List of Australian Football League premiers

This page is a chronological listing of Australian Football League premiers. The Australian Football League (formerly Victorian Football League) is the elite competition in Australian rules football. Between 1897, when the VFL was formed, and the 1980s when the VFL expanded nationally and was officially renamed the Australian Football League in 1990.

Since the introduction of the salary cap and the draft, in the late 1980s, every AFL club has played finals football. Since 1998 every club has played in a preliminary final.

Results

VFL

Recent history

Premiers of the past ten years (1999 to 2008), with the teams ranked firstly by the number of Premierships won, and secondly by Grand Final appearances.

"Dates given are the premiership years that started and ended the drought, unless the drought started at entry into the VFL/AFL (ent), or ended at folding/merging (def)."

Current Premiership Droughts

"Dates given are the premiership years which started the drought, unless the drought started at entry into the VFL/AFL (ent)."

Notes

* From 2000 to 2004 a pattern emerged that the team that won the premiership 100 years earlier, lost the premiership 100 years later. In 1900, Melbourne won the premiership, 100 years later in 2000, Melbourne lost the Grand Final. In 1901, Essendon won the premiership, 100 years later in 2001, Essendon lost the Grand Final. Collingwood won the premierships in 1902 and 1903, but lost the Grand Finals in 2002 and 2003. And in 1904, Fitzroy won the premiership, and in 2004 the Brisbane Lions (made from the merger with Fitzroy and The Bears), lost the Grand Final.

* Collingwood has lost more Grand Finals than any other club: A total of 25, which is 9 more than any other club has won. This included 8 losses and a draw between 1958 and 1990, in a period of time referred to as "the Colliwobbles".

* Collingwood holds the record for the most consecutive Premierships won with 4 in a row from 1927 to 1930. Three teams have won three premierships in a row: Carlton (1906-1908); Melbourne (1939-1941) & (1955-1957); Brisbane (2001-2003). All but one of those four teams had the opportunity to extend the streak in the following Grand Final, with Carlton falling two points short of South Melbourne in 1909, Melbourne losing to Collingwood in 1958, and Brisbane losing to Port Adelaide in 2004, while Melbourne did not even make the Finals in 1942.

* Only four teams have won five or more premierships in a decade: Collingwood (six) 1927-1936; Melbourne (six) 1955-1964; Carlton (five) 1906-1915; Hawthorn (five) 1983-1992. Only Melbourne has won five in a single calendar decade (the 1950s).

* In 1916 there were only 4 teams playing in the league due to World War I. Fitzroy ended the season in last place, but because the top 4 finals system was still in place, the Lions found form in the finals to eventually win the 1916 Premiership against Carlton. This is colloquially known as the only time a team has won the wooden spoon and premiership in the same season (although Fitzroy's finals success leads many to argue that Richmond received the spoon instead.)

References

;Notes & Web references
#note label|no grand final|1|anote label|no grand final|1|bRound Robin finals series in 1897 and 1924 did not allow for a Grand Final.
#note label|Ess-Geel no GF|2|aTally does not include 1897, when the premiers and runners-up were decided by a round robin system.
#note label|Ess-Rich no GF|2|bTally does not include 1924, when the premiers and runners-up were decided by a round robin system.
#note label|Melb-Ess draw|2|cTally includes the drawn grand final in 1948.
#note label|North-Coll draw|2|dTally includes the drawn grand final in 1977.

ee also

* List of Australian Football League premiership captains and coaches
* List of Australian Football League night premiers
* List of Australian Football League wooden spoons

ources

* [http://www.afl.com.au Australian Football League]
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net Full Points Footy]
* [http://stats.rleague.com/afl/teams/allteams/seasons.html#gf AFL Tables]