AFL/VFL Premiers
1897 to Present

The VFL (Victoria Football League) was formed 1897 when six of the strongest clubs proposed to break away from the then VFA (Victorian Football Association) after a power struggle over financial matters. Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne agreed to form a new competition and were quickly joined by Carlton and St Kilda.

The inaugural season of the new league occurred in 1897 and since then it has been the major Australian rules football competition in the country and was eventually became Australia wide before officially becoming the AFL (Australian Football League) in 1990.

Here is a list of all the VFL/AFL premiers from 1897 until today.

Collingwood’s fourth straight premiership came in 1930 and marked a sixth grand final appearance in as many years.

The Magpies were finally toppled in 1931 after being knocked out in the semi finals by Carlton. The Blues went on to lose to Geelong in the Grand Final.

After finishing runner-up in four out of the past five seasons, Richmond finally broke through to win their third premiership in 1932. They were runner-up again the following year to South Melbourne before getting revenge in 1934.

South Melbourne themselves were unlucky, losing a further two grand finals to Collingwood handing them three defeats in a row. Collingwood tasted the same bitter pill losing three consecutive grand finals as well between 1937 and 1939.

Essendon made their fifth straight grand final appearance in 1950 against North Melbourne who made the first appearance since entering the league in 1925. The Bombers denied North their first premiership to go back to back and securing their 10th trophy.

They were unable to complete a three-peat the following year as Geelong knocked them off in the Grand Final, a sixth consecutive appearance. The Cats went back to back a year later, defeating Collingwood but the Magpies got revenged, beating Geelong in the 1953 grand final.

Footscray won their first ever premiership in 1954, almost 30 years after entering the league in 1925.

By the mid 50’s Melbourne became a power house under the leadership of Norm Smith. After their defeat to the Bulldogs in 1954, Melbourne won three consecutive premierships. Collingwood managed to prevent the Demons from matching their record of four straight grand final wins, defeating them in 1958. Melbourne went on to win again in the following year, a fourth cup in five seasons.

Carlton met the old foe Collingwood in the 1970 grand final, their third straight appearance. The match produced, still to this day, the largest attendance record to any football code in Australia. A record crowd of 121,696 piled into the MCG to watch the Blues overcome a 44-point deficit at half time to record a famous 10-point victory.

Hawthorn won their second premiership in 1971, exactly ten years after securing their first cup, before Carlton won again the next year, defeating the Tigers. Richmond would bounce back quickly, winning back-to-back premierships in 1973 and 1974.

North Melbourne would finally taste premiership success 50 years after their addition to the league in 1925. Under the leadership of coach Ron Barassi, North Melbourne defeated Hawthorn by 55 points to claim their first premiership cup. Hawthorn got revenge the following season, defeating the Roos to win their third grand final.

North bounced back to face Collingwood in the 1977 decider, a match that produced just the second draw in grand final history. It would be the Kangaroos who would easily in the grand final replay the following week.

Hawthorn got the better of the North Melbourne again in 1978 while Carlton became a dominant side, as they had at the end of the last decade, winning again in 1979.

The new decade saw the league officially become a nation wide competition, changing its name to the Australian Football League (AFL) in 1990. 

Collingwood entered the season looking to break a premiership drought that had extended to 32 years that encompassed nine grand final losses. The Magpies went on to defeat Essendon in the last dance to record their 14th premiership.

Hawthorn would bounce back in 1991 to claim their third premiership in four years defeating West Coast, who made their grand final debut since entering the league in 1987. The match was the only grand final since the second world world to be played at a venue other than the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), with the game moved to VFL Park, Waverley due to re-construction works.

The West Coast Eagles won their first premiership in 1992 and went on to win again in 1994, while Essendon’s “Baby Bombers” defeat the Blues in 1993.

However, Carlton would impress in 1995, becoming the first team to win 20 home and away match . Their defeat of Geelong marked the fourth grand final loss for the Cats since 1989.

The 1996 ‘Centenary’ Grand Final saw North Melbourne win their third premiership, before Adelaide won their first cup in 1997 after joining the competition in 1992. The Crows went back to back defeating North in 1998, before the Kangaroos bounced back in 1999 to defeat Carlton in the last grand final of the millennium.

Season 2010 saw just the third drawn Grand Final in VFL/AFL history, with Collingwood and St Kilda playing out a tie in front of 100,016 at the MCG. The teams would return the week later with the Magpies proving too strong.

Geelong proved they were one of the best teams in recent times, beating the Pies the following year to claim their third premiership in five years.

Sydney got the better of the Hawks in 2012, winning a hard fought Grand Final by 10 points but Hawthorn would get the last laugh, matching the Lions by completing a three peat including their 2014 win over the Swans. 

The Western Bulldogs were another team to end their long premiership drought, beating the Swans in 2016 to win their first premiership since 1954.

Richmond joined the party in 2017, claiming their first flag since 1980 by defeating the Crows.

West Coast completed their fourth grand final victory in 2018, handing Collingwood another defeat before the Tigers won their second premiership in three years by belting the GWS in the Giants’ first grand final appearance.