2014 AFL finals series
| 2014 premiership season | |
|---|---|
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| Date | 5–27 September 2014 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers | Hawthorn (12th premiership) |
| Matches played | 9 |
| Attendance | 570,568 (63,396 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 99,454 (GF, Sydney v Hawthorn) 78,559 (EF2, North Melbourne v Essendon) |
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 Lance Franklin's two final quarter goals in the first qualifying final v. Fremantle
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The 2014 Australian Football League finals series is the 118th annual edition of the VFL/AFL final series, the Australian rules football tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2014 AFL Premiership season. The series ran over four weekends in September 2014, and culminated with the 2014 AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 2014.
The top eight teams from the 2014 AFL Premiership season qualified for the finals series. AFL final series have been played under the current format since 2000. Hawthorn won the premiership after defeating Sydney in the Grand Final. Port Adelaide and North Melbourne both reached the preliminary finals after finishing outside the top four, and top-four finishers Fremantle and Geelong were eliminated at the semi finals stage. Richmond and Essendon lost their respective elimination finals.
Reigning premiers Hawthorn appeared in their fifth straight finals appearance, finishing second on the ladder. In the previous year's final series, Hawthorn defeated Fremantle in the Grand Final to claim their 11th premiership. Sydney also qualified for their fifth straight finals appearance after becoming minor premiers of the 2014 season. Geelong qualified third, appearing in their eighth straight finals series. Fremantle finished fourth, appearing in their third straight finals, after defeating Port Adelaide in the final round of the season. Port Adelaide were fifth on the ladder after being on top midway through the season. North Melbourne qualified as sixth for their first finals since 2012. Essendon finished seventh for their first finals appearance since 2011. Richmond qualified eighth for their second straight appearance at the finals; the club won its last nine matches of the season, recovering from a win-loss record of 3–10 to reach the finals, a feat never achieved before.
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