2012 AFL season
The 2012 Australian Football League season was the 116th season of the Australian rules football competition and the 23rd under the name 'Australian Football League', having switched from 'Victorian Football League' after 1989. It was the first season in which the new team competed, bringing the number of teams in the competition to a record high eighteen.
The season was opened on 24 March with the inaugural Sydney Derby between and, and concluded on 29 September with the AFL Grand Final with defeating.
Pre-season
Draft
The 2011 National Draft was held on 24 November in Sydney, making it only the second time it was held out of Melbourne. This is due to the entry of.NAB Cup
won the 2012 pre-season competition following a 34-point win over the West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium. It was their second pre-season cup premiership.Premiership season
The fixture for this season was officially announced on 28 October 2011. Some of the features of the fixture included:- Each team played twenty-two matches over twenty-three rounds.
- Each team had one bye, located between rounds 11 and 13. This is similar in practice to the split round concept, which saw one of the mid-season rounds played over two weeks, giving each team one week off.
- Due to concern over one-sided matches featuring the two newest teams, their fixtures were adjusted so that they played each of the top five teams from 2011 only once.
- For the first time, each Victorian team travelled interstate at least five times, and each team travelled to Perth at least once.
- Blundstone Arena, Blacktown International Sportspark and Škoda Stadium hosted home and away matches for the first time in 2012.
- As had been the case since 2010, the final round of matches was given a floating fixture. Exact dates were determined later in the season with a view to giving likely finalists the longest possible break ahead of their first final.
- Friday night matches began at 7:50 pm EST instead of 7:40 pm, or 8:40 pm EST when played in South Australia or Western Australia.
- Saturday afternoon matches began at 1:40 pm EST and 1:45 pm/2:10 pm EST.
- A regular Saturday match was scheduled beginning at 4:40 pm EST – which was either a twilight match on the east coast, or an afternoon match in Perth.
- Saturday night matches began at 7:40 pm EST instead of 7:10 pm.
- The second Sunday afternoon match began at 3:15 pm instead of the traditional 2:10 pm. This change was to allow the Seven Network to show the match live into Victoria, and use it as a lead-in to its struggling 6:00 pm news bulletin.
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
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 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF | Ladder |
| GC 69 | WB 18 | Haw 56 | GWS 46 | PA 19 | Syd 5 | Geel 50 | Carl 69 | Coll 26 | Frem 29 | X | StK 4 | NM 32 | Rich 19 | PA 58 | GWS 119 | WCE 49 | Geel 27 | Ess 4 | Frem 28 | BL 10 | Melb 69 | GC 91 | Syd 29 | Frem 10 | Haw 5 | X | 2 | |
| Melb 41 | Carl 91 | Frem 29 | GC 65 | Geel 39 | Ess 67 | Coll 58 | GWS 92 | NM 16 | WCE 2 | X | Haw 65 | WB 58 | Melb 61 | Syd 47 | StK 13 | GC 11 | WCE 98 | Rich 48 | Carl 36 | Adel 10 | PA 11 | WB 67 | X | X | X | X | 13 | |
| Rich 44 | BL 91 | Coll 60 | Ess 30 | Frem 8 | GWS 67 | StK 24 | Adel 69 | Melb 58 | PA 54 | Geel 12 | WCE 10 | X | Haw 50 | Coll 23 | NM 53 | WB 18 | Rich 4 | Syd 22 | BL 36 | Ess 96 | GC 12 | StK 15 | X | X | X | X | 10 | |
| Haw 22 | Rich 21 | Carl 60 | PA 24 | Ess 1 | WB 21 | BL 58 | Geel 12 | Adel 26 | GC 97 | Melb 42 | X | WCE 3 | Frem 29 | Carl 23 | Geel 31 | Haw 47 | GWS 120 | StK 6 | Syd 8 | NM 30 | WCE 49 | Ess 32 | Haw 38 | WCE 13 | Syd 26 | X | 4 | |
| NM 2 | PA 25 | GC 17 | Carl 30 | Coll 1 | BL 67 | WCE 61 | Rich 19 | GWS 66 | Melb 6 | Syd 4 | X | Frem 24 | WB 84 | StK 71 | PA 50 | Geel 67 | Haw 94 | Adel 4 | NM 24 | Carl 96 | Rich 45 | Coll 32 | X | X | X | X | 11 | |
| Geel 4 | Syd 13 | BL 29 | StK 13 | Carl 8 | GC 7 | PA 40 | Haw 56 | WCE 48 | Adel 29 | Rich 12 | X | Ess 24 | Coll 29 | WB 38 | Melb 34 | GWS 95 | PA 27 | WCE 65 | Adel 28 | Rich 22 | NM 53 | Melb 61 | Geel 16 | Adel 10 | X | X | 7 | |
| Frem 4 | Haw 2 | NM 17 | Rich 10 | BL 38 | Melb 43 | Adel 50 | Coll 12 | WB 20 | GWS 65 | Carl 12 | X | Syd 6 | PA 38 | GC 14 | Coll 31 | Ess 67 | Adel 27 | Haw 2 | WCE 5 | StK 42 | WB 34 | Syd 34 | Frem 16 | X | X | X | 6 | |
| Adel 69 | StK 92 | Ess 17 | BL 65 | NM 34 | Frem 7 | GWS 27 | WB 38 | PA 48 | Coll 97 | StK 95 | NM 7 | X | WCE 126 | Geel 14 | Rich 2 | BL 11 | Syd 72 | Melb 42 | GWS 30 | Haw 64 | Carl 12 | Adel 91 | X | X | X | X | 17 | |
| GWS Giants | Syd 63 | NM 129 | WCE 81 | Adel 46 | WB 42 | Carl 67 | GC 27 | BL 92 | Ess 66 | Geel 65 | X | Rich 12 | Melb 78 | Syd 94 | Haw 162 | Adel 119 | Frem 95 | Coll 120 | PA 34 | GC 30 | Melb 25 | StK 128 | NM 28 | X | X | X | X | 18 |
| Coll 22 | Geel 2 | Adel 56 | WCE 5 | Syd 37 | StK 35 | Melb 66 | Frem 56 | Rich 62 | NM 115 | PA 46 | BL 65 | X | Carl 50 | GWS 162 | WB 72 | Coll 47 | Ess 94 | Geel 2 | PA 72 | GC 64 | Syd 7 | WCE 25 | Coll 38 | X | Adel 5 | Syd 10 | 1 | |
| BL 41 | WCE 108 | Rich 59 | WB 21 | StK 18 | Geel 43 | Haw 66 | Syd 101 | Carl 58 | Ess 6 | Coll 42 | X | GWS 78 | BL 61 | Rich 23 | Frem 34 | PA 28 | NM 54 | GC 42 | StK 25 | GWS 25 | Adel 69 | Frem 61 | X | X | X | X | 16 | |
| Ess 2 | GWS 129 | Geel 17 | Syd 36 | GC 34 | WCE 25 | WB 18 | PA 2 | BL 16 | Haw 115 | X | GC 7 | Adel 32 | StK 33 | WCE 2 | Carl 53 | Rich 4 | Melb 54 | WB 54 | Ess 24 | Coll 30 | Frem 53 | GWS 28 | WCE 96 | X | X | X | 8 | |
| StK 4 | Ess 25 | Syd 22 | Coll 24 | Adel 19 | Rich 37 | Frem 40 | NM 2 | GC 48 | Carl 54 | Haw 46 | WB 38 | X | Geel 38 | Adel 58 | Ess 50 | Melb 28 | Frem 27 | GWS 34 | Haw 72 | WCE 48 | BL 11 | Rich 0 | X | X | X | X | 14 | |
| Carl 44 | Coll 21 | Melb 59 | Geel 10 | WCE 10 | PA 37 | Syd 29 | Ess 19 | Haw 62 | StK 8 | Frem 12 | GWS 12 | X | Adel 19 | Melb 23 | GC 2 | NM 4 | Carl 4 | BL 48 | WB 70 | Frem 22 | Ess 45 | PA 0 | X | X | X | X | 12 | |
| PA 4 | GC 92 | WB 63 | Frem 13 | Melb 18 | Haw 35 | Carl 24 | WCE 30 | Syd 28 | Rich 8 | GC 95 | Adel 4 | X | NM 33 | Ess 71 | BL 13 | Syd 29 | WB 76 | Coll 6 | Melb 25 | Geel 42 | GWS 128 | Carl 15 | X | X | X | X | 9 | |
| GWS 63 | Frem 13 | PA 25 | NM 36 | Haw 37 | Adel 5 | Rich 29 | Melb 101 | StK 28 | WB 92 | Ess 4 | X | Geel 6 | GWS 94 | BL 47 | WCE 52 | StK 29 | GC 72 | Carl 22 | Coll 8 | WB 82 | Haw 7 | Geel 34 | Adel 29 | X | Coll 26 | Haw 10 | 3 | |
| WB 49 | Melb 108 | GWS 81 | Haw 5 | Rich 10 | NM 25 | Ess 61 | StK 30 | Frem 48 | BL 2 | X | Carl 10 | Coll 3 | GC 126 | NM 2 | Syd 52 | Adel 49 | BL 98 | Frem 65 | Geel 5 | PA 48 | Coll 49 | Haw 25 | NM 96 | Coll 13 | X | X | 5 | |
| WCE 49 | Adel 18 | StK 63 | Melb 21 | GWS 42 | Coll 21 | NM 18 | GC 38 | Geel 20 | Syd 92 | X | PA 38 | BL 58 | Ess 84 | Frem 38 | Haw 72 | Carl 18 | StK 76 | NM 54 | Rich 70 | Syd 82 | Geel 34 | BL 67 | X | X | X | X | 15 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 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 Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Ryan O'Keefe of, who got 28 disposals.
- The Brownlow Medal was originally awarded to Jobe Watson of, who received 30 votes. On 11 November 2016, Watson relinquished the medal in the wake of the Essendon supplements saga. It was subsequently re-awarded jointly to Sam Mitchell of and Trent Cotchin of, who received 26 votes each, on 15 November 2016.
- The AFL Rising Star was awarded to Daniel Talia of, who received 43 votes.
- The Coleman Medal was awarded to Jack Riewoldt of, who kicked 65 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 Gary Ablett of, for being the Most Valuable Player throughout the premiership season.
- *The Robert Rose Award went to Joel Selwood of and Beau Waters of, for being the Most Courageous Players throughout the premiership season.
- *The Best Captain award went to Jobe Watson of.
- *The Best First-Year Player award was won by Jeremy Cameron of.
- The AFL Coaches Association Awards were as follows:
- *The Player of the Year Award was given to Trent Cotchin of, who received 107 votes.
- *The Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award was given to John Longmire of.
- *The Assistant Coach of the Year Award was given to Peter Sumich of.
- *The Best Young Player Award was given to Dyson Heppell of.
- The inaugural Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award was awarded to Daniel Jackson of.
Coleman Medal
- Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the Coleman that round.
- Underlined numbers indicates the player did not play that round.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | Total | |
| 1 | Jack Riewoldt | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 65 |
| 2 | Tom Hawkins | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 62 |
| 2 | Matthew Pavlich | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 62 |
| 4 | Lance Franklin | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 59 |
| 5 | Drew Petrie | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 57 |
| 6 | Stephen Milne | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 56 |
| 7 | Taylor Walker | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 53 |
| 8 | Travis Cloke | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 50 |
| 9 | Eddie Betts | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 48 |
| 10 | Jonathan Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 47 |
Best and fairest
Player milestones
| Name | Club | Milestone | Round |