How the AFL determines ladder position if teams finish on the same points and percentage

What happens if two sides vying for the top eight finish the AFL home and away season with the exact same premiership points and percentage?

That was the question answered by SEN news breaker Sam Edmund who uncovered what occurs under AFL regulation 2.5 (c) – Ranking of Clubs at the end of Home and Away matches.

In the event that teams are tied on both points on percentage, the AFL then determines the ladder position from the results of home and away matches between those two clubs.

If those results are equal – for example, a draw occurred the one time they faced off or the two teams won one game each against each other during the season with reflective scorelines such as 85-84 and 84-85 – then the teams are simply drawn out of a hat.

Whichever name is drawn out of the two in that situation, would get the higher ladder position.

“If you have the same points and percentage, it gets drawn from a hat,” Edmund told SEN Afternoons.

“So, this is AFL regulation 2.5c - ranking of clubs at the end of the home and away season – this is written in the rules.

“If two teams are locked on premiership points, the finals will be determined according to the results and percentage.

“If those are equal, the finalists will be determined according to the results of home and away matches between those two clubs.

“If those results are also equal, then each club's percentage based on the scores in the home and away matches between those two clubs will determine it.

“If they're still locked together, it is actually written into the rules that the Executive General Manager of Football, in this case, Laura Kane, will draw the club out of a hat.

“A good old-fashioned lucky dip.”

Check out AFL regulation 2.5 (c) in its official form below.

Regulation 2.5(c) - Ranking of Clubs at end of Home and Away Matches.

The AFL shall maintain a Premiership Ladder that determines the position of Clubs competing in the Premiership Competition. The ranking of Clubs on the Premiership Ladder at the completion of the Home and Away Matches shall be determined in accordance with the following procedure:

(i) the order of Clubs shall first be determined by the number of Premiership Points accumulated by each Club, by placing in descending order the Club with the highest accumulated Premiership Points through to the Club with the lowest accumulated Premiership Points;

(ii) the Premiership Points accumulated by Clubs shall be adjusted if necessary and at any time, to take into account any sanctions imposed by the Commission under the AFL Rules;

(iii) where two or more Clubs have accumulated the same total of Premiership Points, the Club with the highest percentage as calculated under Regulation 2.5(b)(i)(C) shall be placed first as between them;

(iv) Where two or more Clubs at the completion of the Home and Away Matches have accumulated the same Premiership Points and have the same percentage, the following procedure shall apply:

(A) the position of the tied Clubs shall be adjusted by accumulating the Premiership Points awarded to the relevant Clubs as a result of the Home and Away Matches played between them and placing the Club with the highest accumulated Premiership Points, first as between them;

(B) where the Premiership Points accumulated by the relevant Clubs remain equal, the position of the tied Clubs shall be adjusted by calculating each such Club’s percentage based on the proportion of points scored for and against each such Club from the Home and Away Matches between them and placing the Club with the highest percentage, first as between them; and

(C) where two or more Clubs still remain tied, the position of the Clubs shall be adjusted by lot conducted and drawn by the Executive General Manager Football so that any Club drawn ahead of any other Club shall be placed ahead of such other Club or Clubs.