The 2007 AFL season was the 111th 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 30 March until 29 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
The premiership was won by the Geelong Football Club for the seventh time, after it defeated by a record 119 points in the AFL Grand Final.
Pre-season competition
Home-and-away season Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Ladder
Win/loss table Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 F1 F2 F3 GF Ladder Ess−31WB+38PA+24Syd+17Frem−1Coll−24BL+31Rich+9Carl+19Melb−17Geel−7Kang+46WCE−21Haw+71StK−2Frem−25Ess−12PA+8Geel−33WB+34BL+26Coll+19Haw−3 X X X 8 (8) Haw+25StK+52Syd−27Kang−24Carl+12Frem+45Adel−31Ess−64Coll−33Rich0WB−23Geel−50PA−7WCE+27Melb+44Carl+117Coll+93Kang+37Haw−24Syd0Adel−26Geel−42 X X X X 10 Rich+17Geel−78Ess+3WCE−61BL−12StK−43Coll−24Kang−17Adel−19WB+10PA+39Haw−100Frem−77Melb−23Syd−62BL−117StK−10Coll−24PA−23Ess−10Kang−82Melb−31 X X X X 15 Kang+3WCE−12Rich+25PA−18Ess+16Adel+24Carl+24WB−33BL+33Frem+9Melb−13Syd+19Haw−8StK+9Geel−16Ess+29BL−93Carl+24Rich−20Melb+11Syd+25Adel−19Syd+38WCE+19Geel−5 X 6 (4) Adel+31Frem+10Carl−3StK+31Coll−16Haw−35Kang−22BL+64Rich+8Syd+1WCE+1PA−31Melb+2Geel−50WB−33Coll−29Adel+12Haw−63Frem−63Carl+10Rich−27WCE−8 X X X X 12 PA−16Ess−10WCE−31Melb+45Adel+1BL−45Haw+16Geel−25StK+46Coll−9Rich+21WB−26Carl+77Syd−28Kang−4Adel+25Geel−68WCE+27Ess+63StK−30Melb+59PA−32 X X X X 11 WB−20Carl+78Melb+52Haw−4Kang−16Rich+157WCE+39Frem+25PA+56StK+60Adel+7BL+50Syd+18Ess+50Coll+16WB+75Frem+68Rich+70Adel+33Kang+27PA−5BL+42Kang+106 XColl+5PA+119 1 (1) BL−25Melb+22Kang+21Geel+4WB−17Ess+35Frem−16StK+28WCE+35PA+34Syd−9Carl+100Coll+8Adel−71Rich+53StK−17Kang−37Ess+63BL+24PA−5WB+84Syd−72Adel+3Kang−33 X X 5 (6) Coll−3PA−18Haw−21BL+24Geel+16Syd+16Ess+22Carl+17Melb+1WCE−66StK+22Adel−46WB+26Rich+25Frem+4Melb+64Haw+37BL−37WCE−17Geel−27Carl+82WB+64Geel−106Haw+33PA−87 X 4 (3) StK−31Haw−22Geel−52Frem−45Syd−49PA−5WB−6WCE−77Kang−1Adel+17Coll+13Rich−49Ess−2Carl+23BL−44Kang−64PA−89Syd−48WB+42Coll−11Frem−59Carl+31 X X X X 14 Frem+16Kang+18Adel−24Coll+18StK+53Melb+5Rich+40Syd−31Geel−56Haw−34Carl−39Ess+31BL+7WB−20WCE+91Rich+55Melb+89Adel−8Carl+23Haw+5Geel+5Frem+32WCE+3 XKang+87Geel−119 2 (2) Carl−17Syd−16Coll−25WB−32WCE−23Geel−157PA−40Adel−9Ess−8BL0Frem−21Melb+49StK−17Kang−25Haw−53PA−55Syd−66Geel−70Coll+20WCE−31Ess+27StK−10 X X X X 16 Melb+31BL−52WB+50Ess−31PA−53Carl+43Syd+26Haw−28Frem−46Geel−60Kang−22WCE+23Rich+17Coll−9Adel+2Haw+17Carl+10WB0Syd−17Frem+30WCE−8Rich+10 X X X X 9 WCE−1Rich+16BL+27Adel−17Melb+49Kang−16StK−26PA+31WB+43Ess−1Haw+9Coll−19Geel−18Frem+28Carl+62WCE−12Rich+66Melb+48StK+17BL0Coll−25Haw+72Coll−38 X X X 7 (7) Syd+1Coll+12Frem+31Carl+61Rich+23WB+15Geel−39Melb+77Haw−35Kang+66Ess−1StK−23Adel+21BL−27PA−91Syd+12WB+87Frem−27Kang+17Rich+31StK+8Ess+8PA−3Coll−19 X X 3 (5) Geel+20Adel−38StK−50Rich+32Haw+17WCE−15Melb+6Coll+33Syd−43Carl−10BL+23Frem+26Kang−26PA+20Ess+33Geel−75WCE−87StK0Melb−42Adel−34Haw−84Kang−64 X X X X 13 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 F1 F2 F3 GF Ladder
Bold – Home game X – Bye Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder progression
Finals series
Week one
Week two
Week three
Week four
Awards The 2007 Brownlow Medal for the AFL's best and fairest player was awarded to Jimmy Bartel, of , who polled 29 votes. The AFL Players Association's Leigh Matthews Trophy for the most valuable player was awarded to Gary Ablett, Jr., of . The Coleman Medal was awarded to Jonathan Brown of , who kicked 77 goals. The Norm Smith Medal as the player adjudged best afield in the AFL Grand Final was awarded to Steve Johnson, of . The AFL Rising Star award (Ron Evans Medal) was awarded to Joel Selwood, of . The McClelland Trophy was awarded to for holding top position on the ladder after 22 rounds. The Wooden Spoon was awarded to for coming in last place on the ladder after 22 rounds. Andrew McLeod from was named the captain of the 2007 All-Australian Team. The AFL Mark of the Year was awarded to Michael Newton of . The AFL Goal of the Year was awarded to Matthew Lloyd of . The AFL Army Award was awarded to Alwyn Davey of as the footballer who displayed the most courageous and/or team related act of the season.
Best and fairests
Adelaide: Andrew McLeod Brisbane: Jonathan Brown Carlton: Andrew Carrazzo Collingwood: Travis Cloke Essendon: James Hird Fremantle: Matthew Pavlich Geelong: Gary Ablett, Jr. Hawthorn: Brad Sewell
Kangaroos: Brent Harvey Melbourne: James McDonald Port Adelaide: Kane Cornes Richmond: Matthew Richardson St Kilda: Nick Riewoldt Sydney: Brett Kirk West Coast: Darren Glass Western Bulldogs: Brian Harris
Notable events On Thursday 8 February it was announced that the Seven Network (who had not broadcast AFL for five years) and Ten Network had reached an agreement to on-sell four games per round to pay-TV provider Foxtel. In round 6, scored 35.12 (222) against , which was at the time the highest score kicked in an AFL game since quarters were shortened from twenty-five to twenty minutes in 1994. It was also the first time a team has scored over 200 points since round 22, 1995. Their winning margin of 157 points also broke the record for the same period, and they scored an all-time record 23 more goals than behinds, and an all-time record three-quarter time score of 29.9 (183). This was also Richmond’s biggest loss in its 99-year VFL/AFL history and as of 2022 remains the biggest winning margin for any game at Docklands Stadium. In round 8, and were widely criticised for their game, which in perfect weather yielded only seven goals in the first three-quarters (before opening up in the final quarter, where nine goals were kicked), and was described as boring by Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy. Round 12's game between and attracted 53,459 fans, breaking the record for the highest AFL crowd at Telstra Dome. In the same game, Hawthorn kicked their highest ever score against Carlton: 27.18 (180), and also achieved their greatest winning margin against Carlton, 100 points. Robert Harvey became just the 10th player in VFL/AFL history to reach 350 games, helping defeat . The win was the second time in 60 games that a Victorian team had beaten West Coast at Subiaco Oval. The round 16 game between the and at The Gabba saw Jonathan Brown become the first player to kick 10 goals in a match. He kicked 10.1 for the game. This surpassed Daniel Bradshaw's 9 goals in 2005 v at The Gabba. After this match Denis Pagan was sacked as the coach of Carlton. On 24 August, the Seven Network broadcast some details obtained from players' confidential medical records on its nightly news program relating to the use of non-performance-enhancing drugs. It allegedly purchased these details for $3,000 from a woman who found them in a gutter outside a medical clinic in Melbourne. The name of the club involved, Hawthorn, was revealed by Seven on air, but before the end of the news program (at which time Seven had promised to actually reveal the names of the players), the AFL obtained a court injunction from the Supreme Court of Victoria which prevented this – and which continues to suppress the publication of any part of the records, including the name of the club. Because anonymity was guaranteed under the AFL's "three-strikes" drugs policy, the AFL players responded by boycotting the Seven Network, refusing to answer any questions posed by its journalists, including in matches broadcast by the network. Shortly after the completion of round 22, faced with the possibility of ongoing player boycotts – including of the Brownlow Medal count – the Seven Network issued a statement "regretting" any harm the broadcast may have caused to the AFL, the clubs and the players, and promised not to broadcast or reveal any of the details of the medical records in future. The AFL Players Association took the "statement of regret" as an apology and the boycott was lifted. The scandal came to be known as "Guttergate". The final game of the home-and-away season was particularly controversial as two teams, and , each had records of 4–17, and had no chance of winning the wooden spoon, which had been won by Richmond (record of 3-18-1). Under priority draft pick rules, this meant that whichever team won the game would lose a potential priority draft pick (which would have been the first overall selection if Carlton had it, or pick No. 18 if Melbourne had it). Melbourne won by five goals in a game noted for a lack of defensive pressure, while many in the crowd openly supported their teams to defeat. The second semi-final between and went into extra time after scores were level at the end of regulation. This was only the second time that extra time has been used in an AFL game, and was also the second time that these teams had drawn in a final. set a new record for the highest winning margin in a grand final against , winning by 119 points.
Club leadership Club Captain(s) Vice Captain(s)/Leadership Group Mark Ricciuto Simon Goodwin, Tyson Edwards, Nathan Bassett and Brett Burton Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Chris Johnson, Nigel Lappin, Luke Power Lance Whitnall Nick Stevens, Kade Simpson (interim) Nathan Buckley James Clement (Vice Captain), Josh Fraser (deputy VC), Ben Johnson (deputy VC) Matthew Lloyd David Hille Matthew Pavlich Josh Carr Tom Harley Cameron Ling, Cameron Mooney (deputy) Richard Vandenberg Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell Adam Simpson Brent Harvey David Neitz Cameron Bruce, Brad Green, Brock McLean, James McDonald Warren Tredrea Shaun Burgoyne, Brendon Lade, Michael Wilson, Chad Cornes Kane Johnson Nathan Brown, Joel Bowden (deputy) Luke Ball, Lenny Hayes, Nick Riewoldt Leo Barry, Barry Hall, Brett Kirk Chris Judd Andrew Embley, Darren Glass, Dean Cox Brad Johnson Scott West, Robert Murphy, Daniel Cross and Daniel Giansiracusa
Umpires
Michael Avon Ray Chamberlain Chris Donlon Martin Ellis Luke Farmer Darren Goldspink Stefan Grun Matthew Head Craig Hendrie Scott Jeffery Chris Kamolins Hayden Kennedy Dean Margetts
Stephen McBurney Shane McInerney Simon Meredith Kieron Nicholls Matthew Nicholls Troy Pannell Brett Rosebury Shaun Ryan Matt Stevic Damien Sully Michael Vozzo Stuart Wenn Derek Woodcock
Coach changes Name Club Date Reason Neale Daniher 29 June Decision that he could take the club no further. Chris Connolly 17 July Quit after run of poor results. Denis Pagan 23 July Fired after five heavy losses in a row. Kevin Sheedy 25 July Contract would not be renewed at end of season. Brett Ratten 20 August Interim coach Ratten was given a two-year contract. Dean Bailey 31 August Dean Bailey was appointed Melbourne coach. Mark Harvey 17 September Fremantle appointed Harvey senior coach. Matthew Knights 27 September Knights promised a new direction at Essendon.
See also 2007 Australian football code crowds List of 2007 AFL debuts List of Australian Football League premiers
Notes
References
External links 2007 Season – AFL Tables Official AFL website FOXSPORTS Australia AFL section Heraldsun site The Age Online Sportal AFL 2007 AFL season – Finalsiren.com CSV file of 2007 fixture for use with Microsoft Outlook calendars