. "Step forward, Andrew McGrath – Essendon's new captain". Essendon Football Club. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
12. "Fremantle coaching department update". Fremantle Football Club. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
13. "Hawthorn locks in 2026 AFL coaching panel". Melbourne Football Club. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
14. "Four new additions to Dees' coaching mix". Melbourne Football Club. 10 October 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
15. "North Melbourne appoints Hampson, Macpherson to development coach roles". North Melbourne Football Club. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
16. "Larkey named captain as Roos reveal new-look leadership group". North Melbourne Football Club. 9 December 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
17. "Port Adelaide finalises 2026 AFL coaching panel". Port Adelaide Football Club. 23 October 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
18. "All-time club membership record broken again". afl.com.au. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
19. "Attendances 2025". AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 November 2025.

External links

• 2026 AFL season at afl.com.au
• 2026 AFL season at Austadiums