The 2023 AFL season is the 127th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season will feature 18 clubs and is scheduled to run from 16 March until 30 September, comprising a 23-game home-and-away season, the longest in league history, followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
Background
The fixture was extended to 23 matches per club, the longest in history, to accommodate the introduction of Gather Round, a special round featuring all 18 clubs playing in the same city and its surrounds; this was modelled on the National Rugby League (NRL)'s Magic Round, which had scheduled annually since 2019.[1][2] South Australia won the bid for the event, beating a bid from New South Wales,[3] and Norwood Oval and Summit Sports Park in Mount Barker each hosted their first AFL matches.[4]
The following rule changes were made for the 2023 season:
The number of field umpires in control of each match was increased from three to four.[5]
The medical substitute position, which had been introduced in 2021, was replaced with a tactical substitute; prior rules had only allowed for a player to be substituted for medical reasons, but this stipulation was removed, allowing for the substitute to be used for any reason.[6]
The season saw the AFL focus more heavily on dangerous tackles and head contact amidst an increased focus worldwide on the effects of concussion in sport[28] and a class action lodged against the league in March, headed by a group of former players seeking compensation for damage sustained from concussion-related injuries during their VFL/AFL careers.[29] Several players received suspensions during the season for tackles of a slinging motion[30] which would not have previously been scrutinised by the AFL's match review officer,[31] with many of these players trying unsuccessfully to appeal their suspensions at the AFL Tribunal.[32]St Kilda coach Ross Lyon suggested during the season that other tackling-related rule interpretations may need to change as a result of the increased focus and suspensions,[33] while Sydney coach John Longmire said that the crackdown "[asked] a hell of a lot from our players [...] it's no surprise that it's not right all the time".[34]
In April, players such as Dylan Shiel,[33]Andrew McGrath and Darcy Moore called for greater clarification around rules for dangerous tackles,[28] leading the AFL to send memos to all clubs emphasising the elements constituting a dangerous tackle and the factoring of potential to cause injury in grading of suspensions;[35]Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge admitted that he chose not to show his team the memo to avoid "[telling] the players to go out and avoid accidents".[36]
In May, the AFL's investigation into historical racism allegations against the Hawthorn Football Club saw new North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson, who was coach of Hawthorn during the period being investigated, take an indefinite leave from coaching during the week leading up to what would have been his 400th game as an AFL coach[37] to focus on his physical and emotional wellbeing, with assistant coach Brett Ratten filling in during his absence;[38] Clarkson eventually returned as coach in round 21, coaching his 400th game in the process.[39] Hawthorn chief executive officer Justin Reeves also resigned from his role in May, citing mental health reasons.[40] A few days later, the AFL announced that the eight-month investigation had concluded without any findings being made or any charges brought against Clarkson and former Hawthorn officials Chris Fagan (Brisbane Lions coach at the time of the investigation) and Jason Burt,[41] but implied that it could still take action against Hawthorn for its handling of the report that formed the basis of the investigation.[42]
In June, following the conclusion of the AFL's investigation, six of the complainants, including former Hawthorn player Cyril Rioli and his wife, publicly identified themselves in an open letter confirming that they planned to take their case to the Australian Human Rights Commission.[43]
St Kilda used its match against Essendon to celebrate the club's 150th anniversary;[47] the crowd of 69,255 is the largest-ever crowd for a home-and-away match between the two clubs.[48]
The crowd of 47,503 for the Fremantle v Western Bulldogs match is the largest-ever crowd for a home-and-away match between the two clubs.[51]
Sydney's 93-point loss to Geelong was its biggest loss since 1998; its score of 0.3 (3) in the second half was its lowest second half score since 1971.[52]
The crowd of 95,179 for the Collingwood v Essendon match is the largest-ever crowd for a home-and-away match involving Essendon[46] and the second-largest home-and-away crowd in VFL/AFL history.[53]
The crowd of 45,548 for the Carlton v Brisbane Lions match is the largest-ever crowd for a home-and-away match between the two clubs.[54]
North Melbourne's score of 0.7 (7) in the first half against St Kilda marked its first goalless first half since 1979[55] and was its lowest-ever first half score against St Kilda.[56]
Three clubs rebranded themselves as Indigenous names across the two weeks of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round: Fremantle as Walyalup, the traditional name for the Noongar country around Fremantle;[57] Melbourne as Narrm, the traditional name for Melbourne in the Woiwurrung language;[58] and Port Adelaide as Yartapuulti, the traditional name the Kaurna people gave the land around the Port River.[58]
North Melbourne led by three points in the final minute of its match against Sydney, before conceding a free kick and 50-metre penalty for making a 76th interchange, exceeding the limit of 75; Sydney kicked a goal from the free kick to take the lead and held on to win the match.[59]
The crowd of 45,811 for the Walayup v Geelong match is the largest-ever crowd for a match between the two clubs.[60]
Essendon's win was its first against Richmond since 2014, ending a 13-match losing streak.[61]
Hawthorn's 116-point win was the biggest win by a last-placed team at the time of the match since 1979.[62]
West Coast's score of 4.2 (26) was its lowest ever against Hawthorn,[63] and its 116-point loss was its biggest since 2008.[64]
Three clubs rebranded themselves as Indigenous names across the two weeks of the Sir Doug Nicholls Round: Fremantle as Walyalup, the traditional name for the Noongar country around Fremantle;[57] Melbourne as Narrm, the traditional name for Melbourne in the Woiwurrung language;[58] and Port Adelaide as Yartapuulti, the traditional name the Kaurna people gave the land around the Port River.[58]
Geelong fielded three Irish players against Greater Western Sydney, becoming the first club in VFL/AFL history to field three in the same team.[65]
Port Adelaide's first half score of 16.9 (105) was the highest-ever first half score in its history and the highest by any club since 2012;[66] its half-time lead of 82 points was also the biggest in its history.[67]
West Coast lost its tenth consecutive match, a club record;[68] it would lose a further six consecutive matches to set the record at 16.[69]
The aggregate score of 1.1 (7) in the first quarter of the Sydney v St Kilda match was the lowest-scoring opening quarter of any match since 1999.[70]
Adelaide's 122-point win was its biggest ever over West Coast; Taylor Walker (Adelaide) kicked a career-high ten goals, in what was also his 250th AFL match.[71]
The crowd of 46,843 for the Fremantle v Richmond match is the largest-ever crowd for a match between the two clubs.[72]
The crowd of 22,483 for the Gold Coast v Collingwood match was Gold Coast's largest home crowd in Queensland since 2014.[76]
Dan Houston (Port Adelaide) kicked a goal after the final siren to win the match against Essendon.[77]
Hawthorn's score of 0.5 (5) in the first half against Carlton was its lowest-ever score in a half against Carlton;[78] it was also the first time that Carlton held an opponent goalless in the first half of a match since 2004.[79]
Greater Western Sydney's score of 7.5 (47) against Melbourne was its lowest-ever winning score.[80]
West Coast won its first quarter since round 9, ending a winless streak of 21 consecutive quarters.[81]
Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) broke the record for the most career disposals recorded in VFL/AFL history during the match against the Western Bulldogs, surpassing the record of 9,656 disposals held by Robert Harvey (St Kilda).[82]
The crowd of 43,482 for the Western Bulldogs v Collingwood match was the Western Bulldogs' largest home crowd since 2017.[83]
Zach Tuohy (Geelong) played his 265th match, breaking the record for the most VFL/AFL matches by an Irish player.[84]
Chris Scott coached his 305th match for Geelong in its loss to Fremantle, breaking the record held by Reg Hickey for most VFL/AFL matches coached for Geelong.[87]
Gold Coast's win was its first QClash win since 2018, ending a nine-match losing streak against the Brisbane Lions.[88]
West Coast's win over North Melbourne ended a club record 16-match losing streak.[69]
Brett Rosebury umpired his 503rd AFL match in the Western Bulldogs v Richmond match,[89] breaking the record held by Shane McInerney for most VFL/AFL matches officiated by a field umpire.[90]
The Sydney v Gold Coast (2:10 pm to 1:45 pm) and Carlton v Melbourne (7:25 pm to 7:30 pm) matches were rescheduled to accommodate the Seven Network's coverage of Australia's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup quarter-final against France.[91]
The margin of 101 points in the West Coast v Fremantle match was the biggest in a Western Derby since 2000 and Fremantle's biggest ever win over West Coast.[92]
West Coast's score of 4.9 (33) against Fremantle was its lowest ever in a Western Derby.[93]
Source: afl.com.au Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for (E) Eliminated from finals contention; (Q) Qualified for finals
Progression by round
Updated to the end of round 22, 2023.
4
Finished the round in first place
0
Finished the round in last place
4
Finished the round inside the top eight
41
Subscript indicates the ladder position at the end of the round
41
Underlined points indicate the team had a bye that round
Updated to West Coast v Fremantle (round 22, 2023).
The following table can be sorted from biggest winning margin to biggest losing margin for each round. If two or more matches in a round are decided by the same margin, these margins are sorted by percentage (i.e. the lowest-scoring winning team is ranked highest and the lowest-scoring losing team is ranked lowest). Home matches are in bold, neutral matches (Gather Round) are underlined and opponents are listed above the margins.
Several competition attendance records were broken throughout the season:
The total attendance of 765,789 across the first two rounds is the highest attendance across the first two rounds of a season in VFL/AFL history.[97]
The total attendance of 1,125,245 across the first three rounds is the highest attendance across the first three rounds of a season in VFL/AFL history.[48]
The total attendance of 3,047,247 across the first nine rounds is the highest attendance across the first nine rounds of a season in VFL/AFL history.[98]
The total attendance of 4,207,137 across the first 13 rounds is the highest attendance across the first 13 rounds of a season in VFL/AFL history.[99]
After round 13, eight matches had been attended by over 80,000 people, breaking the record of seven 80,000-plus attendances in a home-and-away season set in 2013.[99]
The total attendance of 5,187,214 across the first 17 rounds is the highest attendance across the first 17 rounds of a season in VFL/AFL history.[83]
Geelong lost its opening three matches of the season, becoming the first reigning premier since North Melbourne in 1976 to lose its first three matches the following season.[100]
Carlton won five consecutive matches by at least 50 points during the season, becoming the first team to do so since Geelong in 2008.[101]
West Coast lost five matches by over 100 points during the season, becoming the first team to do so since Greater Western Sydney in its first two seasons in 2012 and 2013;[102] it also lost twelve consecutive matches by at least 40 points, a VFL/AFL record, during the season.[103]
6,601