1997 AFL season

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian rules football season The 1997 AFL season was the 101st season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season ran from 27 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

Before the season, the Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) was admitted to the league, increasing the South Australian membership to two clubs. Foundation club Fitzroy, which had gone into administration in 1996, merged with the Brisbane Bears to form a new Queensland-based team known as the Brisbane Lions. The Footscray Football Club changed its name to the Western Bulldogs. With these changes, the league's size remained at sixteen clubs.

The premiership was won by the Adelaide Football Club for the first time, after it defeated Template:AFL by 31 points in the 1997 AFL Grand Final.

Ladder

(P)	Premiers
	Qualified for finals

Template:Australian rules football ladder start |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 1 || align=left | Template:AFL || 22 || 15 || 7 || 0 || 2294 || 1918 || 119.6 || 60 |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 2 || align=left | Geelong || 22 || 15 || 7 || 0 || 2111 || 1791 || 117.9 || 60 |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 3 || align=left | Western Bulldogs || 22 || 14 || 8 || 0 || 2100 || 2062 || 101.8 || 56 |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 4 || align=left | Adelaide (P) || 22 || 13 || 9 || 0 || 2151 || 1769 || 121.6 || 52 |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 5 || align=left | West Coast || 22 || 13 || 9 || 0 || 1969 || 1770 || 111.2 || 52 |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 6 || align=left | Sydney || 22 || 12 || 10 || 0 || 2093 || 1801 || 116.2 || 48 |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 7 || align=left | Template:AFL NM || 22 || 12 || 10 || 0 || 2051 || 1835 || 111.8 || 48 |- style=background:#FFFFBB | 8 || align=left | Brisbane Lions || 22 || 10 || 11 || 1 || 2076 || 1973 || 105.2 || 42 |- | 9 || align=left | Port Adelaide || 22 || 10 || 11 || 1 || 1852 || 2017 || 91.8 || 42 |- | 10 || align=left | Collingwood || 22 || 10 || 12 || 0 || 2138 || 1919 || 111.4 || 40 |- | 11 || align=left | Carlton || 22 || 10 || 12 || 0 || 1978 || 2045 || 96.7 || 40 |- | 12 || align=left | Fremantle || 22 || 10 || 12 || 0 || 1748 || 1902 || 91.9 || 40 |- | 13 || align=left | Richmond || 22 || 10 || 12 || 0 || 1883 || 2253 || 83.6 || 40 |- | 14 || align=left | Essendon || 22 || 9 || 13 || 0 || 2004 || 2170 || 92.4 || 36 |- | 15 || align=left | Hawthorn || 22 || 8 || 14 || 0 || 1873 || 2144 || 87.4 || 32 |- | 16 || align=left | Melbourne || 22 || 4 || 18 || 0 || 1477 || 2429 || 60.8 || 16 |}

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 90.3
Source: AFL Tables

Attendance

Team	Hosted	Average	Highest	Lowest	Total	Last Season	+/-
Essendon	11	52,848	83,271	25,636	581,330	49,526	+ 3322
Collingwood	11	48,708	78,704	23,433	535,789	44,723	+ 3985
Adelaide	11	40,173	47,256	36,297	441,905	39,428	+ 745
Port Adelaide	11	35,829	45,498	31,757	394,115	11,017*	+ 24812*
Sydney	11	35,818	46,168	23,598	393,999	24,574	+ 11244
St Kilda	11	35,232	54,699	17,752	387,553	27,137	+ 8095
Richmond	11	34,515	58,812	15,461	379,670	38,624	- 4109
Carlton	11	33,634	61,650	18,187	369,972	35,891	- 2257
West Coast	11	32,582	39,294	21,164	358,401	32,448	+ 134
North Melbourne	11	32,520	54,901	13,056	357,725	34,627	- 2107
Hawthorn	11	32,380	51,494	15,939	356,179	23,624	+ 8756
Geelong	11	28,324	65,228	16,467	311,567	25,161	+ 3163
Melbourne	11	27,714	61,138	13,392	304,853	30,315	- 2601
Fremantle	11	21,982	39,711	14,721	241,801	22,473	- 491
Brisbane Lions	11	19,550	21,348	17,123	215,051	N/A	N/A
Western Bulldogs	11	19,335	35,438	8664	212,681	18,073	+ 1262
Totals	176	33,197	83,271	8664	5842,591	29,637	+ 3560

Venue	Hosted	Average	Highest	Lowest	Total	Last Season	+/-
MCG	53	43,488	83,271	13,392	2,304,865	46,114	- 2626
Football Park	22	38,001	47,256	31,757	836,020	39,428	- 1427
SCG	11	35,818	46,168	23,598	393,999	24,574	+ 11,244
Waverley Park	22	33,806	54,699	15,939	743,732	25,545	+ 8261
Subiaco Oval	17	28,371	39,711	14,721	482,310	28,289	+ 82
Whitten Oval	1	26,704	26,704	26,704	26,704	10,482	+ 16,222
Victoria Park	3	24,473	25,323	23,433	73,419	23,581	+ 892
WACA	5	23,578	29,838	18,198	117,892	25,253	- 1675
Kardinia Park	9	21,269	24,099	16,467	191,417	22,670	- 1401
Optus Oval	22	20,781	34,922	8664	457,182	15,641	+ 5140
Gabba	11	19,550	21,348	17,123	215,051	18,088	+ 1462
Totals	176	33,197	83,271	8664	5842,591	29,637	+ 3560

Notable events

• The last AFL regular season game at Whitten Oval was played in Round 21, with hosts the Western Bulldogs defeating West Coast by 18 points.
• Template:AFL finished on top of the ladder (prior to the finals) to claim the minor premiership, despite losing 7 matches in the home and away season. No team before or since has finished on top with that many losses, which highlights the evenness of the 1997 season. Template:AFL would also play in their first preliminary final since 1972 and reach their first grand final since 1971.
• The first qualifying final between Adelaide and West Coast was rescheduled from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon to allow the Seven Network to screen the funeral of Princess Diana live across Australia. This meant that it was played at the same time as the fourth qualifying final between minor premiers Template:AFL and the Brisbane Lions, who were competing in their first season as a merged entity. The game is also notable for being the first ever final between two non-Victorian teams.
• Gary Ablett Sr., arguably one of the games best and most well known players, officially announced his retirement during the Preliminary Final weekend. Ablett failed to play a game in 1997 due to a knee injury.

Sources

• 1997 AFL season at AFL Tables
• 1997 AFL season at Australian Football