The AFL final eight system is an eight-team championship playoff tournament developed and adopted by the Australian Football League in the 2000 season. The eight teams, which are ranked or seeded in advance of the tournament, participate in a four-week tournament, with two teams eliminated in each of the first three weeks. The grand final is played in the fourth week between the two remaining teams, with the winning team awarded the premiership.
The system is designed to give the top four teams an easier road to the grand final than the second four teams. The top four teams need to win only two finals to reach the grand final, while the second four teams need to win three. The two winning teams of the top four receive a bye in the second week of the playoff and then play at home in the third week, and the two losing teams play at home in the second week.
The AFL introduced the system in 2000 to address several perceived issues with the McIntyre final eight system that had been in use in that competition from 1994 to 1999. The system has also been adopted by the Victorian Football League and National Rugby League.[1] Similar systems are used by Super League, and were previously used by the Australian Rugby League in the 1995 and 1996 seasons.