2008 AFL season

The Australian Football League season of 2008 commenced on 20 March 2008 and concluded on 27 September 2008. The season marked the 150th anniversary of Australian rules football. The season consisted of 22 rounds finals games and 4 rounds of finals to determine the 2008 AFL Premier.

NAB Cup

St Kilda won the National Australia Bank Cup, defeating the Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in Adelaide in the Final on 8 March 2008. St Kilda won by the score (69) to (64).

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Adelaide	0.9.10 (64)	St Kilda	2.7.9 (69)	AAMI Stadium	26,823	Saturday, 8 March	AFL.com.au

Premiership season

Round 1 (Season Launch/Easter)

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Carlton	11.13 (79)	Richmond	17.7 (109)	MCG	72,552	Thursday, 20 March	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	14.12 (96)	Geelong	15.15 (105)	AAMI Stadium	28,206	Thursday, 20 March	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	16.15 (111)	Fremantle	13.7 (85)	MCG	45,383	Saturday, 22 March	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	14.8 (92)	Brisbane Lions	11.10 (76)	Subiaco	39,591	Saturday, 22 March	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	6.15 (51)	Sydney Swans	6.13 (49)	Telstra Dome	36,614	Saturday, 22 March	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	19.12 (126)	Adelaide	18.15 (123)	Telstra Dome	24,835	Sunday, 23 March	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	23.16 (154)	Melbourne	6.14 (50)	MCG	40,141	Sunday, 23 March	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	9.13 (67)	Essendon	19.8 (122)	Telstra Dome	48,100	Monday, 24 March	AFL.com.au

Round 2

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Brisbane Lions	13.18 (96)	Collingwood	13.16 (94)	The Gabba	33,867	Friday, 28 March	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	9.12 (66)	Western Bulldogs	24.17 (161)	MCG	27,821	Saturday, 29 March	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	21.7 (133)	West Coast Eagles	8.9 (57)	AAMI Stadium	38,162	Saturday, 29 March	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	14.13 (97)	Hawthorn	16.16 (112)	Subiaco	38,022	Saturday, 29 March	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	19.11 (125)	Carlton	12.13 (85)	Telstra Dome	43,396	Saturday, 29 March	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	22.14 (146)	Port Adelaide	11.12 (78)	SCG	24,700	Sunday, 30 March	AFL.com.au
Geelong	22.18 (150)	Essendon	6.15 (51)	Telstra Dome	50,636	Sunday, 30 March	AFL.com.au
Richmond	13.8 (86)	North Melbourne	20.7 (127)	MCG	39,292	Sunday, 30 March	AFL.com.au

Round 3 (Rivalry Round)

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Western Bulldogs	19.11 (125)	St Kilda	13.9 (87)	Telstra Dome	38,667	Friday, 4 April	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	13.8 (86)	Hawthorn	15.12 (102)	Telstra Dome	39,816	Saturday, 5 April	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	10.13 (73)	Fremantle	12.15 (87)	Subiaco	39,027	Saturday, 5 April	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	10.11 (71)	Sydney Swans	13.10 (88)	The Gabba	29,061	Saturday, 5 April	AFL.com.au
Essendon	23.12 (150)	Carlton	21.8 (134)	MCG	64,388	Saturday, 5 April	AFL.com.au
Geelong	16.16 (112)	Melbourne	12.10 (82)	Skilled Stadium	23,569	Sunday, 6 April	AFL.com.au
Richmond	11.12 (78)	Collingwood	18.14 (122)	MCG	70,802	Sunday, 6 April	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	12.13 (85)	Port Adelaide	11.13 (79)	AAMI Stadium	45,524	Sunday, 6 April	AFL.com.au

Round 4

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Essendon	14.14 (98)	Western Bulldogs	19.14 (128)	Telstra Dome	47,641	Friday, 11 April	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	13.16 (94)	Geelong	21.10 (136)	Telstra Dome	44,368	Saturday, 12 April	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	18.19 (127)	Melbourne	11.13 (79)	MCG	23,427	Saturday, 12 April	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	16.11 (107)	West Coast Eagles	5.15 (45)	ANZ Stadium	44,235	Saturday, 12 April	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	16.8 (104)	Brisbane Lions	18.16 (124)	AAMI Stadium	25,205	Saturday, 12 April	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	17.12 (114)	Adelaide	10.10 (70)	Aurora Stadium	15,124	Sunday, 13 April	AFL.com.au
Carlton	17.9 (111)	Collingwood	13.10 (88)	MCG	77,873	Sunday, 13 April	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	10.13 (73)	Richmond	20.17 (137)	Subiaco	37,541	Sunday, 13 April	AFL.com.au

Round 5

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
St Kilda	18.15 (123)	Essendon	14.3 (87)	Telstra Dome	46,792	Friday, 18 April	AFL.com.au
Geelong	16.18 (114)	Sydney Swans	10.12 (72)	Skilled Stadium	24,368	Saturday, 19 April	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	12.16 (88)	Fremantle	10.11 (71)	AAMI Stadium	39,554	Saturday, 19 April	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	17.16 (118)	Hawthorn	19.16 (130)	The Gabba	30,019	Saturday, 19 April	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	15.15 (105)	North Melbourne	16.16 (112)	MCG	51,990	Saturday, 19 April	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	9.14 (68)	Carlton	15.11 (101)	MCG	44,759	Sunday, 20 April	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	19.16 (130)	Richmond	20.10 (130)	Telstra Dome	37,767	Sunday, 20 April	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	16.8 (104)	Port Adelaide	19.14 (128)	Subiaco	38,302	Sunday, 20 April	AFL.com.au

Round 6 (ANZAC Round)

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Collingwood	23.16 (154)	Essendon	12.9 (81)	MCG	88,999	Friday, 25 April	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	13.10 (88)	Geelong	13.11 (89)	Subiaco	38,022	Friday, 25 April	AFL.com.au
Carlton	11.15 (81)	Adelaide	16.15 (111)	MCG	41,033	Saturday, 26 April	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	20.14 (134)	West Coast Eagles	11.8 (74)	Telstra Dome	29,927	Saturday, 26 April	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	12.10 (82)	St Kilda	9.7 (61)	AAMI Stadium	20,517	Saturday, 26 April	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	19.23 (137)	Melbourne	13.7 (85)	The Gabba	22,878	Sunday, 27 April	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	9.10 (64)	Sydney Swans	8.16 (64)	Telstra Dome	28,392	Sunday, 27 April	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	14.22 (106)	Richmond	15.4 (94)	MCG	46,076	Sunday, 27 April	AFL.com.au

Round 7

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
West Coast Eagles	10.14 (74)	Carlton	17.9 (111)	Subiaco	41,254	Friday, 2 May	AFL.com.au
Geelong	15.15 (105)	Brisbane Lions	11.12 (78)	Skilled Stadium	23,388	Saturday, 3 May	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	24.10 (154)	Collingwood	13.11 (89)	MCG	76,048	Saturday, 3 May	AFL.com.au
Richmond	16.11 (107)	St Kilda	17.8 (110)	Telstra Dome	40,585	Saturday, 3 May	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	15.17 (107)	North Melbourne	11.8 (74)	AAMI Stadium	41,898	Saturday, 3 May	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	14.10 (94)	Western Bulldogs	18.4 (112)	SCG	29,018	Sunday, 4 May	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	17.17 (119)	Fremantle	15.23 (113)	MCG	19,423	Sunday, 4 May	AFL.com.au
Essendon	15.4 (94)	Port Adelaide	24.14 (158)	Telstra Dome	28,409	Sunday, 4 May	AFL.com.au

AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Victoria	21.11 (137)	Dream Team	18.12 (120)	MCG	69,294	Saturday, May 10	AFL.com.au

Round 8

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
St Kilda	14.10 (94)	Collingwood	16.7 (103)	Telstra Dome	48,417	Friday, May 16	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	17.15 (117)	Port Adelaide	15.12 (102)	Aurora Stadium	15,682	Saturday, 17 May	AFL.com.au
Richmond	10.9 (69)	Geelong	14.15 (99)	MCG	37,275	Saturday, 17 May	AFL.com.au
Carlton	12.20 (92)	Brisbane Lions	18.17 (125)	Telstra Dome	38,675	Saturday, 17 May	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	13.11 (89)	West Coast Eagles	12.11 (83)	Gold Coast Stadium	6,354	Saturday, 17 May	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	22.18 (150)	Melbourne	11.8 (74)	AAMI Stadium	35,649	Sunday, 18 May	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	21.17 (143)	Essendon	7.10 (52)	ANZ Stadium	34,904	Sunday, 18 May	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	17.9 (111)	Western Bulldogs	17.12 (114)	Subiaco	35,624	Sunday, 18 May	AFL.com.au

Round 9 (Indigenous Round)

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Collingwood	20.14 (134)	Geelong	7.6 (48)	MCG	78,206	Friday, 23 May	AFL.com.au
Carlton	14.13 (97)	Fremantle	14.4 (88)	Telstra Dome	28,955	Saturday, 24 May	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	14.10 (94)	Sydney Swans	16.9 (105)	AAMI Stadium	25,013	Saturday, 24 May	AFL.com.au
Essendon	10.12 (72)	Richmond	16.14 (110)	MCG	60,333	Saturday, 24 May	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	14.13 (97)	Adelaide	5.17 (47)	Subiaco	35,348	Saturday, 24 May	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	21.15 (141)	St Kilda	14.11 (95)	The Gabba	27,566	Sunday, 25 May	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	12.6 (78)	Hawthorn	14.13 (97)	MCG	41,341	Sunday, 25 May	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	16.14 (110)	North Melbourne	16.17 (113)	Telstra Dome	35,471	Sunday, 25 May	AFL.com.au

Round 10

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Adelaide	9.20 (74)	Essendon	10.9 (69)	AAMI Stadium	41,897	Friday, 30 May	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	27.11 (173)	West Coast Eagles	10.13 (73)	MCG	52,968	Saturday, 31 May	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	12.2 (74)	Western Bulldogs	15.16 (106)	Aurora Stadium	19,378	Saturday, 31 May	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	18.21 (129)	North Melbourne	15.8 (98)	The Gabba	22,118	Saturday, 31 May	AFL.com.au
Geelong	19.19 (133)	Carlton	12.5 (77)	Telstra Dome	46,231	Saturday, 31 May	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	21.13 (139)	Richmond	8.9 (57)	SCG	26,852	Sunday, 1 June	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	19.15 (129)	Melbourne	7.8 (50)	Telstra Dome	27,854	Sunday, 1 June	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	10.15 (75)	Port Adelaide	16.7 (103)	Subiaco	34,236	Sunday, 1 June	AFL.com.au

Round 11 (Queens Birthday)

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
North Melbourne	17.12 (114)	Geelong	19.13 (127)	Telstra Dome	38,373	Friday, 6 June	AFL.com.au
Richmond	14.12 (96)	Adelaide	22.14 (146)	MCG	32,767	Saturday, 7 June	AFL.com.au
Essendon	12.7 (79)	Hawthorn	19.16 (130)	Telstra Dome	46,377	Saturday, 7 June	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	11.12 (78)	Sydney Swans	12.11 (83)	Subiaco	38,802	Saturday, 7 June	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	14.12 (96)	Fremantle	10.14 (74)	The Gabba	24,506	Sunday, 8 June	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	11.13 (79)	Western Bulldogs	15.16 (106)	Telstra Dome	38,914	Sunday, 8 June	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	8.15 (63)	Carlton	10.15 (75)	AAMI Stadium	29,240	Sunday, 8 June	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	13.17 (95)	Collingwood	17.14 (116)	MCG	59,548	Monday, 9 June	AFL.com.au

Round 12

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Essendon	16.17 (113)	West Coast Eagles	13.13 (91)	Telstra Dome	33,386	Friday, 13 June	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	19.17 (131)	Brisbane Lions	10.8 (68)	MCG	39,320	Saturday, 14 June	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	18.12 (120)	North Melbourne	9.13 (67)	Subiaco	34,105	Saturday, 14 June	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	14.18 (102)	St Kilda	9.13 (67)	SCG	25,996	Saturday, 14 June	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	10.12 (72)	Hawthorn	11.10 (76)	AAMI Stadium	44,559	Saturday, 14 June	AFL.com.au
Geelong	15.18 (108)	Port Adelaide	7.7 (49)	Skilled Stadium	21,642	Sunday, 15 June	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	12.17 (89)	Carlton	17.17 (119)	MCG	80,310	Sunday, 15 June	AFL.com.au
Richmond	16.20 (116)	Melbourne	14.10 (94)	Telstra Dome	27,348	Sunday, 15 June	AFL.com.au

Round 13

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
St Kilda	10.5 (65)	Fremantle	8.9 (57)	Telstra Dome	22,440	Friday, 20 June	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	10.16 (76)	North Melbourne	15.13 (103)	MCG	42,508	Saturday, 21 June	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	19.9 (123)	Richmond	20.7 (127)	AAMI Stadium	20,923	Saturday, 21 June	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	11.17 (83)	Adelaide	10.10 (70)	The Gabba	29,964	Saturday. 21 June	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	5.17 (47)	Geelong	28.14 (182)	Subiaco	38,414	Saturday, 21 June	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	11.8 (74)	Sydney Swans	17.12 (114)	Manuka Oval	11,437	Sunday, 22 June	AFL.com.au
Carlton	15.11 (101)	Essendon	20.16 (136)	MCG	59,177	Sunday, 22 June	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	13.11 (89)	Western Bulldogs	15.9 (99)	Telstra Dome	44,885	Sunday, 22 June	AFL.com.au

Round 14 (Split Round)

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Hawthorn	18.18 (126)	West Coast Eagles	9.15 (69)	MCG	29,138	Friday, 27 June	AFL.com.au
Richmond	12.16 (88)	Carlton	17.16 (118)	MCG	73,503	Saturday, 28 June	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	9.15 (69)	St Kilda	12.12 (84)	Gold Coast Stadium	9,128	Saturday, 28 June	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	20.15 (135)	Port Adelaide	11.15 (81)	TIO Stadium	11,373	Saturday, 28 June	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	14.9 (93)	Brisbane Lions	13.14 (92)	MCG	23,278	Sunday, 29 June	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	13.13 (91)	Essendon	14.11 (95)	Subiaco	34,239	Sunday, 29 June	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	8.8 (56)	Geelong	18.16 (124)	AAMI Stadium	44,377	Friday, 4 July	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	6.14 (50)	Collingwood	11.13 (79)	ANZ Stadium	59,202	Saturday, 5 July	AFL.com.au

Round 15

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Carlton	12.15 (87)	St Kilda	18.11 (119)	MCG	55,658	Friday, 11 July	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	15.16 (106)	Adelaide	11.8 (74)	MCG	52,592	Saturday, 12 July	AFL.com.au
Geelong	18.10 (118)	Fremantle	6.8 (44)	Skilled Stadium	21,286	Saturday, 12 July	AFL.com.au
Essendon	24.11 (155)	Brisbane Lions	18.10 (118)	Telstra Dome	40,053	Saturday, 12 July	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	10.14 (74)	North Melbourne	10.16 (76)	AAMI Stadium	19,851	Saturday, 12 July	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	15.16 (106)	Sydney Swans	10.15 (75)	MCG	49,529	Sunday, 13 July	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	14.11 (95)	Melbourne	9.10 (64)	Telstra Dome	27,446	Sunday, 13 July	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	11.9 (75)	Richmond	24.8 (152)	Subiaco	37,085	Sunday, 13 July	AFL.com.au

Round 16

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
North Melbourne	17.12 (114)	Collingwood	14.12 (96)	Telstra Dome	46,610	Friday, 18 July	AFL.com.au
Geelong	19.17 (131)	Western Bulldogs	10.10 (70)	Skilled Stadium	24,801	Saturday, 19 July	AFL.com.au
Richmond	16.12 (108)	Essendon	15.14 (104)	MCG	56,746	Saturday, 19 July	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	'''17.11 (113)	West Coast Eagles	9.13 (67)	The Gabba	27,784	Saturday, 19 July	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	18.11 (119)	Hawthorn	13.11 (89)	Telstra Dome	41,886	Saturday, 19 July	AFL.com.au
Carlton	18.11 (119)	Sydney Swans	18.13 (121)	Telstra Dome	38,401	Sunday, 20 July	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	13.14 (92)	Adelaide	11.14 (80)	AAMI Stadium	31,662	Sunday, 20 July	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	16.18 (114)	Melbourne	10.8 (68)	Subiaco	31,638	Sunday, 20 July	AFL.com.au

Round 17

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Hawthorn	11.11 (77)	Geelong	12.16 (88)	MCG	86,179	Friday, 25 July	AFL.com.au
Essendon	19.14 (128)	Collingwood	11.14 (80)	MCG	64,785	Saturday, 26 July	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	15.13 (103)	St Kilda	12.14 (86)	Subiaco	34,037	Saturday, 26 July	AFL.com.au
Richmond	18.9 (117)	Brisbane Lions	16.18 (114)	Telstra Dome	31,275	Saturday, 26 July	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	6.17 (53)	Adelaide	11.11 (77)	SCG	26,260	Saturday, 26 July	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	15.11 (101)	Fremantle	20.9 (129)	AAMI Stadium	19,072	Sunday, 27 July	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	10.10 (70)	North Melbourne	14.14 (98)	MCG	21,330	Sunday, 27 July	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	15.8 (98)	Carlton	18.18 (126)	Telstra Dome	37,879	Sunday, 27 July	AFL.com.au

Round 18

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Collingwood	8.14 (62)	Hawthorn	17.14 (116)	MCG	58,307	Friday, 1 August	AFL.com.au
Essendon	19.10 (124)	Melbourne	17.6 (108)	MCG	46,334	Saturday, 2 August	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	13.16 (94)	Carlton	12.14 (86)	AAMI Stadium	40,730	Saturday, 2 August	AFL.com.au
Geelong	20.14 (134)	Richmond	10.11 (71)	Telstra Dome	42,238	Saturday, 2 August	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	13.14 (92)	Brisbane Lions	11.18 (84)	Gold Coast Stadium	10,037	Saturday, 2 August	AFL.com.au
Western Bulldogs	17.11 (113)	Sydney Swans	14.13 (97)	Manuka Oval	13,550	Sunday, 3 August	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	14.17 (101)	Port Adelaide	14.9 (93)	Telstra Dome	22,878	Sunday, 3 August	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	17.14 (116)	West Coast Eagles	12.11 (83)	Subiaco	42,096	Sunday, 3 August	AFL.com.au

Round 19 (Tom Wills Round)

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Melbourne	5.11 (41)	Geelong	24.13 (157)	MCG	34,610	Friday, 8 August	AFL.com.au
Carlton	18.24 (132)	Port Adelaide	9.12 (66)	Telstra Dome	29,696	Saturday, 9 August	AFL.com.au
Hawthorn	16.14 (110)	Brisbane Lions	5.11 (41)	Aurora Stadium	19,929	Saturday, 9 August	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	14.13 (97)	St Kilda	12.11 (83)	MCG	52,135	Saturday, 9 August	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	17.10 (112)	Fremantle	15.18 (108)	SCG	20,846	Saturday, 9 August	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	21.10 (136)	Western Bulldogs	18.8 (116)	Telstra Dome	31,957	Sunday, 10 August	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	16.12 (108)	Richmond	6.9 (45)	AAMI Stadium	37,562	Sunday, 10 August	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	17.11 (113)	Essendon	16.7 (103)	Subiaco	35,288	Sunday, 10 August	AFL.com.au

Round 20

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Port Adelaide	10.15 (75)	Collingwood	16.10 (106)	AAMI Stadium	23,694	Friday, 15 August	AFL.com.au
Essendon	10.13 (73)	Adelaide	19.15 (129)	Telstra Dome	32,184	Saturday, 16 August	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	11.13 (79)	West Coast Eagles	5.15 (45)	MCG	17,958	Saturday, 16 August	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	13.12 (90)	Western Bulldogs	10.19 (79)	The Gabba	27,315	Saturday, 16 August	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	14.10 (94)	Geelong	20.13 (133)	ANZ Stadium	44,955	Saturday, 16 August	AFL.com.au
Richmond	16.9 (105)	Hawthorn	10.16 (76)	MCG	44,523	Sunday, 17 August	AFL.com.au
Carlton	14.6 (90)	North Melbourne	22.9 (141)	Telstra Dome	43,406	Sunday, 17 August	AFL.com.au
Fremantle	9.15 (69)	St Kilda	17.10 (112)	Subiaco	34,014	Sunday, 17 August	AFL.com.au

Round 21

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Western Bulldogs	23.13 (151)	Essendon	15.15 (105)	Telstra Dome	37,294	Friday, 22 August	AFL.com.au
Richmond	15.15 (105)	Fremantle	15.8 (98)	MCG	24,881	Saturday, 23 August	AFL.com.au
Port Adelaide	18.21 (129)	Melbourne	7.9 (51)	AAMI Stadium	18,875	Saturday, 23 August	AFL.com.au
Brisbane Lions	16.13 (109)	Carlton	18.7 (115)	The Gabba	34,327	Saturday, 23 August	AFL.com.au
Collingwood	18.10 (118)	Sydney Swans	10.13 (73)	Telstra Dome	45,507	Saturday, 23 August	AFL.com.au
Geelong	17.13 (115)	North Melbourne	13.4 (82)	Skilled Stadium	24,288	Sunday, 24 August	AFL.com.au
St Kilda	13.17 (95)	Adelaide	6.11 (47)	Telstra Dome	33,811	Sunday, 24 August	AFL.com.au
West Coast Eagles	9.8 (62)	Hawthorn	19.19 (133)	Subiaco	37,040	Sunday, 24 August	AFL.com.au

Round 22

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Report
Fremantle	12.8 (80)	Collingwood	8.8 (56)	Subiaco	35,106	Friday 29 August	AFL.com.au
North Melbourne	10.12 (72)	Port Adelaide	23.10 (148)	MCG	22,144	Saturday, 30 August	AFL.com.au
Geelong	24.20 (164)	West Coast Eagles	10.5 (65)	Skilled Stadium	21,752	Saturday, 30 August	AFL.com.au
Adelaide	10.16 (76)	Western Bulldogs	9.13 (67)	AAMI Stadium	37,545	Saturday, 30 August	AFL.com.au
Carlton	12.9 (81)	Hawthorn	24.15 (159)	Telstra Dome	49,057	Saturday, 30 August	AFL.com.au
Sydney Swans	17.12 (114)	Brisbane Lions	6.17 (53)	SCG	24,076	Saturday, 30 August	AFL.com.au
Melbourne	6.5 (41)	Richmond	18.13 (121)	MCG	37,046	Sunday, 31 August	AFL.com.au
Essendon	5.9 (39)	St Kilda	21.21 (147)	Telstra Dome	46,161	Sunday, 31 August	AFL.com.au

Ladder

Finals Series

The 2008 Finals Series will be conducted according to the conventions of the AFL's Amended "Final Eight" system that the AFL instituted in the AFL season 2000.

Qualifying and Elimination Finals

Game	Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Broadcast	Report
Qualifying Final 2	Hawthorn	18.19 (127)	Western Bulldogs	11.10 (76)	MCG	76,703	Friday, 5 September	Seven	AFL.com.au
Elimination Final 1	Adelaide	14.10 (94)	Collingwood	19.11 (125)	AAMI Stadium	37,685	Saturday, 6 September	Ten	AFL.com.au
Elimination Final 2	Sydney Swans	17.8 (110)	North Melbourne	11.9 (75)	ANZ Stadium	19,127	Saturday, 6 September	Ten	AFL.com.au
Qualifying Final 1	Geelong	17.17 (119)	St Kilda	8.13 (61)	MCG	71,653	Sunday, 7 September	Seven	AFL.com.au

Semi Finals

Game	Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Broadcast	Report
Semi Final 2	Western Bulldogs	16.10 (106)	Sydney Swans	9.15 (69)	MCG	42,731	Friday, 12 September	Seven	AFL.com.au
Semi Final 1	St Kilda	17.4 (106)	Collingwood	9.18 (72)	MCG	76,707	Saturday, 13 September	Ten	AFL.com.au

Preliminary Finals

Game	Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Broadcast	Report
Preliminary Final 1	Geelong	12.11 (83)	Western Bulldogs	7.12 (54)	MCG	70,143	Friday, 19 September	Seven	AFL.com.au
Preliminary Final 2	Hawthorn	18.10 (118)	St Kilda	9.10 (64)	MCG	77,002	Saturday, 20 September	Ten	AFL.com.au

Grand Final

Game	Team 1	Team 1 score	Team 2	Team 2 score	Ground	Crowd	Date	Broadcast	Report
Grand Final	Geelong	11.23 (89)	Hawthorn	18.7 (115)	MCG	100,012	Saturday, 27 September	Seven	AFL.com.au

Game records

Statistics correct as at end of Round 22.

Highest Score: 28.14 (182) - Geelong v West Coast 5.17 (47), Round 13
Lowest Score: 5.9 (39) - Essendon v St Kilda 21.21 (147),Round 22
Highest Losing Score: 21.8 (134) - Carlton v Essendon 23.12 (150), Round 3
Lowest Winning Score: 6.15 (51) - St Kilda v Sydney 6.13 (49), Round 1
Greatest Margin: 135 points - Geelong 28.14 (182) v West Coast 5.17 (47), Round 13
Smallest Margin (excluding draws): 1 point -

Fremantle 13.10 (88) v Geelong 13.11 (89), Round 6
Melbourne 14.9 (93) v Brisbane 13.14 (92), Round 14

Highest Aggregate Score: 44.20 (284) - Essendon 23.12 (150) v Carlton 21.8 (134), Round 3
Lowest Aggregate Score: 12.28 (100) - St Kilda 6.15 (51) v Sydney 6.13 (49), Round 1
Best Accuracy: 85.71% - 12.2 (74) Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs 15.16 (106), Round 10
Worst Accuracy: 22.73% -

5.17 (47) West Coast v Geelong 28.14 (182), Round 13
5.17 (47) Adelaide v West Coast 14.13 (97), Round 9

Statistics leaders

Leading Goal-kickers and Coleman Medal

^{updated after grand final}

The Coleman Medal was awarded to Lance Franklin for kicking the most goals at the end of the Home and Away season.

	Player	Club	Games	Goals			Best Performance
	Player	Club	Games	Season	Finals	Total	Goals	Opponent(s)	Round(s)
1	Lance Franklin		25	102	11	113	9	Essendon	11
2	Brendan Fevola		22	99	-	99	8	Essendon, Collingwood	3, 11
3	Daniel Bradshaw		20	75	-	75	7	Hawthorn	5
4	Jarryd Roughead		24	66	9	75	6	Collingwood, West Coast	7, 14
5	Jonathan Brown		21	70	-	70	6	Carlton, St Kilda, North Melbourne	8, 9, 10
6	Matthew Pavlich		19	67	-	67	8	North Melbourne	12
7	Nick Riewoldt		24	56	9	65	6	Hawthorn	16
8	Matthew Lloyd		21	62	-	62	8	Melbourne	18
9	Stephen Milne		24	54	6	60	7	Richmond, Essendon	7, 22
10	Daniel Motlop		21	57	-	57	7	Essendon	7

Disposals

Rank	Player	Total
1	Joel Corey	583
2	Jimmy Bartel	552
3	Kane Cornes	551
4	Sam Mitchell	529
5	Adam Cooney	529
6	Andrew Carrazzo	517
7	Daniel Cross	513
8	Scott Thompson	507
9	Matthew Boyd	505
10	Luke Power	502

Kicks

Rank	Player	Total
1	Alan Didak	325
2	Marc Murphy	310
3	Dane Swan	302
4	Brent Harvey	299
5	Nathan Bock	298
6	Jimmy Bartel	298
7	Brent Stanton	295
7	Leigh Montagna	293
9	Jordan McMahon	293
10	Andrew Embley	283

Handballs

Rank	Player	Total
1	Daniel Cross	326
2	Kane Cornes	302
3	Joel Corey	300
4	Sam Mitchell	291
5	Shane Tuck	287
6	Adam Cooney	273
7	Cameron Bruce	264
8	Brett Deledio	264
9	Matthew Boyd	262
10	Brady Rawlings	260

Marks

Rank	Player	Total
1	Matthew Richardson	206
2	Nick Riewoldt	188
3	Samuel Fisher	172
4	Robert Murphy	160
5	Cameron Mooney	155
6	Paul Medhurst	152
7	Nathan Bock	147
8	Brad Johnson	147
9	Andrew Embley	147
10	Brian Lake	141

Tackles

Rank	Player	Total
1	Brett Kirk	138
2	Domenic Cassisi	133
3	Jude Bolton	129
4	Lenny Hayes	128
5	Joel Corey	124
6	Jimmy Bartel	116
7	Luke Ball	107
8	James Kelly	107
9	Scott Thompson	106
10	Daniel Cross	102

Hitouts

Rank	Player	Total
1	Aaron Sandilands	646
2	Dean Cox	570
3	Darren Jolly	530
4	Mark Blake	494
5	Jamie Charman	434
6	Dean Brogan	397
7	David Hille	364
8	Steven King	361
9	Troy Simmonds	359
10	Brendon Lade	349

Awards

The 2008 Brownlow Medal for the AFL's fairest and best player was awarded to Adam Cooney, of the Western Bulldogs, who polled 24 votes.
The Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFL's most valuable player was awarded to Gary Ablett, Jr., of Geelong.
The Coleman Medal was awarded to Lance Franklin of Hawthorn, who kicked 102 goals during the home and away season.
The Norm Smith Medal as the player adjudged best afield in the AFL Grand Final was awarded to Luke Hodge, of Hawthorn.
The McClelland Trophy was awarded to the Geelong Football Club for holding top position on the ladder after 22 rounds.
The Wooden Spoon was obtained by the Melbourne Football Club who finished the season in last place on the ladder after 22 rounds.
Chris Judd from the Carlton Football Club was named the captain of the 2008 All-Australian Team, with seven Geelong players named and nine players made their All-Australian debuts.
The AFL Mark of the Year and Alex Jesaulenko Medal was awarded to Matthew Lloyd of Essendon for a spectacular high mark against Melbourne in Round 19.
The AFL Goal of the Year and Phil Manassa Medal was awarded to Leon Davis of Collingwood for his chase, tackle and goal against Fremantle in Round 22.
The AFL Army Award was awarded to Brett Deledio for the footballer who displays the most courageous and/or team related act of the season, for running with the flight of the ball to attempt a mark in the final minutes of Richmond's Round 7 loss to St Kilda.

Rising Star Nominees

The AFL Rising Star award for 2008 was awarded to Rhys Palmer from the Fremantle Football Club. In the final voting he received maximum votes from eight of the nine judges to beat Hawthorn's Cyril Rioli by 7 votes. Trent Cotchin from Richmond was third with last years number 1 draft pick Matthew Kreuzer fourth and Palmer's Fremantle teammate Garrick Ibbotson in fifth position. A total of 79 players who were eligible for the award played more than 5 games during the 2008 season.

Round	Player	Votes
1	Bachar Houli
2	Josh Hill
3	Rhys Palmer	44
4	Kieran Jack
5	Ben McKinley	6
6	Cyril Rioli	37
7	Austin Wonaeamirri	1
8	Kurt Tippett
9	Garrick Ibbotson	7
10	Nathan J. Brown	3
11	Matthew Kreuzer	11
12	Trent Cotchin	21
13	Jarryd Morton
14	Colin Garland
15	Jack Riewoldt
16	Kyle Reimers
17	Brad Ebert
18	Gavin Urquhart
19	Shaun Grigg
20	Cale Morton	3
21	Bradd Dalziell
22	Alipate Carlile	2

Club Best and Fairests

Club	Award Name	Winner
	Malcolm Blight Medal	Nathan Bock
	Merrett-Murray Medal	Jonathan Brown
	John Nicholls Medal	Chris Judd
	Copeland Trophy	Dane Swan
	Crichton Medal	David Hille
	Doig Medal	Matthew Pavlich
	Carji Greeves Medal	Joel Corey
	Peter Crimmins Medal	Lance Franklin
	Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal	Cameron Bruce
	Syd Barker Medal	Brent Harvey
	John Cahill Medal	Kane Cornes
	Jack Dyer Medal	Brett Deledio
	Trevor Barker Award	Samuel Fisher
	Bob Skilton Medal	Jarrad McVeigh
	Club Champion Award	Dean Cox
	Charles Sutton Medal	Daniel Cross

Notable Events

This was the first season since 1998 in which NMFC competed as "North Melbourne" instead of "Kangaroos", following the end of their decade-long experiment with home-away-from-home venues in Sydney, Canberra, and the Gold Coast.
The highest ever odds for an AFL/VFL game of $34 were offered for to beat in their Round 3 clash at Skilled Stadium. Geelong won by 30 points.
came back from a 37 point deficit from the Saints at quarter time to comeback and the win the game by 38 points to make a 75-point turnaround in Round 4.
produced its biggest ever comeback in Round 4 against when they were down by 47 points late in the third quarter to win by 20 points, a 67-point turnaround.
forward Barry Hall was suspended for seven weeks, the equal-longest suspension handed out since the tribunal was reconfigured, for striking defender Brent Staker with a clean punch to the head. Later in the season, 's Dean Solomon beat that record, being suspended for 8 weeks after hitting 's Cameron Ling in the cheekbone.
's 73 point win over in round 6 was the biggest victory on an Anzac Day Match ever.
earned a controversial draw against at Telstra Dome in round six, after it was later revealed that the tying behind was scored with nineteen men on the field. As a direct consequence of this, the league amended the interchange laws in round nine.
won its first game for the season in Round 7 against by six points, after recovering from a 51 point half-time deficit, the second-largest half-time deficit ever overcome in VFL/AFL history. This was the second in a VFL/AFL-record string of five consecutive games which Fremantle lost after holding a three-quarter time lead.
suffered its worst ever loss at Subiaco Oval, and worst loss anywhere since 1989, in Round 13, losing to by 135 points.
Round 14 marked the first time all non-Victorian clubs lost in the same round since entered the competition in 1997. The feat was repeated in Round 15.
With its final round victory, matched the 2000 record of 21 wins in a season. Ironically, also set the record for the highest average losing margin in a VFL/AFL season, with its only loss coming by 86 points at the hands of .
In the Round 22 match between and , Hawthorn forward Lance Franklin became the first player since Tony Lockett in 1998 to kick 100 goals in the Home & Away Season. Franklin became the 28th player in VFL/AFL history to reach this milestone, and the first indigenous player to do so.
In the same game, Brendan Fevola scored seven second-half goals to fall one goal short of the same milestone, becoming the first person in VFL/AFL history to be stranded on 99 goals for a season.
The final game of the season saw the 8th placed requiring a win of 90+ points over to claim 4th place going into the finals. They recorded a 108 point victory which stole the Crows' 4th place.
On Monday 1 September, Leigh Matthews announced his resignation from his senior coaching position at the Brisbane Lions. Michael Voss has taken up this position despite committing to the West Coast Eagles for 2009.
The second elimination final between Sydney and North Melbourne was the lowest crowd number for a final outside Victoria with only 19,127 despite being at ANZ Stadium where Sydney have averaged 50,000 for finals.
The Grand Final between and drew a crowd of 100,012, the first crowd over 100,000 people since the 1986 Grand Final.
By losing the Grand Final after finishing with a home-and-away record of 21-1, broke the record set in 1935 and 1936 by South Melbourne (16-2) for best record by a non-premier, and the record for most wins by a non-premier held jointly by (1973) and (1991) (both 19 wins).

Australia will be taking on Ireland in the a two test International Rules series. This series will be played in Australia and the matches will be played at Subiaco oval, Perth, Friday night the 24 October. The second test will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday night the 31st of October. Last year the International Rules series was aborted by the Irish to to their thought that the Australians were to rough in the previous series held in Ireland. However after discussions between the teams they have decided to go on with this years series if the Australians decided to play fairly. The 25 man Australian squad lead by Michael Malthouse includes: Nathan Bock (Adelaide) Matthew Boyd (Western Bulldogs)

Jared Brennan (Brisbane Lions)

Campbell Brown (Hawthorn)

Shaun Burgoyne (Port Adelaide)

Matt Campbell (North Melbourne) Ryan Crowley (Fremantle)

Michael Firrito (North Melbourne) Nathan Foley (Richmond) Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)

Roger Hayden (Fremantle) Leigh Montagna (St Kilda)

Daniel Motlop (Port Adelaide)

Marc Murphy (Carlton)

Michael Osborne (Hawthorn)

Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)

Drew Petrie (North Melbourne) David Rodan (Port Adelaide) Max Rooke (Geelong)

Brad Sewell (Hawthorn)

Kade Simpson (Carlton)

Adam Selwood (West Coast)

Dale Thomas (Collingwood) Scott Thompson (Adelaide) Daniel Wells (North Melbourne)

Club leadership

Coach	Captain(s)	Vice Captain(s)/Leadership Group
Neil Craig	Simon Goodwin	Nathan Bassett, Brett Burton, Tyson Edwards, Ben Rutten, Nathan van Berlo
Leigh Matthews	Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Nigel Lappin, Luke Power	N/A
Brett Ratten	Chris Judd	Nick Stevens(vc), Andrew Carrazzo, Heath Scotland, Kade Simpson
Mick Malthouse	Scott Burns	Josh Fraser(vc), Tarkyn Lockyer, Nick Maxwell, Scott Pendlebury
Matthew Knights	Matthew Lloyd	Mark McVeigh, David Hille(vc)
Mark Harvey	Mathew Pavlich	Josh Carr (vc)
Mark Thompson	Tom Harley	Cameron Ling (vc), Cameron Mooney (dvc), Joel Corey, Paul Chapman, Max Rooke
Alastair Clarkson	Sam Mitchell	Luke Hodge (vc)
Dean Bailey	Cameron Bruce, James McDonald	Brock McLean, Brad Miller,
Dean Laidley	Adam Simpson	Brady Rawlings, Daniel Harris, Michael Firrito, Nathan Thompson, Drew Petrie, Corey Jones, Daniel Pratt, Brent Harvey
Mark Williams	Warren Tredrea	Brendon Lade(vc), Chad Cornes(vc), Shaun Burgoyne(vc), Michael Wilson, Kane Cornes and Dom Cassisi
Terry Wallace	Kane Johnson	Chris Newman (vc), Nathan Foley (vc), Nathan Brown, Troy Simmonds, Joel Bowden and Kayne Pettifer
Ross Lyon	Nick Riewoldt	Lenny Hayes
Paul Roos	Leo Barry, Craig Bolton, Brett Kirk	N/A
John Worsfold	Darren Glass	Dean Cox(vc), Tyson Stenglein(vc), Matt Priddis, Ashley Hansen, Adam Selwood
Rodney Eade	Brad Johnson	Scott West, Robert Murphy, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa, Matthew Boyd, Dale Morris

Umpires

The AFL introduced an additional two boundary umpires in Round 21 in order to reduce the error rate and enable the umpires to keep up with the play.

Brett Rosebury was appointed the 2008 All-Australian umpire, the first West Australian umpire to receive that honour. Controversially, however, he was not appointed to umpire the AFL Grand Final, with Scott McLaren, Michael Vozzo and Shaun Ryan selected ahead of Rosebury.

Scott McLaren umpired his 300th game in Round 4 and Shane McInerney umpired his 250 game in Round 4. Experienced field umpires Martin Ellis and Matthew Head both announced their retirements during the year.

Player changes

Debuts

A total of 84 players made their AFL debut in 2008, including 14 of the 17 first round draft selections from the 2007 AFL Draft. Hawthorn's Cyril Rioli was the only debutant to play all 22 games in the Home and Away season.

Retirements

Name	Date Retired	Reason
Beau McDonald	14 February	Recent injuries forced him out of the game.
Danny Jacobs	12 March	Hip injury.
Hugh Minson	9 April	Knee problems.
David Neitz	19 May	Neck problems.
Matthew Carr	19 May	Leg problems.
Michael Braun	7 July (will finish season)	Time is right.
Peter Bell	7 July	Time is right.
Andrew McDougall	17 July	Injury and non-selection.
Shaun McManus	29 July	Time is right.
Michael Wilson	5 August	Injury.
Robert Harvey	6 August (will finish season)	Time is right.
Heath Black	6 August	Injury.
Mal Michael	15 August (will finish season)	Time is right.
Rhett Biglands	18 August	Knee Injury.
Nigel Lappin	19 August	Achilles injury .
Mark Johnson	20 August (will finish season)	Time is right.
Jason Johnson	25 August	Time is right.
Adam Ramanauskas	25 August	Time is right.
Shannon Grant	26 August (will finish season)	Time is right.
Luke Webster	27 August	Injuries and club's future direction.
Nathan Bassett	27 August (will finish season)	Health concerns.
Ben Holland	30 August	Time is right.
Jeff Farmer	2 September	Time is right.
Nathan Ablett	2 September	Pursue a career in the building industry.
Ben Mathews	2 September	Time is right.
Jess Sinclair	10 September	Time is right.
Peter Everitt	12 September	Time is right.
Fraser Gehrig	13 September	Unsuccessful attempt to relaunch his football career.
Ryan Lonie	15 September	Injury.
Shane Wakelin	15 September	Time is right.
Nathan Thompson	19 September	No offer for 2009
Scott Burns	22 September	Time is right
Ken McGregor	30 September	Time is right

Sackings/Delistings

Name	Club	Date Delisted
Courtney Johns		15 August
Damien Peverill		25 August
Jeff White		26 August
Adem Yze		26 August
Greg Tivendale		28 August
Ryley Dunn		3 September
Steven Armstrong		4 September
Chad Jones		4 September
James Thomson		4 September
Jace Bode		4 September
Isaac Weetra		4 September
Robert Copeland		19 September
Chris Schmidt		19 September
Wayde Mills		19 September
Haydn Kiel		19 September
Brodie Holland		23 September
Chris Egan		23 September
Sam Iles		23 September
Scott West		23 September
Peter Street		23 September

Trades

Coaching changes

Surprising some, Leigh Matthews announced his retirement as coach of the Brisbane Lions two days after their final game of the season in what was reported as a move to make way for potential coaching candidate, Michael Voss.

Despite being newly signed for two years as Assistant Coach of the West Coast Eagles, as expected, former Brisbane Lions captain Michael Voss was appointed as coach of the Brisbane Lions, one day after Leigh Matthews resigned.

Footnotes

References

External links

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday October 11, 2008 at 14:44:10 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation