The AFL’s modern era demands a new premiership tally.
While past VFL achievements hold immense historical (and sentimental) value, they belong to a chapter of regional competition that ostensibly ended in 1989 (and what a finish the 1989 GF represents). The official rebranding from the VFL to the AFL in 1990 (with teams at that stage in WA, NSW and QLD) marked the ascension of a truly national competition, where clubs from across Australia compete on equal terms. This shift fundamentally changed the league, with interstate teams like the West Coast Eagles challenging the Victorian stronghold and altering the balance of power.
Counting premierships only from 1990 onwards offers a more accurate reflection of the modern AFL's competitive environment. The inclusion of interstate teams redefined the competition, making post-1990 achievements more representative of the game's national scope.
This change doesn't diminish the glories of the VFL, but places them in context as part of a proud chapter that has since closed (and let Colin Carter and others have semantic historical debates about pre-1900 competitions and what premierships should 'count').
The modern AFL era, beginning in 1990, deserves its own tally, celebrating success in the fully national, highly competitive landscape that now defines Australian rules football.
To give the pre-1990 era its due here is the VFL premiership tally but I think the days of mixing these two tallies should be over.
While past VFL achievements hold immense historical (and sentimental) value, they belong to a chapter of regional competition that ostensibly ended in 1989 (and what a finish the 1989 GF represents). The official rebranding from the VFL to the AFL in 1990 (with teams at that stage in WA, NSW and QLD) marked the ascension of a truly national competition, where clubs from across Australia compete on equal terms. This shift fundamentally changed the league, with interstate teams like the West Coast Eagles challenging the Victorian stronghold and altering the balance of power.
Counting premierships only from 1990 onwards offers a more accurate reflection of the modern AFL's competitive environment. The inclusion of interstate teams redefined the competition, making post-1990 achievements more representative of the game's national scope.
This change doesn't diminish the glories of the VFL, but places them in context as part of a proud chapter that has since closed (and let Colin Carter and others have semantic historical debates about pre-1900 competitions and what premierships should 'count').
The modern AFL era, beginning in 1990, deserves its own tally, celebrating success in the fully national, highly competitive landscape that now defines Australian rules football.
| Hawthorn | 5 |
| West Coast | 4 |
| Geelong | 4 |
| Brisbane | 4 |
| Richmond | 3 |
| Collingwood | 3 |
| Sydney | 2 |
| North Melbourne | 2 |
| Essendon | 2 |
| Adelaide | 2 |
| Western Bulldogs / Footscray | 1 |
| Port Adelaide | 1 |
| Melbourne | 1 |
| Carlton | 1 |
To give the pre-1990 era its due here is the VFL premiership tally but I think the days of mixing these two tallies should be over.
VFL Premiership Tally (1897–1989):
- Carlton – 15 premierships (1906, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1915, 1938, 1945, 1947, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1987)
- Essendon – 14 premierships (1897, 1901, 1911, 1912, 1923, 1924, 1942, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1962, 1965, 1984, 1985)
- Collingwood – 13 premierships (1902, 1903, 1910, 1917, 1919, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1953, 1958)
- Richmond – 10 premierships (1920, 1921, 1932, 1934, 1943, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1980)
- Melbourne – 12 premierships (1900, 1926, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964)
- Hawthorn – 6 premierships (1961, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986)
- Fitzroy – 8 premierships (1898, 1899, 1904, 1905, 1913, 1916, 1922, 1944)
- Geelong – 6 premierships (1925, 1931, 1937, 1951, 1952, 1963)
- South Melbourne (now Sydney Swans) – 3 premierships (1909, 1918, 1933)
- Footscray (now Western Bulldogs) – 1 premiership (1954)
- North Melbourne – 2 premierships (1975, 1977)
- St Kilda – 1 premiership (1966)
