Australian Rules football has always ranked teams by what they do across the home-and-away season, but the meaning of a ladder position has changed as the competition has grown. The early VFL had fewer clubs and a different finals structure; today, an AFL team’s place on the ladder determines whether it earns a finals berth, a qualifying final or a tougher elimination path.
The basic idea is familiar: wins put clubs above losses, and the ladder sorts teams on premiership points. But a team’s rank is not the same as its final result. Finals formats, the number of clubs and the method used to separate teams on equal points have all shaped how rankings work—and how fans compare one era with another.
How AFL ladder rankings work
In the modern AFL, a win is worth four premiership points and a draw is worth two. Teams are ranked first by premiership points. If clubs finish level, percentage is used to separate them. Percentage compares the points a team scores with the points it concedes, expressed as a percentage. A side that scores 1,000 points and concedes 800 has a percentage of 125.0.
This means the ladder rewards both winning and, when teams are tied, scoring more than the opposition across the season. Percentage can decide whether a club sneaks into the finals or misses out, so a close loss can matter well after the siren. It is not a separate set of ranking points, though: premiership points remain the main measure.
Ladder rank also differs from a team rating or a prediction. A ladder is an official record of results. Media power rankings and statistical ratings may weigh recent form, opponents or player availability, but they are not used to decide the AFL premiership table.
How the finals system changed the value of a ranking
The VFL began in 1897 with eight clubs. Early finals arrangements were not the same as today’s straight path from a ladder position to a set bracket. Finals systems and challenge rules changed over time, so finishing on top did not always carry the same advantage it does now.
In 1931, the league adopted the Page–McIntyre system for the top four. It gave the leading teams more than one route to the grand final and offered the top-ranked sides a valuable second chance. A top-four finish remained the target for decades. The finals series later expanded, making more ladder positions relevant.
| Period | Finals places | What a high ladder rank offered |
|---|---|---|
| 1897–1930 | Formats varied, generally involving the leading four clubs | Finals qualification mattered, but the route and challenge rules changed over time. |
| 1931–1971 | Top four | The Page–McIntyre system gave the top sides a second chance. |
| 1972–1990 | Top five | A fifth-ranked team could qualify, while the top sides retained an important advantage. |
| 1991–1993 | Top six | Two more clubs could reach September than under the top-five system. |
| 1994 onwards | Top eight | Half the competition can qualify, with the top four earning a double chance. |
The top-eight finals system, introduced in 1994, made a place in September possible for more clubs. It also made ladder position within the eight especially important: the top four earn a double chance, while teams ranked fifth to eighth must win an elimination final to stay alive.
Why the minor premier does not always win the flag
The team that finishes first after the home-and-away season is often called the minor premier. It has earned the highest ladder rank, but the premiership is decided in finals. Injuries, form and the pressure of knockout games can overturn the regular-season order.
The 2016 Western Bulldogs are a striking example. They finished seventh, then won four consecutive finals to claim the premiership. Their run showed what the top-eight format allows: a lower-ranked team can still win, although its path is harder. Adelaide’s 1998 premiership is another example; the Crows finished fifth in the top-five era and won the flag through the finals series.
At the other end of the scale, a dominant ladder season can end in a premiership. Essendon finished first and won the flag in 2000. The contrast is useful: ladder rank measures performance over the full season, while the premiership measures who survives the finals.
Expansion and changing seasons make comparisons tricky
Early VFL ladders were built in a smaller competition. The league expanded over the decades, became the national AFL in 1990 and now includes 18 clubs. The number of matches and the shape of the fixture have also changed. That means a team finishing first in one era did not face exactly the same task as a team finishing first in another.
Percentage is a good example of how context matters. A high percentage usually signals a strong season, but it cannot be compared in isolation across decades. The number of games, the quality and mix of opponents, and scoring conditions all affect it. The same goes for raw win totals: more wins may be possible in a longer season.
For a fair historical comparison, look at a club’s ladder position alongside its win-loss record, percentage, season length and finals result. A rank tells you where a side stood against its contemporaries; it does not, on its own, prove that one team was better than a team from another generation.
Player rankings and AFLW ladders
Club ladder positions are the clearest official ranking in Australian Rules football, but fans also follow individual honours. The Brownlow Medal ranks players by votes from umpires, while the Coleman Medal goes to the season’s leading goal-kicker. These awards reflect different things: the Brownlow is a voting result, and the Coleman is a statistical leaderboard. Neither is a complete ranking of a player’s overall ability.
The AFLW has its own ladder and finals, separate from the men’s competition. Its season structure has developed since the league began in 2017, so comparisons across AFLW seasons also need to account for changes in team numbers and fixture length.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How are AFL teams ranked on the ladder?
Teams are ordered by premiership points: four for a win and two for a draw. If teams are level on points, percentage is used to separate them.
What does percentage mean in Australian Rules football?
Percentage compares a team’s total points scored with its total points conceded. It can break a tie on premiership points, but it does not replace wins as the main basis for ladder position.
When did the AFL introduce the top-eight finals system?
The top-eight finals system began in 1994. Before it, the competition used top-four, top-five and top-six finals formats at different times.
Does finishing first guarantee the premiership?
No. First place earns the minor-premier ranking, but the flag is decided in finals. A lower-ranked club can win if it performs well through September.
Final Thoughts
Australian Rules rankings have evolved from early VFL standings and changing finals rules into today’s familiar ladder, where premiership points and percentage set the order. The biggest shift has been the expansion of finals places, which gives more clubs a chance but still rewards a strong finish near the top. When you compare teams across history, treat ladder position as a snapshot of its own era—and remember that the premiership is decided after the home-and-away rankings are set.
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.