AFL Finals Predictor
Set the top ten, pick the wildcard round and every final after it, and the bracket fills through to the grand final under the Final Ten System.
AFL Finals Predictor
Top ten seeds
The ten seeds below come from the current AFL ladder. Pick a winner in each final and the bracket fills forward through to the grand final.
| Seed | Club | Pts | Week 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Fremantle Dockers | 76 | Week off |
| 2 |  Sydney Swans | 72 | Week off |
| 3 |  Brisbane Lions | 64 | Week off |
| 4 |  Hawthorn Hawks | 64 | Week off |
| 5 |  Geelong Cats | 60 | Week off |
| 6 |  Adelaide Crows | 60 | Week off |
| 7 |  Melbourne Demons | 60 | Wildcard round |
| 8 |  Western Bulldogs | 54 | Wildcard round |
| 9 |  Collingwood Magpies | 52 | Wildcard round |
| 10 |  Carlton Blues | 50 | Wildcard round |
Final Ten System bracket
Wildcard round decided, 4 matches left to pick
Melbourne Demons takes the 7 seed and Collingwood Magpies takes the 8 seed, because the higher-ranked winner on the home-and-away ladder is seeded above the other. Seeds 1 to 6 do not change.
- 7 seed after wildcard
- Melbourne Demons
- 8 seed after wildcard
- Collingwood Magpies
- Out in week 1
- Carlton Blues, Western Bulldogs
- Premier
- -
Higher-ranked wildcard winner
Lower-ranked wildcard winner
Wildcard round losers
Grand final winner in this bracket
Week 1, Wildcard Round
Clubs 1st to 6th have the week off. Both losers are eliminated.
- Wildcard Final 17th hosts
- Wildcard Final 28th hosts
Week 2, Qualifying and Elimination Finals
The double chance belongs to the four qualifying finalists only.
- Qualifying Final 11st hosts
- Qualifying Final 22nd hosts
- Elimination Final 15th hosts
- Elimination Final 26th hosts
Week 3, Semi Finals
Each qualifying final loser meets an elimination final winner.
- Semi Final 1Qualifying final loser hosts
- Semi Final 2Qualifying final loser hosts
Week 4, Preliminary Finals
The bracket crosses over: winner QF1 meets winner SF2, winner QF2 meets winner SF1.
- Preliminary Final 1Qualifying final winner hosts
- Preliminary Final 2Qualifying final winner hosts
Week 5, Grand Final
A drawn final is not replayed. Additional time is played until a winner emerges.
- Grand FinalMCG unless the Commission decides otherwise
Ten clubs qualify under the Final Ten System, which replaced the top-eight system that ran from 2000 to 2025. Week 1 is the wildcard round, 7th hosting 10th and 8th hosting 9th, with 1st to 6th having the week off and both losers eliminated. The two winners are re-seeded by home-and-away ladder position, the higher-ranked winner taking the 7 seed.
Week 2 is 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 as qualifying finals and 5 v 8 and 6 v 7 as elimination finals, on the post-wildcard seeds. The double chance belongs to the four qualifying finalists only. Week 3 pairs each qualifying final loser with an elimination final winner, week 4 crosses the survivors over, and week 5 is the grand final at the MCG unless the Commission decides otherwise. A drawn final is not replayed: additional time is played until a winner emerges.
How the AFL Finals Predictor works
The AFL finals series is the Final Ten System, in which ten teams qualify. It replaced the top-eight system that ran from 2000 to 2025. The first week is the wildcard round, played on the weekend previously used for the pre-finals bye: 7th hosts 10th and 8th hosts 9th, the two losers are eliminated, and the six clubs above them have the week off. The two winners are then re-seeded, with the higher-ranked winner on the home-and-away ladder taking the 7 seed and the lower-ranked winner taking the 8 seed. Seeds 1 to 6 do not change.
From there the bracket runs over four more weeks. Week 2 is two qualifying finals, 1 v 4 and 2 v 3, and two elimination finals, 5 v 8 and 6 v 7 using the post-wildcard seeds. Only the four qualifying finalists hold a double chance. Week 3 pairs each qualifying final loser with an elimination final winner, week 4 crosses the survivors over so the winner of QF1 meets the winner of SF2 and the winner of QF2 meets the winner of SF1, and week 5 is the grand final at the MCG unless the Commission decides otherwise. Finals are not replayed: a drawn final goes to additional time until a winner emerges.
Wildcard Round: 7 v 10 (7 hosts), 8 v 9 (8 hosts) Re-seed: the higher-ranked winner becomes the 7 seed, the lower-ranked winner becomes the 8 seed Week 2: QF1 1 v 4, QF2 2 v 3, EF1 5 v 8, EF2 6 v 7 Week 3: Loser QF1 v Winner EF1, Loser QF2 v Winner EF2 Week 4: Winner QF1 v Winner SF2, Winner QF2 v Winner SF1 Week 5: Grand Final
Example
Working in ladder positions rather than club names: 7th beats 10th and 9th beats 8th in the wildcard round, so 10th and 8th are eliminated. The higher-ranked winner, 7th, takes the 7 seed and 9th takes the 8 seed. Week 2 is then 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 as the qualifying finals, 5 v 9 as one elimination final and 6 v 7 as the other, with a double chance held only by the four qualifying finalists.
How to use it
- Check the top ten seeds, which load from the current ladder.
- Pick the two wildcard round winners, 7 v 10 and 8 v 9.
- Read the re-seeded 7 and 8, then pick the qualifying and elimination finals.
- Fill the semi finals and preliminary finals to reach a grand final.
AFL Finals Predictor FAQ
How many teams make the AFL finals now?
Ten. The Final Ten System replaced the top-eight system that ran from 2000 to 2025, and it is not the McIntyre final eight that ran from 1994 to 1999 either. The change adds a wildcard round in the first week, played on the weekend that previously held the pre-finals bye. Teams finishing 7th to 10th play off in that round, the six clubs above them wait, and the field is back to eight by the start of the second week.
What is the wildcard round?
The wildcard round is the opening week of the finals series. It is two matches: 7th hosts 10th and 8th hosts 9th. Both are straight knockout, so the two losing clubs finish their season there while the two winners join the six clubs that had the week off. It is played on the weekend previously used for the pre-finals bye, so the finals series is five weeks long for the clubs that come through it and four weeks for the top six.
How are the wildcard winners re-seeded?
By home-and-away ladder position, not by who won more convincingly. The higher-ranked of the two winners takes the 7 seed and the lower-ranked takes the 8 seed. Seeds 1 to 6 are untouched. That matters because the 8 seed plays the club that finished 5th and the 7 seed plays the club that finished 6th in the second week. So a club that finished 9th and wins its wildcard final can be seeded above a club that finished 10th and won, but never above one that finished 7th or 8th and won.
Which clubs get a double chance?
Only the four qualifying finalists, meaning the clubs that finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. They contest 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 in the second week, and the two losers drop into the semi finals rather than being eliminated. Every other club in the series is playing knockout football from its first match, including both wildcard round matches and both elimination finals. That is the concrete reward for a top-four finish under the Final Ten System.
Who hosts each final?
In the wildcard round, 7th and 8th host. In the second week, 1st and 2nd host their qualifying finals and 5th and 6th host their elimination finals. In the third week, the qualifying final losers host their semi finals. In the fourth week, the qualifying final winners host their preliminary finals. The grand final is played at the MCG unless the AFL Commission decides otherwise. Hosting rights follow ladder position and bracket path rather than being redrawn each week.