The 2018 AFL season was the 122nd season of the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL), the highest level senior men's

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eighteen clubs, ran from 22 March until 29 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a

finals series Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

featuring the top eight clubs. The premiership was won by the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

for the fourth time, after it defeated by five points in the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

Pre-season

The pre-season began with the

2018 AFLX competition The 2018 AFLX competition was the inaugural Australian Football League (AFL) pre-season series of matches, played under the laws of AFLX, a variation of Australian rules football. The matches were played from 15 to 17 February 2018. Fixtures The ...

. Played under modified

AFLX AFLX is a variation of Australian rules football designed in 2017 to be played on a soccer field (significantly smaller than the Australian rules oval). Unlike the full 18-a-side game (or the already established variant for rectangular field ...

rules, the game is played on a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

-sized pitch over two ten minute halves by teams of seven players plus interchange players. It was the first of two AFLX pre-season competitions to be held featuring AFL players. The matches were played from 15–17 February 2018. The winners of the competition were

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The pre-season series was then played, known as the 2018 JLT Community Series. The number of games was reduced compared to the previous season, with teams playing two games each. The games were stand-alone, with no overall winner of the series. Each team played two games, many at suburban or regional venues. All matches were televised live on

Fox Footy Fox Footy (stylised as FOX FOOTY) is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Australia operated out of its Melbou ...

as well as on the AFL Live app. The nine-point

super goal A super goal was a method of scoring used in the Australian Football League's pre-season competition in the sport of Australian rules football, from 2003 to 2017. Under the rule, a goal scored from a distance greater than fifty metres is awarded ...

for a goal kicked from beyond 50m was eliminated from the rules; it had featured in all pre-season competitions since

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Premiership 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

Round 23

Season notes

* lost its first seven matches, the longest losing streak to start a season in the club's history. * Carlton's total of two wins for the season was the club's fewest wins in a season since

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

. * qualified for the finals for the first time since

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Win/loss table

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

Ladder progression

*Numbers highlighted in green indicates the team finished the round inside the top 8. *Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished in first place on the ladder in that round. *Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round. *Underlined numbers indicates the team had a bye during that round. *Subscript numbers indicate ladder position at round's end.

Positions of teams round by round

Finals series

Week one

Week two

Week three

Week four

Finals notes

* qualified for a preliminary final for the first time since

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, and qualified for the finals for the first time since

. * qualified for the grand final for the first time since

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and qualified for the finals for the first time since

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Attendances

By club

By ground

Awards

*The

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

was awarded to Tom Mitchell of who polled 28 votes. *The

Coleman Medal The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most Laws of Australian rules football#Scoring, goals in the Australian Football League#Premiership season, home- ...

was awarded to

Jack Riewoldt Jack Riewoldt ( ; born 31 October 1988) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player, a three-time Coleman Medallis ...

of , who kicked 65 goals during the home and away season. It was the third time Riewoldt has won the award. *The Ron Evans Medal was awarded to Jaidyn Stephenson of , who received 52 votes. *The

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Footbal ...

was awarded to Luke Shuey of . *The

AFL Goal of the Year AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...

was awarded to

Jack Higgins Henry Patterson (27 July 1929 – 9 April 2022), commonly known by his pen name Jack Higgins, was a British author. He was a best-selling author of popular thrillers and espionage novels. His novel '' The Eagle Has Landed'' (1975) sold more t ...

of for his goal against in round 19. *The AFL Mark of the Year was awarded to

Isaac Heeney Isaac Heeney (born 5 May 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League. Early life Heeney was born in Maitland, New South Wales, to mother Rochelle and father Adam. He grew ...

of for his mark against in round 21. *The

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football club championship trophy, awarded each year to the club with the best aggregate performance across the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) seasons. The trophy was inaugur ...

was awarded to for the first time since

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. *The

wooden spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

was "awarded" to for the first time since

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

after obtaining a club low two wins during the season. *The

AFL Players Association Awards The AFL Players Association (AFLPA) awards are a group of awards given annually, mainly to players in the Australian Football League and AFL Women's, voted for by all AFL and AFL Women's players. Main awards The AFLPA nominates the following as ...

: **The

Leigh Matthews Trophy The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was s ...

was awarded to Tom Mitchell of polling 773 votes ahead of

Patrick Cripps Patrick Cripps (born 18 March 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Cripps won the Leigh Matthews Trophy in 2019, and is a dual Brownlow Medallist, fo ...

who polled 529. **The Robert Rose Award was awarded to

Callan Ward Callan Ward (born 10 April 1990) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2008 to 2011. Ward was the ...

of . **The best captain was awarded to

Trent Cotchin Trent William Cotchin (born 7 April 1990) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is an All-Australian, a three-time Jack Dyer Medal, Richmond be ...

of . **The best first year player was awarded to Tim Kelly of . **The 22under22 team captaincy was awarded to

Marcus Bontempelli Marcus Bontempelli (born 24 November 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He has served as Western Bulldogs captain since the 2020 season, and was previo ...

of the for the third year in a row. *The

AFL Coaches Association The AFL Coaches Association (AFLCA) is the representative body for Australian Football League coaches. History The AFLCA was founded in 2002, and as of 2015 had 178 members. Every year annually since 2003, the AFLCA has released a set of award ...

Awards: **The AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award was awarded to

Max Gawn Max Gawn (born 30 December 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A Ruckman (Australian rules football), ruckman, 209 cm tall and weighing 111 kg, Gaw ...

of who received 97 votes ahead of

who received 91. **The Gary Ayres Award for the best player in the finals series was awarded to

Steele Sidebottom Steele Sidebottom (born 2 January 1991) is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. He made the All-Australian team in 2018 and is a two-time Copeland ...

of who polled 23 votes ahead of teammate

Taylor Adams Taylor Adams (born 20 September 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2012 to 2013 and the Colli ...

on 18. **The Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award was awarded to coach

Nathan Buckley Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...

. **The Assistant Coach of the Year Award was awarded to assistant

Rhyce Shaw Rhyce Shaw (born 16 October 1981) is a current Australian rules football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Gold Coast Suns in AFL Women's (AFLW). Shaw grew up in Diamond Creek and played for Diamond Creek Football Club. He ...

for the second year in a row. **The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Alan Stewart for his contribution to football in South Australia. **The Best Young Player Award was awarded to Tom Stewart of who received 40 votes. **The Media Award was awarded to

Gerard Whateley Gerard Whateley (born 28 October 1974) is a Melbourne-based sports broadcaster and writer. He is regarded by many as Australia's pre-eminent sports broadcaster. Since January 2018, he has been chief sports caller and host of the ''Whateley'' ...

for the fifth consecutive year. *The Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award was awarded to

Neville Jetta Neville Jetta (born 12 February 1990) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the current senior coach of the Fitzroy Stars in the Northern Football Netb ...

of .

Milestones

Coleman Medal

*Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the Coleman Medal at the end of that round. *Numbers underlined indicates the player did not play in that round.

Best and fairest

Club leadership

Club membership

References

{{2018 AFL season Australian Football League seasons 2018 Australian Football League season 2018 in Australian rules football