The 2026 Toyota AFL Finals Series has continued to dominate the sporting landscape over the weekend with packed stadiums and record viewing audiences witnessing four massive finals matches.
A total of 244,757 fans attended the four Qualifying and Elimination Finals across Thursday, Friday and Saturday, marking the highest ever attended Qualifying and Elimination Final round in which each match was played in a different state and different venue.
Across the four matches, the Seven and Foxtel broadcasts reached over 15 million Australians with an average total audience of over 6.3 million.
Thursday night’s Fremantle vs Hawthorn attracted a sell-out crowd of 59,446, with Fremantle recording their highest home finals crowd ever and the fourth highest AFL crowd at Optus Stadium of all-time.
Friday night saw 96,680 at the MCG to witness Geelong beat Carlton with the game attracting the second highest attended Elimination Final in VFL/AFL history.
For 24 hours, Thursday night’s match held the record for the biggest audience of the year with an average audience over 1.7 million and reach of 3.87 million Australians, before Friday night’s blockbuster surpassed it with a record reach of 4.2. million.
The Friday night match is the most viewed premiership fixture of any code across 2026 to date, surpassing last weekend’s record Wildcard Finals viewership.
On Saturday afternoon Sydney and Brisbane matched up in for the first time in a final at the SCG with 37,261 through the gates, before 51,370 turned out to watch Adelaide Crows win over the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval for the fifth highest attended AFL Final at the venue on record.
Across Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the AFL Finals were the #1 program in total TV across all people, also holding the position of the #1 and #2 program on Saturday for the two finals.
The 244,757 attendance is the fifth highest attended Qualifying and Elimination Finals on record, with the other four higher occasions including at least two matches at the MCG.
The success follows a standout Wildcard Finals weekend with 172,769 fans in attendance and a total of 7.4m viewers across the two nights.
The weekend takes the total Toyota AFL Finals series attendance to date to 417,526 for an average crowd of 69,587 across the six matches. Including four of the six matches being sell-out crowds.
The strong start to the 2026 Toyota AFL Finals Series follows the highest home-and-away attendance in VFL/AFL history, with 7,772,015 fans attending matches during the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said:
“The Elimination and Qualifying Finals delivered another epic weekend of football with blockbuster crowds across the country turning out in full force to cheer on their sides and watch some unbelievable football.
“With millions tuning in nationally, it’s been a bumper two weeks of Finals and we can’t wait to see another massive weekend of matches in Perth and Brisbane.”
Semi Finals Information
All Semi Finals will be broadcast live nationally across the Seven Network and Foxtel and streamed via 7plus, Kayo and Binge.
Fremantle vs Geelong Cats
Friday, 11 September
8:10pm AEST / 6:10pm AWST
Optus Stadium
Brisbane Lions vs Adelaide Crows
Saturday, 12 September
7:35pm AEST
The Gabba
Ticketing Information
Both games will go onsale on Monday, September 7 via Ticketmaster, venue local time.
Fremantle vs Geelong Cats
- Club Members: 10am – 2pm AWST
- General Public: 3pm AWST
Brisbane Lions vs Adelaide Crows
- Club Members: 10am – 2pm AEST
- General Public: 3pm AEST
