The Brisbane Lions Football Club will be the recipient of the 2025 McClelland Trophy after Hawthorn's AFLW side was eliminated in the semi-finals.
The award hands the winning club a $1 million prize to be split evenly between the men's and women's football programs.
Following each respective finals series for both competitions, clubs are assigned a ranking from 1 to 18 in reverse order – the team claiming the premiership securing 18 points, down to the 18th team receiving 1 point.
Brisbane's men's side won its second consecutive premiership, claiming the full points on one side of the ledger, while its women's team is still alive for a flag, and will host Carlton in a preliminary final this week.
It means that the Lions will claim at least 33 points (18 + 15*), pending how deep they go in the AFLW finals series.
The Hawks were the Queensland club's biggest competitor, finishing in the penultimate weekend of the men's competition, whilst also being a premiership contender in the women's league.
However, their semi-final loss to Carlton by 46 points and subsequent elimination sees the Victorian club top out at a maximum of 29 McClelland Trophy points.
| AFL | AFLW (Preliminary Final) | Leaders |
| 18 – Brisbane | 18 – North Melbourne* | 33* – Brisbane |
| 17 – Geelong | 17 – Melbourne* | 28/29 – Hawthorn |
| 16 – Collingwood | 16 – Brisbane* | 27/28 – Adelaide |
| 15 – Hawthorn | 15 – Carlton* | 23 – Geelong |
| 14 – Adelaide | 14 – Adelaide/Hawthorn | 23* – Carlton |
| 13 – Gold Coast Suns | 13 – Hawthorn/Adelaide | 22* – Melbourne |
| 12 – GWS Giants | 12 – St Kilda/West Coast | 21* - North Melbourne |
| 11 – Fremantle | 11 – West Coast/St Kilda | 20 - Collingwood |
| 10 – Western Bulldogs | 10 – Sydney | 19 - Fremantle |
| 9 – Sydney | 9 – Port Adelaide | 19 - Sydney |
| 8 – Carlton | 8 – Fremantle | 18/19 - St Kilda |
| 7 – St Kilda | 7 – Western Bulldogs | 17 - Western Bulldogs |
| 6 – Port Adelaide | 6 – Geelong | 15 - Port Adelaide |
| 5 – Melbourne | 5 – Essendon | 14 - GWS Giants |
| 4 – Essendon | 4 – Collingwood | 14 - Gold Coast Suns |
| 3 – North Melbourne | 3 – Richmond | 12/13 - West Coast |
| 2 – Richmond | 2 – GWS Giants | 9 - Essendon |
| 1 – West Coast | 1 – Gold Coast Suns | 5 - Richmond |
*subject to change pending preliminary final results
The McClelland Trophy was introduced to football ahead of the 2023 season, but has undergone recent change.
The award initially favoured home and away season results, which put into question who the deserved winner was.
Melbourne won the inaugural trophy after strong seasons across both programs, although neither side won the premiership.
In 2023, Brisbane lost the men's premiership to Collingwood in the grand final, but saluted in the women's with a 17-point win over North Melbourne.
Hawthorn was the 2024 recipient of the trophy following a second-place finish in AFLW and a seventh-place finish in the men's league.
The Hawks lost the semi-final to Port Adelaide in both games. Once again, Brisbane would go on to play in both deciders for a pair of mixed results. The men's side defeated Sydney while the women's team were avenged by the Kangaroos.
It forced a change to the criteria.
McClelland Trophy adjustments:
- At the conclusion of finals for each competition, each club will be assigned a ranking from 1 to 18 in reverse order, with the team finishing first receiving 18 points, down to the team finishing 18th receiving 1 point. The highest combined ranking score will win the trophy.
- Where two teams are knocked out in the same week of finals, the club that finished higher on the ladder at the end of the home and away season will be given a higher ranking (consistent with the methodology used for the draft order and weighted rule).
- In the event that two or more clubs have the equal highest combined ranking score, the current methodology will be used as a tiebreaker – i.e. number of trophy points and then combined percentage.
