The current AFL finals system was devised by the Australian Football League in 2000 as its end-of-season championship playoff tournament. It is a revision of the McIntyre Final Eight System, used by the AFL from 1994 to 1999, designed to address several perceived issues with that system. A similar system was previously used by the Australian Rugby League in the 1995 and 1996 seasons, however there was no crossover in 1995, and in 1996 teams crossed over in Week 2, rather than Week 3. The system has also been adopted by the Victorian Football League and a slightly modified version adoped by Super League.
The highest-ranked eight teams in the AFL regular season standings participate in a four-week tournament, with two teams eliminated in each of the first three weeks. The seventh team is eliminated (and the premiership awarded) in the Grand Final.
The system is designed to give the top four teams an easier road to the Grand Final than the second four teams. The top four needs to win only two finals to reach the Grand Final, while the second four needs to win three; and, two of the top four teams receive a bye in the second week of the playoff and then play at home in the third week, while the other two play at home in the second week.
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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.
There is a game on Friday Night, Saturday Afternoon, Saturday Night and Sunday Afternoon.
One semi final is played on a Friday Night and the other is played on a Saturday Night.
One Preliminary final is played on a Friday Night and the other is played on either Saturday Afternoon or Night.
The Australian Football League's contract with the Melbourne Cricket Club requires that at least ten finals matches (excluding Grand Finals) are played at the M.C.G. over a period of five years (2006-10). This means an average of two games must be played at the venue per year, plus each Grand Final. This is not normally expected to be a problem, but in a non-Victorian clubs dominate the competition, it is possible that the AFL will be forced to schedule a non-Victorian team's home match at the M.C.G. to reach the quota.
This existing contract with the M.C.G. was put together after significant criticism of the previous contract, which required that at least one final be played at the M.C.G. during every week of the finals. This meant that in the event that interstate clubs were to host either both semi-finals or both preliminary finals, one of those matches would be moved to the M.C.G. This happened in the 1999 Semi-Finals and the 2004 Preliminary Finals.
Finals in Victoria are usually played at the M.C.G., regardless of whether or not the home team normally plays its home games there. Only when Victoria is to host two finals on one day would the lowest-drawing final be moved to Docklands Stadium. The Geelong Football Club is not permitted to host a finals match at Kardinia Park.
The Grand Final is always played at the M.C.G., and has been in every year since 1902, except when the venue was not available.
Under this finals system, the final eight teams are broken up into four groups of two. Each group of two earns one extra benefit over the teams beneath it. These benefits are home ground finals and the double-chance, whereby a first-week loss will not eliminate the team from the finals. Note that the "home" designations may be irrelvant for games played between teams from the same state - almost all finals games played between two Victorian teams will be held at the MCG, regardless of the "home" team's home ground.
First and Second receive the double-chance, and will play their first two finals matches at home: their qualifying final, and then either a semi-final if they lose their qualifying final or a preliminary final if they win their qualifying final. They need to win two finals to reach the Grand Final.
Third and Fourth also receive the double-chance, but receive only one finals match at home: either a semi-final if they lose their qualifying final or a preliminary final if they win their qualifying final. They need to win two finals to reach the Grand Final.
Fifth and Sixth receive one home final: their elimination final. They need to win three finals to reach the Grand Final.
Seventh and Eighth receive no home finals. They need to win three finals to reach the Grand Final.
Under the current AFL finals system (and under all previous AFL finals systems since 1991), a game during the first three weeks of the finals cannot finish in a draw. If two teams are tied at the end of regulation time, extra time is played until a winner is decided. This replaced the former practice of replaying the final on the following weekend, and delaying all other finals by one week.
Extra time is not played if the grand final is drawn. In the case of a drawn Grand Final, a Grand Final Replay is played on the following weekend. The drawn Grand Final in 2010 sparked a debate about whether or not to continue the practice into the future, with many players saying they would have preferred extra time.[2]
If the grand final replay is also drawn at full time, extra time will be played[3].
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