Football enthusiasts have expressed strong criticism towards the AFL following the announcement of a new wildcard round set to be introduced in the upcoming season.

This controversial change will allow teams positioned ninth and tenth in the standings a shot at securing a spot in the finals and potentially clinching the premiership.

Clubs have been informed that the league plans to add what is effectively an extra week to the finals schedule, commencing in 2026.

Andrew Dillon, the AFL’s chief executive, shared with Channel Seven, “We’re excited to offer fans an additional weekend of finals action, providing more clubs and players the chance to compete in finals and aim for the premiership.”

“The Wildcard Finals Round demonstrates our dedication to continually enhancing our competition format,” Dillon continued, “building on recent innovations like the Gather Round and AFL Origin to ensure our sport’s growth.”

The AFL is coming under fire for adding a new Wildcard Round to its 2026 fixture list, with teams finishing ninth and 10th set to gain a berth in finals as part of the change

Last season, had the rule been in place, Sydney (10th) would have played against Gold Coast (7th) and Hawthorn (8th) would have played the Western Bulldogs (9th) 

‘This also means that all teams who finish in the top eight of ten will host a home final, giving fans a chance to see their club play at home in September.’

Taking the system from the NBA, the wildcard round would pit the team that finishes seventh on the ladder in the home-and-away season against 10th.

The other wildcard game would be eighth against ninth.

Both games will take place on the weekend that is currently set aside for the pre-finals bye.

The winners would be seeded seventh and eighth in the finals, with the rest of the four-week series remaining as it has since 2000.

If the wildcard round was in place this year, seventh-placed Gold Coast would have hosted Sydney (10th), and Hawthorn (eighth) would have played the Western Bulldogs (ninth).

It is not the only thing that will be changing this season, with the league set to implement a series of rule changes relating to Goalsquare starting positions, restarts and disposal rules.

The new last disposal rule is perhaps set to be the most talked about with umpires set to give a free kick against players who have the last disposal before the ball crosses the boundary line, in between both 50m arcs.

It is not the only thing that will be changing this season, with the league set to implement a series of rule changes relating to Goalsquare starting positions, restarts and disposal rules

However, the AFL’s decision to restructure the season to include a wildcard round hasn’t gone down well at all with fans on social media, with Phil Rothfield joining the debate

However, the AFL’s decision to restructure the season to include a wildcard round hasn’t gone down well at all with fans on social media.

‘Everyone gets a prize. May as well have all 18 teams play not keep score and draw the winner of the flag out of a hat,’ one fan wrote on X.

‘Oh FFS. Let’s have 10 of the 18 teams play finals. Well done guys, sensational way to reward mediocrity. But at least the broadcasters can hyperventilate over some more “finals”,’ another added.

‘Is the AFL aware that the NFL, which has a Wildcard round, has 32 fkn teams. They are completely out of ideas.’

‘If you aren’t good enough to qualify after 24 rounds, you aren’t good enough,’ another said.

‘Stupid idea – if you have had over 20 weeks to make the top 8 and can’t, that’s on you, no point rewarding teams with less than 50 percent win record. Need to at least win 60 percent of your games or at least more wins than L’s,’ another wrote.

One threw some shade at Carlton, writing: ‘Just another way for Carlton to miss the finals!’

While another fan branded the AFL ‘morons’ over the move.

NRL reporter Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield also took to social media to write: ‘They’ve beaten us to it!!!’