During the AFL home-and-away season, every match helps shape the ladder. Clubs build a record over months of football, collecting premiership points and trying to finish high enough to qualify for September. The finals are different: they decide the premiership, and one poor performance can end a team’s campaign.
The key difference between the regular season and playoffs—usually called the finals in Australian Rules Football—is what each game is for. Home-and-away matches determine who qualifies and where they are placed. Finals matches determine who advances, who is eliminated and, ultimately, who wins the Grand Final.
What happens during the regular season?
The AFL’s regular season is commonly called the home-and-away season. Clubs play a scheduled set of matches, usually 23 games each across a 24-round fixture, with byes and the exact schedule depending on the season. Teams earn four premiership points for a win, two for a draw and none for a loss.
Those points create the ladder. If teams finish level on points, percentage—points scored compared with points conceded—is used to separate them. A club’s ladder position matters beyond pride: it decides whether the team reaches the finals and, for the top sides, affects its path through the opening weeks.
Regular-season football is a long test of consistency. Clubs manage injuries, form and player workloads while trying to win enough games to make the top eight. A loss can hurt, but it does not automatically end a team’s season. There are usually more chances to recover over the remaining rounds.
How the AFL finals work
The top eight clubs on the ladder qualify for the AFL finals. The finals use a four-week system designed to reward higher-ranked teams while giving the top four a second chance if they lose in the opening week.
| Finals week | Matchups | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd in qualifying finals; 5th vs 8th and 6th vs 7th in elimination finals | Qualifying-final winners advance to a preliminary final. Losers get another chance in a semi-final. Elimination-final losers are out. |
| Week 2 | Two semi-finals | Winners advance; losers are eliminated. |
| Week 3 | Two preliminary finals | Winners qualify for the Grand Final; losers are eliminated. |
| Week 4 | Grand Final | The winner becomes the premier. |
That second chance is a major feature of the system. For example, if the team finishing first loses its qualifying final, it is not knocked out. It gets a semi-final against an elimination-final winner. By contrast, a team finishing fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth must win its first final to stay in the hunt.
Higher ladder position also brings an advantage: qualifying-final winners go straight to the preliminary finals and get a week without a match. Finals venues are allocated as part of the competition’s arrangements, with home-state and home-ground considerations often relevant. The Grand Final is traditionally held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, though venue arrangements can vary.
Regular season vs finals: the main differences
| Feature | Regular season | Finals |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Build a ladder position and qualify | Advance through the bracket and win the premiership |
| Who plays | All clubs in the competition | The eight highest-placed clubs |
| Effect of a loss | Costs points but leaves future matches to recover | Can eliminate a club; only qualifying-final losers receive another chance |
| Match context | Part of a longer season | High-stakes, do-or-die football for most teams |
| What decides progress | Premiership points and ladder position | Winning the individual final |
Why finals football feels different
The rules of Australian Rules Football do not suddenly change when finals begin, but the pressure does. In a home-and-away match, a coach may back a developing player or accept some risk with a tactical experiment. In a final, every decision carries more weight: team selection, match-ups, substitutions and the timing of a move can shape a club’s season.
That often affects the style of play. Coaches may focus on protecting the corridor, winning contested possession and forcing the opposition into less dangerous areas. A side might use a close tag on a key midfielder or send extra numbers to a stoppage. These plans are not guaranteed to work, but there is less time to adjust after a mistake.
Players also face a different emotional test. A team that falls behind in a regular-season match can still play for next week and the rest of the campaign. In an elimination final, the same deficit can bring a season to an immediate end. That urgency can produce memorable comebacks, tense finishes and moments of individual courage.
What the ladder means once finals arrive
Finishing high is valuable, but it does not guarantee a Grand Final place. The top four have the clearest advantage because a qualifying-final loss is survivable, and a win sends them directly to a preliminary final. Teams placed fifth to eighth have a tougher route: they need to win their elimination final, then keep winning every week.
That is why clubs often talk about earning a double chance or securing a top-four spot late in the season. A team may qualify in eighth place and still win the flag, but it has a narrower margin for error than the minor premier. The ladder is therefore both a record of regular-season performance and a map of each club’s finals path.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many teams make the AFL finals?
Eight clubs qualify, based on their positions on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season.
Does one loss eliminate a team from the finals?
Not always. Losing a qualifying final in the first week gives a top-four team another chance in a semi-final. Losing an elimination final, semi-final or preliminary final ends that club’s campaign.
Do regular-season wins count in the finals?
They count toward the final ladder and help determine qualification and seeding. Once the finals begin, teams advance by winning their finals matches; regular-season points do not carry into the bracket.
Is the AFL finals system the same in every Australian Rules Football competition?
No. The AFL uses a top-eight finals format, but state leagues and other competitions can have different numbers of finalists or different systems. Check the rules for the specific competition you follow.
Final Thoughts
The regular season rewards steady performance: clubs collect points, climb the ladder and try to earn a finals berth. The finals turn that long campaign into a short, high-pressure contest for the premiership. Understanding the ladder, the top-eight system and the second chance for qualifying-final losers makes it easier to follow how each club’s route to the Grand Final unfolds.
Aiden Cross is a sports writer and editor at BeliveSports, covering a broad range of sports with a focus on clear, accurate, and practical information. His work covers rules, techniques, player roles, competitions, equipment, statistics, and the details that help readers better understand how different sports are played. Aiden takes a research-driven approach to sports writing, using reliable sources and established sporting information to provide context rather than simply repeating surface-level facts. His goal is to make complex topics accessible while maintaining the accuracy and depth expected by knowledgeable sports fans. At BeliveSports, Aiden contributes to the site’s editorial standards by focusing on accuracy, clarity, useful context, and reader-first explanations.