2005 AFL Finals Series
| 2005 AFL premiership season | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |
Sydney (4th premiership) |
| Minor premiers |
Adelaide (1st minor premiership) |
| Matches played | 9 |
| Attendance | 480,064 (53,340 per match) |
The Australian Football League's 2005 finals series began on the weekend of 2 September 2005 and ended with the 109th AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 24 September 2005. The Sydney Swans defeated West Coast, breaking their record 72-year drought between premierships. The top eight teams on the home and away rounds (regular season) ladder qualify for the Finals Series.
Separated only by percentage Adelaide (minor premier) and West Coast topped the ladder (W-L: 17–5), trailed by third placed Sydney (15–7). The matchups for the first round of finals were only set after all matches of the final home-and-away game had been completed.
The system is a final eight system. This system is different from the McIntyre Final Eight System, which was previously used by the AFL, and was used by the National Rugby League until 2012.
The top four teams in the eight receive what is popularly known as the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals; this means that if a top-four team loses in the first week, it still has a chance to redeem itself by getting a chance to play in a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight are forced to play what are called elimination finals, in which only the winners survive and move on to week two to play the losers of the qualifying finals.
In the second week, the winners of the qualifying finals receive a bye to the third week, while the losers of those qualifying finals must play the winners of the elimination finals for a chance to play the qualifying finals winners. Home-ground advantage goes to the team with the higher seed.
In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals from week two play the winners of the qualifying finals in the first week, with the latter receiving home-ground advantage. The winners of those matches move on to the Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, where the new premier will be crowned.
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