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2027 AFL (Australian Football League) Season Preview
The 2027 AFL season is the 131st season of the competition. The Opening Round has been scrapped, so all 18 clubs will play in a traditional Round 1 starting on 17 or 18 March 2027. The 24-round home-and-away season finishes on 30 August, the five-week finals series opens with two wildcard finals in early September, and the Grand Final is scheduled for Saturday 2 October at the MCG.
The Brisbane Lions are the reigning premiers after winning their sixth flag in 2026 and their third in a row. They beat minor premiers Fremantle, who were chasing a maiden flag, by seven points, 14.12 (96) to 12.17 (89), at the MCG on 26 September in front of 100,023 spectators. The Lions kicked the last four goals after trailing by 17 points inside the final five minutes.
Brisbane finished third in the regular season, winning sixteen of their twenty-three games, and lost their qualifying final to Sydney (141-88). They bounced back to beat Adelaide (144-91) in the semi-final and edged Hawthorn (131-122) in a preliminary final thriller to reach a fourth consecutive Grand Final.
Brisbane have now played in the last four Grand Finals, winning three of them (2024, 2025 and 2026) after losing the 2023 decider to Collingwood. They went into the 2026 Grand Final as favourites at 1.65, with Fremantle at 2.30. A fourth straight flag in 2027 would equal Collingwood's record of four in a row (1927-30).
Much of the rule landscape has already changed. For 2026, the AFL scrapped the centre bounce, so the ball is now thrown up at restarts. It also removed the substitute rule in favour of a five-player interchange bench, with rotation limits unchanged, and introduced a last-disposal-out-of-bounds free kick. A wildcard round expanded the finals series from eight to ten teams for the first time.
The Top Aussie Rules (AFL) Betting Sites 2026
Previous AFL Grand Final Winners and Premiership Records
Three clubs share the record for most premierships in VFL/AFL history, with sixteen each: the Collingwood Magpies, the Essendon Bombers and the Carlton Blues. The competition was known as the VFL (Victorian Football League) from its creation in 1897 until 1989, when the AFL name was adopted.
Collingwood joined the other two on sixteen by winning the 2023 Grand Final. Their previous flag came in 2010, which ended a twenty-year wait since 1990. Essendon's last premiership was in 2000, and Carlton's came in 1995. The Bombers' most recent Grand Final appearance was in 2001, and the Blues' was in 1999.
Brisbane's 2026 win was their sixth premiership and their second hat-trick of consecutive flags, following 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Three current clubs have never won a premiership. The Fremantle Dockers, who joined in 1995, are the longest-established of them. They have played in two Grand Finals, losing to Hawthorn by 15 points in 2013 and to Brisbane by seven points in 2026, after leading by 17 points inside the last five minutes.
The Greater Western Sydney Giants, who joined in 2012, have reached one Grand Final, losing to Richmond by 89 points (114-25) in 2019. The Gold Coast Suns, who joined in 2011, are the only current AFL club never to have played in a Grand Final.
Most Successful AFL Clubs
| Club | Premierships | Most Recent Premiership |
|---|---|---|
| Collingwood | 16 | 2023 |
| Essendon | 16 | 2000 |
| Carlton | 16 | 1995 |
| Richmond | 13 | 2020 |
| Hawthorn | 13 | 2015 |
| Melbourne | 13 | 2021 |
| Geelong | 10 | 2022 |
| Brisbane Lions | 6 | 2026 |
Last Ten AFL Grand Final Winners
| Season | Premiers (No. of Titles) | Score | Runners-up | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Brisbane Lions (6th) | 14.12 (96) d. 12.17 (89) | Fremantle | 100,023 |
| 2025 | Brisbane Lions (5th) | 18.14 (122) d. 11.9 (75) | Geelong | 100,022 |
| 2024 | Brisbane Lions (4th) | 18.12 (120) d. 9.6 (60) | Sydney | 100,013 |
| 2023 | Collingwood (16th) | 12.18 (90) d. 13.8 (86) | Brisbane Lions | 100,024 |
| 2022 | Geelong (10th) | 20.13 (133) d. 8.4 (52) | Sydney | 100,024 |
| 2021 | Melbourne (13th) | 21.14 (140) d. 10.6 (66) | Western Bulldogs | 61,118 |
| 2020 | Richmond (13th) | 12.9 (81) d. 7.8 (50) | Geelong | 29,707 |
| 2019 | Richmond (12th) | 17.12 (114) d. 3.7 (25) | Greater Western Sydney | 100,014 |
| 2018 | West Coast (4th) | 11.13 (79) d. 11.8 (74) | Collingwood | 100,022 |
| 2017 | Richmond (11th) | 16.12 (108) d. 8.12 (60) | Adelaide | 100,021 |
Complete List of VFL/AFL Premiers (AFL Premiers by Year)
Here is the full list of VFL/AFL premiers, from the league's first season in 1897 to Brisbane's third straight flag in 2026. This interactive timeline shows when each premiership was won and how many each club has collected.
AFL Brownlow Medal: 2026 Winner, Voting and Past Winners
The Brownlow Medal, officially the Charles Brownlow Trophy, is awarded to the fairest and best player in the AFL during the home-and-away season, with finals matches not counted. Voted for by the field umpires, it is widely regarded as the league's most prestigious individual award.
Collingwood's Nick Daicos won the 2026 Brownlow Medal with 47 votes, a record under the current voting system, beating the 45 polled by Patrick Cripps in 2024. He finished 11 votes clear of Geelong's Bailey Smith (36), with the Western Bulldogs' Marcus Bontempelli third on 34. Daicos had finished second in both 2024 and 2025, and is Collingwood's first winner since Dane Swan in 2011.
After each home-and-away match, the field umpires award 3, 2 and 1 votes to the three best players on the ground. This 3-2-1 system has been used since 1931. For 2026, the AFL changed the process so that umpires are given a set of player statistics before lodging their votes. Players suspended during the season are ineligible for the medal, although their votes still count.
The player with the most votes wins. A countback on three-vote games was used to settle ties from 1930 until 1980, when it was abandoned. Players who tie for first now share the medal as joint winners.
Only four players have ever won the medal three times: Haydn Bunton Sr. (Fitzroy), Dick Reynolds (Essendon), Bob Skilton (South Melbourne) and Ian Stewart (St Kilda/Richmond). Patrick Cripps (2022 and 2024) and Lachie Neale (2020 and 2023) have each won it twice.
Last Ten Brownlow Medal Winners
| Year | Player | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Nick Daicos | Collingwood | 47 |
| 2025 | Matthew Rowell | Gold Coast | 39 |
| 2024 | Patrick Cripps | Carlton | 45 |
| 2023 | Lachie Neale | Brisbane Lions | 31 |
| 2022 | Patrick Cripps | Carlton | 29 |
| 2021 | Ollie Wines | Port Adelaide | 36 |
| 2020 | Lachie Neale | Brisbane Lions | 31 |
| 2019 | Nat Fyfe | Fremantle | 33 |
| 2018 | Tom Mitchell | Hawthorn | 28 |
| 2017 | Dustin Martin | Richmond | 36 |
Meet the Author: Andy Powell
Andy Powell, OLBG's Content Editor, writes and maintains the site's AFL content. He brings a solid understanding of the game and a careful, research-led approach to each AFL season preview and betting guide, checking results, records and season details before anything is published.
About the author
