2026 AFL Finals: Wildcard, 10-Team System & Latest News

Here’s a breakdown of the key⁢ information from the article about the new AFL finals system:

* New Wildcard Round: The AFL is introducing a wildcard⁤ round for the 2026 season, expanding the finals ⁣series to include the top ⁤10 teams.
* How⁤ it Works:

* Teams finishing 7th-10th will play in a wildcard round.
* The highest-ranked wildcard winner gets 7th place,the lowest gets 8th.
* Teams finishing 5th and 6th receive a bye.
* Impact on Finals Path:

* A team finishing 7th will need to win⁣ five finals to win the premiership.
⁢ * A⁣ team finishing 4th will need to win ‍at least⁤ three finals.
* Rationale:

* to provide more⁢ teams and players with the opportunity to⁣ compete in finals.
* To evolve the competition structure and continue growth (alongside initiatives like ⁢gather Round ⁢and ⁣AFL Origin).
*⁤ the ⁢decision was influenced by a 2025 season where only nine teams were realistically in contention ⁤late⁤ in the ⁣year.
* Home Finals: All teams finishing in the top eight will ⁤host a home final.
* VFL Precedent: The VFL has used a similar wildcard system as⁤ 2023 with 21 teams. ⁣Wildcard winners haven’t had ⁤much success in subsequent finals.
* Increased Finals Participation: Over half of the AFL teams will now qualify for the finals.