2011 AFL season
The 2011 Australian Football League season was the 115th season of the Australian rules football competition and the 22nd under the name 'Australian Football League', having switched from 'Victorian Football League' after 1989. It was the debut year for, and was scheduled to be the only season to be played with 17 teams. beat in the 2011 AFL Grand Final by 38 points.
The season opened on 24 March 2011, with Carlton defeating Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
This was the first season since 1994 to have byes, and only the fourth after the 1991, 1992 and 1994 seasons to feature a 24-round format. The full fixture was announced on 29 October 2010.
Pre-season
Draft
The 2010 National Draft was held on 18 November 2010 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. 107 players were drafted, including 28 promoted rookies. were awarded the first three selections as part of its draft concessions, and selected David Swallow with the number one draft pick.The 2011 Pre-season and Rookie Drafts were held on 7 December 2010, with another 80 players being selected. had the first eight selections in the Rookie Draft as part of its draft concessions.
NAB Cup
The 2011 NAB Cup featured the addition of two new teams, and. The first round of matches featured 6 pools of 3 teams, with each game being shortened to two twenty-minute halves. Collingwood defeated Essendon in the Grand Final at Etihad Stadium on Friday, 11 March.Premiership season
The fixture was officially announced on 29 October. Some of the highlights included:- had a bye for the first round and played its first home match in the second round against at the Gabba. Its first match at the renovated Metricon Stadium was against on 28 May. In addition, its draw includes two trips each to Western Australia and South Australia, one to Tasmania and one to Far North Queensland. Its only games against 2010 Grand Finalists and were at home, in rounds 18 and 19 respectively. Its only match at the MCG was against in the penultimate round of the season.
- This season had 24 rounds; 19 rounds featured eight matches with one team having a bye, and five rounds featured seven matches with three teams having a bye. There were eleven additional matches compared with 2010, giving a total of 196 games including finals.
- Two venues hosted their first AFL matches during the season: Cazaly's Stadium in Cairns hosted the vs match in round 17, and the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide hosted the vs match in round 24.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Round 23
Round 24
Win/loss table
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF | Ladder |
| Haw 20 | X | Frem 25 | PA 32 | Carl 6 | StK 19 | Melb 96 | GC 57 | Coll 43 | BL 40 | NM 47 | WCE 39 | WB 30 | Geel 52 | Syd 7 | X | Ess 11 | StK 103 | PA 32 | BL 5 | Geel 11 | GC 61 | Rich 22 | WCE 95 | X | X | X | X | 14 | |
| Frem 2 | WB 78 | Melb 11 | X | StK 13 | Rich 26 | GC 8 | Ess 36 | NM 14 | Adel 40 | Syd 65 | Carl 61 | Rich 31 | Frem 23 | PA 11 | Haw 42 | Geel 29 | NM 45 | X | Adel 5 | GC 62 | Coll 18 | WCE 8 | Syd 52 | X | X | X | X | 15 | |
| Rich 20 | GC 119 | Coll 28 | Ess 0 | Adel 6 | Syd 16 | StK 3 | X | Geel 2 | Melb 47 | PA 62 | BL 61 | Syd 34 | WCE 36 | Rich 103 | WB 27 | Coll 19 | Ess 74 | NM 18 | Melb 76 | Frem 30 | Haw 12 | X | StK 20 | Ess 62 | WCE 3 | X | X | 5 | |
| PA 75 | NM 87 | Carl 28 | Rich 71 | Ess 30 | WB 48 | X | Geel 3 | Adel 43 | WCE 52 | StK 57 | Melb 88 | X | Syd 6 | Haw 41 | NM 117 | Carl 19 | GC 54 | Ess 74 | PA 138 | StK 19 | BL 18 | Frem 80 | Geel 96 | WCE 20 | X | Haw 3 | Geel 38 | 1 | |
| WB 55 | Syd 5 | StK 52 | Carl 0 | Coll 30 | GC 139 | WCE 16 | BL 36 | Rich 16 | X | Melb 33 | Frem 34 | NM 21 | Haw 65 | Geel 4 | Rich 39 | Adel 11 | Carl 74 | Coll 74 | Syd 1 | WB 49 | WCE 57 | PA 7 | X | Carl 62 | X | X | X | 8 | |
| BL 2 | Geel 11 | Adel 25 | NM 29 | WB 7 | X | Rich 49 | WCE 33 | PA 52 | StK 46 | Haw 22 | Ess 34 | Melb 89 | BL 23 | GC 50 | X | Syd 11 | WCE 1 | Haw 51 | StK 41 | Carl 30 | NM 98 | Coll 80 | WB 46 | X | X | X | X | 11 | |
| X | Carl 119 | WB 71 | Melb 90 | PA 3 | Ess 139 | BL 8 | Adel 57 | X | Geel 66 | WCE 18 | NM 59 | Haw 71 | WB 22 | Frem 50 | Syd 70 | Rich 15 | Coll 54 | StK 20 | Geel 150 | BL 62 | Adel 61 | Melb 30 | Haw 9 | X | X | X | X | 17 | |
| StK 1 | Frem 11 | PA 79 | Syd 27 | Haw 19 | X | NM 66 | Coll 3 | Carl 2 | GC 66 | WB 61 | Haw 5 | StK 28 | Adel 52 | Ess 4 | WCE 8 | BL 29 | Rich 62 | Melb 186 | GC 150 | Adel 11 | X | Syd 13 | Coll 96 | Haw 31 | X | WCE 48 | Coll 38 | 2 | |
| Adel 20 | Melb 45 | Rich 63 | WCE 7 | Geel 19 | X | PA 32 | StK 30 | Syd 46 | WB 29 | Frem 22 | Geel 5 | GC 71 | Ess 65 | Coll 41 | BL 42 | X | Melb 54 | Frem 51 | NM 17 | PA 165 | Carl 12 | WB 46 | GC 9 | Geel 31 | Syd 36 | Coll 3 | X | 3 | |
| Syd 0 | Haw 45 | BL 11 | GC 90 | X | WCE 54 | Adel 96 | NM 41 | StK 20 | Carl 47 | Ess 33 | Coll 88 | Frem 89 | Rich 27 | WB 64 | X | PA 21 | Haw 54 | Geel 186 | Carl 76 | WCE 48 | Rich 7 | GC 30 | PA 8 | X | X | X | X | 13 | |
| WCE 4 | Coll 87 | X | Frem 29 | Rich 9 | PA 60 | Geel 66 | Melb 41 | BL 14 | Syd 1 | Adel 47 | GC 59 | Ess 21 | PA 45 | StK 9 | Coll 117 | WB 31 | BL 45 | Carl 18 | Haw 17 | X | Frem 98 | StK 65 | Rich 13 | X | X | X | X | 9 | |
| Coll 75 | WCE 18 | Geel 79 | Adel 32 | GC 3 | NM 60 | Haw 32 | Syd 62 | Frem 52 | Rich 15 | Carl 62 | X | WCE 22 | NM 45 | BL 11 | StK 56 | Melb 21 | X | Adel 32 | Coll 138 | Haw 165 | WB 60 | Ess 7 | Melb 8 | X | X | X | X | 16 | |
| Carl 20 | StK 0 | Haw 63 | Coll 71 | NM 9 | BL 26 | Frem 49 | WB 35 | Ess 16 | PA 15 | X | Syd 10 | BL 31 | Melb 27 | Carl 103 | Ess 39 | GC 15 | Geel 62 | X | WCE 57 | Syd 43 | Melb 7 | Adel 22 | NM 13 | X | X | X | X | 12 | |
| Geel 1 | Rich 0 | Ess 52 | X | BL 13 | Adel 19 | Carl 3 | Haw 30 | Melb 20 | Frem 46 | Coll 57 | WB 24 | Geel 28 | X | NM 9 | PA 56 | WCE 21 | Adel 103 | GC 20 | Frem 41 | Coll 19 | Syd 15 | NM 65 | Carl 20 | Syd 25 | X | X | X | 6 | |
| Melb 0 | Ess 5 | WCE 13 | Geel 27 | X | Carl 16 | WB 8 | PA 62 | Haw 46 | NM 1 | BL 65 | Rich 10 | Carl 34 | Coll 6 | Adel 7 | GC 70 | Frem 11 | WB 39 | X | Ess 1 | Rich 43 | StK 15 | Geel 13 | BL 52 | StK 25 | Haw 36 | X | X | 7 | |
| NM 4 | PA 18 | Syd 13 | Haw 7 | X | Melb 54 | Ess 16 | Frem 33 | WB 123 | Coll 52 | GC 18 | Adel 39 | PA 22 | Carl 36 | X | Geel 8 | StK 21 | Frem 1 | WB 8 | Rich 57 | Melb 48 | Ess 57 | BL 8 | Adel 95 | Coll 20 | Carl 3 | Geel 48 | X | 4 | |
| Ess 55 | BL 78 | GC 71 | X | Frem 7 | Coll 48 | Syd 8 | Rich 35 | WCE 123 | Haw 29 | Geel 61 | StK 24 | Adel 30 | GC 22 | Melb 64 | Carl 27 | NM 31 | Syd 39 | WCE 8 | X | Ess 49 | PA 60 | Haw 46 | Frem 46 | X | X | X | X | 10 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF | Ladder |
Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder
Ladder progression
Finals series
Week one
Week two
Week three
Week four
Awards
- The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Dane Swan of, who received 34 votes.
- The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Jimmy Bartel of.
- The AFL Rising Star was awarded to Dyson Heppell of, who received 44 votes.
- The Coleman Medal was awarded to Lance Franklin of, who kicked 71 goals during the home and away season.
- The McClelland Trophy was awarded to.
- The Wooden Spoon was "awarded" to.
- The AFL Players Association Awards were as follows:
- *The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Chris Judd of, for being the Most Valuable Player throughout the premiership season.
- *The Robert Rose Award went to Jonathan Brown of, for being the Most Courageous Player throughout the premiership season.
- *The Best Captain award went to Chris Judd of.
- *The Best First-Year Player award was won by Dyson Heppell of.
- The AFL Coaches Association Awards were as follows:
- *The Player of the Year Award was given to Marc Murphy of, who received 94 votes.
- *The Allan Jeans Award was given to John Worsfold of.
- *The Assistant Coach of the Year Award was given to Darren Crocker of.
- *The Best Young Player Award was given to Nat Fyfe of.
Best and fairest
Notable events and controversies
Betting scandals
The issue of betting became prominent during the 2011 season. The previous few years had seen other sports compromised by major spot-fixing scandals – most notably the Pakistan cricket spot-fixing controversy – so the issue was already well publicised at the time. The AFL had in place a strict policy prohibiting anyone involved in the AFL from placing any bet on any AFL outcome.Early in the season, it emerged that there were several suspicious plunges on players who were usually defenders to kick the first goal of a match; in each case, the player unexpectedly started in the forward-line, indicating that the plunges may have been caused by team information somehow leaking to punters. Five suspicious plunges on defenders for the first goal were identified during the season:
- Round 7, vs – Hawthorn midfielder/defender Brent Guerra
- Round 7, vs – Brisbane defender Daniel Merrett
- Round 8, vs – Brisbane defender Matt Maguire
- Round 9, vs – Collingwood defender Nick Maxwell
- Round 24, vs – Gold Coast defender Nathan Bock
The controversy deepened prior to round 17, when the investigation into the Maxwell plunge revealed that Heath Shaw was implicated in bets placed on Maxwell's first goal. Shaw and a friend from outside the Collingwood Football Club were found to have placed a shared $20 bet on Maxwell for first goal at a TAB venue, using Shaw's knowledge from team meetings that Maxwell would be starting forward; that friend had later placed two more bets on Maxwell worth $15, shared with another friend. Shaw was penalised by the league under the anti-gambling code, receiving a suspension of eight matches, with a further suspended sentence of six matches, and was fined $20,000.
In their respective investigations, it was found that both Nick Maxwell and Nathan Bock had informed family members and friends that they would be starting in the forward-line before their respective plunges, and, unbeknownst to the players, those family members and friends then placed bets. Maxwell was fined $5,000, with a further suspended fine of $5,000, and Bock was fined $10,000 and suspended for two matches.
Following round 24, assistant coach Dean Wallis was found to have placed three separate FootyQuad bets worth a total of $400 during the latter half of the season, one of which included a leg which involved an Essendon match. Wallis was fined $7,500, and suspended for fourteen matches.
Club leadership
Umpiring and rule changes
- The AFL introduced a new interchange rule. The standard interchange system was reduced from four players to three players. A fourth player is named as a substitute, and begins the game wearing a green vest. The substitute can be brought on at any point in the game, permanently replacing any player on the bench or the field. The player being replaced must wear a red vest when leaving the ground. This rule was predominantly introduced to keep the number of players able to participate in the game for each team equal, even if a severe injury occurs.
- The rules for calling "advantage" after a free kick were amended, to allow the players, rather than the umpires, make the decision on whether or not they see an advantage in continuous play.
Club membership
Coach changes
Club overviews
- 2011 Adelaide Football Club season
- 2011 Brisbane Lions season
- 2011 Carlton Football Club season
- 2011 Collingwood Football Club season
- 2011 Essendon Football Club season
- 2011 Fremantle Football Club season
- 2011 Geelong Football Club season
- 2011 Gold Coast Football Club season
- 2011 Hawthorn Football Club season
- 2011 Melbourne Football Club season
- 2011 North Melbourne Football Club season
- 2011 Port Adelaide Football Club season
- 2011 Richmond Football Club season
- 2011 St Kilda Football Club season
- 2011 Sydney Swans season
- 2011 West Coast Eagles season
- 2011 Western Bulldogs season