2026 AFL season

2026 AFL season

The 2026 AFL season is the 130th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season features 18 clubs and will run from 5 March to 26 September, comprising a 23-match home-and-away season over 25 rounds, with a five-week finals series featuring the top ten clubs to occur for the first time.

Background

2026 AFL season

In October 2025, the AFL announced two major changes to be brought into the competition for the 2026 season: the substitute rule was removed in favour of a five-player interchange; and the ball would no longer be bounced in the centre of the ground by a field umpire at the start of quarters and after goals, and would be thrown up instead. The removal of the centre bounce ended a tradition dating back to 1887, with AFL executive general manager of football performance Greg Swann explaining that the skill of bouncing the ball was hindering the development of umpires and that the change would allow umpires to focus more on decision-making and reduce the likelihood of players making accidental umpire contact. The AFL announced seven rule changes to reduce game length by approximately three minutes:

• The 6–6–6 rule would no longer require at least one player from each team to be in the goalsquare for centre ball-ups. • A 'last disposal' free kick would be awarded if the ball crossed the boundary line from a disposal between the 50-metre arcs, unless a nearby player does not attempt to play the ball or blocks an opponent. • Ruckmen would no longer be allowed to cross the centre line during centre ball-ups, intended to increase the frequency of jumping ruck contests. • Players taking kick-ins would only be given eight seconds to restart play, down from approximately twelve seconds. • Field umpires could immediately restart play at around-the-ground ball-ups if a nominated ruckman was too far away or no nomination was made, however the 'third man up' was still not allowed. • Players who shrug a tackle would be deemed to have had prior opportunity when considering holding the ball free kicks. • Players inside the five-metre protected area after a mark or free kick to an opponent would be required to stand the mark and would no longer be allowed to move out of the area.

Last disposal out of bounds decisions fell within the purview of decisions reviewable by the AFL Review Centre (ARC), as had all out of bounds decisions since the 2025 finals series. There was a key error late in the Geelong v Adelaide match in round 3: the boundary umpire incorrectly paid a last disposal free kick to Geelong instead of Adelaide, and Geelong restarted play before ARC had a chance to intervene, ultimately resulting in a goal to Geelong who won by eight points. The AFL admitted the error the following day and announced a review of its ARC review processes.

The AFL introduced a wildcard finals round, adding an extra week to the existing finals series and increasing the number of finalists from eight to ten; at the end of the home-and-away season, the seventh-placed team would host the tenth-placed team and eighth would host ninth in wildcard finals, before the remainder of the finals series would continue as per the previous final eight system. The change was the first change to the AFL finals system since 2000. The change was negatively received by the AFL Fans Association; however, sports rights analyst Colin Smith explained that the league was protecting the value of the current $4.5 billion broadcast right deal by implementing the new system, with more finalists meaning fewer dead rubber matches later in the home-and-away season.

A State of Origin match took place for the first time since 1999, with Western Australia playing Victoria at Optus Stadium in February 2026; Victoria won the match by 24 points.

Rules governing voting for the Brownlow Medal were changed, to provide umpires a set of player statistics prior to the lodging of votes.

Coach appointments

2026 AFL season

New coach	Club	Date of appointment	Previous coach	Ref.
Josh Carr	Port Adelaide	12 February 2025	Ken Hinkley
Steven King	Melbourne	12 September 2025	Simon Goodwin

Club leadership

2026 AFL season

<table><thead><tr><th>Club</th><th>Coach</th><th>Leadership group</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Captain(s)</td><td>Vice-captain(s)</td><td>Other leader(s)</td><td>Ref.</td></tr><tr><td>Adelaide</td><td>Matthew Nicks</td><td>Jordan Dawson</td><td>Ben Keays, Alex Neal-Bullen</td><td>Isaac Cumming, Darcy Fogarty, Reilly O'Brien, Riley Thilthorpe</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Brisbane Lions</td><td>Chris Fagan</td><td>Harris Andrews, Josh Dunkley, Hugh McCluggage</td><td></td><td>Oscar Allen, Will Ashcroft, Jarrod Berry, Jaspa Fletcher, Cam Rayner</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Carlton</td><td>Michael Voss</td><td>Patrick Cripps</td><td>Sam Walsh, Jacob Weitering</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Collingwood</td><td>Craig McRae</td><td>Darcy Moore</td><td>Nick Daicos, Brayden Maynard</td><td>Darcy Cameron, Jamie Elliott, Isaac Quaynor, Lachie Schultz</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Essendon</td><td>Brad Scott</td><td>Andrew McGrath</td><td></td><td>Jye Caldwell, Sam Durham, Brayden Fiorini, Kyle Langford, Nic Martin, Mason Redman</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Fremantle</td><td>Justin Longmuir</td><td>Alex Pearce</td><td>Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong</td><td>Jordan Clark, Jaeger O'Meara, Sam Switkowski, Josh Treacy, Hayden Young</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Geelong</td><td>Chris Scott</td><td>Patrick Dangerfield</td><td>Tom Stewart</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Gold Coast</td><td>Damien Hardwick</td><td>Noah Anderson</td><td>Sam Collins, Touk Miller</td><td>Ben King, Wil Powell, Matt Rowell</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Greater Western Sydney</td><td>Adam Kingsley</td><td>Toby Greene</td><td>Jack Buckley, Tom Green, Connor Idun</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hawthorn</td><td>Sam Mitchell</td><td>Jai Newcombe, James Sicily</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Melbourne</td><td>Steven King</td><td>Max Gawn</td><td>Jack Viney</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>North Melbourne</td><td>Alastair Clarkson</td><td>Nick Larkey</td><td>Harry Sheezel</td><td>Charlie Comben, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Tristan Xerri, Cameron Zurhaar</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Port Adelaide</td><td>Josh Carr</td><td>Connor Rozee</td><td>Zak Butters, Willem Drew</td><td>Aliir Aliir, Miles Bergman, Mitch Georgiades, Jack Lukosius</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Richmond</td><td>Adem Yze</td><td>Toby Nankervis</td><td>Tim Taranto</td><td>Nathan Broad, Tom Lynch, Jack Ross, Jayden Short</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>St Kilda</td><td>Ross Lyon</td><td>Jack Sinclair, Callum Wilkie</td><td></td><td>Mitch Owens, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Marcus Windhager, Mason Wood</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Sydney</td><td>Dean Cox</td><td>Callum Mills</td><td>Isaac Heeney</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>West Coast</td><td>Andrew McQualter</td><td>Liam Baker, Liam Duggan</td><td></td><td>Matt Flynn, Reuben Ginbey, Jack Graham, Brandon Starcevich, Jake Waterman</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Western Bulldogs</td><td>Luke Beveridge</td><td>Marcus Bontempelli</td><td>Aaron Naughton, Ed Richards</td><td>Bailey Dale, Matthew Kennedy, Tom Liberatore, Cody Weightman, Rhylee West</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Pre-season

State of Origin

Starting time is local time. Source: afl.com.au

	2026 AFL Origin
Saturday, 14 February (4:40 pm)	Western Australia 15.11 (101)	def. by	Victoria 18.17 (125)	Optus Stadium (crowd: 58,141)	Report
	3.1 (19) 8.4 (52) 11.6 (72) 15.11 (101)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4	6.3 (39) 11.8 (74) 15.11 (101) 18.17 (125)	Graham Moss Medal: Jesse Hogan (Greater Western Sydney) E. J. Whitten Medal: Lachie Ash (Greater Western Sydney)
Hogan 5, C. Cameron 3, Jackson 2, Waterman 2, Bolton, Hill, Warner	Goals	King 4, Dangerfield 2, Greene 2, McCluggage 2, Merrett 2, Bontempelli, Butters, Daicos, Serong, Smith, Xerri
Hogan, Warner, Barrass, Hill, Baker, Bolton	Best	Daicos, Bontempelli, Serong, King, Butters, Ash, Stewart

Practice matches

All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au

	Official practice matches
Wednesday, 25 February (7:10 pm)	Carlton 13.8 (86)	def.	Geelong 11.5 (71)	Ikon Park	Report
Thursday, 26 February (4:10 pm)	Sydney 14.13 (97)	def.	Greater Western Sydney 8.11 (59)	Henson Park	Report
Thursday, 26 February (6:10 pm)	Brisbane Lions 19.12 (126)	def.	Gold Coast 15.11 (101)	Brighton Homes Arena	Report
Friday, 27 February (4:10 pm)	Melbourne 12.6 (78)	def.	Richmond 6.7 (43)	Mars Stadium	Report
Friday, 27 February (7:10 pm)	Western Bulldogs 18.9 (117)	def.	Hawthorn 11.7 (73)	Mission Whitten Oval	Report
Saturday, 28 February (3:10 pm)	St Kilda 17.13 (115)	def.	Essendon 10.12 (72)	Mars Stadium	Report
Saturday, 28 February (3:10 pm)	Fremantle 12.12 (84)	def.	Adelaide 9.14 (68)	Lane Group Stadium	Report
Sunday, 1 March (3:10 pm)	North Melbourne 12.18 (90)	def.	Collingwood 14.5 (89)	Mars Stadium	Report
Sunday, 1 March (3:10 pm)	West Coast 9.13 (67)	def. by	Port Adelaide 22.8 (140)	Mineral Resources Park	Report

Home-and-away season

2026 AFL season

All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au

Opening Round

	Opening Round
Thursday, 5 March (7:30 pm)	Sydney 20.12 (132)	def.	Carlton 10.9 (69)	Sydney Cricket Ground (crowd: 40,372)
Friday, 6 March (7:05 pm)	Gold Coast 19.11 (125)	def.	Geelong 10.9 (69)	People First Stadium (crowd: 19,859)
Saturday, 7 March (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney 19.8 (122)	def.	Hawthorn 14.11 (95)	Engie Stadium (crowd: 16,157)
Saturday, 7 March (6:35 pm)	Brisbane Lions 15.16 (106)	def. by	Western Bulldogs 16.15 (111)	The Gabba (crowd: 31,606)
Sunday, 8 March (7:20 pm)	St Kilda 9.12 (66)	def. by	Collingwood 11.12 (78)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 82,528)
	Bye

Round 1

	Round 1
Thursday, 12 March (7:30 pm)	Carlton 10.15 (75)	def.	Richmond 9.17 (71)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 74,313)
Friday, 13 March (7:40 pm)	Essendon 13.5 (83)	def. by	Hawthorn 21.19 (145)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 71,384)
Saturday, 14 March (1:15 pm)	Western Bulldogs 21.8 (134)	def.	Greater Western Sydney 7.11 (53)	Marvel Stadium (crowd: 28,318)
Saturday, 14 March (4:15 pm)	Geelong 16.14 (110)	def.	Fremantle 14.16 (100)	GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 28,715)
Saturday, 14 March (7:10 pm)	Sydney 15.14 (104)	def.	Brisbane Lions 8.12 (60)	Sydney Cricket Ground (crowd: 38,128)
Saturday, 14 March (7:35 pm)	Collingwood 11.13 (79)	def. by	Adelaide 13.15 (93)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 62,482)
Sunday, 15 March (1:10 pm)	North Melbourne 17.11 (113)	def.	Port Adelaide 9.13 (67)	Marvel Stadium (crowd: 23,318)
Sunday, 15 March (3:15 pm)	Melbourne 18.12 (120)	def.	St Kilda 15.17 (107)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 44,577)
Sunday, 15 March (5:10 pm)	Gold Coast 20.11 (131)	def.	West Coast 10.12 (72)	People First Stadium (crowd: 13,309)

Round 2

	Round 2
Thursday, 19 March (7:30 pm)	Hawthorn 14.15 (99)	def.	Sydney 13.4 (82)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 47,945)
Friday, 20 March (7:10 pm)	Adelaide 13.10 (88)	def. by	Western Bulldogs 14.10 (94)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 49,185)
Saturday, 21 March (1:15 pm)	Richmond 9.6 (60)	def. by	Gold Coast 19.14 (128)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 30,468)
Saturday, 21 March (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney 10.14 (74)	def. by	St Kilda 11.12 (78)	Engie Stadium (crowd: 9,149)
Saturday, 21 March (4:35 pm)	Fremantle 17.16 (118)	def.	Melbourne 10.10 (70)	Optus Stadium (crowd: 44,736)
Sunday, 22 March (2:45 pm)	Port Adelaide 20.13 (133)	def.	Essendon 10.10 (70)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 36,049)
Sunday, 22 March (3:10 pm)	West Coast 17.9 (111)	def.	North Melbourne 15.4 (94)	Optus Stadium (crowd: 47,083)
	Bye

Round 3

	Round 3
Thursday, 26 March (7:30 pm)	Geelong 9.14 (68)	def.	Adelaide 9.6 (60)	GMHBA Stadium (crowd: 20,403)
Friday, 27 March (7:40 pm)	Collingwood 13.9 (87)	def.	Greater Western Sydney 7.12 (54)	Marvel Stadium (crowd: 41,607)
Saturday, 28 March (12:35 pm)	St Kilda 11.14 (80)	def. by	Brisbane Lions 17.11 (113)	Marvel Stadium (crowd: 31,854)
Saturday, 28 March (1:15 pm)	Fremantle 13.25 (103)	def.	Richmond 6.7 (43)	Optus Stadium (crowd: 35,245)
Saturday, 28 March (7:35 pm)	Essendon 9.15 (69)	def. by	North Melbourne 12.9 (81)	Marvel Stadium (crowd: 40,154)
Sunday, 29 March (12:00 pm)	Port Adelaide 13.12 (90)	def. by	West Coast 13.14 (92)	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 33,754)
Sunday, 29 March (3:15 pm)	Carlton 11.11 (77)	def. by	Melbourne 15.10 (100)	Melbourne Cricket Ground (crowd: 67,763)
	Bye

Round 4

	Round 4
Thursday, 2 April (6:30 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Collingwood	The Gabba
Friday, 3 April (3:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Carlton	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 3 April (6:45 pm)	Adelaide	v	Fremantle	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 4 April (4:15 pm)	Richmond	v	Port Adelaide	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 4 April (4:35 pm)	West Coast	v	Sydney	Optus Stadium
Sunday, 5 April (3:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Gold Coast	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 5 April (7:20 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Essendon	Marvel Stadium
Monday, 6 April (3:15 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Bye

Round 5

	Round 5 (Gather Round)
Thursday, 9 April (7:10 pm)	Adelaide	v	Carlton	Adelaide Oval
Friday, 10 April (7:10 pm)	Collingwood	v	Fremantle	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 11 April (12:05 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Brisbane Lions	Barossa Park
Saturday, 11 April (12:45 pm)	Essendon	v	Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 11 April (3:45 pm)	Sydney	v	Gold Coast	Norwood Oval
Saturday, 11 April (7:05 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Western Bulldogs	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 12 April (12:00 pm)	Geelong	v	West Coast	Norwood Oval
Sunday, 12 April (2:45 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Richmond	Barossa Park
Sunday, 12 April (6:45 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	St Kilda	Adelaide Oval

Round 6

	Round 6
Thursday, 16 April (7:30 pm)	Carlton	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 17 April (7:20 pm)	Geelong	v	Western Bulldogs	GMHBA Stadium
Friday, 17 April (7:50 pm)	Sydney	v	Greater Western Sydney	Sydney Cricket Ground
Saturday, 18 April (1:15 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Essendon	People First Stadium
Saturday, 18 April (4:15 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Port Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 18 April (7:05 pm)	Adelaide	v	St Kilda	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 19 April (1:10 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Richmond	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 19 April (3:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Brisbane Lions	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 19 April (3:10 pm)	West Coast	v	Fremantle	Optus Stadium

Round 7

	Round 7 (Anzac Appeal Round)
Thursday, 23 April (7:30 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Sydney	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 24 April (7:40 pm)	Richmond	v	Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 25 April (12:15 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Gold Coast	University of Tasmania Stadium
Saturday, 25 April (3:15 pm)	Essendon	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 25 April (6:05 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Geelong	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 25 April (6:15 pm)	Fremantle	v	Carlton	Optus Stadium
Sunday, 26 April (1:10 pm)	St Kilda	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 26 April (3:15 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Adelaide	The Gabba
Sunday, 26 April (4:40 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	North Melbourne	Corroboree Group Oval

Round 8

	Round 8
Thursday, 30 April (7:30 pm)	Collingwood	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 1 May (7:30 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Fremantle	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 1 May (7:40 pm)	Adelaide	v	Port Adelaide	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 2 May (12:35 pm)	Essendon	v	Brisbane Lions	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 2 May (2:15 pm)	West Coast	v	Richmond	Optus Stadium
Saturday, 2 May (4:35 pm)	Geelong	v	North Melbourne	GMHBA Stadium
Saturday, 2 May (7:35 pm)	Carlton	v	St Kilda	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 3 May (3:15 pm)	Sydney	v	Melbourne	Sydney Cricket Ground
Sunday, 3 May (7:20 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Greater Western Sydney	People First Stadium

Round 9

	Round 9
Thursday, 7 May (6:10 pm)	Fremantle	v	Hawthorn	Optus Stadium
Friday, 8 May (7:30 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Carlton	The Gabba
Friday, 8 May (7:40 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Western Bulldogs	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 9 May (12:35 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Sydney	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 9 May (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Essendon	Engie Stadium
Saturday, 9 May (6:40 pm)	Gold Coast	v	St Kilda	TIO Stadium
Saturday, 9 May (7:35 pm)	Geelong	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 10 May (1:10 pm)	Melbourne	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 10 May (3:15 pm)	Richmond	v	Adelaide	Melbourne Cricket Ground

Round 10

	Round 10 (Sir Doug Nicholls Round week 1)
Thursday, 14 May (7:30 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Geelong	The Gabba
Friday, 15 May (7:30 pm)	Sydney	v	Collingwood	Sydney Cricket Ground
Friday, 15 May (7:40 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Port Adelaide	TIO Stadium
Saturday, 16 May (12:45 pm)	Adelaide	v	North Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 16 May (4:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 16 May (7:35 pm)	Carlton	v	Western Bulldogs	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 17 May (1:10 pm)	Essendon	v	Fremantle	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 17 May (3:15 pm)	St Kilda	v	Richmond	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 17 May (4:15 pm)	West Coast	v	Greater Western Sydney	Optus Stadium

Round 11

	Round 11 (Sir Doug Nicholls Round week 2)
Thursday, 21 May (7:30 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Adelaide	University of Tasmania Stadium
Friday, 22 May (7:40 pm)	Richmond	v	Essendon	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday, 22 May (6:30 pm)	Fremantle	v	St Kilda	Optus Stadium
Saturday, 23 May (1:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Gold Coast	Marvel Stadium
Saturday, 23 May (4:15 pm)	Geelong	v	Sydney	GMHBA Stadium
Saturday, 23 May (4:35 pm)	Collingwood	v	West Coast	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 23 May (7:05 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Carlton	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 24 May (12:30 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Brisbane Lions	Engie Stadium
Sunday, 24 May (3:15 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Melbourne	Marvel Stadium

Round 12

	Round 12
Thursday, 28 May (7:30 pm)	St Kilda	v	Hawthorn	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 29 May (7:40 pm)	Carlton	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 30 May (1:15 pm)	Sydney	v	Richmond	Sydney Cricket Ground
Saturday, 30 May (4:15 pm)	Brisbane Lions	v	Fremantle	The Gabba
Saturday, 30 May (7:35 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Collingwood	Marvel Stadium
Sunday, 31 May (2:45 pm)	Melbourne	v	Greater Western Sydney	TIO Traeger Park
Sunday, 31 May (5:20 pm)	West Coast	v	Essendon	Optus Stadium
	Bye

Round 13

	Round 13
Thursday, 4 June (7:00 pm)	Adelaide	v	Geelong	Adelaide Oval
Friday, 5 June (7:40 pm)	Hawthorn	v	Western Bulldogs	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 6 June (12:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	Fremantle	Hands Oval
Saturday, 6 June (5:15 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Brisbane Lions	People First Stadium
Saturday, 6 June (6:15 pm)	West Coast	v	Port Adelaide	Optus Stadium
Sunday, 7 June (3:15 pm)	Sydney	v	St Kilda	Sydney Cricket Ground
Sunday, 7 June (7:20 pm)	Essendon	v	Carlton	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Monday, 8 June (3:15 pm)	Collingwood	v	Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Bye

Round 14

	Round 14
Thursday, 11 June (7:30 pm)	Western Bulldogs	v	Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
Friday, 12 June (7:40 pm)	Geelong	v	Gold Coast	GMHBA Stadium
Saturday, 13 June (1:15 pm)	Melbourne	v	Essendon	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday, 13 June (2:15 pm)	North Melbourne	v	West Coast	Optus Stadium
Saturday, 13 June (7:05 pm)	Port Adelaide	v	Sydney	Adelaide Oval
Sunday, 14 June (1:10 pm)	Richmond	v	Brisbane Lions	Ninja Stadium
Sunday, 14 June (3:15 pm)	St Kilda	v	Greater Western Sydney	Marvel Stadium
	Bye

Round 15

	Round 15
Thursday, 18 June (6:10 pm)	Fremantle	v	Geelong	Optus Stadium
Friday, 19 June (7:40 pm)	Gold Coast	v	Hawthorn	People First Stadium
Saturday, 20 June (12:45 pm)	Adelaide	v	Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
Saturday, 20 June (4:15 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	v	Carlton	Engie Stadium
Saturday, 20 June (7:35 pm)	Collingwood	v	Port Adelaide	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 21 June (1:10 pm)	Richmond	v	North Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Sunday, 21 June (3:15 pm)	St Kilda	v	Western Bulldogs	Marvel Stadium
	Bye

Round 16

	Round 16
Dates and times TBC	Brisbane Lions	v	Sydney	The Gabba
	Carlton	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium
	Collingwood	v	Richmond	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Fremantle	v	Gold Coast	Optus Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	Greater Western Sydney	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	North Melbourne	v	Essendon	Marvel Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Adelaide	Adelaide Oval
	Bye

Round 17

	Round 17
Dates and times TBC	Essendon	v	St Kilda	Marvel Stadium
	Geelong	v	Brisbane Lions	GMHBA Stadium
	Gold Coast	v	Collingwood	People First Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Fremantle	Corroboree Group Oval
	Hawthorn	v	Melbourne	University of Tasmania Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	North Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	Carlton	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Sydney	v	Western Bulldogs	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Adelaide	Optus Stadium

Round 18

	Round 18
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Gold Coast	Adelaide Oval
	Brisbane Lions	v	Essendon	The Gabba
	Carlton	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Collingwood	v	North Melbourne	Marvel Stadium
	Fremantle	v	Sydney	Optus Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Geelong	Engie Stadium
	Melbourne	v	Richmond	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Port Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
	Western Bulldogs	v	West Coast	Marvel Stadium

Round 19

	Round 19
Dates and times TBC	Collingwood	v	Carlton	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Essendon	v	Greater Western Sydney	Marvel Stadium
	Geelong	v	St Kilda	GMHBA Stadium
	Gold Coast	v	Western Bulldogs	People First Stadium
	North Melbourne	v	Melbourne	Marvel Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Fremantle	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	Hawthorn	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Sydney	v	Adelaide	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Brisbane Lions	Optus Stadium

Round 20

	Round 20
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Collingwood	Adelaide Oval
	Brisbane Lions	v	Port Adelaide	The Gabba
	Carlton	v	Gold Coast	Marvel Stadium
	Fremantle	v	West Coast	Optus Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Sydney	Engie Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	Essendon	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Melbourne	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	North Melbourne	v	St Kilda	Marvel Stadium
	Western Bulldogs	v	Richmond	Marvel Stadium

Round 21

	Round 21
Dates and times TBC	Carlton	v	Brisbane Lions	Marvel Stadium
	Collingwood	v	Geelong	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Essendon	v	Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
	Fremantle	v	Western Bulldogs	Optus Stadium
	Gold Coast	v	Melbourne	People First Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	North Melbourne	University of Tasmania Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Greater Western Sydney	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	West Coast	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Sydney	Marvel Stadium

Round 22

	Round 22
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Richmond	Adelaide Oval
	Brisbane Lions	v	Hawthorn	The Gabba
	Geelong	v	Essendon	GMHBA Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	Gold Coast	Corroboree Group Oval
	Melbourne	v	Fremantle	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Carlton	Marvel Stadium
	Sydney	v	Port Adelaide	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Collingwood	Optus Stadium
	Western Bulldogs	v	North Melbourne	Marvel Stadium

Round 23

	Round 23
Dates and times TBC	Brisbane Lions	v	Gold Coast	The Gabba
	Essendon	v	Sydney	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Fremantle	v	Adelaide	Optus Stadium
	Greater Western Sydney	v	West Coast	Engie Stadium
	Hawthorn	v	Collingwood	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	North Melbourne	v	Geelong	Marvel Stadium
	Port Adelaide	v	Melbourne	Adelaide Oval
	Richmond	v	St Kilda	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Western Bulldogs	v	Carlton	Marvel Stadium

Round 24

	Round 24
Dates and times TBC	Adelaide	v	Greater Western Sydney	Adelaide Oval
	Carlton	v	Fremantle	Marvel Stadium
	Collingwood	v	Brisbane Lions	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	Essendon	v	Port Adelaide	Marvel Stadium
	Geelong	v	Richmond	GMHBA Stadium
	Melbourne	v	Western Bulldogs	Melbourne Cricket Ground
	St Kilda	v	Gold Coast	Marvel Stadium
	Sydney	v	North Melbourne	Sydney Cricket Ground
	West Coast	v	Hawthorn	Optus Stadium

Ladder

2026 AFL season

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Gold Coast	3	3	0	0	384	201	191.0	12	Finals series
2	Western Bulldogs	3	3	0	0	339	247	137.2	12
3	Fremantle	3	2	1	0	321	223	143.9	8
4	Sydney	3	2	1	0	318	228	139.5	8
5	Hawthorn	3	2	1	0	339	287	118.1	8
6	North Melbourne	3	2	1	0	288	247	116.6	8
7	Collingwood	3	2	1	0	244	213	114.6	8
8	Melbourne	3	2	1	0	290	302	96.0	8
9	West Coast	3	2	1	0	275	315	87.3	8
10	Geelong	3	2	1	0	247	285	86.7	8
11	Port Adelaide	3	1	2	0	290	275	105.5	4
12	Adelaide	3	1	2	0	241	241	100.0	4
13	Brisbane Lions	3	1	2	0	279	295	94.6	4
14	St Kilda	4	1	3	0	331	385	86.0	4
15	Greater Western Sydney	4	1	3	0	303	394	76.9	4
16	Carlton	3	1	2	0	221	303	72.9	4
17	Essendon	3	0	3	0	222	359	61.8	0
18	Richmond	3	0	3	0	174	306	56.9	0

Progression by round

2026 AFL season

4	Finished the round in first place	0	Finished the round in last place
4	Finished the round inside the top ten
41	Subscript indicates the ladder position at the end of the round
41	Underlined points indicate the team had a bye that round

Team	O	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Gold Coast	42	82	121	121
Western Bulldogs	45	83	122	122
Fremantle	0	013	45	83
Sydney	41	81	83	84
Hawthorn	08	46	84	85
North Melbourne	0	44	46	86
Collingwood	44	48	49	87
Melbourne	0	47	411	88
West Coast	0	018	412	89
Geelong	09	49	414	810
Port Adelaide	0	016	47	411
Adelaide	0	45	48	412
Brisbane Lions	06	015	016	413
St Kilda	07	014	410	414
Greater Western Sydney	43	410	413	415
Carlton	010	411	415	016
Essendon	0	017	018	017
Richmond	0	012	017	018

Home matches and membership

2026 AFL season

The following table includes all home match attendance figures from the home-and-away season, excluding neutral matches (Gather Round).

Team	Home match attendance	Membership
Hosted	Total	Highest	Lowest	Average	2025	2026	Change
2025	2026	Change
Adelaide	1	49,185	49,185	49,185	45,120	49,185		81,067
Brisbane Lions	1	31,606	31,606	31,606	30,598	31,606		75,115
Carlton	2	142,076	74,313	67,763	49,182	71,038		100,743
Collingwood	2	104,089	62,482	41,607	68,873	52,045		112,491
Essendon	2	111,538	71,384	40,154	40,034	55,769		85,568
Fremantle	2	79,981	44,736	35,245	45,758	39,991		66,179
Geelong	2	49,118	28,715	20,403	35,439	24,559		92,379
Gold Coast	2	33,168	19,859	13,309	15,679	16,584		30,107
Greater Western Sydney	2	25,306	16,157	9,149	12,026	12,653		37,705
Hawthorn	1	47,945	47,945	47,945	41,484	47,945		87,204
Melbourne	1	44,577	44,577	44,577	36,805	44,577		58,563
North Melbourne	1	23,318	23,318	23,318	25,266	23,318		56,283
Port Adelaide	2	69,803	36,049	33,754	35,556	34,902		72,656
Richmond	1	30,468	30,468	30,468	44,398	30,468		92,531
St Kilda	2	114,382	82,528	31,854	31,644	57,191		65,509
Sydney	2	78,500	40,372	38,128	34,277	39,250		76,674
West Coast	1	47,083	47,083	47,083	42,576	47,083		107,079
Western Bulldogs	1	28,318	28,318	28,318	36,764	28,318		65,584
Total/overall	28	1,110,461	82,528	9,149	37,306	39,659		1,363,437

Win–loss table

2026 AFL season

The following table can be sorted from biggest winning margin to biggest losing margin for each round. If multiple matches in a round are decided by the same margin, these margins are sorted by percentage (i.e. the lowest-scoring winning team is ranked highest and the lowest-scoring losing team is ranked lowest). Home matches are in bold, neutral matches (Gather Round) are underlined and opponents are listed above the margins.

+	Win		Qualified for finals
−	Loss		Eliminated
X	Bye

Team	Home-and-away season	Ladder	Finals series
O	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	F1	F2	F3	F4	GF
Adelaide	X	COL +14	WB -6	GEE –8	FRE	CAR	STK	BL	PA	RIC	NM	HAW	X	GEE	WB	MEL	PA	WC	GC	SYD	COL	ESS	RIC	FRE	GWS	12 (1–2–0)
Brisbane Lions	WB –5	SYD –44	X	STK +33	COL	NM	MEL	ADE	ESS	CAR	GEE	GWS	FRE	GC	RIC	X	SYD	GEE	ESS	WC	PA	CAR	HAW	GC	COL	13 (1–2–0)
Carlton	SYD –63	RIC +4	X	MEL –23	NM	ADE	COL	FRE	STK	BL	WB	PA	GEE	ESS	X	GWS	WC	RIC	HAW	COL	GC	BL	STK	WB	FRE	16 (1–2–0)
Collingwood	STK +12	ADE –14	X	GWS +33	BL	FRE	CAR	ESS	HAW	GEE	SYD	WC	WB	MEL	X	PA	RIC	GC	NM	CAR	ADE	GEE	WC	HAW	BL	7 (2–1–0)
Essendon	X	HAW –62	PA –63	NM –12	WB	MEL	GC	COL	BL	GWS	FRE	RIC	WC	CAR	MEL	X	NM	STK	BL	GWS	HAW	ADE	GEE	SYD	PA	17 (0–3–0)
Fremantle	X	GEE –10	MEL +48	RIC +60	ADE	COL	WC	CAR	WB	HAW	ESS	STK	BL	NM	X	GEE	GC	GWS	SYD	PA	WC	WB	MEL	ADE	CAR	3 (2–1–0)
Geelong	GC –56	FRE +10	X	ADE +8	HAW	WC	WB	PA	NM	COL	BL	SYD	CAR	ADE	GC	FRE	X	BL	GWS	STK	MEL	COL	ESS	NM	RIC	10 (2–1–0)
Gold Coast	GEE +56	WC +59	RIC +68	X	MEL	SYD	ESS	HAW	GWS	STK	PA	NM	X	BL	GEE	HAW	FRE	COL	ADE	WB	CAR	MEL	GWS	BL	STK	1 (3–0–0)
Greater Western Sydney	HAW +27	WB –81	STK –4	COL –33	X	RIC	SYD	NM	GC	ESS	WC	BL	MEL	X	STK	CAR	HAW	FRE	GEE	ESS	SYD	PA	GC	WC	ADE	15 (1–3–0)
Hawthorn	GWS –27	ESS +62	SYD +17	X	GEE	WB	PA	GC	COL	FRE	MEL	ADE	STK	WB	X	GC	GWS	MEL	CAR	RIC	ESS	NM	BL	COL	WC	5 (2–1–0)
Melbourne	X	STK +13	FRE -48	CAR +23	GC	ESS	BL	RIC	SYD	WC	HAW	WB	GWS	COL	ESS	ADE	X	HAW	RIC	NM	GEE	GC	FRE	PA	WB	8 (2–1–0)
North Melbourne	X	PA +46	WCE -17	ESS +12	CAR	BL	RIC	GWS	GEE	SYD	ADE	GC	X	FRE	WC	RIC	ESS	PA	COL	MEL	STK	HAW	WB	GEE	SYD	6 (2–1–0)
Port Adelaide	X	NM –46	ESS +63	WC –2	RIC	STK	HAW	GEE	ADE	WB	GC	CAR	X	WC	SYD	COL	ADE	NM	STK	FRE	BL	GWS	SYD	MEL	ESS	11 (1–2–0)
Richmond	X	CAR –4	GC –68	FRE –60	PA	GWS	NM	MEL	WC	ADE	STK	ESS	SYD	X	BL	NM	COL	CAR	MEL	HAW	WB	WC	ADE	STK	GEE	18 (0–3–0)
St Kilda	COL –12	MEL –13	GWS +4	BL –33	X	PA	ADE	WC	CAR	GC	RIC	FRE	HAW	SYD	GWS	WB	X	ESS	PA	GEE	NM	SYD	CAR	RIC	GC	14 (1–3–0)
Sydney	CAR +63	BL +44	HAW -17	X	WC	GC	GWS	WB	MEL	NM	COL	GEE	RIC	STK	PA	X	BL	WB	FRE	ADE	GWS	STK	PA	ESS	NM	4 (2–1–0)
West Coast	X	GC –59	NM +17	PA +2	SYD	GEE	FRE	STK	RIC	MEL	GWS	COL	ESS	PA	NM	X	CAR	ADE	WB	BL	FRE	RIC	COL	GWS	HAW	9 (2–1–0)
Western Bulldogs	BL +5	GWS +81	ADE +6	X	ESS	HAW	GEE	SYD	FRE	PA	CAR	MEL	COL	HAW	ADE	STK	X	SYD	WC	GC	RIC	FRE	NM	CAR	MEL	2 (3–0–0)

Milestones

2026 AFL season

Round	Player/official	Club	Milestone
OR	Isaac Heeney	Sydney	300th AFL goal
Jesse Hogan	Greater Western Sydney	400th AFL goal
Rory Lobb	Western Bulldogs	200th AFL game
1	Blake Hardwick	Hawthorn	200th AFL game
Daniel McStay	Collingwood	200th AFL game
Darcy Fogarty	Adelaide	200th AFL goal
Christian Salem	Melbourne	200th AFL game

Leading goalkickers

2026 AFL season

<table><thead><tr><th>1</th><th>Led the goalkicking at the end of the round</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>11</td><td>Subscript indicates the player's goal tally to that point of the season</td></tr><tr><td>X</td><td>Had a bye during that round</td></tr></tbody></table>

#	Player	Club	Home-and-away season (Coleman Medal)	Finals series	Total	Games	Average
O	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	F1	F2	F3	F4	GF
1	Ben King	Gold Coast	44	59	716	X16																											16	3	5.33
2	Jack Gunston	Hawthorn	44	59	413	X13																											13	3	4.33
3	Nick Larkey	North Melbourne	X0	44	610	212																											12	3	4.00
4	Aaron Naughton	Western Bulldogs	22	68	311	X11																											11	3	3.67
5	Josh Treacy	Fremantle	X0	22	46	410																											10	3	3.33
6	Joel Amartey	Sydney	33	58	19	X9																											9	3	3.00
7	Charlie Cameron	Brisbane Lions	44	26	X6	28																											8	3	2.67
Mitch Georgiades	Port Adelaide	X0	33	25	38																											8	3	2.67
Jake Stringer	Greater Western Sydney	55	05	16	28																											8	4	2.00
Jake Waterman	West Coast	X0	33	14	48																											8	3	2.67