After 25 gruelling rounds, we now know the eight teams that will do battle to be crowned 2024 Premiers. During September, they will face off in a finals series until there are just two remaining, who will then go on to clash on the biggest matchday of them all at the 128th AFL/VFL showpiece event for the Premiership Cup/Flag.
It has been an amazing season so far, with the regular home-and-away campaign producing so many great matches and moments. It is full of excitement, thrilling action, high drama, and close finishes, for which everyone involved deserves so much credit.
Embed from Getty ImagesHow the finals work
The top four teams in the eight receive the “double chance” when they play in the week-one qualifying finals. The winners receive a bye to the third week, while the losers remain in the competition and will play a semi-final the following week.
The bottom four of the eight-play knock-out games – only the winners survive and advance in the tournament. Home advantage goes to the team with the higher ladder position in the first two weeks through to the Preliminary Final in the third week.
In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals from week two play the winners of the qualifying finals from the first week. The victors of those matches head to the Grand Final, which will be played on Saturday, 28 September (2.30 pm) at the MCG.
- Week 1 – Qualifying(QF)/Elimination (EF) finals (5/6/7 September)
- EF – Thursday, 7 September: Port Adelaide v Geelong @ MCG (7:10 pm)
- QF – Friday, 8 September: Western Bulldogs v Hawthorn @ MCG (7:40 pm)
- EF – Saturday, 9 September: Sydney v GWS @ MCG (3.20 pm)
- QF – Saturday, 9 September: Brisbane v Carlton @ Gabba (7:30 pm)
- Week 2 – Semi-finals (13/14 September)
- Week 3 – Preliminary finals (20/21 September)
- Week 4 – Grand final (28 September)
Contenders
Sydney (Ladder Position: 1st)
Nickname: ‘Swans’
Colours: Red & White
Coach: John Longmire
Captain(s): Luke Parker, Dane Rampe & Callum Mills
The Swans are the current benchmark and were the only side to have been in the eight all season en route to claiming their 10th minor premiership in club history.
By finishing top, they have given themselves the best prospect of reaching a grannie with two ‘home’ finals at the SCG, where they have a decent 9-2 record.
John Longmire is currently the longest-serving active AFL coach and has a wealth of experience at the point end. During his tenure, he has led the Bloods to a flag (2012) and three consecutive runners-up (2014, 2016 & 2022), and he will be quietly optimistic about their chances.
Face their crosstown rivals, Greater Western Sydney, in a Battle of the Bridge derby, but will go in really confident, having done the double over them in Rounds 8 & 15.
Port Adelaide (Ladder Position: 2nd)
Nickname: ‘Power’
Colours: Black, White, Teal & Silver
Coach: Ken Hinkley
Captain(s): Tom Jonas
They hit some red-hot form at just the right time, winning their last nine matches, including a 112-point thrashing of Sydney, to claim the runners-up spot on the ladder.
It’s crazy to think that back in June, some Power supporters booed coach Ken Hinkley off the oval following a home defeat to Brisbane and called for him to be sacked.
They have an abundance of exciting talent, none more so than Jason Horne-Francis (pictured above), who will be looking to excel on the big stage. The loss of key defender Dan Houston to that five-week suspension is a concern and something they need to cover up.
Knocked out in straight sets last year, the South Australians will be keen to learn from that bitter experience as they try to win a historical second flag.
Geelong (Ladder Position: 3rd)
Nickname: ‘Cats’
Colours: Navy Blue & White
Coach: Chris Scott
Captain(s): Patrick Dangerfield
Coach Chris Scott has done another marvellous job and will lead the club into a twelfth finals campaign. In 14 seasons under his reign, this is such an impressive record.
His squad got off to a blistering seven-zip start before hitting a bit of a rough patch through the middle but then regained their form to give him a tenth-place finish in the top four.
The Cats have a good mixture of experienced players, such as Patrick Dangerfield and Jeremy Cameron, who have all done it before, balanced alongside up-and-coming talent like Ollie Dempsey (pictured above), who has just won the ‘Rising Star’ award.
They would make history by becoming the first team in 50 years to win a flag, miss the finals, and then win a Premiership the year after, but they have every chance of doing it.
Greater Western Sydney (Ladder Position: 4th)
Nickname: ‘Giants’
Colours: Orange, Charcoal & White
Coach: Adam Kingsley
Captain(s): Toby Greene (pictured below)
Won the last seven out of eight encounters to secure a top-four finish on the ladder, their best return since 2017, which gets them that double chance opportunity.
Looking for their first-ever Premiership in club history, runners-up in 2019, this will be their seventh appearance in the last nine seasons, which is pretty impressive. They have the experience that comes with it, at the pointy end, that will be invaluable.
Jesse Hogan has had an outstanding season in front of the big sticks, winning his first Coleman Medal (69 goals), and he’ll be crucial in the September action.
Face their arch-rivals Sydney, who beat them home and away in the regular season, but will take heart from the fact that they have a three-zip record over them in finals.
Brisbane (Ladder Position: 5th)
Nickname: ‘Lions’
Colours: Maroon, Blue & Gold
Coach: Chris Fagan
Captain: Harris Andrews and Lachie Neale
Last year’s runners-up are back for another crack but will be bitterly disappointed not to have given themselves a better chance after agonisingly missing out on the top four.
Inaccuracy cost them dearly in a couple of games at the latter end of the season, which they need to address and correct, as finals can be unforgiving.
It will be their sixth attempt at trying to win it, and they boast a talented squad including five All-Australians. However, the general feeling is that they need to make the most of this experienced squad and achieve it within this window of opportunity.
In recent years, the Gabba has been a fortress for the Lions. They start with a home final but will need to win on the road to make their dream a reality.
Western Bulldogs (Ladder Position: 6th)
Nickname: ‘Doggies’
Colours: Royal Blue, Red & White
Coach: Luke Beveridge
Captain(s): Marcus Bontempelli
They come into September as the competition’s top scorers and boasting the meanest defence from the regular season, which can only bode well for them.
Luke Beveridge (pictured above), who has just become the club’s longest-serving senior coach after eclipsing iconic figure Ted Whitten’s long-standing record, was under the pump early on but has led his troops into some very good form after the mid-season bye.
Skipper Marcus Bontempelli was named the ‘AFL Players’ Association’s Most Valuable Player’ for a third time – only the second player in the 43-year history of the Award to achieve the feat – and he will play a huge role in this important campaign.
History shows that not many clubs win a flag from outside the top four, but the Bulldogs totally defied the odds when they did just that in 2016, from 7th place, and finished runners-up in 2021, from 5th place, so they have shown what can be achieved.
Hawthorn (Ladder Position: 7th)
Nickname: ‘Hawks’
Colours: Brown & Gold
Coach: Sam Mitchell
Captain: James Sicily
Without a doubt, it is the story of the year, going for a horror zip-five start to then winning the last 11 of 13 matches to secure a place in the finals for the first time since 2018.
Whatever was said and went on behind the scenes after that shocker up at Gold Coast has proved to be a real line-in-the-sand moment. Coach Sam Mitchell (pictured above) has done a tremendous job transforming them into a completely different outfit.
In recent weeks, the media has dubbed them the ‘Hollywood Hawks’ for being so watchable, a really exciting brand, and just the way that they go about it.
Playing with such confidence and arguably the form team coming into it, on the back of some big victories, the team will relish the challenge and could cause real damage.
Carlton (Ladder Position: 8th)
Nickname: ‘Blues’
Colours: Navy Blue
Coach: Michael Voss
Captain: Patrick Cripps
They snuck into the finals, thanks to Fremantle losing to Port Adelaide in the final game of the regular home and away season, but the main thing is that they are there.
They have been decimated by injuries in the last month, but with the bye, they will get a few of their key players back at just the right time. Among those set to return is the forward pairing of Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay (pictured above), which will be a welcome boost.
They are more than capable of beating any side of their day. Despite facing a very tough assignment up at Brisbane, the Blues will be quick to point out that they saluted up there in the opening round, which was their first at the Queensland venue since 2013.
No side in AFL history has ever gone on to win a Premiership from eighth, but records are there to be broken, so why not this time and make for a fairytale ending?
Betting Odds
Sydney $4, Greater Western Sydney $5.50, Port Adelaide $6, Brisbane $8, Geelong $9, Western Bulldogs $10, Hawthorn $12, Carlton $34 (Source: Sportsbet)
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