How the AFL Ladder and Finals Work: Top 10, Wildcard Round and the Grand Final
A plain-English guide to the AFL ladder and finals: premiership points and percentage, how the top ten qualify through the wildcard round, the double chance for the top four, and every week of the finals to the Grand Final.
Updated
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the top level of Australian rules football. Eighteen clubs from five states play a home-and-away season from March to late August, and the best of them go through a finals series that ends with the Grand Final at the MCG in late September. This is how the ladder decides who plays finals, and how the finals decide the premiers.
The home-and-away season
Each club plays 23 home-and-away games. The fixture is spread over more rounds than that, starting with Opening Round in March, so every club gets a bye or two along the way: rounds when it doesn't play. Not every club meets every other club twice, so some draws are tougher than others, and each club's remaining fixture (its “run home”) matters late in the season. The full draw is on the AFL fixture and results page, and each club's run home is on the ladder page.
How the AFL ladder is ranked
- Premiership points. A win is worth four points and a draw two. A loss, and a bye, are worth nothing.
- Percentage. Clubs level on points are separated by percentage: points scored divided by points conceded, multiplied by 100. A club above 100 has scored more than it has conceded. A big win lifts percentage; a heavy loss can cost a club a finals spot.
Draws are rare but real in the AFL (home-and-away games are not decided by extra time), so a club's points aren't always a multiple of four. The live ladder on this site also counts games in progress at their current score, so you can see where the ladder would land if the scores stayed as they are.
Who makes the finals
From 2026 the top ten clubs make the finals. Seventh plays tenth and eighth plays ninth in a wildcard round the week after the home-and-away season ends, with the higher-placed club at home; the losers are out. From 2000 to 2025 the top eight qualified and there was no wildcard round.
Week by week
- Qualifying and elimination finals. First plays fourth and second plays third in the qualifying finals. The winners go straight through to the preliminary finals, with a week off; the losers drop into the semi-finals. That second life is the double chance, which is why finishing in the top four matters so much. Fifth and sixth host the two wildcard winners in the elimination finals, and the losers are out.
- Semi-finals. The qualifying final losers host the elimination final winners. The losers are out.
- Preliminary finals. The qualifying final winners host the semi-final winners, for a place in the Grand Final.
- Grand Final. The last two clubs meet at the MCG, traditionally on the last Saturday in September. A drawn grand final now goes to extra time; until 2015 it was replayed the following week, which happened in 1948, 1977 and 2010.
The last finals series
The 2026 finals, with ladder positions in brackets (10 clubs qualified):
| Final | Result |
|---|---|
| Second Wildcard Final | Bulldogs (8) 14.12 (96) d Collingwood (9) 14.9 (93) |
| First Wildcard Final | Carlton (10) 10.14 (74) d Melbourne (7) 7.13 (55) |
| First Qualifying Final | Hawthorn (4) 10.12 (72) d Fremantle (1) 5.10 (40) |
| First Elimination Final | Geelong (5) 14.23 (107) d Carlton (10) 11.8 (74) |
| Second Qualifying Final | Sydney (2) 21.15 (141) d Brisbane (3) 13.10 (88) |
| Second Elimination Final | Adelaide (6) 14.6 (90) d Bulldogs (8) 9.14 (68) |
| First Semi Final | Fremantle (1) 18.12 (120) d Geelong (5) 16.10 (106) |
| Second Semi Final | Brisbane (3) 21.18 (144) d Adelaide (6) 13.13 (91) |
| Second Preliminary Final | Fremantle (1) 12.11 (83) d Sydney (2) 10.11 (71) |
| First Preliminary Final | Brisbane (3) 20.11 (131) d Hawthorn (4) 19.8 (122) |
| Grand Final | Brisbane (3) 14.12 (96) d Fremantle (1) 12.17 (89) |
Every grand final result back to 1897 is on the AFL premiers list.
Frequently asked questions
How many teams make the AFL finals?
Ten from 2026. Seventh to tenth play a wildcard round for two places in the elimination finals against fifth and sixth. From 2000 to 2025 the top eight made the finals.
What is the double chance in the AFL?
The top four clubs play qualifying finals in the first week of the finals. Losing a qualifying final doesn't end the season: the loser plays a semi-final the next week. That second chance is called the double chance.
How is percentage worked out on the AFL ladder?
Percentage is points scored divided by points conceded, multiplied by 100. It separates clubs on the same number of premiership points.
How many points is a win worth in the AFL?
Four premiership points for a win and two for a draw. Losses and byes are worth nothing.
What happens if the AFL Grand Final is a draw?
Since 2016 a drawn Grand Final goes to extra time. Before that it was replayed the following week, as in 1948, 1977 and 2010.