I get why they’re doing this, but is it a mistake?
The AFL in the last few months have made several key changes to the rules that will be implemented in the 2026 season. Some of which are for the protection of umpires health, others are to keep the game moving and avoid controversial decisions, and then there’s last nights announcement. For the most part, these rule changes, whilst always garnering controversy, have seemed like they’ve had some genuine thought into them with valid reasoning as to justify the changes.
Last night the AFL announced it will be adding a wildcard round into the finals. Currently the AFL finals consist of the top eight teams battling it out over four weeks. After the regular season ends, the AFL takes a one week break before finals begin. The AFL has introduced a system in which the top eight will expand into the top ten and the wildcard round will take place in the usual week off.
How it Works
The top six finishing teams at the end of the regular season will move straight into what we would call our regular first round of finals. Teams that place first to fourth will see no change, they will still play off in a non-elimination final. Usually, teams placing five to eight will face off in an elimination final with the losers being knocked out and the victors playing the losers of the 1-4 bracket. But that will change with this system. If teams finish fifth or sixth they will still play in that elimination final, but their competition is decided via the wildcard round.
In the wildcard round teams seventh to tenth will play in an elimination final that will dictate who plays against teams that placed fifth and sixth the next week. The seventh place team will host an elimination final against the team that placed tenth, and the eighth placed team will host an elimination against ninth.
The decision has been met with extreme controversy, many in support and many against. Many fans have called out the decision for promoting mediocrity and simply just implementing the wildcard round for the sake of pooling in more money. The decision was likely influenced by the 2025 season in which the last round of finals saw many teams close to being knocked out as they were extremely close in points and percentage. This year, a potential finals contender, the Western Bulldogs, were the team to miss out by finishing in ninth at the end of the last round. This new system, if it played this year, would’ve seen the Gold Coast Suns (7th) host a final against the Sydney Swans (10th), and Hawthorn (8th) host a final against the Western Bulldogs (9th). Adding an extra week of finals tension.
Is This a Mistake?
Removing the bounce, whilst it was an iconic part of our great game, makes sense when it places a lot of harmful pressure on the umpires backs over time. Additionally removing the bounce takes out the potential of the ball bouncing out of play and resulting in a throw up anyways. Changing the out of bounds rule to a turn over regardless of intent keeps play moving and removes any controversial calls that fans may disagree with. These rule changes, regardless on if we like them or not, have some solid reasoning as to why they have been implemented.
Whilst I understand that adding an extra week of finals seems like a fun way to keep your teams finals chances alive for longer, it does seem strange and as of right now unnecessary. Wildcard rounds work great overseas, but they’re played in sports with divisions. Such as Ice Hockey and the NFL. For example it’s implemented there when a team that won more games than another finals contender but lost in its own division. On paper it looks as if they may have been a stronger team than the finals player from a different division so they get the chance to prove it in a wildcard round where they play another contender from a division outside their own, against a team they haven’t played that season. In the AFL, as of right now, it does sadly look like a way to squeeze in more finals rounds to increase ticket sales.
It’s not necessarily a mistake though, but its reason for existing isn’t as clear as wildcard rounds in another sports. This isn’t the first time teams have lost out of finals by one loss, plus expanding finals to 10-teams changes the balance of finals positions. There are now more teams that can make finals than teams that can’t.
As of right now, we can’t genuinely know for sure how much it’ll affect the season and the game until the 2026 finals season rolls around and we get our first wildcard round.
The decision itself may be controversial, but personally I commend the AFL for listening to the fans who’ve been asking for more footy. In the last few months we’ve seen the All-Stars game return, next year we will see State of Origin, and personally I hope to eventually see AFLX return. Do I think this was the right way to implement more footy? Right now, no. But we can’t really know for sure until we see how it plays out in 2026.
