The AFL Finals Haven’t Changed in 25 Years, Until Now. What Is the Wildcard Round?
The new two-match play-in stage sends teams ranked 7th to 10th into knockout games for the last finals spots, officials said.
4 Articles
4 Articles
The AFL finals haven’t changed in 25 years, until now. What is the wildcard round?
This weekend, the AFL will unveil a first: a “wildcard round”. This round involves two matches to kick off the finals series, in the first change to the league’s finals format in 25 years. On Friday, the Western Bulldogs will host Collingwood in the first wildcard final, with Melbourne then taking on Carlton on Saturday night. But why was this brought in, how will it work, and how have the league’s finals series evolved over time? How the wildca…
AFL 2026 Finals Preview: Contenders and Road to the Grand Final
The 2026 AFL finals are set, with Fremantle, Sydney, Brisbane, Hawthorn, Geelong, Adelaide, Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs, Collingwood and Carlton chasing the Premiership. A new wildcard round expands the pathway, before qualifying, elimination, semi and preliminary finals lead to the Grand Final at the MCG on 26 September.
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