The AFL could make major changes to its finals format as soon as next season, with the league reportedly considering changing the top eight to a top 10, adding an extra week to September action.
According to 7 News' Xander McGuire, the AFL may add a wildcard round as early as 2026, which would see the top 10 teams qualify for a post-season berth, with the teams who finished seventh to tenth squaring off during the current pre-Finals bye week.
"We're in the first week of Finals but it might be the last year that the first week of Finals looks like this," McGuire said on Friday.
"I can tell you that the AFL is looking into a plan to introduce a wildcard round as soon as 2026, just next season.
"We'd move from a top eight system into a top 10. The top six would move straight through with a bye and then positions seven, eight, nine and ten would play off in the traditional bye-week to make sure that they can get into the last two games of the Finals.
"It sees 7th play off against 10th and 8th against 9th."
The unique system has been utilised in the VFL since 2023 and has been seen as a success for the 21-team competition, with standalone side Williamstown Seagulls notably upsetting Collingwood's VFL team from 10th to earn a spot in an elimination final this year.
Based on this year's final ladder, it means Hawthorn would play the Western Bulldogs in the 8v9 matchup while Gold Coast would take on Sydney in the 7v10 clash.
As the AFL looks set to welcome Tasmania as its 19th team in 2028, with a 20th club likely to follow, it's understandable why the AFL is considering reshaping its Finals format.
