AFL world up in arms over bombshell wildcard round introduction
The football community has been left seeing red after the AFL introduced a bombshell change to the game from next season onwards.
The AFL are set to introduce a wildcard round in 2026 which will see 10-teams in the fight for the finals.
The move will see the teams that finish 9th and 10th on the ladder qualify for the September action.
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It means two additional elimination finals, 7th vs 10th and 8th vs 9th, will be played during the current pre-finals bye week to determine who makes the traditional top eight.
Teams that finish in the top six on the ladder will have the usual pre-finals bye before the normal schedule commences.
Teams will be re-seeded after the wildcard round meaning the highest-ranked winner will assume 7th place, while the lowest-ranked winner will assume 8th place.
“We’re thrilled to deliver fans an extra weekend of finals footy, while giving more clubs and players the opportunity to play finals footy and win a Premiership,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said.
“The Wildcard Finals Round reflects our ongoing commitment to evolve our competition
structure building on recent additions like Gather Round and AFL Origin, ensuring our
game continues to grow.
“This also means that all teams who finish in the top eight of ten will host a home final,
giving fans a chance to see their club play at home in September.”
Announcement sparks fierce backlash
The announcement however has gone down like a lead balloon among the football community with fans far and wide slamming the wildcard round introduction.
Former AFL player Daniel Gorringe said on Instagram: “What are we doing here with a wildcard round? No-one asked for this. No-one did. Games gone.”
Port Adelaide great Warren Tredrea wrote on X: “$$$$$$ If you aren’t good enough to qualify after 24 rounds, you aren’t good enough.”
Richmond icon Matthew Richardson wrote: “More than half our teams make the finals. Seriously.”
Veteran AFL journalist Rohan Connolly posted: “Oh FFS. Let’s have 10 of 18 teams play finals. Well done guys, sensational way to reward mediocrity. But at least broadcasters can hyperventilate over some more “finals”.”
The VFL has held a wildcard round since 2023, due to having 21 teams, with the highest-ranked wildcard winner becoming 7th and the lowest-ranked winner slotting into 8th.
Just once has a wildcard winner won its elimination final the next week (Williamstown in 2024), suggesting the bye week for the 5th and 6th-placed teams has an impact.
Meanwhile in both 2024 and 2025, the 10th-placed team won its wildcard final before being well beaten the next week.
Journalist Jonty Ralphsmith pointed out that following the introduction of the wildcard round, blowouts in elimination finals have become commonplace.
“Some numbers from the VFL, which has had Wildcard Round for the last three years.
Wildcard winners in elimination final,” he wrote on X.
“1 win, 5 loss, 64 pts: Ave losing margin. In the three prior full seasons, the lower ranked elimination finalist: 3 win, 3 loss, 25 pts: Ave losing margin.”
The 2026 AFL fixture is expected to be announced late this week.
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