The 2008 AFL season was the 112th 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 20 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs. A significant feature of the season was the celebration of the 150th anniversary since the sport of Australian rules football was first established in 1858.
The premiership was won by the Hawthorn Football Club for the tenth time, after they defeated by 26 points in the 2008 AFL Grand Final.
NAB Cup
Premiership season
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
|- style="background:#ccf;" |Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report |- style="background:#fff;" |||17.12 (114) ||||14.12 (96) ||Telstra Dome||46,610 ||Friday, 18 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||19.17 (131) ||||10.10 (70) ||Skilled Stadium||24,801 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||16.12 (108) ||||15.14 (104) ||MCG||56,746 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||17.11 (113) ||||9.13 (67) ||The Gabba||27,784 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||18.11 (119) ||||13.11 (89) ||Telstra Dome||41,886 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||18.11 (119) ||||18.13 (121) ||Telstra Dome||38,401 ||Sunday, 20 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 13.14 (92) |||| 11.14 (80) ||AAMI Stadium||31,662 ||Sunday, 20 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 16.18 (114) |||| 10.8 (68) ||Subiaco||31,638 ||Sunday, 20 July||AFL.com.au
Round 17
|- style="background:#ccf;" |Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report |- style="background:#fff;" |||11.11 (77) ||||12.16 (88) ||MCG||86,179 ||Friday, 25 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||19.14 (128) ||||11.14 (80) ||MCG||64,785||Saturday, 26 July|| AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||15.13 (103) ||||12.14 (86) ||Subiaco||34,037||Saturday, 26 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 18.9 (117) |||| 16.18 (114) ||Telstra Dome||31,275 ||Saturday, 26 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 6.17 (53)|||| 11.11 (77) ||SCG||26,260 ||Saturday, 26 July||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 15.11 (101) || || 20.9 (129) ||AAMI Stadium|| 19,072 ||Sunday, 27 July|| AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 10.10 (70) |||| 14.14 (98) ||MCG||21,330 ||Sunday, 27 July|| AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 15.8 (98) |||| 18.18 (126) ||Telstra Dome|| 37,879 ||Sunday, 27 July|| AFL.com.au
Round 18
|- style="background:#ccf;" |Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 8.14 (62) |||| 17.14 (116) ||MCG|| 58,307 ||Friday, 1 August|| |- style="background:#fff;" | || 19.10 (124) |||| 17.6 (108) ||MCG|| 46,334 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" | || 13.16 (94) |||| 12.14 (86) ||AAMI Stadium|| 40,730 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" | ||20.14 (134)||||10.11 (71)||Telstra Dome|| 42,238 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" | ||13.14 (92)||||11.18 (84)||Gold Coast Stadium|| 10,037 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" | || 17.11 (113) |||| 14.13 (97) ||Manuka Oval|| 13,550 ||Sunday, 3 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" | || 14.17 (101) |||| 14.9 (93) ||Telstra Dome|| 22,878 ||Sunday, 3 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" | || 17.14 (116) |||| 12.11 (83) ||Subiaco|| 42,096 ||Sunday, 3 August|| AFL.com.au
Round 19
|- style="background:#ccf;" |Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report |- style="background:#fff;" |||5.11 (41) ||||24.13 (157) ||MCG||34,610 ||Friday, 8 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||18.24 (132) ||||9.12 (66) ||Telstra Dome||29,696 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||16.14 (110) ||||5.11 (41) ||Aurora Stadium||19,929 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||14.13 (97) ||||12.11 (83) ||MCG||52,135 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||17.10 (112) ||||15.18 (108) ||SCG||20,846 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||21.10 (136) ||||18.8 (116) ||Telstra Dome||31,957 ||Sunday, 10 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||16.12 (108)||||6.9 (45) ||AAMI Stadium||37,562 ||Sunday, 10 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||17.11 (113) ||||16.7 (103) ||Subiaco||35,288 ||Sunday, 10 August||AFL.com.au
Round 20
|- style="background:#ccf;" |Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report |- style="background:#fff;" |||10.15 (75) ||||16.10 (106) ||AAMI Stadium|| 23,694 ||Friday, 15 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||10.13 (73) ||||19.15 (129) ||Telstra Dome||32,184 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||11.13 (79) ||||5.15 (45) ||MCG||17,958 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||13.12 (90) ||||10.19 (79) ||The Gabba||27,315 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||14.10 (94) ||||20.13 (133) ||ANZ Stadium||44,955 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||16.9 (105) ||||10.16 (76) ||MCG||44,523 ||Sunday, 17 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||14.6 (90) ||||22.9 (141) ||Telstra Dome||43,406 ||Sunday, 17 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 9.15 (69) ||||17.10 (112) ||Subiaco||34,014 ||Sunday, 17 August||AFL.com.au
Round 21
|- style="background:#ccf;" |Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report |- style="background:#fff;" |||23.13 (151) ||||15.15 (105) ||Telstra Dome||37,294 ||Friday, 22 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||15.15 (105) ||||15.8 (98)||MCG||24,881 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||18.21 (129) ||||7.9 (51) ||AAMI Stadium||18,875 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||16.13 (109) ||||18.7 (115) ||The Gabba||34,327 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||18.10 (118) ||||10.13 (73) ||Telstra Dome||45,507 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||17.13 (115) ||||13.4 (82) ||Skilled Stadium||24,288||Sunday, 24 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||13.17 (95)||||6.11 (47)||Telstra Dome||33,811||Sunday, 24 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||9.8 (62) ||||19.19 (133) ||Subiaco||37,040 ||Sunday, 24 August||AFL.com.au
Round 22
|- style="background:#ccf;" |Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 12.8 (80) |||| 8.8 (56) ||Subiaco|| 35,106 ||Friday, 29 August|| AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 10.12 (72) |||| 23.10 (148) ||MCG||22,144 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 24.20 (164) |||| 10.5 (65) ||Skilled Stadium|| 21,752 ||Saturday, 30 August|| |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 10.16 (76) |||| 9.13 (67) ||AAMI Stadium|| 37,545 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 12.9 (81) |||| 24.15 (159) ||Telstra Dome|| 49,057 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" ||| 17.12 (114) |||| 6.17 (53) ||SCG|| 24,076 ||Saturday, 30 August|| |- style="background:#fff;" |||6.5 (41) ||||18.13 (121) ||MCG||37,046 ||Sunday, 31 August||AFL.com.au |- style="background:#fff;" |||5.9 (39) ||||21.21 (147) ||Telstra Dome||46,161 ||Sunday, 31 August||AFL.com.au
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 WB −3WCE +76PA +6Haw −44Frem +17Carl +30NM +33Melb +76WCE −50Ess +5Rich +50Haw −4BL −13Geel −68Coll −32PA −12Syd +24Carl +8Rich +63Ess +56StK −48WB +9Coll −31 X X X 5 WCE −16Coll +2Syd −17PA +20Haw −12Melb +52Geel −27Carl +33StK +46NM +31Frem +22WB −63Adel +13Melb −1Ess −37WCE +46Rich −3NM −8Haw −69WB +11Carl −6Syd −61 X X X X 10 Rich −30StK −40Ess −16Coll +23Melb +33Adel −30WCE +37BL −33Frem +9Geel −56PA +12Coll +30Ess −35Rich +30StK −32Syd −2WB +28Adel −8PA +66NM −51BL +6Haw −78 X X X X 11 Frem +26BL −2Rich +44Carl −23NM −7Ess +73Haw +65StK +9Geel +86WCE +100Melb +21Carl −30WB −10Syd +29Adel +32NM −18Ess −48Haw −54StK +14PA +31Syd +45Frem −24Adel +31StK −34 X X 8 NM +55Geel −99Carl +16WB −30StK −36Coll −73PA −64Syd −91Rich −38Adel −5Haw −51WCE +22Carl +35Frem +4BL +37Rich −4Coll +48Melb +16WCE −10Adel −56WB −46StK −108 X X X X 12 Coll −26Haw −15WCE +14Rich −64Adel −17Geel −1Melb −6WB −3Carl −9PA −28BL −24NM +53StK −8Ess −4Geel −74Melb +46PA +28WCE +33Syd −4 StK −43Rich −7Coll +24 X X X X 14 PA +9Ess +99Melb +30StK +42Syd +42Frem +1BL +27Rich +30Coll −86Carl +56NM +13PA +59WCE +135Adel +68Frem +74WB +61Haw +11Rich +63Melb +116Syd +39NM +33WCE +99StK +58 XWB +29Haw −26 1 Melb +104Frem +15NM +16Adel +44BL +12Rich +12Coll +65PA +15Melb +19WB −32Ess +51Adel +4NM −27WCE +57Syd +31StK −30Geel −11Coll +54BL +69Rich −29WCE +71Carl +78WB +51 XStK +54Geel +26 2 Haw −104WB −95Geel −30NM −48Carl −33BL −53Frem +6Adel −76Haw −19StK −79Coll −21Rich −22Syd −40BL +1WB −31Frem −46NM −28Ess −16Geel −116WCE +34PA −78Rich −80 X X X X 16 Ess −55Rich +41Haw −16Melb +48Coll +7Syd 0Adel −33WCE +6WB +3BL −31Geel −13Frem −53Haw +27StK −15PA +2Coll +18Melb +28BL +8WB +20Carl +51Geel −33PA −76Syd −35 X X X 7 Geel −9Syd −68Adel −6BL −20WCE +24StK +21Ess +64Haw −15Syd −11Frem +28Carl −12Geel −59Rich −4WB −54NM −2Adel +12Frem −28StK −8Carl −66Coll −31Melb +78NM +76 X X X X 13 Carl +30NM −41Coll −44Frem +64WB 0Haw −12StK −3Geel −30Ess +38Syd −82Adel −50Melb +22PA +4Carl −30WCE +77Ess +4BL +3Geel −63Adel −63Haw +29Frem +7Melb +80 X X X X 9 Syd +2Carl +40WB −38Geel −42Ess +36PA −21Rich +3Coll −9BL −46Melb +79WB −27Syd −35Frem +8NM +15Carl +32Haw +30WCE −17PA +8Coll −14Frem +43Adel +48Ess +108Geel −58Coll +34Haw −54 X 4 StK −2PA +68BL +17WCE +62Geel −42NM 0WB −18Ess +91PA +11Rich +82WCE +5StK +35Melb +40Coll −29Haw −31Carl +2Adel −24WB −16Frem +4Geel −39Coll −45BL +61NM +35WB −37 X X 6 BL +16Adel −76Frem −14Syd −62PA −24WB −60Carl −37NM −6Adel +50Coll −100Syd −5Ess −22Geel −135Haw −57Rich −77BL −46StK +17Frem −33Ess +10Melb −34Haw −71Geel −99 X X X X 15 Adel +3Melb +95StK +38Ess +30Rich 0WCE +60Syd +18Frem +3NM −3Haw +32StK +27BL +63Coll +10PA +54Melb +31Geel −61Carl −28Syd +16NM −20BL −11Ess +46Adel −9Haw −51Syd +37Geel −29 X 3 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
Ladder
Ladder progression
Finals series
Week one
Week two
Week three
Week four
Statistics
Leading goalkickers updated after grand final The Coleman Medal was awarded to Lance Franklin for kicking the most goals at the end of the home and away season.
PlayerClubGamesGoalsBest PerformanceSeasonFinalsTotalGoalsOpponent(s)Round(s) 1 Lance Franklin 25 102 11 113 9 11 2 Brendan Fevola 22 99 – 99 8 , 3, 11 3 Daniel Bradshaw 20 75 – 75 7 5 4 Jarryd Roughead 24 66 9 75 6 , 7, 14 5 Jonathan Brown 21 70 – 70 6 , , 8, 9, 10 6 Matthew Pavlich 19 67 – 67 8 12 7 Nick Riewoldt 24 56 9 65 6 16 8 Matthew Lloyd 21 62 – 62 8 18 9 Stephen Milne 24 54 6 60 7 , 7, 22 10 Daniel Motlop 21 57 – 57 7 7
Disposals
Rank Player Team Total 1 Joel Corey 730 2 Jimmy Bartel 702 3 Sam Mitchell 667 4 Daniel Cross 663 5 Adam Cooney 637 6 Matthew Boyd 629 7 Kane Cornes 613 8 Joel Selwood 607 9 Gary Ablett, Jr. 606 10 Dane Swan 590
Kicks