2015 AFL season explained

Competition:	afl
Year:	2015
Teams:	18
Count:	13
Mpcount:	1
Matches:	206
Attendance:	6886266
Highattendha:	88,395 (round 4, v)
Highattendfinals:	98,633 (Grand Final, vs.)
Top Goal Scorer:	Josh Kennedy (75 goals)
Brownlow Medal:	Nat Fyfe (31 votes)
Prevseason:	2014
Nextseason:	2016

The 2015 AFL season was the 119th 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 eighteen clubs, ran from 2 April until 3 October, 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 Hawthorn Football Club for the 13th time and third time consecutively, after it defeated by 46 points in the 2015 AFL Grand Final.

The season was marred by the mid-season death of senior coach Phil Walsh, who was the victim of a domestic incident. Adelaide's following match was cancelled.^[1]

Pre-season

All Stars game

The biennial All Stars game, this year played in Western Australia, featuring an AFL team and the Indigenous All Stars team made up of some of the best Indigenous players in the game, returned for the 2015 pre-season. The West Coast Eagles were selected as the AFL team to play in the game, which was played at Medibank Stadium in Perth.^{[2] [3]}

NAB Challenge

See main article: 2015 NAB Challenge. For the second consecutive year, the NAB Challenge series took place, featuring 27 practice matches played over 25 days, beginning 26 February and ending 22 March. The matches were stand-alone in nature, with no overall winner crowned for the series.^[4] Each team played three pre-season games, many of which were played at suburban or regional venues, with most games televised on Fox Footy. The Super Goal was retained for these matches.

Premiership season

Notable features of the draw include:

• To address poor attendances and late-finishing matches, all Saturday night matches on the east coast were brought forward by 20 minutes, with matches in this timeslot now starting at 7:20 pm and Saturday twilight matches were brought forward by five minutes to start at 4:35 pm. Matches in Adelaide and Perth retained their respective local starting times of 7:10 pm and 5:40 pm.^[5]
• Many of the grounds used by the AFL hosted games in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which ended on 29 March. Consequently, the season started and finished slightly later than in previous years, with the Grand Final scheduled for the first Saturday in October instead of the customary last Saturday in September.
• Due to the Sydney Royal Easter Show, Greater Western Sydney's primary home ground (Spotless Stadium) was unavailable until round 6, therefore the club's first two home games were at its secondary home ground, StarTrack Oval, in rounds 2 and 4.^[6]
• Mother's Day Round (Round 6) saw six matches played on Saturday instead of the usual five, with only two matches played on Mother's Day itself.^[7] This was repeated in round 23, with no twilight game on the Sunday.^[8]
• The Friday before the Grand Final became a public holiday in Victoria, following an election promise by the incoming state government, under the premiership of Daniel Andrews.
• All starting times are local.

Season notes

• secured the minor premiership for the first time in its history.^[9]
• and finished first and second on the ladder respectively, the first time two teams from the same state outside of Victoria had finished in the top two positions.^[10]
• missed the finals for the first time since 2006.^[11]
• was the first minor premier to fail to reach the Grand Final since in 2005.^[12]
• became the first team in history to finish the home-and-away season in eighth position and qualify for a preliminary final.^[13]
• 's score of 27.11 (173) against in round 17 was the highest score posted by any side, while 's score of 4.6 (30) against in round 23 was the lowest.
• Matt Priddis set a new record for most handpasses in a season. Priddis reached a total of 472 handpasses, surpassing the previous record of 445 set by Gary Ablett, Jr. in 2009.^[14]
• Todd Goldstein set a new record for most hit-outs in a season. Goldstein's final tally of 1,058 surpassed the previous record of 952 set by Gary Dempsey (North Melbourne) in 1982. Aaron Sandilands, who had 998 hit-outs for the season, also passed Dempsey's old record.

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
											X			Geel C												X	X	7
											X													X	X	X	X	17
											X													X	X	X	X	18
												X												X	X	X	X	12
												X												X	X	X	X	15
												X													X		X	1
													X	Adel C										X	X	X	X	10
												X												X	X	X	X	16
													X											X	X	X	X	11
											X																	3
													X											X	X	X	X	13
													X														X	8
													X											X	X	X	X	9
											X														X	X	X	5
												X												X	X	X	X	14
												X														X	X	4
													X												X			2
											X														X	X	X	6
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
C – Cancelled
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

Ladder progression

Finals series

See main article: 2015 AFL finals series.

Week four

See main article: 2015 AFL Grand Final.

Attendances

By club

2015 AFL attendances^[15]

Club	Total	Games	Avg. Per Game	Home Total	Home Games	Home Avg.
		23			10
		22			11
		22			11
		22			11
		22			11
		24			11
		21			11
		22			11
		22			11
		26			11
		22			11
		25			11
		22			11
		23			11
		22			11
		24			11
		25			11
		23			11

By ground

2015 ground attendances

Ground	Total	Games	Avg. Per Game
Adelaide Oval		21
ANZ Stadium		4
Aurora Stadium		4
Blundstone Arena		3
Cazaly's Stadium		1
Domain Stadium		26
Etihad Stadium		46
Gabba		11
MCG		50
Metricon Stadium		11
SCG		8
Simonds Stadium		8
Spotless Stadium		8
StarTrack Oval		3
TIO Stadium		1
TIO Traeger Park		1
Westpac Stadium		1

Awards

• The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Nat Fyfe of, who received 31 votes.^[16]
• The Coleman Medal was awarded to Josh Kennedy of, who kicked 75 goals during the home and away season.^[17]
• The Ron Evans Medal was awarded to Jesse Hogan of, who received 49 votes.^[18]
• The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Cyril Rioli of .^[19]
• The AFL Goal of the Year was awarded to Eddie Betts of .^[20]
• The AFL Mark of the Year was awarded to Nic Naitanui of .
• The McClelland Trophy was awarded to for the first time in their history.^[21]
• The wooden spoon was "awarded" to for the first time since 2006.^[22]
• The AFL Players Association awards
  • The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Nat Fyfe of for the second consecutive year.^[23]
  • The Robert Rose Award was awarded to Luke Parker of .^[24]
  • The Best Captain was awarded to Robert Murphy of the .^[25]
  • The Best First-Year Player was awarded to Isaac Heeney of .^[26]
  • The 22under22 Team captaincy was awarded to Jake Stringer of the .^[27]
• The AFL Coaches Association Awards^[28]
  • The AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award was awarded to Dan Hannebery of, who received 101 votes.^[29]
  • The Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award was awarded to Luke Beveridge of the .^[30]
  • The Assistant Coach of the Year Award was awarded to Adam Kingsley of .
  • The Development Coach of the Year Award was awarded to Paul Hudson of .
  • The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to David Wheadon.
  • The Best Young Player Award was awarded to Marcus Bontempelli of the .
  • The Media Award was awarded to Gerard Whateley for his work on Fox Footy and ABC.
• The Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award was awarded to Dennis Armfield of .^[31]

Milestones

Name	Club	Milestone	Round
		^[32]
		^[33]
		^[34]
		^[35]
		^[36]
		^[37]
		^[38]
		^[39]
		^[40]
		^[41]
		^[42]
		^[43]
		^[44]
		^[45]
		^[46]
		^[47]
		^[48]
		^[49]
		^[50]
		^[51]
		^[52]
		^[53]
		^[54]
		^[55]
		^[56]
		^[57]
		^[58]
		^[59]
		^[60]
		^[61]
		^[62]
		^[63]

Coleman Medal

See also: Coleman Medal.

• Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the Coleman that round.
• Underlined numbers indicates the player did not play that round.

width=20		width=110 abbr="Position"	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="Round 23"	23	width=20 abbr="Total"	Total
1	Josh J. Kennedy	22	1012	113	316	622	123	427	431	637	340	343	346	046	248	250	353	356	258	462	264	771	172	375	75
2	Jeremy Cameron	44	15	27	411	112	719	524	226	329	332	234	135	035	237	542	244	044	246	248	351	354	761	263	63
3	Eddie Betts	44	15	16	410	515	520	626	329	231	132	032	133	235	035	237	138	341	142	244	549	352	254	458	58
4	Taylor Walker	66	28	311	112	214	418	321	425	025	126	026	127	229	029	332	335	237	239	241	344	751	354	155	55
5	Jake Stringer	33	25	05	611	112	416	016	218	018	220	020	525	025	328	230	131	132	436	440	444	549	150	454	54
6	Chad Wingard	22	13	14	15	27	29	110	212	214	317	421	526	026	329	332	335	338	442	244	347	451	253	053	53
7	Jack Gunston	11	34	26	39	413	215	116	117	219	322	022	022	325	227	027	431	637	340	040	141	344	448	452	52
8	Josh Bruce	22	68	210	212	517	118	523	225	126	228	129	029	332	537	239	140	141	142	143	245	348	048	250	50
	Jack Riewoldt	44	26	410	010	313	316	420	424	125	227	027	128	634	236	339	241	142	143	144	246	248	048	250	50
10	Lance Franklin	33	36	511	213	316	016	420	020	727	330	434	034	236	036	339	342	042	345	045	045	045	146	147	47

Best and fairest

Club	Award name	Player	Ref.
	Malcolm Blight Medal		^[64]
	Merrett–Murray Medal		^[65]
	John Nicholls Medal		^[66]
	Copeland Trophy		^[67]
	Crichton Medal		^[68]
	Doig Medal		^[69]
	Carji Greeves Medal		^[70]
	Club Champion		^[71]
	Kevin Sheedy Medal		^[72]
	Peter Crimmins Medal		^[73]
	Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal		^[74]
	Syd Barker Medal		^[75]
	John Cahill Medal		^[76]
	Jack Dyer Medal		^[77]
	Trevor Barker Award		^[78]
	Bob Skilton Medal		^[79]
	John Worsfold Medal		^[80]
	Charles Sutton Medal		^[81]

Club leadership

Club	Coach	Captain(s)	Vice-captain(s)	Leadership group
	Phil Walsh (Rds 1–13); Scott Camporeale (Rds 15–SF)^[82]	Taylor Walker^[83]		Patrick Dangerfield, Rory Sloane, Daniel Talia, Scott Thompson, Nathan van Berlo^[84]
	Justin Leppitsch	Tom Rockliff^[85]	Pearce Hanley, Daniel Rich, Dayne Zorko
	Mick Malthouse (Rds 1–8); John Barker (Rds 9–23)	Marc Murphy	Bryce Gibbs, Michael Jamison	Lachie Henderson, Sam Rowe^[86]
	Nathan Buckley	Scott Pendlebury	Nathan Brown, Travis Cloke, Tyson Goldsack, Steele Sidebottom^[87]
	James Hird (Rds 1–20); Matthew Egan (Rds 21–23)	Jobe Watson		Paul Chapman, Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell, Cale Hooker, David Myers, Brent Stanton, David Zaharakis^[88]
	Ross Lyon	Matthew Pavlich		Nat Fyfe, Luke McPharlin, David Mundy, Aaron Sandilands, Lee Spurr^[89]
	Chris Scott	Joel Selwood	Harry Taylor	Corey Enright, Tom Hawkins, Andrew Mackie^[90]
	Rodney Eade	Gary Ablett	Tom Lynch, Nick Malceski, Dion Prestia, Michael Rischitelli, David Swallow^[91]
	Leon Cameron	Phil Davis Callan Ward	Tom Scully, Heath Shaw^[92]	Shane Mumford
	Alastair Clarkson	Luke Hodge	Jarryd Roughead, Jordan Lewis
	Paul Roos	Nathan Jones	Lynden Dunn	Daniel Cross, Chris Dawes, Jack Grimes, Heritier Lumumba^[93]
	Brad Scott	Andrew Swallow	Jack Ziebell, Drew Petrie	Nick Dal Santo, Sam Gibson, Jamie Macmillan, Drew Petrie, Scott Thompson, Jack Ziebell^[94]
	Ken Hinkley	Travis Boak	Brad Ebert, Matthew Lobbe^[95]	Hamish Hartlett, Tom Jonas, Jackson Trengove, Ollie Wines
	Damien Hardwick	Trent Cotchin	Brett Deledio, Ivan Maric^[96]	Troy Chaplin, Steven Morris^[97]
	Alan Richardson	Nick Riewoldt		David Armitage, Sean Dempster, Jarryn Geary, Leigh Montagna, Jack Newnes, Maverick Weller^[98]
	John Longmire	Kieren Jack Jarrad McVeigh		Adam Goodes, Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker, Rhyce Shaw, Nick Smith^[99]
	Adam Simpson	Shannon Hurn^[100]	Josh Kennedy, Scott Selwood	Eric Mackenzie, Matt Priddis, Beau Waters^[101]
	Luke Beveridge	Robert Murphy^[102]	Jordan Roughead	Matthew Boyd, Tom Liberatore, Dale Morris^[103]

Coach changes

Coach	width=9%	Club	width=9%	Date	Notes	width=13%	Caretaker	width=13%	New coach
			Sacked after the Carlton board lost trust in Malthouse and the club and coach were not aligned, in addition to the club suffering from poor results on the field.^[104] ^[105]	John Barker	Brendon Bolton^[106]
			Deceased	Scott Camporeale	Don Pyke^[107]
			Resigned due to poor on-field performances^[108]	Matthew Egan	John Worsfold^[109]

Club financials

2015 AFL membership figures

Club	Members^[110]	Change from 2014	% Change from 2014
	52,920
	25,408
	47,305
	75,037
	60,818
	51,433
	44,312
	13,643
	13,480
	72,924
	35,953
	41,012
	54,057
	70,809
	32,746
	48,836
	60,221
	35,222
Total	836,136	31,656	3.93%

Post-season

International Rules Series

See main article: 2015 International Rules Test. The International Rules Series returned in November 2015, with Ireland entitled to the hosting rights. The match was played on Saturday, 21 November 2015 at Dublin's Croke Park. A highly qualified Australian side, who were looking for back-to-back series wins, fell to a classy Irish team by 4 points.^[111]

Notable events and controversies

Doping and drugs

The AFL suffered significant bad publicity during 2015 related to four cases of illicit substance abuse in AFL clubs – three related to doping and one related to recreational drugs:

• The Essendon Football Club supplements controversy – relating to the supplements program operating at the Essendon Football Club during the 2011/12 offseason – continued to be heard during the 2015 season. The 34 players implicated in the controversy were served with infraction notices in November 2014, and were provisionally suspended until their hearings at the AFL anti-doping tribunal were complete.^[112] In the week before the start of the AFL season, the players were found not guilty and their suspensions were lifted.^[113] In May 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency announced an appeal of the not guilty verdicts to the Court of Arbitration for Sport;^[114] this was ultimately heard in early 2016, and resulted in the not guilty verdicts being overturned and many players being suspended for the 2016 season.
• Ryan Crowley faced the AFL anti-doping tribunal after having tested positive to a banned substance in a drug test after Fremantle's round 17, 2014 win against Greater Western Sydney. He commenced a provisional suspension commenced after a positive confirmation tests (also known as B-sample) mid September 2014. He appeared before the AFL Tribunal in May 2015, and was found guilty suspended for twelve months, backdated to the beginning of his provisional suspension; he became eligible to play again on 25 September 2015. The banned substance has not been identified, but is understood to have been present in a painkiller which Crowley had taken but which was not prescribed by the club doctor.^[115]
• Lachlan Keeffe and Josh Thomas (both of) tested positive to the banned substance clenbuterol in drug tests taken in February 2015. Both accepted provisional suspensions in March and returned positive B-samples in May.^[116] Both were handed infraction notices in July^[117] and accepted two-year bans in August (backdated to March), in addition they were delisted and fined $50,000 each by Collingwood.^[118]
• In late June, former player Karmichael Hunt, who was being investigated by the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission over allegations of cocaine supply and possession, named several current Gold Coast players as having taken illicit recreational drugs during his time at the club.^[119] Although nothing further came from Hunt's allegations, days later, photographs from early 2013 emerged showing Gold Coast's Harley Bennell using speed; and a teammate, whose anonymity is protected under the AFL's drugs policy, self-reported shortly afterwards that he had also been present and taken the drug.^[120] Bennell was fined $5000 and suspended for three matches.^[121]

Death of Phil Walsh

In the early hours of Friday 3 July 2015, coach Phil Walsh was found dead at his Adelaide residency following a domestic violence incident; he was killed by his son, Cy, who was charged with his murder, and ultimately found not guilty due to mental incompetence, meaning he is now subject to a lifetime psychiatric supervision order and is permanently detained at the James Nash House forensic Mental Health Facility.^[122] Walsh's wife Meredith also suffered injuries in the incident. In the immediate aftermath, the match between Adelaide and Geelong, which was to have been played on Sunday 5 July, was cancelled, with the clubs sharing two premiership points each. At the remaining seven matches of the round (and had already played on Thursday night), respect was paid to Walsh by observing moments of silence both before and after the match; and pre- and post-match celebrations or promotions, including the playing of club songs and running through banners, were not carried out.^[123]

External links

• 2015 AFL Season Advanced Ladder from AustralianFootball.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: Phil Walsh dead after domestic dispute. Thring. Harry. 3 July 2015. Australian Football League. AAP. 3 July 2015.
2. Web site: 2015 Indigenous All Stars Team details . 19 February 2015 . Triple M . 21 February 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150221131140/http://www.triplem.com.au/melbourne/sport/afl/news/2015/2/2015-indigenous-all-stars-team/ . 21 February 2015 .
3. News: Eagles edge out All Stars as Wellingham, Burgoyne dominate. Alex. Malcolm. 20 February 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 21 February 2015.
4. News: Footy heads back to the 'burbs with 2015 NAB Challenge fixture. Ben. Guthrie. 28 October 2014. Telstra Media. AFL.com.au. 28 October 2014.
5. Web site: AFL plans a fan-friendly 2015 fixture. Caroline. Wilson. 21 October 2014. The Age. Fairfax Media.
6. Web site: Swans v Giants Sydney derby in round 3 at SCG as cricket World Cup causes AFL fixture headaches. Neil. Cordy. 22 October 2014. The Daily Telegraph. News Corp Australia.
7. Web site: Super Saturday is coming. 29 October 2014. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media.
8. Web site: Super Saturday looming: round 23 fixture revealed. Telstra Media. Australian Football League. Callum. Twomey. 5 August 2015. 5 August 2015.
9. Web site: Dockers seal top spot with easy win over Dees. Australian Football League. Alex. Malcolm. 30 August 2015. 30 August 2015.
10. Book: Lovett. Michael. February 2015. AFL Record Season Guide 2015. Melbourne, Victoria. AFL Media. 962–1012.
11. News: Crows assured of AFL finals berth after Collingwood eliminates Geelong from race. Rucci. Michelangelo. 28 August 2015. The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. 6 September 2015.
12. News: AFL finals 2015: Hawthorn defeat Fremantle, stay on track to make it three-in-a-row. Elborough. Brad. 25 September 2015. The Age. Fairfax Media. 26 September 2015.
13. News: Roos making history. Burton. Rob. 21 September 2015. NMFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 21 September 2015.
14. Web site: Season and Game Records (1965–2015). AFL Tables. 27 September 2015.
15. Web site: Attendances 2015. 31 May 2015. AFL Tables.
16. News: Fremantle's Nat Fyfe wins 2015 Brownlow Medal. Twomey. Callum. 28 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 28 September 2015.
17. News: Five talking points: West Coast v St Kilda. Reed. David. 5 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 8 September 2015.
18. News: Hogan wins the 2015 NAB AFL Rising Star award. King. Travis. 9 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 9 September 2015.
19. News: Cyril Rioli takes out Norm Smith Medal. Schmook. Nathan. 3 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 3 October 2015.
20. News: Nic Nat soars high as Betts caps big season with goal of the year win. Curley. Adam. 28 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 28 September 2015.
21. News: Fremantle Dockers: why finishing top doesn't guarantee an AFL premiership. Elborough. Brad. 31 August 2015. WAtoday. Fairfax Media. 8 September 2015.
22. News: Flying Hawks serve wooden spoon to Blues with crushing win. King. Travis. 5 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 8 September 2015.
23. News: Fremantle Star Nat Fyfe Wins Second AFL Players' MVP Award. 15 September 2015. AFL Players Association. 15 September 2015.
24. News: Sydney Swan Luke Parker the AFL's Most Courageous. 15 September 2015. AFL Players Association. 15 September 2015.
25. News: Bob Murphy Named Best Captain at AFLPA MVP Awards. 15 September 2015. AFL Players Association. 15 September 2015.
26. News: Sydney Swans Youngster Isaac Heeney Voted Top of Class. 15 September 2015. AFL Players Association. 15 September 2015.
27. News: Jake Stringer named captain of the AFLPA'S '22under22' team. Beveridge. Riley. 15 September 2015. Fox Sports Australia. News Corp Australia. 15 September 2015.
28. News: http://aflca.com.au/index.php?id=14&tx_ttnews[tt_news=2192&tx_ttnews[backPid]=9&cHash=d7522fa418 All the winners from AFLCA Awards Night]. 29 September 2015. AFL Coaches Association. 29 September 2015.
29. News: Hannebery named coaches best. McManus. Luke. 8 September 2015. SydneySwans.com.au. Telstra Media. 8 September 2015.
30. News: Coaches pick Luke Beveridge as 2015's best. Schmook. Nathan. 29 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 29 September 2015.
31. News: Armfield wins Jim Stynes Award. 28 September 2015. CarltonFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 28 September 2015.
32. News: Lumumba cherishes win in 200th. Matt. Burgan. Telstra Media. MelbourneFC.com.au. 4 April 2015.
33. News: Play it again, Sam: Fisher celebrates 200. Luke. Holmesby. Telstra Media. saints.com.au. 11 April 2015.
34. Web site: No Don doubt for Goddard in game 250. Callum. Twomey. Telstra Media. AFL.com.au. 18 April 2015.
35. News: What makes Grant Birchall tick?. Ashley. Browne. Telstra Media. hawthornfc.com.au. 16 May 2015.
36. News: Sydney Swans' Jarrad McVeigh reflects on 250-game milestone with Pennant Hills Demons coach. Tom. Decent. Fairfax Media. The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 May 2015.
37. News: Pendlebury prepares for game 200. Luke. Mason. Telstra Media. Collingwood Football Club. 19 May 2015.
38. News: Kane Cornes to retire after 300th AFL game. Ashley. Porter. Fairfax Media. The Age. 15 May 2015.
39. News: 200-game Angus Monfries energised by move from Essendon to Port Adelaide. Jesper. Fjeldstadf. News Corp Australia. Herald Sun. 28 May 2015.
40. News: GWS Giants Heath Shaw and Ryan Griffen near moments of truth. David. Segal. Fairfax Media. The Age. 27 May 2015.
41. News: Michael Johnson milestone: from a dented career to deft defender. Brad. Elborough. 3 June 2015. Fairfax Media. The Age. 3 June 2015.
42. News: Geelong's Corey Enright celebrates his 300th game. Peter. Hanlon. 20 June 2015. Fairfax Media. The Age. 21 June 2015.
43. News: St Kilda veteran Farren Ray reaches 200 games in unspectacular fashion. Ronny. Lerner. 23 June 2015. Fairfax Media. The Age. 14 July 2015.
44. Web site:
    1. Boyd250: The determined Dog
    . 1 July 2015. Telstra Media. WesternBulldogs.com.au. 14 July 2015.
45. Web site: Watson puts slow start behind him on road to 200. Callum. Twomey. 5 July 2015. Telstra Media. AFL.com.au. 14 July 2015.
46. News: Dane Swan puts last year's injury-riddled season behind him, powers to 250 games. Glenn. McPharlane. 8 July 2015. News Corp Australia. Herald Sun. 14 July 2015.
47. Web site: Luke's long road: McPharlin celebrates 250 games. Alex. Malcolm. 12 July 2015. Telstra Media. AFL.com.au. 14 July 2015.
48. Web site: Morris notches up 200. 16 July 2015. westernbulldogs.com.au. Telstra Media. 19 July 2015.
49. Web site: Awesome Hawks run riot in thumping win over Swans. https://web.archive.org/web/20150416073607/http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2015/16/syd-v-haw. dead. 16 April 2015. Warren. Adrian. 18 July 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 19 July 2015.
50. Web site: Blues celebrate three milestones. Johns. Loretta. 24 July 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 25 July 2015.
51. News: Tiger Troy Chaplin wants to celebrate 200th game with another victory over Dockers. Nicholson. Larissa. 21 July 2015. The Age. Fairfax Media. 25 July 2015.
52. News: Jed Adcock plays his 200th game for Brisbane Lions against North Melbourne. Stannard. Damien. 24 July 2015. The Courier-Mail. News Corp Australia. 28 July 2015.
53. News: Kangaroos' Jarrad Waite celebrates his 200th game. Walsh. Courtney. 1 August 2015. The Australian. News Corp Australia. 2 August 2015.
54. News: Geelong's Joel Selwood to reach 200-game milestone. 6 August 2015. The Age. Fairfax Media. 8 August 2015.
55. News: Dempster to play 200th. 3 August 2015. Saints.com.au. Telstra Media. 9 August 2015.
56. News: Steve Johnson, man with premiership touch set to play 250th game for Geelong. McFarlane. Glenn. 14 August 2015. Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 15 August 2015.
57. News: Roos reaches 600-game milestone. Burgan. Matt. 18 August 2015. MelbourneFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 23 August 2015.
58. News: Michael Firrito becomes just the 10th Kangaroo to play 250 games. Green. Warwick. 28 August 2015. Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 29 August 2015.
59. News: Sydney Swans defender Ted Richards still firing on eve of game No. 250. Wu. Andrew. 28 August 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 30 August 2015.
60. News: Garland pays tribute to 200-gamer Jones. Garland. Colin. 28 August 2015. MelbourneFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 30 August 2015.
61. News: Nathan van Berlo overcomes two years of hell to reach 200 games. Capel. Andrew. 3 September 2015. The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. 5 September 2015.
62. News: Lake to play game 250. 24 September 2015. HawthornFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 26 September 2015.
63. News: AFL finals: It's Kangaroos versus the world in Perth. Walsh. Courtney. 22 September 2015. The Australian. News Corp Australia. 26 September 2015.
64. News: Dangerfield wins Malcolm Blight Medal. 26 September 2015. AFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 26 September 2015.
65. News: Four Lions share top honour at best and fairest. Whiting. Michael. 12 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 12 September 2015.
66. News: Patrick Cripps Carlton's youngest best-and-fairest winner in 56 years. Edmund. Sam. 17 September 2015. Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 18 September 2015.
67. News: Scott Pendlebury wins fourth Copeland Trophy. Gurthie. Ben. 9 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 9 October 2015.
68. News: Swingman Hooker's versatility rewarded with Crichton Medal win. Twomey. Callum. 16 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 16 September 2015.
69. News: Sandilands takes out second Doig Medal. 10 October 2015. FremantleFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 11 October 2015.
70. News: Blicavs' meteoric rise rewarded with maiden best and fairest award. Ryan. Peter. 8 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 8 October 2015.
71. News: Lynch pips young defender to be Suns' best. Whiting. Michael. 11 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 11 September 2015.
72. News: Shaw earns Giant honour after finest season. Curley. Adam. 12 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 12 September 2015.
73. News: Premier surprise: Defender claims best and fairest in flag year. King. Travis. 10 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 10 October 2015.
74. News: Vince ends Jones' streak for maiden Demons crown. Guthrie. Ben. 11 September 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 11 September 2015.
75. News: Todd Goldstein wins Syd Barker Medal after brilliant season. Bowen. Nick. 9 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 9 October 2015.
76. News: Gray takes out Power's best and fairest again. Thring. Harry. 5 December 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 5 December 2015.
77. News: Rance reigns. Greenberg. Tony. 6 October 2015. RichmondFC.com.au. Telstra Media. 6 October 2015.
78. News: Jack Steven edges David Armitage for St Kilda best and fairest. Clark. Jay. 14 September 2015. Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 15 September 2015.
79. News: Josh Kennedy top of the Swans flock with second Skilton Medal. 9 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 9 October 2015.
80. News: Gaff caps stellar season with best and fairest. Malcolm. Alex. 10 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 10 October 2015.
81. News: Easton Wood's rapid rise ends with Bulldogs' best and fairest. Davidson. Ryan. 7 October 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 7 October 2015.
82. Web site: Camporeale to coach, Worsfold joins nest. AFC.com.au. 6 July 2015. 6 July 2015.
83. Web site: Walker to captain Crows. Telstra Media. afc.com.au. 14 January 2015.
84. Web site: Vice-captaincy to be shared. Max. Phillips. Telstra Media. afc.com.au. 15 January 2015.
85. Web site: Rockliff named Captain. Telstra Media. lions.com.au. 29 January 2015.
86. Web site: Carlton announces new leadership group. Loretta. Jones. Telstra Media. carltonfc.com.au. 2 December 2014.
87. Web site: Pendlebury to lead Pies in 2015. Stephen. Rielly. Telstra Media. collingwoodfc.com.au. 12 February 2015.
88. Web site: Leadership group announced. Telstra Media. essendonfc.com.au. 20 February 2015.
89. Web site: Leader Fyfe won't change. Costa. Kastanis. Telstra Media. fremantlefc.com.au. 28 January 2015.
90. Web site: Twomey. Callum. Big names cut from Cats' leadership group. AFL.com.au. 9 March 2015 . 10 March 2015.
91. Web site: Malceski quick on the lead with Suns. Michael. Whiting. Telstra Media. AFL.com.au. 6 February 2015.
92. Web site: Leading The Way. Telstra Media. gwsgiants.com.au. 11 February 2015.
93. Web site: Jones named sole captain. Peter. Ryan. Telstra Media. melbournefc.com.au. 3 February 2015.
94. Web site: A popular choice. Giulio. Di Giorgio. Telstra Media. nmfc.com.au. 16 February 2015.
95. Web site: Lobbe, Wines earn leadership promotions for 2015 season. Matthew. Agius. Telstra Media. nmfc.com.au. 11 February 2015.
96. Web site: Maric joins Deledio as vice-captain. Telstra Media. richmondfc.com.au. 12 January 2015.
97. Web site: Morris added to leadership group. Telstra Media. richmondfc.com.au. 10 December 2014.
98. Web site: Young guns named in leadership group. Craig. Rowston. Telstra Media. saints.com.au. 10 February 2015.
99. Web site: Luke Parker continues stunning rise to join Sydney Swans brains trust. David. Sygall. Yahoo!7. The West Australian. 1 April 2015.
100. Web site: Wheel turns for Hurn as Eagles name their skipper. Telstra Media. AFL.com.au. 8 December 2014.
101. Web site: Waters keen to lead under new skipper. Steve. Butler. Fairfax Media. The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 February 2015.
102. Web site: Bob Murphy the new leader of the pack. Telstra Media. westernbulldogsfc.com.au. 21 November 2014.
103. Web site: Bulldogs finalise 2015 leadership group. Telstra Media. westernbulldogsfc.com.au. 19 January 2015.
104. Web site: All over: Carlton sacks Malthouse as coach. Nick. Bowen. Telstra. AFL.com.au. 26 May 2015.
105. Web site: Mick Malthouse sacked: Carlton terminates veteran coach's contract after explosive radio interview. Michael. Warber. Mark. Robinson. Eliza. Sewell. Jon. Anderson. News Corp Australia. Herald Sun. 26 May 2015.
106. News: Blues confirm Bolton as their new coach. Schmook. Nathan. 25 August 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 25 August 2015.
107. News: Don Pyke appointed Adelaide senior coach. Spits. Scott. 9 October 2015. The Age. Fairfax Media. 9 October 2015.
108. Web site: Open Letter – Paul Little. Little. Paul. 18 August 2015. Essendonfc.com.au. Telstra Media. 18 August 2015.
109. News: John Worsfold announced as new Essendon coach. Niall. Jake. 5 October 2015. The Age. Fairfax Media. 5 October 2015.
110. Web site: Swans' surge drives new AFL club membership record. Schmook. Nathan. 26 August 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 26 August 2015.
111. Web site: Irish all smiles after scraping home against Aussies. Peter Ryan. 22 November 2015. AFL.com.au.
112. News: The Age. Melbourne, VIC. Essendon supplements saga: 34 players hit with infraction notices. 14 November 2014. 15 November 2014. Jake . Niall.
113. Web site: Thirty-four present and former Bombers cleared of all drug charges. Callum Twomey. 31 March 2015. 3 April 2015. Australian Football League.
114. Web site: WADA appeals against Essendon doping decision. AFL.com.au. 11 May 2015.
115. News: The Age. Melbourne, VIC. Ryan Crowley gets 12-month suspension from AFL anti-doping tribunal. Samantha Lane. 11 June 2015. 18 June 2015.
116. News: The Age. Melbourne, VIC. Positive B sample reported for Collingwood pair Josh Thomas and Lachie Keeffe. 22 May 2015. 19 June 2015.
117. News: Magpies Keeffe and Thomas handed infraction notices. King. Travis. 29 July 2015. AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. 10 August 2015.
118. News: Josh Thomas and Lachlan Keeffe accept two-year drug ban. Cherny. Daniel. The Age. Fairfax Media. 10 August 2015.
119. News: The Courier-Mail. 1 July 2015. 4 July 2015. Gold Coast Suns players identified by Karmichael Hunt will not be pursued by QCCC. Greg Davis. Brisbane, QLD.
120. News: Herald Sun. Melbourne, VIC. Another Gold Coast Suns player took speed with Harley Bennell, witness says. Jon Kaila. 4 July 2015. 4 July 2015.
121. News: Sunshine Coast Daily. 8 September 2015. Sun sets on Harley Bennell at Gold Coast. 10 September 2015.
122. Web site: Cy Walsh not guilty of murdering Crows coach Phil Walsh due to mental incompetence. ABC News. 27 September 2016.
123. News: news.com.au. Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh allegedly murdered by son. 3 July 2015. 4 July 2015. 4 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150704164906/http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/adelaide-crows-coach-phil-walsh-allegedly-murdered-by-son/story-fndv7pj3-1227426317589. dead.