Early VFL finals systems

The Australian Football League finals series, more generally known as the AFL finals, and known from 1897 until 1989 as the Victorian Football League finals series or VFL finals, is a tournament held at the end of each AFL season to determine the premier. The top eight teams qualify for the finals based on the home-and-away season results, and finals matches are played over four weeks under the conventions of the AFL final eight system, culminating in the AFL Grand Final. The finals series is traditionally held throughout September.

The playing of a finals series at the end of the season dates back to the establishment of the Victorian Football League in 1897. After experimenting with different systems in the early years, the league utilised variations of the four-team Argus finals system from 1901 until 1930, then different variations of the McIntyre System from 1931 until 1999, beginning with four teams and expanding gradually to eight. Since 2000, the finals have been conducted under the eponymous AFL final eight system. The systems in use have typically been combinations of single- and double elimination tournaments designed to give higher ranked teams an easier path to the premiership.

The Victorian Football League was established at the end of 1896 by eight clubs which seceded from the Victorian Football Association, which had previously been the peak competition and administrative body for football in Victoria. As part of its arrangements, the league introduced a system of finals in its inaugural season, to be contested after the home-and-away matches by the top four teams. The new system meant that the premiership could not be decided until the final match had been played, generating greater public interest at the end of the season; by comparison, the VFA system awarded the premiership to the team with the best win-loss record across the season, with the provision for a single playoff match only if two teams were tied for first place. Additionally, it was arranged that the gate from finals matches be shared amongst all teams, guaranteeing a better dividend to the league's weaker clubs.

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