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.
| Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||||
| 1st Qualifying Final | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1st | Home | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 4th | Away | 1st Semi Final | ||||||||||||||||
| Loser of QF1 | Home | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1st Elimination Final | Winner of EF1 | Away | 1st Preliminary Final | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 5th | Home | Winner of QF1 | Home | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | 8th | Away | Winner of SF2 | Away | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| Winner of PF1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd Elimination Final | 2nd Preliminary Final | Winner of PF2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 6th | Home | Winner of SF1 | Away | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | 7th | Away | 2nd Semi Final | Winner of QF2 | Home | ||||||||||||||
| Winner of EF2 | Away | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd Qualifying Final | Loser of QF2 | Home | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2nd | Home | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 3rd | Away | |||||||||||||||||
The final eight system is played over four weeks:
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.
| Wildcard finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st Qualifying Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1st | Home | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 4th | Away | 1st Semi Final | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Loser of QF1 | Home | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st Wildcard Final | 1st Elimination Final | Winner of EF1 | Away | 1st Preliminary Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 7th | Home | 5 | 5th | Home | Winner of QF1 | Home | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 10th | Away | Low wildcard seed | Away | Winner of SF2 | Away | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||||
| Winner of PF1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd Wildcard Final | 2nd Elimination Final | 2nd Preliminary Final | Winner of PF2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 8th | Home | 6 | 6th | Home | Winner of SF1 | Away | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | 9th | Away | High wildcard seed | Away | 2nd Semi Final | Winner of QF2 | Home | |||||||||||||||||
| Winner of EF2 | Away | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd Qualifying Final | Loser of QF2 | Home | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2nd | Home | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 3rd | Away | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The final ten system plays over five weeks, using mostly the same bracket:
Weeks three through five follow the same bracket as weeks two through four of the final eight system.
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 | ||||||
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.
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 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.
The last two teams visit throughout the finals and also must win all three of their finals to avoid elimination.
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.