With this season’s Toyota AFL Premiership 2025 upon us, your mate Joe Fortune is here providing you with a handy AFL Grand Final winners list along with some key stats and exciting data about the history of the tournament and the clubs.
AFL Champions
Current champions are the Brisbane Lions. Having come so close in 2023, when missing out by just four points, they returned to the Grand Final in 2024 and thumped the Sydney Swans by 60 points. For the Swans that left plenty of soul searching having been beaten heavily by Geelong in the 2022 Grand Final as well.
When Was The First AFL Season?
The Victorian Football League, VFL, officially became the AFL in 1990. The change was made to reflect the competition’s expansion beyond just Victorian teams, as the league had grown to include teams from other states, such as South Australia, Western Australia, and New South Wales. It has since now got teams in Queensland and will shortly have a new side playing in Tasmania too. The first VFL season was in 1897 featuring just Victorian sides in the competition.
List of AFL Grand Final Winners 1990 – 2024
| Year | Grand Final Winner & Result |
| 2024 | Brisbane Lions beat Sydney Swans |
| 2023 | Collingwood beat Brisbane Lions |
| 2022 | Geelong Cats beat Sydney Swans |
| 2021 | Melbourne beat Western Bulldogs |
| 2020 | Richmond beat Geelong |
| 2019 | Richmond beat GWS Giants |
| 2018 | West Coast beat Collingwood |
| 2017 | Richmond beat Adelaide |
| 2016 | Western Bulldogs beat Sydney Swans |
| 2015 | Hawthorn beat West Coast |
| 2014 | Hawthorn beat Sydney Swans |
| 2013 | Hawthorn beat Fremantle Dockers |
| 2012 | Sydney Swans beat Hawthorn |
| 2011 | Geelong beat Collingwood |
| 2010 | West Coast beat Sydney Swans |
| 2009 | Geelong beat St Kilda |
| 2008 | Hawthorn beat Geelong |
| 2007 | Geelong beat Port Adelaide |
| 2006 | West Coast beat Sydney Swans |
| 2005 | Sydney Swans beat West Coast |
| 2004 | Port Adelaide beat Brisbane Lions |
| 2003 | Brisbane Lions beat Collingwood |
| 2002 | Brisbane Lions beat Collingwood |
| 2001 | Brisbane Lions beat Essendon |
| 2000 | Essendon beat Melbourne |
| 1999 | North Melbourne beat Carlton |
| 1998 | Adelaide beat North Melbourne |
| 1997 | Adelaide beat St Kilda |
| 1996 | North Melbourne beat Sydney Swans |
| 1995 | Carlton beat Geelong |
| 1994 | West Coast beat Geelong |
| 1993 | Essendon beat Carlton |
| 1992 | West Coast beat Geelong |
| 1991 | Hawthorn beat West Coast |
VFL Grand Final Winners List 1990 – 2024
1989 – Hawthorn beat Geelong
1988 – Hawthorn beat Melbourne
1987 – Carlton beat Hawthorn
1986 – Hawthorn beat Carlton
1985 – Essendon beat Hawthorn
1984 – Essendon beat Hawthorn
1983 – Hawthorn beat Essendon
1982 – Carlton beat Richmond
1981 – Carlton beat Collingwood
1980 – Richmond beat Collingwood
1979 – Carlton beat Collingwood
1978 – Hawthorn beat North Melbourne
1977 – North Melbourne beat Collingwood
1976 – Hawthorn beat North Melbourne
1975 – North Melbourne beat Hawthorn
1974 – Richmond beat North Melbourne
1973 – Richmond beat Carlton
1972 – Carlton beat Richmond
1971 – Hawthorn beat St Kilda
1970 – Carlton beat Collingwood
1969 – Richmond beat Carlton
1968 – Carlton beat Essendon
1967 – Richmond beat Geelong
1966 – St Kilda beat Collingwood
1965 – Essendon beat St Kilda
1964 – Melbourne beat Collingwood
1963 – Geelong beat Hawthorn
1962 – Essendon beat Carlton
1961 – Hawthorn beat Footscray
1960 – Melbourne beat Collingwood
1959 – Melbourne beat Essendon
1958 – Collingwood beat Melbourne
1957 – Melbourne beat Essendon
1956 – Melbourne beat Collingwood
1955 – Melbourne beat Collingwood
1954 – Footscray beat Melbourne
1953 – Collingwood beat Geelong
1952 – Geelong beat Collingwood
1951 – Geelong beat Essendon
1950 – Essendon beat North Melbourne
1949 – Essendon beat Carlton
1948 – Melbourne beat Essendon
1947 – Carlton beat Essendon
1946 – Essendon beat Melbourne
1945 – Carlton beat South Melbourne
1944 – Fitzroy beat Richmond
1943 – Richmond beat Essendon
1942 – Essendon beat Richmond
1941 – Melbourne beat Essendon
1940 – Melbourne beat Richmond
1939 – Melbourne beat Collingwood
1938 – Carlton beat Collingwood
1937 – Geelong beat Collingwood
1936 – Collingwood beat South Melbourne
1935 – Collingwood beat South Melbourne
1934 – Richmond beat South Melbourne
1933 – South Melbourne beat Richmond
1932 – Richmond beat Carlton
1931 – Geelong beat Richmond
1930 – Collingwood beat Geelong
1929 – Collingwood beat Richmond
1928 – Collingwood beat Richmond
1927 – Collingwood beat Richmond
1926 – Melbourne beat Collingwood
1925 – Geelong beat Collingwood
1924 – Essendon beat Richmond
1923 – Essendon beat Fitzroy
1922 – Fitzroy beat Collingwood
1921 – Richmond beat Carlton
1920 – Richmond beat Collingwood
1919 – Collingwood beat Richmond
1918 – South Melbourne beat Collingwood
1917 – Collingwood beat Fitzroy
1916 – Fitzroy beat Carlton
1915 – Carlton beat Collingwood
1914 – Carlton beat South Melbourne
1913 – Fitzroy beat St Kilda
1912 – Essendon beat South Melbourne
1911 – Essendon beat Collingwood
1910 – Collingwood beat Carlton
1909 – South Melbourne beat Carlton
1908 – Carlton beat Essendon
1907 – Carlton beat South Melbourne
1906 – Carlton beat Fitzroy
1905 – Fitzroy beat Collingwood
1904 – Fitzroy beat Carlton
1903 – Collingwood beat Fitzroy
1902 – Collingwood beat Essendon
1901 – Essendon beat Collingwood
1900 – Melbourne beat Fitzroy
1899 – Fitzroy beat South Melbourne
1898 – Fitzroy beat Essendon
1897 – Essendon beat Geelong
Two Cities Just One Team
South Melbourne made the decision to move to Sydney in 1982, becoming the Sydney Swans. This was a significant moment in the AFL’s expansion beyond its Victorian roots, with the expressed aim of establishing the sport in New South Wales where NRL and Rugby Union were more popular.
In 1996, Fitzroy merged with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions. This marked the end of Fitzroy as an independent club based in Melbourne, with the new Brisbane Lions representing Queensland in the AFL.
AFL Grand Final Draws Record
There have been three instances where teams have finished level in the AFL Grand Final, the most recent instance occurred in 2010, when Collingwood and St Kilda played to a 68-68 draw, prompting a replay the following week. The replay was won by Collingwood with a 56-point victory over St Kilda.
In 1977 North Melbourne and Collingwood drew 76-76 before the replay which saw a points fest as North Melbourne won by 151-124. The only other time the Grand Final finished as a draw and needed a replay was in 1948 when Essendon and Melbourne drew 69-69 before Melbourne won the replay.
AFL Records With The Most…
When it comes to the most Grand Final victories, this is shared by three of the older teams who are all from Victoria namely; Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton. Such has been the competitive nature of the league in recent years, Collingwood has only won twice since 1990. Essendon last won a Grand Final in 2000 whilst Carlton hasn’t won since 1995.
The 1972 AFL Grand Final between Carlton and Richmond ended with Carlton winning 28.9 (177) to Richmond’s 22.18 (150), with a combined total of 327 points this match holds the record for the highest-scoring VFL/AFL Grand Final of all time.
Teams With No AFL Grand Final Wins
There are three teams that have never won the AFL Grand Final which are… the GWS Giants, who were established in 2012, and the Gold Coast Suns, who came into the competition in 2011. GWS has managed to play finals footy, whereas the Gold Coast remains the only side never to have finished the regular season in the top eight. Fremantle has not won an AFL Grand Final either, the closest they came to winning the premiership was in 2013 when they reached the Grand Final but were defeated by Hawthorn. Fremantle has made multiple finals appearances, and it can only be a matter of time before the WA team becomes champions.