| Competition: | afl |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Teams: | 16 |
| Count: | 8 |
| Mpcount: | 3 |
| Pscount: | 2 |
| Matches: | 185 |
| Attendance: | 6988638 |
| Highattend: | 99,251 (Grand Final, vs.) |
| Top Goal Scorer: | Brendan Fevola (86 goals) |
| Brownlow Medal: | Gary Ablett, Jr. (30 votes) |
| Prevseason: | 2008 |
| Nextseason: | 2010 |
The 2009 AFL season was the 113th 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 26 March until 26 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 eighth time, after it defeated by twelve points in the 2009 AFL Grand Final.
The pre-season draft was held on 16 December 2008 (but is referred to as the 2009 Pre-season draft in continuation from the early years of the AFL draft when it was held in January or February) and most pre-draft interest was on whether or not former West Coast Eagles captain and Brownlow Medal winner Ben Cousins would be selected by the Richmond Football Club. Richmond, the only club to show interest in recruiting Cousins, had one selection in the pre-season draft (because it had only one space left on its senior list). In the week leading up to the pre-season draft, Richmond requested to have Graham Polak (who had been hit by a tram the previous season, with it not clear at this stage whether or not the resulting injuries would end his career) moved to the rookie list, to free up an additional list space and give them a second selection in the pre-season draft. The request was similar to one made by and granted to the Essendon Football Club a few years earlier with respect to Adam Ramanauskas, but there were key differences which led to Richmond's request being rejected by the AFL and a majority of rival clubs on 15 December.[1] Although Richmond had maintained throughout the previous week that it would draft Cousins only if its request to put Polak on the rookie list was granted, they selected Cousins anyway with their only selection in the pre-season draft. Josh Carr's return to was another major player move.[2]
See main article: 2009 NAB Cup.
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coll +4 | StK -32 | Frem +24 | Geel -48 | Melb +17 | PA -26 | WB -32 | BL -36 | Carl +44 | Haw +27 | Ess +16 | NM +44 | Syd +16 | Rich +17 | Frem +117 | StK -57 | PA +70 | Geel -2 | Coll -21 | Haw +27 | WCE +74 | Carl +72 | Ess +96 | Coll -5 | X | X | 5 (5) | ||
| WCE +9 | Carl -19 | Syd +33 | Coll -17 | Geel -93 | Ess +43 | Rich +26 | Adel +36 | StK -16 | NM +18 | Carl -6 | Haw +42 | Melb +55 | PA -48 | Geel +43 | Frem +15 | NM +41 | Coll -40 | Ess 0 | WB -18 | PA +15 | Syd +8 | Carl +7 | WB -51 | X | X | 6 (6) | ||
| Rich +83 | BL +19 | Ess -4 | Syd -17 | WB +43 | Haw -4 | Frem -7 | Coll +51 | Adel -44 | WCE +41 | BL +6 | StK -9 | Ess -69 | Frem +15 | Rich +20 | Syd +61 | Coll -54 | NM +10 | Geel +35 | PA +54 | Melb +57 | Adel -72 | BL -7 | X | X | X | 7 (7) | ||
| Adel -4 | Melb +53 | Geel -27 | BL +17 | Ess -5 | NM +52 | StK -88 | Carl -51 | WCE +22 | PA +38 | Melb +66 | Syd +23 | Frem +84 | Ess +35 | WB +1 | Haw -45 | Carl +54 | BL +40 | Adel +21 | Rich +93 | Syd +41 | WB -24 | StK -28 | Adel +5 | Geel -73 | X | 4 (4) | ||
| PA -41 | Frem +38 | Carl +4 | NM -12 | Coll +5 | BL -43 | Haw +44 | StK -19 | Rich +40 | Geel -64 | Adel -16 | Melb +48 | Carl +69 | Coll -35 | Syd +35 | WB -33 | Rich -5 | WCE -27 | BL 0 | StK +2 | Frem -54 | Haw +17 | Adel -96 | X | X | X | 8 (8) | ||
| WB -63 | Ess -38 | Adel -24 | StK -83 | Syd +21 | WCE +13 | Carl +7 | Haw -22 | NM -13 | Rich -3 | PA -24 | Geel -19 | Coll -84 | Carl -15 | Adel -117 | BL -15 | WCE +5 | WB -31 | PA +42 | Melb -63 | Ess +54 | Geel -40 | X | X | X | X | 14 | ||
| Haw +8 | Rich +20 | Coll +27 | Adel +48 | BL +93 | Melb +43 | Syd +51 | NM +70 | WB +2 | Ess +64 | WCE +22 | Frem +19 | PA +34 | StK -6 | BL -43 | Melb +46 | Haw +1 | Adel +2 | Carl -35 | Syd +5 | WB -14 | Frem +40 | WB +14 | X | Coll +73 | StK +12 | 2 (1) | ||
| Geel -8 | Syd -38 | NM +54 | PA -30 | WCE +18 | Carl +4 | Ess -44 | Frem +22 | Melb +22 | Adel -27 | Syd +11 | BL -42 | WCE -20 | WB -88 | NM +9 | Coll +45 | Geel -1 | PA -18 | StK -25 | Adel -27 | Rich +42 | Ess -17 | X | X | X | X | 9 | ||
| NM -34 | Coll -53 | PA -57 | Rich +8 | Adel -17 | Geel -43 | WCE -8 | WB -7 | Haw -22 | StK -37 | Coll -66 | Ess -48 | BL -55 | WCE +20 | PA +11 | Geel -46 | Syd -18 | Rich -4 | NM -62 | Frem +63 | Carl -57 | StK -47 | X | X | X | X | 16 | ||
| Melb +34 | WB -15 | Haw -54 | Ess +12 | Rich -36 | Coll -52 | PA +5 | Geel -70 | Frem +13 | BL -18 | StK -46 | Adel -44 | WB -22 | Syd -15 | Haw -9 | Rich 0 | BL -41 | Carl -10 | Melb +62 | WCE -38 | StK +5 | PA +4 | X | X | X | X | 13 | ||
| Ess +41 | WCE -50 | Melb +57 | Haw +30 | StK -66 | Adel +26 | NM -5 | Rich +3 | Syd -55 | Coll -38 | Frem +24 | WB -93 | Geel -34 | BL +48 | Melb -11 | WCE +36 | Adel -70 | Haw +18 | Frem -42 | Carl -54 | BL -15 | NM -4 | X | X | X | X | 10 | ||
| Carl -83 | Geel -20 | WB -47 | Melb -8 | NM +36 | Syd -19 | BL -26 | PA -3 | Ess -40 | Frem +3 | WB -68 | WCE +15 | StK -56 | Adel -17 | Carl -20 | NM 0 | Ess +5 | Melb +4 | Syd -55 | Coll -93 | Haw -42 | WCE -80 | X | X | X | X | 15 | ||
| Syd +15 | Adel +32 | WCE +97 | Frem +83 | PA +66 | WB +28 | Coll +88 | Ess +19 | BL +16 | Melb +37 | NM +46 | Carl +9 | Rich +56 | Geel +6 | WCE +20 | Adel +57 | WB +45 | Syd +1 | Haw +25 | Ess -2 | NM -5 | Melb +47 | Coll +28 | X | WB +7 | Geel -12 | 1 (2) | ||
| StK -15 | Haw +38 | BL -33 | Carl +17 | Frem -21 | Rich +19 | Geel -51 | WCE +5 | PA +55 | WB -40 | Haw -11 | Coll -23 | Adel -16 | NM +15 | Ess -35 | Carl -61 | Melb +18 | StK -1 | Rich +55 | Geel -5 | Coll -41 | BL -8 | X | X | X | X | 12 | ||
| BL -9 | PA +50 | StK -97 | WB +33 | Haw -18 | Frem -13 | Melb +8 | Syd -5 | Coll -22 | Carl -41 | Geel -22 | Rich -15 | Haw +20 | Melb -20 | StK -20 | PA -36 | Frem -5 | Ess +27 | WB +5 | NM +38 | Adel -74 | Rich +80 | X | X | X | X | 11 | ||
| Frem +63 | NM +15 | Rich +47 | WCE -33 | Carl -43 | StK -28 | Adel +32 | Melb +7 | Geel -2 | Syd +40 | Rich +68 | PA +93 | NM +22 | Haw +88 | Coll -1 | Ess +33 | StK -45 | Frem +31 | WCE -5 | BL +18 | Geel +14 | Coll +24 | Geel -14 | BL +51 | StK -7 | X | 3 (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 |
See main article: 2009 AFL finals series.
See main article: 2009 AFL Grand Final.
See main article: 2009 AFL Rising Star. The 2009 award was won by Daniel Rich from the .[19]
See main article: Goal of the Year (Australia). The Australian Football League celebrates the best goal of the season through the annual Goal of the Year competition. From 2009 onwards, the commercial name for the award is the AFL Stores Goal of the Year.
Nominations[20]
See main article: Mark of the Year. The Australian Football League celebrates the best mark of the season through the annual Mark of the Year competition. From 2009 onwards, the commercial name for the award is the Hungry Jack's Mark of the Year.
Nominations[22]
See main article: AFL Army Award. The Australian Football League, with the support of the Australian Army, recognises players who produce an act or acts of bravery or selflessness to promote the cause of his team during a game. Each week three players and what they did are made available on the AFL Army Award website for supporters to vote on. The player with the highest percentage of the vote is the AFL Army Award nominee for that round.
Nominations
For the full list of round-by-round nominees, see 2009 AFL Army Award.
Two rule changes were introduced into the regular season[28]
Umpires were also encouraged to recall a centre bounce if it is offline, throwing it up the second time.
Players contacting umpires continued to be an issue with several players fined for making contact with umpires as they retreated from ball-ups. In related offences, Collingwood's Heath Shaw was suspended for one week after touching an umpire's shoulder, and Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett was fined $5000 after criticising the umpires on radio.[29]
| Coach | Club | Caretaker Coach (for 2009) | Date | New Coach (2010–) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Wallace | Jade Rawlings | 1 June 2009 | Damien Hardwick | ||
| Dean Laidley | Darren Crocker | 16 June 2009 | Brad Scott |