The AFL recently introduced a Wildcard Round to the postseason structure. The league revamped finals rewards and revealed prize money for these extra games. The AFL detailed the operation of the Wildcard Round to clarify how the matches work.

The status of the Wildcard games faces pushback across the league landscape. Coach Ross Lyon challenged whether the Wildcard games ought to be categorized as "Finals" in a direct move to confront the new rules. The trend was published Fri, 21 Aug 2026 04:50 -0700. Reports from afl.com.au, Herald Sun, and SEN examined the setup, prize money, and his objection.