Perennial finalists Sydney qualified for their eighth straight finals appearance, thus becoming the first team to reach the finals after starting a season with six straight losses. Adelaide qualified for the third straight year; Geelong qualified for the fourteenth time in the past sixteen years, Port Adelaide and Richmond both returned to the finals for the first time since 2014 and 2015 respectively, while Greater Western Sydney contested its second finals series since entering the AFL in 2012. Essendon returned to the finals for the first time since 2014 and became the first wooden spooner to play finals the following year since West Coast in 2011.
Venues
The matches of the 2017 AFL finals series will be contested at four venues around the country.
The system used for the 2017 AFL finals series is a final eight system. The top four teams in the eight receive the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals, such that if a top-four team loses in the first week it still remains in the finals, playing a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight play knock-out games – only the winners survive and move on to the next week. Home-state advantage goes to the team with the higher ladder position in the first two weeks, to the qualifying final winners in the third week.
In the second week, the winners of the qualifying finals receive a bye to the third week. The losers of the qualifying final plays the elimination finals winners in a semi-final. In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals from week two play the winners of the qualifying finals in the first week. The winners of those matches move on to the Grand Final at the MCG in Melbourne.[1]
First qualifying final (Adelaide vs. Greater Western Sydney)
The first qualifying final saw the minor premiership winning Adelaide hosting the fourth placing Giants at Adelaide Oval in the second-ever Thursday night final.[2][3] This was the first time Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney had met in the AFL Finals.
Adelaide player, Sam Jacobs' brother died a week before the game,[4] he dedicated the game to his brother's memory and the Crows team wore black armbands in his honour.[5]
The second qualifying final saw second placed Geelong host third placed Richmond at the MCG. Geelong leapfrogged Greater Western Sydney with a comprehensive 44-point win over them in Round 23 to finish in the top two for the seventh time in the last ten years and in the top eight for the ninth time in the same period. By contrast, Richmond had played in the finals between 2013-2015 without success but a rejuvenated game style saw them climb back up the ladder, with a win against St Kilda in the final round seeing them climb up to third spot and earn the double chance for the first time since 2001, the last time they won a final.
This was the tenth final between the two sides and first in twenty-two years, having previously met in the finals in 1921, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1967, 1969, 1980, and 1995, including grand finals in 1931 and 1967. Head to head in finals it was 7-2 in Richmond's favour, despite Geelong's more recent successes.
Richmond won their first final since 2001, ending the longest active winless streak in finals.
The crowd of 95,028 was the highest crowd for a qualifying final in AFL/VFL history.
Second elimination final (Sydney vs. Essendon)
The second elimination final saw sixth placed Sydney host seventh placed Essendon at the SCG. Both sides had defied the odds to qualify for the finals, with Sydney losing their first six games but recovering to become the first team to make the finals from that position, while Essendon were wooden spooners the previous year but a win against Fremantle in the final round sealed a spot in the finals.
The crowd of 46,323 is the largest crowd for an AFL game at the SCG.[6]
First elimination final (Port Adelaide vs. West Coast)
The first elimination final was held between fifth placed Port Adelaide and eighth placed West Coast at the Adelaide Oval. Port Adelaide returned to the finals after a three year absence, finishing outside the top four and earning their first home final since 2014. West Coast entered the final round of the home and away season at the final AFL game at Domain Stadium needing to beat ladder leaders Adelaide by around four goals to leapfrog Melbourne into eighth spot. They achieved this, defeating the Crows by 29 points to earn their third finals appearance in as many years.
