2020 AFL finals series

The 2020 Australian Football League finals series was the 124th annual edition of the VFL/AFL finals series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2020 AFL premiership season. The series was scheduled to be played over 4 weekends in October, culminating in the 2020 AFL Grand Final on 24 October 2020.

2020 premiership season
Date	1–24 October 2020
Teams	8
Premiers	Richmond (13th premiership)
Runners-up	Geelong (19th grand final)
Minor premiers	Port Adelaide (4th minor premiership)
Attendance
Matches played	9
Total attendance	206,669 (22,963 per match)
Highest	32,865 (First Elimination Final, West Coast vs. Collingwood)
← 2019 2021 →

The top eight teams from the 2020 AFL Premiership season qualified for the finals series. AFL finals series have been played under the current format since 2000.

Qualification

See also: 2020 AFL season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Port Adelaide	17	14	3	0	1185	869	136.4	56	Finals series
2	Brisbane Lions	17	14	3	0	1184	948	124.9	56
3	Richmond (P)	17	12	4	1	1135	874	129.9	50
4	Geelong	17	12	5	0	1233	901	136.8	48
5	West Coast	17	12	5	0	1095	936	117.0	48
6	St Kilda	17	10	7	0	1159	997	116.2	40
7	Western Bulldogs	17	10	7	0	1103	1034	106.7	40
8	Collingwood	17	9	7	1	965	881	109.5	38
9	Melbourne	17	9	8	0	1063	986	107.8	36
10	Greater Western Sydney	17	8	9	0	1007	1053	95.6	32
11	Carlton	17	7	10	0	1017	1078	94.3	28
12	Fremantle	17	7	10	0	866	924	93.7	28
13	Essendon	17	6	10	1	938	1185	79.2	26
14	Gold Coast	17	5	11	1	996	1099	90.6	22
15	Hawthorn	17	5	12	0	1004	1194	84.1	20
16	Sydney	17	5	12	0	890	1077	82.6	20
17	North Melbourne	17	3	14	0	858	1205	71.2	12
18	Adelaide	17	3	14	0	826	1283	64.4	12

Updated to match(es) played on 21 September 2020. Source: AFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Venues

In the lead-up to the finals series, all of the league's Victorian and New South Wales clubs had been based temporarily in Queensland for more than three months, owing to border controls and quarantine restrictions during the pandemic which made travel into and out of those states impractical. These restrictions continued into the finals series, meaning Victorian and New South Wales venues were unavailable, although the latter was moot as neither of the New South Wales clubs qualified. Additionally, Western Australian border crossings still required a period of quarantine; due to the bye week between Round 18 and the first week of the finals, it was possible to stage a finals match in the first week of the finals after observing the quarantine, but not possible to play in any later weeks;^[1] this was again moot, as West Coast finished fifth and could not qualify for a home final after the first week.

As such, finals venues were limited to Adelaide Oval (South Australia), the Gabba and Metricon Stadium (Queensland) and, in the first week only, Optus Stadium (Western Australia). Clubs entitled to home finals but unable to play in their home states were given the opportunity to nominate a preferred venue for their finals games.^[1]

The Grand Final was scheduled in advance to be played at the Gabba, irrespective of the teams involved. It was the first time that the Grand Final had been played outside Victoria.^[2]

Brisbane	Brisbane   Adelaide   Perth   Gold Coast	Adelaide
The Gabba		Adelaide Oval
Capacity: 30,000 (reduced)		Capacity: 25,000 (reduced)
Gold Coast		Perth
Metricon Stadium		Optus Stadium
Capacity: 15,000 (reduced)		Capacity: 35,500 (reduced)

Matches

See also: AFL final eight system

The system used for the 2020 AFL finals series is a final eight system. The top four teams in the eight receive the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals, such that if a top-four team loses in the first week it still remains in the finals, playing a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight play knock-out games – only the winners survive and move on to the next week. Home-state advantage ordinarily goes to the team with the higher ladder position in the first two weeks, to the qualifying final winners in the third week, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some states are unable to host matches.

In the second week, the losers of the qualifying finals play the elimination finals winners in a semi-final, while the winners of the qualifying finals receive byes. In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals play the winners of the qualifying finals. The winners of those matches move on to the Grand Final.^[3]

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals						Preliminary finals					Grand Final
	1 Oct, Adelaide Oval
	1	Port Adelaide	9.4 (58)
	4	Geelong	5.12 (42)			10 Oct, Gabba
						Geelong		15.10 (100)
	3 Oct, Optus Stadium					Collingwood		5.2 (32)				16 Oct, Adelaide Oval
	5	West Coast	11.9 (75)									Port Adelaide		6.4 (40)
	8	Collingwood	12.4 (76)									Richmond		6.10 (46)			24 Oct, Gabba
																	Richmond		12.9 (81)
	3 Oct, Gabba											17 Oct, Gabba					Geelong		7.8 (50)
	6	St Kilda	10.7 (67)									Brisbane Lions		6.6 (42)
	7	Western Bulldogs	9.10 (64)			9 Oct, Metricon Stadium						Geelong		11.16 (82)
						Richmond		12.8 (80)
	2 Oct, Gabba					St Kilda		6.13 (49)
	2	Brisbane Lions	10.9 (69)
	3	Richmond	8.6 (54)

Week One (Qualifying and Elimination finals)

First Qualifying final (Port Adelaide vs Geelong)

The first qualifying final saw minor premier Port Adelaide host fourth placed Geelong. This marked the fourth final between the two sides, having previously met in a semi-final in 2013, qualifying final in 2004, and, most notably, the 2007 Grand Final, which was won by Geelong by a record-breaking 119-point margin, which stands as the record to this day.

Scorecard

	First qualifying final
Thursday, 1 October (7:10 pm)	Port Adelaide	def.	Geelong	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 22,755)	Report
	2.1 (13) 4.2 (26) 7.4 (46)  9.4 (58)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	1.4 (10) 3.7 (25) 4.8 (32)  5.12 (42)	Umpires: Foot, Chamberlain, Fleer Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
Motlop 3, Ebert 2, Dixon, Rozee, Ladhams, Marshall		Goals	Stanley 2, Tuohy, Selwood, Dangerfield
Rockliff, Powell-Pepper, Ebert, Motlop, Wines, Hartlett, Butters		Best	Parfitt, Selwood, Dangerfield, Guthrie, Duncan, Taylor
Duursma (concussion), Marshall (shoulder)		Injuries	Nil
Nil		Reports	Nil
With an average age of 28 years, 139 days, Geelong's Qualifying Final team is, as of the end of 2021, the oldest team ever fielded in a VFL/AFL game.^[4]

Second Qualifying Final (Brisbane Lions vs Richmond)

The Second Qualifying Final saw second-placed Brisbane Lions play third-placed Richmond. This marked the second straight season the two teams met in the Second Qualifying Final, with Richmond defeating the Lions by 47 points in 2019 en route to their second premiership in three years. In addition, they had also played in a preliminary final in 2001, which Brisbane won by 68 points en route to their first of three consecutive premierships.

Scorecard

	Second qualifying final
Friday, 2 October (7:50 pm)	Brisbane Lions	def.	Richmond	Gabba (crowd: 22,104)	Report
	3.1 (19) 7.2 (44) 9.6 (60)  10.9 (69)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	4.1 (25) 5.1 (31) 6.3 (39)  8.6 (54)	Umpires: Ryan, Gianfagna, Mollison Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
Cameron 3, Bailey, McCluggage, McInerney, McStay, Neale, Rayner, Rich		Goals	Riewoldt 2, Rioli 2, Baker, Castagna, Cotchin, McIntosh
McCluggage, Rich, Cameron, Lyons, Neale, Zorko		Best	Prestia, Short, Lambert, Cotchin, Martin
Nil		Injuries	Nil
Nil		Reports	Nil
Brisbane defeated Richmond for the first time since Round 7, 2009, ending a 15 match losing streak.

Second Elimination Final (St Kilda vs Western Bulldogs)

The Second Elimination Final saw sixth placed St Kilda host the seventh placed Western Bulldogs. This marked the fifth final between the two teams, having previously clashed in consecutive preliminary finals in 2009 and 2010 in addition to semi finals in 1992 and 1961.

Scorecard

	Second elimination final
Saturday, 3 October (4:40 pm)	St Kilda	def.	Western Bulldogs	Gabba (crowd: 10,651)	Report
	2.2 (14) 5.4 (34) 9.6 (60)  10.7 (67)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	3.1 (19) 4.3 (27) 5.6 (36)  9.10 (64)	Umpires: Stevic, Gavine, Williamson Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
King 2, Ryder 2, Membrey 2, Geary 2, Lonie, Butler		Goals	Daniel, Hunter, Liberatore, Crozier, Johannisen, Dunkley, Wallis, Bruce, Naughton
Geary, Hannebery, Ryder, Clark, Howard, Membrey, Carlisle		Best	B. Smith, Bontempelli, Williams, Crozier, Daniel
Ryder (hamstring)		Injuries	Cordy (ankle)
Nil		Reports	Nil

First Elimination Final (West Coast vs Collingwood)

The First Elimination final saw fifth-placed West Coast host eighth-placed Collingwood. This marked the ninth final between the two sides, having previously contested a qualifying final and replay in 1990, a qualifying final in 1994, a semi final in 2007, a qualifying final in 2011, a semi-final in 2012 and both a qualifying final and grand final in 2018.

Scorecard

	First elimination final
Saturday, 3 October (6:10 pm)	West Coast	def. by	Collingwood	Optus Stadium (crowd: 32,865)	Report
	1.2 (8) 5.4 (34) 7.6 (48)  11.9 (75)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	4.0 (24) 6.1 (37) 9.4 (58)  12.4 (76)	Umpires: Deboy, Meredith, Findlay Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
Kennedy 3, Darling 2, Allen 2, Ainsworth, Cripps, Ryan		Goals	Cox 3, Mihocek 3, De Goey 2, Adams, Noble, Elliott, Hoskin-Elliott
Naitanui, Ryan, Kennedy, Duggan, Gaff, Darling		Best	Adams, Treloar, Mihocek, Mason Cox, Scott Pendlebury, Chris Mayne
Nil		Injuries	Nil
Nil		Reports	Nil

Week Two (Semi-Finals)

Second Semi-Final (Richmond vs St Kilda)

The Second Semi-Final saw Richmond host St Kilda. This was just the fourth final between the two teams and the first in 47 years, having previously clashed in semi-finals in 1939 and 1973, in addition to a preliminary final in 1971.

Scorecard

	Second semi-final
Friday, 9 October (6:50 pm)	Richmond	def.	St Kilda	Metricon Stadium (crowd: 13,778)	Report
	5.1 (31) 9.1 (55) 10.4 (64)  12.8 (80)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	2.2 (14) 3.6 (24) 5.11 (41)  6.13 (49)	Umpires: Findlay, Ryan, Mollison Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
Bolton 3, Lynch 2, Edwards 2, Castagna, Martin, McIntosh, Prestia, Rioli		Goals	Battle, Butler, Kent, Ross, Savage, Steele
Houli, Martin, Edwards, Bolton, Lynch, Baker		Best	Steele, Clark, Ross, Coffield, Marshall
Nil		Injuries	Membrey (ankle)
Nil		Reports	Nil

First Semi-Final (Geelong vs Collingwood)

The First Semi-Final saw Geelong play Collingwood. This marked the twenty-fifth final between the two sides - having met in six grand finals in 1925, 1930, 1937, 1952, 1953 and 2011. In addition they had contested a qualifying final the previous season and in 1981, semi finals in 1901, 1927, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1967, and preliminary finals in 1930, 1938, 1955, 1964, 1980, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Scorecard

	First semi-final
Saturday, 10 October (6:40 pm)	Geelong	def.	Collingwood	Gabba (crowd: 21,396)	Report
	4.4 (28) 9.6 (60) 9.8 (62)  15.10 (100)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	1.0 (6) 1.0 (6) 1.1 (7)  5.2 (32)	Umpires: Stevic, Chamberlain, Fleer Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
Dangerfield 4, Hawkins 4, Tuohy, Stanley, Miers, Dahlhaus, Guthrie, Menegola, Selwood		Goals	Mihocek 2, Elliott, Grundy, Stephenson
Dangerfield, Duncan, Stewart, Guthrie, Henderson, Menegola		Best	Adams, Crisp, Quaynor, Thomas
Stanley (knee)		Injuries	Adams (elbow), Cox (ribs)
Nil		Reports	Nil
Collingwood were held to their lowest three-quarter time score since round 6, 1900, scoring only 1.1 (7).

Week Three (Preliminary finals)

First Preliminary Final (Port Adelaide vs Richmond)

The First Preliminary Final saw Port Adelaide face Richmond. This marked the second finals meeting between the two sides, after the 2014 First Elimination Final, which Port Adelaide won by 57 points.

Scorecard

	First preliminary final
Friday, 16 October (7:20 pm)	Port Adelaide	def. by	Richmond	Adelaide Oval (crowd: 24,292)	Report
	2.3 (15) 3.3 (21) 4.4 (28)  6.4 (40)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	2.1 (13) 3.3 (21) 4.6 (30)  6.10 (46)	Umpires: Stevic, Deboy, Meredith Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
Rozee 2, Duursma, Lycett, Dixon, Ladhams		Goals	Martin 2, Lambert 2, Riewoldt, Lynch
Rozee, Duursma, Ebert, Gray, Jonas, Wines		Best	Martin, Balta, Cotchin, Vlastuin, Graham, McIntosh
Ebert (concussion)		Injuries	Nil
Ladhams (striking)		Reports	Nil

Second Preliminary Final (Brisbane Lions vs Geelong)

The Second Preliminary Final was contested between Brisbane and Geelong. This was the second final played between the two sides, having also met in a preliminary final in 2004, which Brisbane won by 9 points.

Scorecard

	Second preliminary final
Saturday, 17 October (6:40 pm)	Brisbane Lions	def. by	Geelong	Gabba (crowd: 29,121)	Report
	2.0 (12) 4.3 (27) 5.5 (35)  6.6 (42)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	2.5 (17) 4.8 (32) 7.11 (53)  11.16 (82)	Umpires: Findlay, Ryan, Fleer Television broadcast: Seven Network, Fox Footy (simulcast)
Cameron 2, Neale 2, Hipwood, Rayner		Goals	Rohan 3, Hawkins 2, Ablett 2, Parfitt, Henry, Miers, Tuohy
Neale, Rich, Lyons, Lester, Zorko		Best	Duncan, Stewart, Dangerfield, Ablett, Hawkins, Rohan
Gardiner (knee, replaced by Payne), Birchall (hamstring)		Injuries	Nil
Nil		Reports	Nil

Week Four (Grand Final)

Main article: 2020 AFL Grand Final

This was only the third time in AFL/VFL history where neither of the two top qualifying teams made the grand final. The previous two occasions occurred in 1980 and the previous year, 2019. Richmond were also involved in both of those Grand Finals. This marked the third Grand Final between the two teams, having previously met in the 1931 and 1967 premiership deciders. Including those two Grand Finals, this marked the twelfth final between the two sides, having also previously met in semi-finals in 1921, 1931, 1934, 1969 and 1980; preliminary finals in 1933, 1995 and 2019; and a qualifying final in 2017. The overall head-to-head record in finals prior to this match was 9–2 in Richmond's favour, with one Grand Final victory apiece.

	Grand Final
Saturday, 24 October (6:30 pm)	Richmond	def.	Geelong	Gabba (crowd: 29,707)	Report
	2.1 (13) 3.2 (20) 7.4 (46)  12.9 (81)	Q1 Q2 Q3  Final	2.2 (14) 5.5 (35) 6.8 (44)  7.8 (50)	Umpires: Stevic, Meredith, Fleer Norm Smith Medal: Dustin Martin Television broadcast: Seven Network National anthem: Tim McCallum
Martin 4, Prestia 2, Riewoldt 2, Castagna, Lambert, Lynch, McIntosh		Goals	Menegola 2, Dangerfield, Duncan, Guthrie, Hawkins, Miers
Martin, Short, Edwards, Prestia, Cotchin, Bolton		Best	Duncan, Stewart, Selwood, Menegola, Dahlhaus
Vlastuin (concussion), Houli (calf)		Injuries	Ablett (shoulder), Simpson (concussion)
Nil		Reports	Nil

References

1. Sam Landsberger (18 September 2020). "AFL hubs set to cost league $60 million as price of keeping 2020 season afloat hits home". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. Waterworth, Ben; Zita, David (2 September 2020). "This is a win for Queensland: AFL reveals how QLD won race for historic Grand Final as key fixture details confirmed". Fox Sports.
3. Hutchinson, Col; Rodgers, Stephen (1 August 2010). . Australian Football League. Telstra Media. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
4. "AFL Tables - All Time Records - Miscellaneous". AFL Tables. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

External links

•  Sports portal
•  Australia portal

• AFL finals series official website