The 2009 AFL season was the 113th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixteen clubs, ran from 26 March until 26 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
The pre-season draft was held on 16 December 2008 (but is referred to as the 2009 Pre-season draft in continuation from the early years of the AFL draft when it was held in January or February) and most pre-draft interest was on whether or not former West Coast Eagles captain and Brownlow Medal winner Ben Cousins would be selected by the Richmond Football Club. Richmond, the only club to show interest in recruiting Cousins, had one selection in the pre-season draft (because it had only one space left on its senior list). In the week leading up to the pre-season draft, Richmond requested to have Graham Polak (who had been hit by a tram the previous season, with it not clear at this stage whether or not the resulting injuries would end his career) moved to the rookie list, to free up an additional list space and give them a second selection in the pre-season draft. The request was similar to one made by and granted to the Essendon Football Club a few years earlier with respect to Adam Ramanauskas, but there were key differences which led to Richmond's request being rejected by the AFL and a majority of rival clubs on 15 December.[1] Although Richmond had maintained throughout the previous week that it would draft Cousins only if its request to put Polak on the rookie list was granted, they selected Cousins anyway with their only selection in the pre-season draft. Josh Carr's return to Port Adelaide was another major player move.[2]
Gary Ablett, Jr. (Geelong) recorded 33 handpasses in the match against Adelaide. It broke West Coast's Matt Priddis' 2008 record for most handpasses in a game (30), and stood as the record until 2018.[4] In the same match, Geelong set a new team record of 254 handpasses, exceeding its own 2008 record of 242 handpasses.[5]
Daniel Pratt (North Melbourne) became the first player to concede a free kick for deliberately rushing a behind, under the new rule introduced this year; Matthew Lloyd (Essendon) goaled from the free kick.[6]
Geelong amassed a new record 490 disposals in its match against Brisbane, breaking the old record of 469 disposals (West Coast, 2007; and Geelong, 2008).[5]
Geelong recorded 498 disposals, including 259 handpasses, in its match against Melbourne; these marks broke the records the club had set in Rounds 5 and 4 respectively.[5]
Terry Wallace coached his final match for Richmond, after announcing his retirement earlier in the week. Wallace was replaced by Jade Rawlings as caretaker.[8]
St Kilda won its 11th consecutive game, breaking the previous club record of 10 set in 2004.[9]
In wet weather in Adelaide, North Melbourne was held to 3.6 (24), its lowest score since 1971,[10] and the lowest score by any team since round 4, 1999.[citation needed]
The match between St Kilda and Geelong saw both teams enter the game undefeated with 13–0 records; unbeaten teams had never faced each other so late in the season, the previous latest being Round 8, 1991 between West Coast and Essendon. The high demand for the match to be broadcast live resulted in a change in timeslot, moving from 2:10 pm to 3:10 pm so that the Seven Network could broadcast the game live into Melbourne, and use it as a lead-in to its 6pm news broadcast in accordance with its broadcast contract. As of 2021, the match's attendance of 54,444 stands as the largest crowd at an AFL game held at Etihad Stadium. Geelong's loss was its first at the stadium since Round 1, 2007, ending a 13-match winning streak at the ground.
Western Bulldogs held reigning Coleman MedallistLance Franklin goalless for the first time since Round 11, 2006, breaking a streak of 71 consecutive games scoring at least one goal. As of 2022, the streak stands as the longest by a player in the 21st century.[11]
Adelaide's dominant victory against Fremantle saw the latter held to a score of only 1.7 (13). As of 2021, it stands as the lowest score in Fremantle's history;[12] and, it was the lowest score kicked by any team in a game since 1961.[13] Fremantle managed only one behind in the first half, also the lowest in club history and the lowest by any club since Fitzroy in Round 1, 1995.[14]
Richmond's Jordan McMahon kicked a goal after the final siren from outside the 50-metre arc to secure a four-point win over Melbourne, after Richmond came back from a few goals behind late in the final quarter. Melbourne was later accused of attempting to deliberately lose the match to stay near the bottom of the ladder and secure better draft picks,[18] and the game later became part of an AFL tanking investigation into Melbourne, conducted in 2012 and 2013.[19]
Essendon defeated St Kilda by two points to inflict St Kilda's first loss of the season; St Kilda's captain Nick Riewoldt had the chance to win the game with a 45-metre set shot after the final siren, but he missed the goal.[21] The losses ended St Kilda's 19-game winning streak, which as of 2022 stands as the longest in St Kilda's history and the equal fifth-longest by any club in VFL/AFL history.[22]
Hawthorn missed the finals, become the first reigning premier to do so since Adelaide in 1999.
In the final round, Western Bulldogs defeated Collingwood by 24 points; the win gave the Bulldogs a 0.31% percentage advantage over Collingwood, placing the Bulldogs third and the Magpies fourth. Had Brad Johnson not scored a goal in the final minute, Collingwood would have finished third.
The Wooden Spoon was "awarded" to Melbourne for the second year in a row. Melbourne finished the season in last place on the ladder after 22 rounds, with just 4 wins.
The McClelland Trophy was awarded to St Kilda for finishing 1st on the ladder during the premiership season.
The Australian Football League, with the support of the Australian Army, recognises players who produce an act or acts of bravery or selflessness to promote the cause of his team during a game. Each week three players and what they did are made available on the AFL Army Award website for supporters to vote on. The player with the highest percentage of the vote is the AFL Army Award nominee for that round.
Two rule changes were introduced into the regular season[48]
If a player is not 'under pressure' and deliberately rushes a behind would be penalised by a free kick at the spot that the ball was rushed;
If a player tackles an opponent after he disposes of the ball, preventing him from taking further part in the play, then a free kick and 50m penalty is paid.
Umpires were also encouraged to recall a centre bounce if it is offline, throwing it up the second time.
Players contacting umpires continued to be an issue with several players fined for making contact with umpires as they retreated from ball-ups. In related offences, Collingwood's Heath Shaw was suspended for one week after touching an umpire's shoulder, and Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett was fined $5000 after criticising the umpires on radio.[49]
^Jennifer Witham (16 August 2009). "Essendon stuns St Kilda". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
