2007 AFL season explained

Competition:	afl
Year:	2007
Teams:	16
Count:	7
Mpcount:	12
Pscount:	3
Matches:	185
Attendance:	7049945
Highattend:	98,002 (First Preliminary Final, vs.)
Top Goal Scorer:	Jonathan Brown
Brownlow Medal:	Jimmy Bartel (29 votes)
Prevseason:	2006
Nextseason:	2008

The 2007 AFL season was the 111th 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 featured sixteen clubs, ran from 30 March until 29 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

The premiership was won by the Geelong Football Club for the seventh time, after it defeated by a record 119 points in the AFL Grand Final.

Pre-season competition

See main article: 2007 NAB Cup.

Premiership season

Round 22

Ladder

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	F1	F2	F3	GF	Ladder
	Ess -31	WB +38	PA +24	Syd +17	Frem -1	Coll -24	BL +31	Rich +9	Carl +19	Melb -17	Geel -7	Kang +46	WCE -21	Haw +71	StK -2	Frem -25	Ess -12	PA +8	Geel -33	WB +34	BL +26	Coll +19	Haw -3	X	X	X	8 (8)
	Haw +25	StK +52	Syd -27	Kang -24	Carl +12	Frem +45	Adel -31	Ess -64	Coll -33	Rich 0	WB -23	Geel -50	PA -7	WCE +27	Melb +44	Carl +117	Coll +93	Kang +37	Haw -24	Syd 0	Adel -26	Geel -42	X	X	X	X	10
	Rich +17	Geel -78	Ess +3	WCE -61	BL -12	StK -43	Coll -24	Kang -17	Adel -19	WB +10	PA +39	Haw -100	Frem -77	Melb -23	Syd -62	BL -117	StK -10	Coll -24	PA -23	Ess -10	Kang -82	Melb -31	X	X	X	X	15
	Kang +3	WCE -12	Rich +25	PA -18	Ess +16	Adel +24	Carl +24	WB -33	BL +33	Frem +9	Melb -13	Syd +19	Haw -8	StK +9	Geel -16	Ess +29	BL -93	Carl +24	Rich -20	Melb +11	Syd +25	Adel -19	Syd +38	WCE +19	Geel -5	X	6 (4)
	Adel +31	Frem +10	Carl -3	StK +31	Coll -16	Haw -35	Kang -22	BL +64	Rich +8	Syd +1	WCE +1	PA -31	Melb +2	Geel -50	WB -33	Coll -29	Adel +12	Haw -63	Frem -63	Carl +10	Rich -27	WCE -8	X	X	X	X	12
	PA -16	Ess -10	WCE -31	Melb +45	Adel +1	BL -45	Haw +16	Geel -25	StK +46	Coll -9	Rich +21	WB -26	Carl +77	Syd -28	Kang -4	Adel +25	Geel -68	WCE +27	Ess +63	StK -30	Melb +59	PA -32	X	X	X	X	11
	WB -20	Carl +78	Melb +52	Haw -4	Kang -16	Rich +157	WCE +39	Frem +25	PA +56	StK +60	Adel +7	BL +50	Syd +18	Ess +50	Coll +16	WB +75	Frem +68	Rich +70	Adel +33	Kang +27	PA -5	BL +42	Kang +106	X	Coll +5	PA +119	1 (1)
	BL -25	Melb +22	Kang +21	Geel +4	WB -17	Ess +35	Frem -16	StK +28	WCE +35	PA +34	Syd -9	Carl +100	Coll +8	Adel -71	Rich +53	StK -17	Kang -37	Ess +63	BL +24	PA -5	WB +84	Syd -72	Adel +3	Kang -33	X	X	5 (6)
	Coll -3	PA -18	Haw -21	BL +24	Geel +16	Syd +16	Ess +22	Carl +17	Melb +1	WCE -66	StK +22	Adel -46	WB +26	Rich +25	Frem +4	Melb +64	Haw +37	BL -37	WCE -17	Geel -27	Carl +82	WB +64	Geel -106	Haw +33	PA -87	X	4 (3)
	StK -31	Haw -22	Geel -52	Frem -45	Syd -49	PA -5	WB -6	WCE -77	Kang -1	Adel +17	Coll +13	Rich -49	Ess -2	Carl +23	BL -44	Kang -64	PA -89	Syd -48	WB +42	Coll -11	Frem -59	Carl +31	X	X	X	X	14
	Frem +16	Kang +18	Adel -24	Coll +18	StK +53	Melb +5	Rich +40	Syd -31	Geel -56	Haw -34	Carl -39	Ess +31	BL +7	WB -20	WCE +91	Rich +55	Melb +89	Adel -8	Carl +23	Haw +5	Geel +5	Frem +32	WCE +3	X	Kang +87	Geel -119	2 (2)
	Carl -17	Syd -16	Coll -25	WB -32	WCE -23	Geel -157	PA -40	Adel -9	Ess -8	BL 0	Frem -21	Melb +49	StK -17	Kang -25	Haw -53	PA -55	Syd -66	Geel -70	Coll +20	WCE -31	Ess +27	StK -10	X	X	X	X	16
	Melb +31	BL -52	WB +50	Ess -31	PA -53	Carl +43	Syd +26	Haw -28	Frem -46	Geel -60	Kang -22	WCE +23	Rich +17	Coll -9	Adel +2	Haw +17	Carl +10	WB 0	Syd -17	Frem +30	WCE -8	Rich +10	X	X	X	X	9
	WCE -1	Rich +16	BL +27	Adel -17	Melb +49	Kang -16	StK -26	PA +31	WB +43	Ess -1	Haw +9	Coll -19	Geel -18	Frem +28	Carl +62	WCE -12	Rich +66	Melb +48	StK +17	BL 0	Coll -25	Haw +72	Coll -38	X	X	X	7 (7)
	Syd +1	Coll +12	Frem +31	Carl +61	Rich +23	WB +15	Geel -39	Melb +77	Haw -35	Kang +66	Ess -1	StK -23	Adel +21	BL -27	PA -91	Syd +12	WB +87	Frem -27	Kang +17	Rich +31	StK +8	Ess +8	PA -3	Coll -19	X	X	3 (5)
	Geel +20	Adel -38	StK -50	Rich +32	Haw +17	WCE -15	Melb +6	Coll +33	Syd -43	Carl -10	BL +23	Frem +26	Kang -26	PA +20	Ess +33	Geel -75	WCE -87	StK 0	Melb -42	Adel -34	Haw -84	Kang -64	X	X	X	X	13
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	F1	F2	F3	GF	Ladder

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder progression

Finals series

See main article: 2007 AFL finals series.

Week four

See main article: 2007 AFL Grand Final.

Awards

• The 2007 Brownlow Medal for the AFL's best and fairest player was awarded to Jimmy Bartel, of, who polled 29 votes.
• The AFL Players Association's Leigh Matthews Trophy for the most valuable player was awarded to Gary Ablett, Jr., of .
• The Coleman Medal was awarded to Jonathan Brown of, who kicked 77 goals.
• The Norm Smith Medal as the player adjudged best afield in the AFL Grand Final was awarded to Steve Johnson, of .
• The AFL Rising Star award (Ron Evans Medal) was awarded to Joel Selwood, of .
• The McClelland Trophy was awarded to for holding top position on the ladder after 22 rounds.
• The Wooden Spoon was awarded to for coming in last place on the ladder after 22 rounds.
• Andrew McLeod from was named the captain of the 2007 All-Australian Team.
• The AFL Mark of the Year was awarded to Michael Newton of .
• The AFL Goal of the Year was awarded to Matthew Lloyd of .
• The AFL Army Award was awarded to Alwyn Davey of as the footballer who displayed the most courageous and/or team related act of the season.

Best and fairests

• Adelaide: Andrew McLeod^[1]
• Brisbane: Jonathan Brown^[2]
• Carlton: Andrew Carrazzo^[3]
• Collingwood: Travis Cloke^[4]
• Essendon: James Hird^[5]
• Fremantle: Matthew Pavlich^[6]
• Geelong: Gary Ablett, Jr.^[7]
• Hawthorn: Brad Sewell^[8]

• Kangaroos: Brent Harvey^[9]
• Melbourne: James McDonald^[10]
• Port Adelaide: Kane Cornes^[11]
• Richmond: Matthew Richardson^[12]
• St Kilda: Nick Riewoldt^[13]
• Sydney: Brett Kirk^[14]
• West Coast: Darren Glass^[15]
• Western Bulldogs: Brian Harris^[16]

Notable events

• On Thursday 8 February it was announced that the Seven Network (who had not broadcast AFL for five years) and Ten Network had reached an agreement to on-sell four games per round to pay-TV provider Foxtel.
• In round 6, scored 35.12 (222) against, which was at the time the highest score kicked in an AFL game since quarters were shortened from twenty-five to twenty minutes in 1994. It was also the first time a team has scored over 200 points since round 22, 1995. Their winning margin of 157 points also broke the record for the same period, and they scored an all-time record 23 more goals than behinds, and an all-time record three-quarter time score of 29.9 (183). This was also Richmond’s biggest loss in its 99-year VFL/AFL history and as of 2022 remains the biggest winning margin for any game at Docklands Stadium.
• In round 8, and were widely criticised for their game, which in perfect weather yielded only seven goals in the first three-quarters (before opening up in the final quarter, where nine goals were kicked), and was described as boring by Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy.^[17]
• Round 12's game between and attracted 53,459 fans, breaking the record for the highest AFL crowd at Telstra Dome. In the same game, Hawthorn kicked their highest ever score against Carlton: 27.18 (180), and also achieved their greatest winning margin against Carlton, 100 points.^[18]
• Robert Harvey became just the 10th player in VFL/AFL history to reach 350 games, helping defeat . The win was the second time in 60 games that a Victorian team had beaten West Coast at Subiaco Oval.^[19]
• The round 16 game between the and at the Gabba saw Jonathan Brown become the first player to kick 10 goals in a match. He kicked 10.1 for the game. This surpassed Daniel Bradshaw's 9 goals in 2005 v at the Gabba. After this match Denis Pagan was sacked as the coach of Carlton.^[20]
• On 24 August, the Seven Network broadcast some details obtained from players' confidential medical records on its nightly news program relating to the use of non-performance-enhancing drugs. It allegedly purchased these details for $3000 from a woman who found them in a gutter outside a medical clinic in Melbourne. The name of the club involved, Hawthorn, was revealed by Seven on air, but before the end of the news program (at which time Seven had promised to actually reveal the names of the players), the AFL obtained a court injunction from the Supreme Court of Victoria which prevented this – and which continues to suppress the publication of any part of the records, including the name of the club.^[21] Because anonymity was guaranteed under the AFL's "three-strikes" drugs policy, the AFL players responded by boycotting the Seven Network, refusing to answer any questions posed by its journalists, including in matches broadcast by the network.^[22] Shortly after the completion of round 22, faced with the possibility of ongoing player boycotts – including of the Brownlow Medal count^[23] – the Seven Network issued a statement "regretting" any harm the broadcast may have caused to the AFL, the clubs and the players, and promised not to broadcast or reveal any of the details of the medical records in future.^[24] The AFL Players Association took the "statement of regret" as an apology and the boycott was lifted.^[25] The scandal came to be known as "Guttergate".^[26]
• The final game of the home-and-away season was particularly controversial as two teams, and, each had records of 4–17, and had no chance of winning the wooden spoon, which had been won by Richmond (record of 3-18-1). Under priority draft pick rules, this meant that whichever team won the game would lose a potential priority draft pick (which would have been the first overall selection if Carlton had it, or pick No. 18 if Melbourne had it). Melbourne won by five goals in a game noted for a lack of defensive pressure, while many in the crowd openly supported their teams to defeat.
• The second semi-final between and went into extra time after scores were level at the end of regulation. This was only the second time that extra time has been used in an AFL game, and was also the second time that these teams had drawn in a final.
• set a new record for the highest winning margin in a grand final against, winning by 119 points.

Club leadership

Club	Captain(s)	Vice Captain(s)/Leadership Group
	Mark Ricciuto	Simon Goodwin, Tyson Edwards, Nathan Bassett and Brett Burton^[27]
	Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Chris Johnson, Nigel Lappin, Luke Power
	Lance Whitnall^[28]	Nick Stevens,^[29] Kade Simpson (interim)
	Nathan Buckley	James Clement (Vice Captain), Josh Fraser (deputy VC), Ben Johnson (deputy VC)
	Matthew Lloyd	David Hille
	Matthew Pavlich	Josh Carr
	Tom Harley	Cameron Ling, Cameron Mooney (deputy)
	Richard Vandenberg^[30]	Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell
	Adam Simpson	Brent Harvey
	David Neitz^[31]	Cameron Bruce, Brad Green, Brock McLean, James McDonald
	Warren Tredrea	Shaun Burgoyne, Brendon Lade, Michael Wilson, Chad Cornes
	Kane Johnson	Nathan Brown, Joel Bowden (deputy)
	Luke Ball, Lenny Hayes, Nick Riewoldt
	Leo Barry, Barry Hall, Brett Kirk
	Chris Judd	Andrew Embley, Darren Glass, Dean Cox
	Brad Johnson^[32]	Scott West, Robert Murphy, Daniel Cross and Daniel Giansiracusa

Umpires

• Michael Avon
• Ray Chamberlain
• Chris Donlon
• Martin Ellis
• Luke Farmer
• Darren Goldspink
• Stefan Grun
• Matthew Head
• Craig Hendrie
• Scott Jeffery
• Chris Kamolins
• Hayden Kennedy
• Dean Margetts

• Stephen McBurney
• Shane McInerney
• Simon Meredith
• Kieron Nicholls
• Matthew Nicholls
• Troy Pannell
• Brett Rosebury
• Shaun Ryan
• Matt Stevic
• Damien Sully
• Michael Vozzo
• Stuart Wenn
• Derek Woodcock

Coach changes

Name	Club	Date	Reason
Neale Daniher		29 June	Decision that he could take the club no further.^[33]
Chris Connolly		17 July	Quit after run of poor results.^[34]
Denis Pagan		23 July	Fired after five heavy losses in a row.^[35]
Kevin Sheedy		25 July	Contract would not be renewed at end of season.^[36]
Brett Ratten		20 August	Interim coach Ratten was given a two-year contract.^[37]
Dean Bailey		31 August	Dean Bailey was appointed Melbourne coach.^[38]
Mark Harvey		17 September	Fremantle appointed Harvey senior coach.^[39]
Matthew Knights		27 September	Knights promised a new direction at Essendon.^[40]

See also

• 2007 Australian football code crowds
• List of 2007 AFL debuts
• List of Australian Football League premiers

References

• Web site: 2007 Season Scores and Results. AFL Tables. 23 August 2012.

External links

• 2007 Season – AFL Tables
• Official AFL website
• FOXSPORTS Australia AFL section
• Heraldsun site
• The Age Online
• Sportal AFL
• 2007 AFL season – Finalsiren.com
• CSV file of 2007 fixture for use with Microsoft Outlook calendars

Notes and References

1. News: McLeod takes home third gold jacket. AFL.com.au. 5 October 2007. 5 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120603160335/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52203. 3 June 2012. dead.
2. News: Brown wins first Merrett–Murray Medal. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524153818/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52232. dead. 24 May 2011. AFL.com.au. 6 October 2007. 6 October 2007.
3. News: Carrazzo wins Blues best and fairest. AFL.com.au. 7 September 2007. 7 September 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120616081334/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=50751. 16 June 2012. dead.
4. News: Cloke claims Copeland. AFL.com.au. 5 October 2007. 5 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120616081400/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52200. 16 June 2012. dead.
5. News: Hird goes out on top. AFL.com.au. 4 October 2007. 4 October 2007.
6. News: Record forth Doig Medal. AFL.com.au. 7 October 2007. 7 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120616081416/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52241. 16 June 2012. dead.
7. News: Ablett tops off a grand year for Geelong. AFL.com.au. 5 October 2007. 5 October 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071101052711/http://kangaroos.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4912/Default.aspx?newsId=52205. 1 November 2007 . live.
8. News: Sewell claims first Peter Crimmins Medal. https://web.archive.org/web/20121003003850/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52231. dead. 3 October 2012. AFl.com.au. 6 October 2007. 6 October 2007.
9. News: Boomer claims Syd Barker Medal. AFL.com.au. 6 October 2007. 5 October 2007.
10. News: McDonald doubles up as Melbourne's best. AFL.com.au. 2 October 2007. 2 October 2007.
11. News: Kane Cornes club champion for Power. AFL.com.au. 6 October 2007. 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120616081431/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52234. 16 June 2012. dead.
12. News: Richo scoops Tigers' best and fairest. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524153829/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=51378. dead. 24 May 2011. AFL.com.au. 19 September 2007. 19 September 2007.
13. News: Riewoldt wins fourth Trevor Barker Award. AFL.com.au. 5 October 2007. 5 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071102093257/http://www.saints.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=5315&newsId=52207. 2 November 2007 . live.
14. News: Kirk wins second Bob Skilton Medal. AFL.com.au. 5 October 2007. 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120603160353/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52209. 3 June 2012. dead.
15. News: Glass takes out top club honour. AFL.com.au. 6 October 2007. 6 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071112053542/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52215. 12 November 2007. dead.
16. News: Harris named top Dog. AFL.com.au. 2 October 2007. 2 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20120603160455/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=52045. 3 June 2012. dead.
17. News: Sheedy condemns ugly footy. The Sunday Telegraph. 23 May 2007. 3 June 2007.
18. News: Hawks hammer hapless Blues. Official AFL Website of the Hawthorn Football Club. 15 June 2007. 18 June 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203855/http://www.hawthornfc.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=4742&newsId=45113. 27 September 2007. dead.
19. News: Saints give Harvey great memory. Herald Sun . 24 June 2007. 24 June 2007.
20. News: Brown leads Lions romp. The Courier-Mail. 28 September 2007. 3 June 2007 . Marco . Monteverde.
21. News: Police probe AFL drug-dealing allegations. The Courier Mail. 29 August 2007. 11 September 2007 . Sam . Edmund.
22. News: Player power strikes Seven. Greg . Denham . Andrew . McGarry . The Australian. 29 August 2007. 11 September 2007.
23. News: Players may boycott Brownlow Medal. The Courier Mail. 28 August 2007. 11 September 2007 . Guy . Hand.
24. News: Seven apologises for AFL drugs story. ABC News. 4 September 2007. 11 September 2007.
25. News: Channel Seven backs down on AFL drugs yarn. Perth Now. 5 September 2007. 11 September 2007.
26. News: All Braun, no brain means Aka snubs Seven. The Sunday Age. 2 September 2007. 11 September 2007. https://archive.today/20130131175445/http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/showarticle.aspx?article=1bd7f83c-c8fc-4ffe-b84f-825c3e4f048d&viewmode=2&page=50. 31 January 2013. dead.
27. News: Crows stick with Roo, but who's next? . sportsaustralia.com . 9 January 2007 . 3 June 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110227102615/http://sportsaustralia.com/opinions/article.php?id=32 . 27 February 2011 . dead.
28. News: Whitnall confirmed as Blues captain. sportsaustralia.com. 21 February 2007. 3 June 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070310170719/http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200702/s1853472.htm . 10 March 2007.
29. News: Experiments key for Carlton. ABC Sport. 12 March 2007. 3 June 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070314214522/http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200703/s1869565.htm . 14 March 2007.
30. News: 2007 preview: Hawthorn. AFL.com.au. 5 March 2007. 23 August 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030617/http://afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4311/Default.aspx?newsId=38655. 30 September 2007.
31. News: Neitz to skipper Demons again. Australian Broadcasting Corporation .au. 19 February 2007. 23 August 2012.
32. News: Johnson top Dog in 2007. The Age . 6 December 2006. 23 August 2012 . Melbourne.
33. News: Demon days almost over for Daniher. Australian Broadcasting Corporation .au. 28 June 2007. 26 July 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070701214940/http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/28/1964493.htm. 1 July 2007 . live.
34. News: Connolly falls on his sword. Australian Broadcasting Corporation .au. 18 July 2007. 26 July 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070824071948/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/18/1981506.htm. 24 August 2007 . live.
35. News: Blues part ways with Pagan. Australian Broadcasting Corporation .au. 23 July 2007. 26 July 2007.
36. News: Sheedy shunted from Bombers. Herald Sun . Australia. 25 July 2007. 26 July 2007.
37. News: Ratten to lead Blues. Herald Sun . Australia. 21 August 2007. 21 July 2007.
38. News: Dean Bailey appointed Melbourne coach. AFL website. 31 August 2007. 31 August 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930050930/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=50195. 30 September 2007 . dead.
39. News: Fremantle appoint Harvey senior coach. AFL website. 17 September 2007. 17 September 2007.
40. News: Knights promises new direction at Essendon. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524155426/http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=51830. dead. 24 May 2011. AFL website. 27 September 2007. 27 September 2007.