The 2023 AFL season was the 127th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest-level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured 18 clubs and ran from 16 March to 30 September, comprising a 23-match home-and-away season followed by a four-week finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
won the premiership, defeating the by four points in the 2023 AFL Grand Final; it was Collingwood's 16th VFL/AFL premiership. Collingwood also won the minor premiership by finishing atop the home-and-away ladder with an 18–5 win–loss record. The Brisbane Lions' Lachie Neale won his second Brownlow Medal as the league's best and fairest player, and 's Charlie Curnow won his second consecutive Coleman Medal as the league's leading goalkicker.
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. South Australia won the bid for the event, beating a bid from New South Wales, and Norwood Oval and Summit Sports Park in Mount Barker each hosted their first AFL matches.
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. The medical substitute position, which had been introduced in 2021, was replaced with a tactical substitute; prior rules had allowed for a player to be substituted only for medical reasons, but this stipulation was removed, allowing for the substitute to be used for any reason.
Coach appointments New coach Club Date of appointment Previous coach 19 August 2022 22 August 2022 29 September 2022 24 October 2022
Club leadership Caretaker coaches are italicised.
Club Coach Leadership group Captain(s) Vice-captain(s) Other leader(s) Matthew Nicks Jordan Dawson Tom Doedee, Ben Keays, Reilly O'Brien, Brodie Smith Chris Fagan Harris Andrews, Lachie Neale Hugh McCluggage Jarrod Berry, Charlie Cameron, Josh Dunkley, Jack Gunston, Ryan Lester, Lincoln McCarthy, Oscar McInerney, Daniel Rich Michael Voss Patrick Cripps Sam Walsh, Jacob Weitering Craig McRae Darcy Moore Taylor Adams, Jeremy Howe, Brayden Maynard Brad Scott Zach Merrett Andrew McGrath Justin Longmuir Alex Pearce Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong Jaeger O'Meara, Sam Switkowski, Hayden Young Chris Scott Patrick Dangerfield Tom Stewart Stuart Dew ( 1–17)Steven King ( 18–24) Touk Miller, Jarrod Witts Sam Collins Noah Anderson, Nick Holman, Sean Lemmens, David Swallow Adam Kingsley Toby Greene Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly Tom Green, Connor Idun, Harry Perryman, Sam Taylor Sam Mitchell James Sicily Luke Breust, Dylan Moore Sam Frost, Jarman Impey, Mitch Lewis Simon Goodwin Max Gawn Jack Viney Alastair Clarkson ( 1–9, 21–24)Brett Ratten ( 10–20) Luke McDonald, Jy Simpkin Ben Cunnington, Nick Larkey, Ben McKay, Jack Ziebell Ken Hinkley Tom Jonas Ollie Wines Darcy Byrne-Jones Damien Hardwick ( 1–10)Andrew McQualter ( 11–24) Dylan Grimes, Toby Nankervis Ross Lyon Jack Steele Callum Wilkie Tim Membrey, Seb Ross, Jack Sinclair John Longmire Callum Mills, Luke Parker, Dane Rampe Lance Franklin, Will Hayward, Isaac Heeney, Jake Lloyd, Tom Papley Adam Simpson Luke Shuey Tom Barrass, Jeremy McGovern Luke Beveridge Marcus Bontempelli Jack Macrae Caleb Daniel, Taylor Duryea, Aaron Naughton
Pre-season All starting times are local time. Source: afl.com.au
Season events
Increased focus on dangerous tackles 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 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. Several players received suspensions during the season for tackles of a slinging motion which would not have previously been scrutinised by the AFL's match review officer, with many of these players trying unsuccessfully to appeal their suspensions at the AFL Tribunal. 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, while 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".
In April, players such as Dylan Shiel, Andrew McGrath and Darcy Moore called for greater clarification around rules for dangerous tackles, 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; 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".
Hawthorn historical racism allegations
In May, the AFL's investigation into historical racism allegations against the Hawthorn Football Club saw new 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 to focus on his physical and emotional wellbeing, with assistant coach Brett Ratten filling in during his absence; Clarkson eventually returned as coach in round 21, coaching his 400th game in the process. Hawthorn chief executive officer Justin Reeves also resigned from his role in May, citing mental health reasons. 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 ( coach at the time of the investigation) and Jason Burt, but implied that it could still take action against Hawthorn for its handling of the report that formed the basis of the investigation.
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.
Home-and-away season All starting times are local time. Source: AFL Tables
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
Round 23
Round 24
Ladder
Progression by round
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Source: AFL Tables
Home matches and membership The following table includes all home match attendance figures from the home-and-away season, excluding neutral matches (Gather Round).
Team Home match attendance Membership Hosted Total Highest Lowest Average 2022 2023 Change 2022 2023 Change 11 425,119 50,023 33,188 31,429 38,647 7,218 63,099 68,536 5,437 11 322,132 33,565 23,286 25,818 29,285 3,467 43,319 54,676 11,357 11 565,630 83,638 29,602 49,784 51,421 1,637 88,776 95,277 6,501 11 720,696 95,179 37,631 48,573 65,518 16,945 100,384 106,470 6,086 11 513,587 78,300 28,815 39,754 46,690 6,936 86,001 86,274 273 11 485,064 56,090 37,160 40,460 44,097 3,637 56,105 62,064 5,959 11 355,067 86,595 19,617 26,875 32,279 5,404 71,943 82,155 10,212 11 150,960 22,483 9,316 11,298 13,724 2,426 21,422 23,359 1,937 11 112,870 19,332 7,508 9,219 10,261 1,042 32,614 33,036 422 11 366,310 68,691 9,135 26,502 33,301 6,799 81,494 80,698 796 11 491,277 83,985 3,413 39,218 44,662 5,444 66,484 70,785 4,301 11 228,412 49,062 4,378 14,368 20,765 6,397 50,191 51,084 893 11 410,692 48,962 31,053 29,693 37,336 7,643 58,643 64,041 5,398 11 565,620 88,084 23,667 46,485 51,420 4,935 100,792 101,349 557 11 353,491 69,255 21,049 25,386 32,136 6,750 60,172 60,239 67 11 361,163 41,753 26,221 29,424 32,833 3,409 55,394 65,332 9,938 11 464,758 51,172 35,579 36,736 42,251 5,515 102,897 103,275 378 11 313,489 43,482 9,080 24,655 28,499 3,844 50,941 56,302 5,361 Total/overall 198 7,206,397 95,179 3,413 30,871 36,396 5,525 1,190,671 1,264,952 74,281
Source: AFL Tables
Finals series
All starting times are local time. Source: AFL Tables
Finals week 1
Finals week 2
Finals week 3
Grand final
Win–loss table 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.
Team Home-and-away season Finals series 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 F1 F2 F3 GF X 10(11–12–0) X 2(17–6–0) X 5(13–9–1) X 1(18–5–0) X 11(11–12–0) X 14(10–13–0) X 12(10–12–1) X 15(9–14–0) X 7(13–10–0) X 16(7–16–0) X 4(16–7–0) X 17(3–20–0) X 3(17–6–0) X 13(10–12–1) X 6(13–10–0) X 8(12–10–1) X 18(3–20–0) X 9(12–11–0)
Source: AFL Tables
Season notes lost its opening three matches of the season, becoming the first reigning premier since in 1976 to lose its first three matches the following season. won five consecutive matches by at least 50 points during the season, becoming the first team to do so since Geelong in 2008. lost five matches by over 100 points during the season, becoming the first team to do so since in its first two seasons in 2012 and 2013; it also lost twelve consecutive matches by at least 40 points, a VFL/AFL record, during the season. The AFL recorded a cumulative attendance of 7,475,145 for the home-and-away season, breaking the VFL/AFL home-and-away attendance record set in 2019. Nine matches were attended by over 80,000 spectators (including five by over 85,000) during the home-and-away season, breaking the record of seven 80,000-plus attendances in a VFL/AFL home-and-away season set in 2013. Carlton qualified for its first finals appearance since 2013, eventually reaching a preliminary final for the first time since 2000. Geelong failed to qualify for the finals for first time since 2015. The AFL recorded a total club membership tally of 1,264,952 in 2023, a VFL/AFL record; 17 clubs recorded membership increases from 2022 (all clubs except ) and 15 clubs achieved record tallies, with (106,470) recording the largest ever club membership tally. Greater Western Sydney won matches at eleven different venues, a VFL/AFL record, during the season. The AFL recorded a cumulative attendance of 289,147 for finals week 1, breaking the VFL/AFL finals week 1 attendance record set in 2018. Carlton and Greater Western Sydney both reached the preliminary finals after having been in the bottom four at or beyond midseason: Greater Western Sydney was 15th after round 12, and Carlton was 15th after round 15. No team had previously achieved a comparable late-season recovery since the 1970s. A VFL/AFL record 57 matches (including the grand final) were decided by a margin of ten points or less, breaking the previous record of 49 matches in 2014. won the McClelland Trophy, the format of which was altered to a club championship including results from both the AFL and AFL Women's 2023 seasons. Under the points system, Melbourne won 128 points with a percentage of 142.3, clear of second-place , who won 116 points and 126.4 percentage. It was Melbourne's sixth overall McClelland Trophy.
Milestones