The AFL finals haven’t changed in 25 years, until now. What is the wildcard round?

This weekend, the AFL will unveil a first: a “ wildcard round ”.

This round involves two matches to kick off the finals series, in the first change to the league’s finals format in 25 years .

On Friday, the Western Bulldogs will host Collingwood in the first wildcard final, with Melbourne then taking on Carlton on Saturday night.

But why was this brought in, how will it work, and how have the league’s finals series evolved over time? How the wildcard round works In recent years the top eight teams have had a week off between the regular season and the start of the finals.

However, this year only the top six teams get a week off.

The teams ranked seven to ten will play in the wildcard round : seventh will play tenth and eighth will play ninth.

The two winners will continue on to the next finals game, with the two losers eliminated.

The wildcard concept, sometimes called a “ play-in tournament ”, has been a fixture of popular sports leagues such as the United States’ Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association for many years.

It was introduced to Australia’s National Basketball League and Victorian Football League in 2023.

Initial reactions were mostly negative When the AFL announced the changed finals format in November last year, it highlighted several key benefits for clubs, players and fans.

These included greater reward for finishing in the top six , more teams making finals , and all top-eight teams hosting a home final .

The league also believed there would be more games of “ consequence ” towards the end of the season, while supporters would embrace an extra week of finals.

However, the announcement was met with negative responses from players , coaches , commentators and fans .

Critics described it as more unwanted Americanisation of Australian sport, and argued it may take attention away from the AFLW, which kicked off two weekends ago.