2008 AFL season explained

Competition:	afl
Year:	2008
Teams:	16
Count:	10
Mpcount:	13
Pscount:	3
Matches:	185
Attendance:	7082949
Highattend:	100,012 (Grand Final, vs.)
Top Goal Scorer:	Lance Franklin (102 goals)
Brownlow Medal:	Adam Cooney (24 votes)
Prevseason:	2007
Nextseason:	2009

The 2008 AFL season was the 112th 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 20 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs. A significant feature of the season was the celebration of the 150th anniversary since the sport of Australian rules football was first established in 1858.

The premiership was won by the Hawthorn Football Club for the tenth time, after they defeated by 26 points in the 2008 AFL Grand Final.

NAB Cup

See main article: 2008 NAB Cup.

Premiership season

AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match

See main article: AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match.

Round 16

|- style="background:#ccf;"|Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report|- style="background:#fff;"|||17.12 (114) ||||14.12 (96) ||Telstra Dome||46,610 ||Friday, 18 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||19.17 (131) ||||10.10 (70) ||Skilled Stadium||24,801 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||16.12 (108) ||||15.14 (104) ||MCG||56,746 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||17.11 (113) ||||9.13 (67) ||The Gabba||27,784 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||18.11 (119) ||||13.11 (89) ||Telstra Dome||41,886 ||Saturday, 19 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||18.11 (119) ||||18.13 (121) ||Telstra Dome||38,401 ||Sunday, 20 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 13.14 (92) |||| 11.14 (80) ||AAMI Stadium||31,662 ||Sunday, 20 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 16.18 (114) |||| 10.8 (68) ||Subiaco||31,638 ||Sunday, 20 July||AFL.com.au

Round 17

|- style="background:#ccf;"|Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report|- style="background:#fff;"|||11.11 (77) ||||12.16 (88) ||MCG||86,179 ||Friday, 25 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||19.14 (128) ||||11.14 (80) ||MCG||64,785||Saturday, 26 July|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||15.13 (103) ||||12.14 (86) ||Subiaco||34,037||Saturday, 26 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 18.9 (117) |||| 16.18 (114) ||Telstra Dome||31,275 ||Saturday, 26 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 6.17 (53)|||| 11.11 (77) ||SCG||26,260 ||Saturday, 26 July||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 15.11 (101) || || 20.9 (129) ||AAMI Stadium|| 19,072 ||Sunday, 27 July|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 10.10 (70) |||| 14.14 (98) ||MCG||21,330 ||Sunday, 27 July|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 15.8 (98) |||| 18.18 (126) ||Telstra Dome|| 37,879 ||Sunday, 27 July|| AFL.com.au

Round 18

|- style="background:#ccf;"|Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report|- style="background:#fff;"||| 8.14 (62) |||| 17.14 (116) ||MCG|| 58,307 ||Friday, 1 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"| || 19.10 (124) |||| 17.6 (108) ||MCG|| 46,334 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"| || 13.16 (94) |||| 12.14 (86) ||AAMI Stadium|| 40,730 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"| ||20.14 (134)||||10.11 (71)||Telstra Dome|| 42,238 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"| ||13.14 (92)||||11.18 (84)||Gold Coast Stadium|| 10,037 ||Saturday, 2 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"| || 17.11 (113) |||| 14.13 (97) ||Manuka Oval|| 13,550 ||Sunday, 3 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"| || 14.17 (101) |||| 14.9 (93) ||Telstra Dome|| 22,878 ||Sunday, 3 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"| || 17.14 (116) |||| 12.11 (83) ||Subiaco|| 42,096 ||Sunday, 3 August|| AFL.com.au

Round 19

|- style="background:#ccf;"|Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report|- style="background:#fff;"|||5.11 (41) ||||24.13 (157) ||MCG||34,610 ||Friday, 8 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||18.24 (132) ||||9.12 (66) ||Telstra Dome||29,696 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||16.14 (110) ||||5.11 (41) ||Aurora Stadium||19,929 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||14.13 (97) ||||12.11 (83) ||MCG||52,135 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||17.10 (112) ||||15.18 (108) ||SCG||20,846 ||Saturday, 9 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||21.10 (136) ||||18.8 (116) ||Telstra Dome||31,957 ||Sunday, 10 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||16.12 (108)||||6.9 (45) ||AAMI Stadium||37,562 ||Sunday, 10 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||17.11 (113) ||||16.7 (103) ||Subiaco||35,288 ||Sunday, 10 August||AFL.com.au

Round 20

|- style="background:#ccf;"|Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report|- style="background:#fff;"|||10.15 (75) ||||16.10 (106) ||AAMI Stadium|| 23,694 ||Friday, 15 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||10.13 (73) ||||19.15 (129) ||Telstra Dome||32,184 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||11.13 (79) ||||5.15 (45) ||MCG||17,958 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||13.12 (90) ||||10.19 (79) ||The Gabba||27,315 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||14.10 (94) ||||20.13 (133) ||ANZ Stadium||44,955 ||Saturday, 16 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||16.9 (105) ||||10.16 (76) ||MCG||44,523 ||Sunday, 17 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||14.6 (90) ||||22.9 (141) ||Telstra Dome||43,406 ||Sunday, 17 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 9.15 (69) ||||17.10 (112) ||Subiaco||34,014 ||Sunday, 17 August||AFL.com.au

Round 21

|- style="background:#ccf;"|Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report|- style="background:#fff;"|||23.13 (151) ||||15.15 (105) ||Telstra Dome||37,294 ||Friday, 22 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||15.15 (105) ||||15.8 (98)||MCG||24,881 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||18.21 (129) ||||7.9 (51) ||AAMI Stadium||18,875 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||16.13 (109) ||||18.7 (115) ||The Gabba||34,327 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||18.10 (118) ||||10.13 (73) ||Telstra Dome||45,507 ||Saturday, 23 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||17.13 (115) ||||13.4 (82) ||Skilled Stadium||24,288||Sunday, 24 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||13.17 (95)||||6.11 (47)||Telstra Dome||33,811||Sunday, 24 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||9.8 (62) ||||19.19 (133) ||Subiaco||37,040 ||Sunday, 24 August||AFL.com.au

Round 22

|- style="background:#ccf;"|Home team||Home team score||Away team||Away team score||Ground||Crowd||Date||Report|- style="background:#fff;"||| 12.8 (80) |||| 8.8 (56) ||Subiaco|| 35,106 ||Friday, 29 August|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 10.12 (72) |||| 23.10 (148) ||MCG||22,144 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 24.20 (164) |||| 10.5 (65) ||Skilled Stadium|| 21,752 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 10.16 (76) |||| 9.13 (67) ||AAMI Stadium|| 37,545 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 12.9 (81) |||| 24.15 (159) ||Telstra Dome|| 49,057 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"||| 17.12 (114) |||| 6.17 (53) ||SCG|| 24,076 ||Saturday, 30 August|| AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||6.5 (41) ||||18.13 (121) ||MCG||37,046 ||Sunday, 31 August||AFL.com.au|- style="background:#fff;"|||5.9 (39) ||||21.21 (147) ||Telstra Dome||46,161 ||Sunday, 31 August||AFL.com.au

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
	WB -3	WCE +76	PA +6	Haw -44	Frem +17	Carl +30	NM +33	Melb +76	WCE -50	Ess +5	Rich +50	Haw -4	BL -13	Geel -68	Coll -32	PA -12	Syd +24	Carl +8	Rich +63	Ess +56	StK -48	WB +9	Coll -31	X	X	X	5
	WCE -16	Coll +2	Syd -17	PA +20	Haw -12	Melb +52	Geel -27	Carl +33	StK +46	NM +31	Frem +22	WB -63	Adel +13	Melb -1	Ess -37	WCE +46	Rich -3	NM -8	Haw -69	WB +11	Carl -6	Syd -61	X	X	X	X	10
	Rich -30	StK -40	Ess -16	Coll +23	Melb +33	Adel -30	WCE +37	BL -33	Frem +9	Geel -56	PA +12	Coll +30	Ess -35	Rich +30	StK -32	Syd -2	WB +28	Adel -8	PA +66	NM -51	BL +6	Haw -78	X	X	X	X	11
	Frem +26	BL -2	Rich +44	Carl -23	NM -7	Ess +73	Haw +65	StK +9	Geel +86	WCE +100	Melb +21	Carl -30	WB -10	Syd +29	Adel +32	NM -18	Ess -48	Haw -54	StK +14	PA +31	Syd +45	Frem -24	Adel +31	StK -34	X	X	8
	NM +55	Geel -99	Carl +16	WB -30	StK -36	Coll -73	PA -64	Syd -91	Rich -38	Adel -5	Haw -51	WCE +22	Carl +35	Frem +4	BL +37	Rich -4	Coll +48	Melb +16	WCE -10	Adel -56	WB -46	StK -108	X	X	X	X	12
	Coll -26	Haw -15	WCE +14	Rich -64	Adel -17	Geel -1	Melb -6	WB -3	Carl -9	PA -28	BL -24	NM +53	StK -8	Ess -4	Geel -74	Melb +46	PA +28	WCE +33	Syd -4	StK -43	Rich -7	Coll +24	X	X	X	X	14
	PA +9	Ess +99	Melb +30	StK +42	Syd +42	Frem +1	BL +27	Rich +30	Coll -86	Carl +56	NM +13	PA +59	WCE +135	Adel +68	Frem +74	WB +61	Haw +11	Rich +63	Melb +116	Syd +39	NM +33	WCE +99	StK +58	X	WB +29	Haw -26	1
	Melb +104	Frem +15	NM +16	Adel +44	BL +12	Rich +12	Coll +65	PA +15	Melb +19	WB -32	Ess +51	Adel +4	NM -27	WCE +57	Syd +31	StK -30	Geel -11	Coll +54	BL +69	Rich -29	WCE +71	Carl +78	WB +51	X	StK +54	Geel +26	2
	Haw -104	WB -95	Geel -30	NM -48	Carl -33	BL -53	Frem +6	Adel -76	Haw -19	StK -79	Coll -21	Rich -22	Syd -40	BL +1	WB -31	Frem -46	NM -28	Ess -16	Geel -116	WCE +34	PA -78	Rich -80	X	X	X	X	16
	Ess -55	Rich +41	Haw -16	Melb +48	Coll +7	Syd 0	Adel -33	WCE +6	WB +3	BL -31	Geel -13	Frem -53	Haw +27	StK -15	PA +2	Coll +18	Melb +28	BL +8	WB +20	Carl +51	Geel -33	PA -76	Syd -35	X	X	X	7
	Geel -9	Syd -68	Adel -6	BL -20	WCE +24	StK +21	Ess +64	Haw -15	Syd -11	Frem +28	Carl -12	Geel -59	Rich -4	WB -54	NM -2	Adel +12	Frem -28	StK -8	Carl -66	Coll -31	Melb +78	NM +76	X	X	X	X	13
	Carl +30	NM -41	Coll -44	Frem +64	WB 0	Haw -12	StK -3	Geel -30	Ess +38	Syd -82	Adel -50	Melb +22	PA +4	Carl -30	WCE +77	Ess +4	BL +3	Geel -63	Adel -63	Haw +29	Frem +7	Melb +80	X	X	X	X	9
	Syd +2	Carl +40	WB -38	Geel -42	Ess +36	PA -21	Rich +3	Coll -9	BL -46	Melb +79	WB -27	Syd -35	Frem +8	NM +15	Carl +32	Haw +30	WCE -17	PA +8	Coll -14	Frem +43	Adel +48	Ess +108	Geel -58	Coll +34	Haw -54	X	4
	StK -2	PA +68	BL +17	WCE +62	Geel -42	NM 0	WB -18	Ess +91	PA +11	Rich +82	WCE +5	StK +35	Melb +40	Coll -29	Haw -31	Carl +2	Adel -24	WB -16	Frem +4	Geel -39	Coll -45	BL +61	NM +35	WB -37	X	X	6
	BL +16	Adel -76	Frem -14	Syd -62	PA -24	WB -60	Carl -37	NM -6	Adel +50	Coll -100	Syd -5	Ess -22	Geel -135	Haw -57	Rich -77	BL -46	StK +17	Frem -33	Ess +10	Melb -34	Haw -71	Geel -99	X	X	X	X	15
	Adel +3	Melb +95	StK +38	Ess +30	Rich 0	WCE +60	Syd +18	Frem +3	NM -3	Haw +32	StK +27	BL +63	Coll +10	PA +54	Melb +31	Geel -61	Carl -28	Syd +16	NM -20	BL -11	Ess +46	Adel -9	Haw -51	Syd +37	Geel -29	X	3
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

Ladder

Ladder progression

Finals series

See main article: 2008 AFL finals series.

Week four

See main article: 2008 AFL Grand Final.

Statistics

Leading goalkickers

^{updated after grand final} The Coleman Medal was awarded to Lance Franklin for kicking the most goals at the end of the home and away season.

	Player	Club	Games	Goals			Best Performance
				width=40	Season	width=40	Finals	width=40	Total	width=40	Goals	width=220	Opponent(s)	width=40	Round(s)
align=center	1	align=center	Lance Franklin	align=center		align=center	25	align=center	102	align=center	11	align=center	113	align=center	9	align=center		align=center	11
align=center	2	align=center	Brendan Fevola	align=center		align=center	22	align=center	99	align=center	–	align=center	99	align=center	8	align=center	,	align=center	3, 11
align=center	3	align=center	Daniel Bradshaw	align=center		align=center	20	align=center	75	align=center	–	align=center	75	align=center	7	align=center		align=center	5
align=center	4	align=center	Jarryd Roughead	align=center		align=center	24	align=center	66	align=center	9	align=center	75	align=center	6	align=center	,	align=center	7, 14
align=center	5	align=center	Jonathan Brown	align=center		align=center	21	align=center	70	align=center	–	align=center	70	align=center	6	align=center	,,	align=center	8, 9, 10
align=center	6	align=center	Matthew Pavlich	align=center		align=center	19	align=center	67	align=center	–	align=center	67	align=center	8	align=center		align=center	12
align=center	7	align=center	Nick Riewoldt	align=center		align=center	24	align=center	56	align=center	9	align=center	65	align=center	6	align=center		align=center	16
align=center	8	align=center	Matthew Lloyd	align=center		align=center	21	align=center	62	align=center	–	align=center	62	align=center	8	align=center		align=center	18
align=center	9	align=center	Stephen Milne	align=center		align=center	24	align=center	54	align=center	6	align=center	60	align=center	7	align=center	,	align=center	7, 22
align=center	10	align=center	Daniel Motlop	align=center		align=center	21	align=center	57	align=center	–	align=center	57	align=center	7	align=center		align=center	7

Disposals

Rank	Player	Team	Total
1	Joel Corey		730
2	Jimmy Bartel		702
3	Sam Mitchell		667
4	Daniel Cross		663
5	Adam Cooney		637
6	Matthew Boyd		629
7	Kane Cornes		613
8	Joel Selwood		607
9	Gary Ablett, Jr.		606
10	Dane Swan		590

Kicks

Rank	Player	Team	Total
1	Leigh Montagna		388
2	Jimmy Bartel		382
3	Dane Swan		368
4	Sam Fisher		359
5	Lindsay Gilbee		352
6	Brent Harvey		339
7	Joel Corey		339
7	Brendon Goddard		337
9	Nick Dal Santo		336
10	Marc Murphy		335

Handballs

Rank	Player	Team	Total
1	Daniel Cross		422
2	Joel Corey		391
3	Sam Mitchell		354
4	Kane Cornes		345
5	Adam Cooney		326
6	Joel Selwood		324
7	Lenny Hayes		322
8	Jimmy Bartel		320
9	Shane Tuck		318
10	Gary Ablett, Jr.		318

Marks

Rank	Player	Team	Total
1	Nick Riewoldt		240
2	Samuel Fisher		228
3	Matthew Richardson		220
4	Robert Murphy		204
5	Cameron Mooney		201
6	Brendon Goddard		182
7	Paul Medhurst		179
8	Brian Lake		175
9	Brad Johnson		172
10	Clinton Young		172

Tackles

Rank	Player	Team	Total
1	Brett Kirk		151
2	Lenny Hayes		144
3	Jude Bolton		143
4	Joel Corey		138
5	Domenic Cassisi		133
6	Jimmy Bartel		124
7	Daniel Cross		117
8	Martin Mattner		126
9	James Kelly		112
10	Daniel Harris		109

Hitouts

Rank	Player	Team	Total
1	Aaron Sandilands		646
2	Dean Cox		571
3	Darren Jolly		543
4	Mark Blake		525
5	Jamie Charman		434
6	Steven King		408
7	Dean Brogan		397
8	David Hille		364
9	Troy Simmonds		359
10	Robert Campbell		358

Awards

• The 2008 Brownlow Medal for the AFL's fairest and best player was awarded to Adam Cooney, of the, who polled 24 votes.
• The Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFL's most valuable player was awarded to Gary Ablett, Jr., of .
• The Coleman Medal was awarded to Lance Franklin of, who kicked 102 goals during the home and away season.
• The Norm Smith Medal as the player adjudged best afield in the AFL Grand Final was awarded to Luke Hodge, of Hawthorn.
• The McClelland Trophy was awarded to for holding top position on the ladder after 22 rounds.^[1]
• The Wooden Spoon was obtained by who finished the season in last place on the ladder after 22 rounds.
• Chris Judd from was named the captain of the 2008 All-Australian Team, with seven Geelong players named and nine players made their All-Australian debuts.^[2]
• The AFL Mark of the Year and Alex Jesaulenko Medal was awarded to Matthew Lloyd of for a spectacular high mark against in round 19.^[3]
• The AFL Goal of the Year and Phil Manassa Medal was awarded to Leon Davis of for his chase, tackle and goal against in round 22.^[3]
• The AFL Army Award was awarded to Brett Deledio for the footballer who displays the most courageous and/or team related act of the season, for running with the flight of the ball to attempt a mark in the final minutes of 's round 7 loss to .^[4]

Coleman Medal

• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the count in that round.

width=20 abbr="Position"		width=100	Player	width=20 abbr="Round 1"	1	width=20 abbr="Round 2"	2	width=20 abbr="Round 3"	3	width=20 abbr="Round 4"	4	width=20 abbr="Round 5"	5	width=20 abbr="Round 6"	6	width=20 abbr="Round 7"	7	width=20 abbr="Round 8"	8	width=20 abbr="Round 9"	9	width=20 abbr="Round 10"	10	width=20 abbr="Round 11"	11	width=20 abbr="Round 12"	12	width=20 abbr="Round 13"	13	width=20 abbr="Round 14"	14	width=20 abbr="Round 15"	15	width=20 abbr="Round 16"	16	width=20 abbr="Round 17"	17	width=20 abbr="Round 18"	18	width=20 abbr="Round 19"	19	width=20 abbr="Round 20"	20	width=20 abbr="Round 21"	21	width=20 abbr="Round 22"	22	width=20 abbr="Total"	Total
1	Lance Franklin	6	4	5	6	8	1	6	6	3	5	9	1	1	5	4	3	4	8	6	3	4	4	102
2	Brendan Fevola	2	2	8	7	7	1	4	5	1	3	2	8	7	4	3	5	6	5	4	6	2	7	99
3	Daniel Bradshaw	3	3	5	5	7	6	1	1	6	6	0	-	-	4	4	4	3	5	2	2	6	2	75
4	Jonathan Brown	6	2	1	4	0	2	-	6	6	6	3	3	2	5	5	3	3	5	1	3	4	0	70
5	Matthew Pavlich	1	3	5	3	0	5	5	4	4	1	3	8	5	6	1	5	-	4	1	3	-	-	67
6	Jarryd Roughead	3	4	4	1	1	5	6	3	1	4	3	3	2	6	3	3	2	4	1	0	2	5	66
7	Matthew Lloyd	6	0	4	-	0	3	5	1	4	1	2	2	4	1	4	2	4	8	3	3	4	1	62
8	Daniel Motlop	2	2	2	0	4	3	7	2	2	5	1	3	6	0	1	4	2	2	1	-	5	3	57
9	Nick Riewoldt	2	2	2	3	3	3	1	-	1	1	2	1	3	1	3	6	5	3	2	5	3	4	56
10	Stephen Milne	1	4	2	2	2	0	7	2	2	3	1	1	-	4	5	1	2	1	2	3	2	7	54

Rising Star Nominees

See main article: 2008 AFL Rising Star. The AFL Rising Star award for 2008 was awarded to Rhys Palmer from .^[5]

Club Best and Fairests

Club	Award Name	Winner^[6]
	Malcolm Blight Medal	Nathan Bock
	Merrett–Murray Medal	Jonathan Brown^[7]
	John Nicholls Medal	Chris Judd
	Copeland Trophy	Dane Swan
	Crichton Medal	David Hille
	Doig Medal	Matthew Pavlich^[8]
	Carji Greeves Medal	Joel Corey
	Peter Crimmins Medal	Lance Franklin^[9]
	Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal	Cameron Bruce
	Syd Barker Medal	Brent Harvey
	John Cahill Medal	Kane Cornes
	Jack Dyer Medal	Brett Deledio
	Trevor Barker Award	Sam Fisher^[10]
	Bob Skilton Medal	Jarrad McVeigh
	Club Champion Award	Dean Cox
	Charles Sutton Medal	Daniel Cross

Notable events

• This was the first season in which Carlton and Richmond faced off in what is now the traditional first clash of the season.
• This was the first season since 1998 in which NMFC competed as "North Melbourne" instead of "Kangaroos", following the end of their decade-long experiment with home-away-from-home venues in Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast.
• The came back from a 37-point deficit against at quarter time to win the game by 38 points, a 75-point turnaround, in round 3.
• The produced its biggest ever comeback in round 4 against when they were down by 47 points late in the third quarter to win by 20 points, a 67-point turnaround.
• forward Barry Hall was suspended for seven weeks, then the equal-longest suspension handed out since the tribunal was reconfigured to a points-based system in 2005, for striking defender Brent Staker with a clean punch to the head. Later in the season, 's Dean Solomon beat that record, being suspended for eight weeks after hitting 's Cameron Ling in the cheekbone with an elbow.
• won its first game for the season in round 7 against by six points, after recovering from a 50-point half-time deficit, the second-largest half-time deficit ever overcome in VFL/AFL history.^[11] This was the second in a VFL/AFL-record string of five consecutive games which Fremantle lost after holding a three-quarter time lead.
• suffered its worst ever loss at Subiaco Oval, and worst loss anywhere since 1989, in round 13, losing to by 135 points.
• In round 13, Dustin Fletcher (in his 288th game) and his father, Ken (264 games), claimed the record of most VFL/AFL games played by a father-son combination (552 games).
• In round 16, Richmond player Joel Bowden deliberately conceded two behinds directly from the kick-in, to waste time while protecting his team's four-point lead over Essendon. This was a major motivation for the introduction of a rule from 2009 that allows the umpire to give award free kick for a deliberate rushed behind.
• With its final-round victory, matched 's 2000 record of 21 wins in a home-and-away season. Ironically, also set the record for the highest average losing margin in a VFL/AFL season, with its only loss coming by 86 points against .
• In the round 22 match between and, Hawthorn forward Lance Franklin became the first player since Tony Lockett in 1998 to kick 100 goals in the home-and-away Season. Franklin became the 28th player in VFL/AFL history to reach this milestone, and the first indigenous player to do so.
• In the same game, Brendan Fevola scored seven second-half goals to fall one goal short of the same milestone, becoming the first person in VFL/AFL history to finish on 99 goals for a season.
• The final game of the home and away season saw the 8th-placed requiring a win of 90+ points over to claim 4th place going into the finals. recorded a then-record winning margin over Essendon of 108 points which saw the Saints replace in 4th place for the finals series.
• On Monday 1 September, Leigh Matthews announced his resignation from his senior coaching position at the . Michael Voss took up this position despite committing to for 2009.
• The second elimination final between and was, at the time, the lowest crowd number for a final outside Victoria with only 19,127 despite being at ANZ Stadium where Sydney had averaged 50,000 for finals.
• The Grand Final between and drew a crowd of 100,012, the first crowd over 100,000 people since the 1986 Grand Final.
• By losing the Grand Final after finishing with a home-and-away record of 21–1, broke the record set in 1935 and 1936 by (16–2) for best record by a non-premier, and the record for most wins by a non-premier held jointly by (1973) and (1991) (both 19 wins).
• played in a controversial draw against at Telstra Dome in round 6; it was later revealed that Sydney had nineteen men on the field for a brief period of play before, during and after the behind that tied the scores was scored.^[12] As a direct consequence of this, the league amended the interchange laws in round 9, appointing interchange stewards to police the players and to signal to the field umpires if an infringement has occurred. Any infringement now results in a free kick being awarded.^[13]

Club leadership

width=120	Club	width=120	Coach	Captain(s)	Vice Captain(s)/Leadership Group
	Neil Craig	Simon Goodwin^[14]	Nathan Bassett, Brett Burton, Tyson Edwards, Ben Rutten and Nathan van Berlo
	Leigh Matthews	Simon Black, Jonathan Brown, Nigel Lappin and Luke Power^[15]	N/A
	Brett Ratten	Chris Judd^[16]	Nick Stevens (vc), Andrew Carrazzo, Heath Scotland and Kade Simpson^[17]
	Mick Malthouse	Scott Burns^[18]	Josh Fraser (vc), Tarkyn Lockyer, Nick Maxwell and Scott Pendlebury
	Matthew Knights	Matthew Lloyd	Mark McVeigh and David Hille (vc)
	Mark Harvey	Matthew Pavlich	Josh Carr (vc)
	Mark Thompson	Tom Harley	Cameron Ling (vc), Cameron Mooney (vc), Joel Corey, Paul Chapman and Max Rooke
	Alastair Clarkson	Sam Mitchell^[19]	Luke Hodge (vc), Shane Crawford, Chance Bateman and Brad Sewell
	Dean Bailey	Cameron Bruce and James McDonald	Brock McLean and Brad Miller^[20]
	Dean Laidley	Adam Simpson^[21]	Brady Rawlings, Daniel Harris, Michael Firrito, Nathan Thompson, Drew Petrie, Corey Jones, Daniel Pratt and Brent Harvey
	Mark Williams	Warren Tredrea^[22]	Brendon Lade (vc), Chad Cornes (vc), Shaun Burgoyne (vc), Michael Wilson, Kane Cornes and Dom Cassisi
	Terry Wallace	Kane Johnson	Chris Newman (vc), Nathan Foley (vc), Nathan Brown, Troy Simmonds, Joel Bowden and Kayne Pettifer^[23]
	Ross Lyon	Nick Riewoldt^[24]	Lenny Hayes
	Paul Roos	Leo Barry, Craig Bolton and Brett Kirk^[25]	N/A
	John Worsfold	Darren Glass^[26]	Dean Cox (vc), Tyson Stenglein (vc), Matt Priddis, Ashley Hansen and Adam Selwood^[27]
	Rodney Eade	Brad Johnson	Scott West, Robert Murphy, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa, Matthew Boyd and Dale Morris^[28]

Umpires

The AFL introduced an additional two boundary umpires in round 21 in order to reduce the error rate and enable the umpires to keep up with the play.^[29]

Brett Rosebury was appointed the 2008 All-Australian umpire, the first West Australian umpire to receive that honour. Controversially, however, he was not appointed to umpire the AFL Grand Final, with Scott McLaren, Michael Vozzo and Shaun Ryan selected ahead of Rosebury.^[30]

Scott McLaren umpired his 300th game,^[31] and Shane McInerney umpired his 250-game, in round 4.^[32] Experienced field umpires Martin Ellis and Matthew Head both announced their retirements during the year.^{[33] [34]}

Coach changes

• Surprising some, Leigh Matthews announced his retirement as coach of the two days after their final game of the season in what was replaced as a move to make way for potential coaching candidate, Michael Voss.^[35]
• Despite being newly signed for two years as assistant coach of, as expected, former Brisbane Lions captain Michael Voss was appointed as coach of the Brisbane Lions, one day after Leigh Matthews resigned.^[36]

See also

• 2008 Australian football code crowds

References

• 2008 Season – AFL Tables
• 2008 AFL season – Finalsiren.com

External links

• AFL (Australian Football League)
• 2008 Interactive Fixture in Excel
• 2008 Schedule By Week as a PDF
• 2008 Schedule By Team as a PDF
• AFL Venue Information

Notes and References

1. http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=66645 Cats demolish Eagles by 99 points
2. http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/eagles-dockers-picked-for-all-australian-squad-20080915-4h27.html?page=-1 Eagles, Dockers picked for All Australian squad
3. Web site: Looyd, Davis make their mark . 10 October 2008 . 9 October 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081009105250/http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/lloyd-davis-make-their-mark/2008/10/08/1223145445609.html . dead .
4. http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=67703 Richmond's Deledio wins 2008 Army Award
5. Web site: Docker Rhys Palmer wins 2008 Rising Star award. PerthNow. 16 September 2016. 2 September 2008.
6. News: Club best and fairest results. 5 October 2008. Realfooty. 5 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081005035601/http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/best-and-fairest-results/2008/10/04/1223013861357.html. 5 October 2008 . live.
7. News: Brown top Lion. AAP. 5 October 2008. Realfooty. 5 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081006172402/http://news.realfooty.com.au/sport/brown-top-lion-20081004-4u04.html. 6 October 2008 . live.
8. News: Pavlich named Dockers' best. AAP. 5 October 2008. Realfooty. 5 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081006172412/http://news.realfooty.com.au/sport/pavlich-named-dockers-best-20081005-4u0q.html. 6 October 2008 . live.
9. News: Franklin is top Hawk in year of personal and team accolades. Arup. Thomas. 5 October 2008. Realfooty. 5 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081007062557/http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/franklin-is-top-hawk-in-year-of-personal-and-team-accolades/2008/10/04/1223013861336.html. 7 October 2008 . live.
10. News: Fisher voted best Saint. AAP. 5 October 2008. Realfooty. 5 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081008234943/http://news.realfooty.com.au/sport/fisher-voted-best-saint-20081004-4tzt.html. 8 October 2008 . live.
11. http://afltables.com/afl/teams/allteams/gamer.html#16 AFL Tables – Game Records
12. http://www.afl.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=208&newsId=58825 Roos returns fire on North's reaction
13. http://news.smh.com.au/sport/afl-interchange-rules-overhauled-20080513-2drc.html AFL interchange rules overhauled
14. News: Goodwin to captain the Crows. AdelaideNow. 12 December 2007. 22 January 2008.
15. News: Four co-captains may be enough for Lions. The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 February 2008. 13 February 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080330040258/http://news.smh.com.au/four-cocaptains-may-be-enough-for-lions/20080212-1rsi.html. 30 March 2008. dead.
16. News: Judd will skipper Blues, Stevens to deputy. AFL.com.au. 19 February 2008. 19 February 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080330003121/http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsid=55401. 30 March 2008 . dead.
17. News: Each man will get his chance: Ratten. Ben Broad. 23 January 2008. 23 January 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20110706102709/http://www.carltonfc.com.au/tabid/4311/News/NewsArticle/Default.aspx?newsId=54722. 6 July 2011. dead.
18. News: Burns to captain Pies. Sebastian Hassett. 6 March 2008. 6 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080330003127/http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsid=55913. 30 March 2008. dead.
19. News: Mitchell to captain Hawks. 7 October 2007. 12 September 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121006065743/http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/mitchell-to-captain-hawks/story-e6frf38c-1111114587864. 6 October 2012.
20. News: Neitz decides to stay as Demon's skipper. The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 2008. 1 February 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080118050432/http://news.smh.com.au/neitz-decides-to-stay-as-demons-skipper/20080117-1mie.html. 18 January 2008. dead.
21. News: North leadership group adds two true Roos. Michael Tormey. 30 January 2008. 30 January 2007.
22. News: Tredrea to lead Power again. AFL. 12 March 2008. 12 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080329001237/http://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/tabid/6038/Default.aspx?newsid=56156. 29 March 2008 . live.
23. News: Newman ready for the challenge. AFL. 2 November 2008. 5 May 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080928004606/http://richmondfc.com.au/tabid/6301/default.aspx?newsid=55148. 28 September 2008. dead.
24. News: Saints appoint Riewoldt sole skipper. AFL. 12 March 2008. 12 March 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080313134237/http://afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=56118. 13 March 2008. dead.
25. News: Bolton steps up. Herald Sun . Australia. 13 February 2008. 14 February 2008.
26. News: Glass to captain West Coast. Mic Cullen. 9 November 2007. 22 January 2008.
27. News: Embley loses leadership role at Eagles. The Age . 4 December 2007. 22 January 2008 . Melbourne. https://web.archive.org/web/20080106140802/http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Embley-loses-leadership-role-at-Eagles/2007/12/04/1196530649282.html. 6 January 2008 . live.
28. News: Boyd and Morris take the lead at Bulldogs. Jennifer Witham. 22 January 2008. 22 January 2008.
29. News: More umpires mean fewer mistakes. Matthews. Bruce. 15 September 2008. Herald Sun . Australia. 24 September 2008.
30. Web site: All-Australian umpire axed for decider. 23 September 2008. The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 24 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20110522042411/http://news.smh.com.au/sport/allaustralian-umpire-axed-for-decider-20080923-4mcn.html. 22 May 2011. dead.
31. Web site: AFL umpire to officiate in 300th match. 9 April 2008. AAP. 24 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20110605140506/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=444316. 5 June 2011. dead.
32. Web site: Milestones 2008 . 20 September 2008 . AFLUA . 24 September 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080721054107/http://aflua.com.au/index.asp?d=5A4C5A717251477C7008060A000408 . 21 July 2008 .
33. Web site: Ellis calls it a day. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524192649/http://www.afl.com.au/News/NEWSARTICLE/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=64119. dead. 24 May 2011. Morrison. Joel. 2 September 2008. AFL.com.au. 24 September 2008.
34. Web site: Head looks to the future. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524192717/http://www.afl.com.au/News/NEWSARTICLE/tabid/208/Default.aspx?newsId=66886. dead. 24 May 2011. Morrison. Joel. 2 September 2008. AFL.com.au. 24 September 2008.
35. Lutton, Phil; Matthews walks away from Lions; Realfooty;1 September 2008
36. AAP; Lions hand reins to Voss; Foxsports; 2 September 2008