The AFL will introduce a divisive wildcard round from next year, giving teams ranked ninth and 10th an opportunity to win the premiership.
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All clubs have been told the league will implement what is essentially an extra week of finals, starting in 2026.
The AFL will confirm the move in coming days when they will also release the fixture for next season.
Taking the system from the NBA, the wildcard round would pit the team that finishes seventh on the ladder in the home-and-away season against 10th.
The other wildcard game would be eighth against ninth.
Both games will take place on the weekend that is currently set aside for the pre-finals bye.
The winners would be seeded seventh and eighth in the finals, with the rest of the four-week series remaining as it has since 2000.
If the wildcard round was in place this year, seventh-placed Gold Coast would have hosted Sydney (10th), and Hawthorn (eighth) would have played the Western Bulldogs (ninth).
Australian Associated Press
