AFL Grand Final Betting 2024

The AFL grand final is the pinnacle of the Australian Football League (AFL) season and attracts huge betting interest with Australian punters.

The game is traditionally played on the last Saturday in September at the MCG, but was played on the first Saturday in October in 2015 and 2016.

The markets surrounding the AFL grand final are many and varied, with odds available right throughout the year on who will reach the decider, as well as who will win the big waltz.

Once the preliminary finals have been played and the two combatants have been chosen to play, other markets like the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground and other player markets will open up.

AFL Grand Final – Dates, Venue and event guide

AFL Grand Final Date: September 28, 2024
AFL Grand Final Venue: MCG, Melbourne, Victoria
Tickets: Ticketek (club members only)
Television: Channel 7, Foxtel, Kayo

The AFL Grand Final is the pinnacle of Aussie Rules in Australia, with this event always played at the MCG, Melbourne, Victoria on the last Saturday in September. The match is broadcast live all over Australia via various TV stations, via both free-to-air providers and pay television options. The AFL Grand Final is also available to watch via streaming channels on mobile.

AFL Grand Final betting markets

The two main types of betting on the AFL grand final are futures and ‘match day’ markets.

Futures

By futures we mean bets like who will reach the grand final or the outright winner. If you bet early enough on a team to reach the grand final, or win it, you could receive exceptionally juicy odds. For instance at the start of the 2015 season some bookies had West Coast as long as $40 to reach the grand final, which they went on and did. However if you back the Eagles just weeks from the finals, when they were sitting pretty in the top four, you would have struggled to get more than $3.50.
Match day markets

As soon as the preliminary finals are played bookies will open markets on the grand final. The earliest odds released are generally:
- Heat to head: A market with the odds of each team winning the grand final.
- Line betting: This is a handicap market. For instance if the teams were even in the betting, they might both be at $1.92 in line betting. If Collingwood is favoured to beat Essendon the line might be Collingwood (-21) at $1.92, while Essendon would be (+21) at $1.92. This means Collingwood would need to win by more than 21 points to ‘cover’ the line, while Essendon get a 21-point head-start.
- Norm Smith medal: This is for the best on ground in the AFL grand final. The markets are released straight after the grand finalists are decided.

Other match day markets on AFL grand final day will mirror those of the regular season, with goal scorers and most possessions two of the more popular ones.

Best AFL Grand Final Betting Tips

If you are looking to place a bet on the AFL premiership, look no further than our guide – which will help you beat the odds on the most important day on the Australian sporting calendar.

Been there, done that: They say you cannot buy finals experience, and if you want to get to that last Saturday in September, it pays to have been there the year before. In the period between 2010 and 2015, at least one team from the previous year’s Grand Final has gone on to compete in the next year’s decider.
Is the minor premiership a poisoned chalice? There is an old adage in AFL football – it only matters who wins on that last Saturday of September. Only six times in the past 20 years have teams finished on top of the ladder at the completion of the home and away season gone on to win the AFL premiership.
Shop early: If you are looking to make money on the AFL premiership market, your best bet is to pick your team early and invest. Premiership odds can fluctuate so rapidly that a team could be at double figure odds at the start of a round and be wound in to a far shorter price on the back of an impressive performance.
Hawthorn at the beginning of 2015 were wound out as far as $6 after a shock loss to Essendon in round two, but after a terrific run which saw them as the clear premiership standout, they came in to $2.25 before the completion of the home and away season.
Home state advantage matters: Like it or not interstate teams, to win the premiership, need to get it done at the home of football; the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The fact the MCG hosts the AFL Grand Final every year gives any Victorian team an inherent advantage due to the fact they: A) do not have to travel B) they play a significant amount of games at the venue. From 2007 to 2015 interstate teams have met Victorian based teams on the last Saturday of September at the G five times, with only Sydney in 2012 reigning supreme. Never discount just how advantageous a home state final can be to a Victorian based grand finalist.

Interesting moments in grand final history

The AFL Grand Final is one of the most anticipated events on the Australian sporting calendar and it rarely disappoints. Who has taken the game by storm? Who has excelled in a losing side and who had to come back the week after? Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting moments in AFL Grand Final history.

Overtime? Try coming back next week: One of the anomalies in world sport exists in the AFL, and that is the grand final replay. Rather than playing additional minutes at the conclusion of the Grand Final if scores are tied, the AFL elects to make their combatants return next week to play again to decide who the premiers are. Only three times in AFL history has a grand final been level at the completion of the match.

Essendon vs. Melbourne – 1948 (Melbourne won the replay)
Collingwood vs. North Melbourne – 1977 (North Melbourne won the replay)
Collingwood vs. St Kilda – 2010 (Collingwood won the replay)

The highs and lows of AFL grand finals: The Geelong Cats set the record for the highest winning margin in a grand final, defeating the Port Adelaide Power in 2007 by 119 points. Four times in AFL history has a team defeated their opponent by the slenderest of margins.

Fitzroy defeated South Melbourne by one point 1899
Carlton defeated Essendon by one point 1947
St Kilda defeated Collingwood by one point 1966
West Coast defeated Sydney by one point in 2006

The highest attendance in AFL history at a grand final was in 1970 between Carlton and Collingwood. 121,696 patrons crammed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground to see the Blues overturn a huge half-time deficit to defeat bitter rivals Collingwood.

It is the stats that matter: They say statistics are not everything in football, but they are definitely entertaining to peruse in the aftermath of a match. The Brisbane Lions’ Simon Black holds the AFL record for most possessions in a Grand Final with 39 in 2003.

Collingwood’s Gordon Conventry and Gary Ablett snr hold the record for most goals kicked in a Grand Final – both men kicked nine majors in 1928 and 1989 respectively.

You mean I can lose and still get a medal? The Norm Smith medal is the award given to the player adjudged best afield in the grand final. Typically the team that wins the game has the best player on the field in the game, but not always. Only four players have won the award in losing sides:

Maurice Rioli with Richmond in 1982
Gary Ablett, Sr. with Geelong in 1989
Nathan Buckley with Collingwood in 2002
Chris Judd with West Coast in 2005

Best AFL Grand Final Bookmakers

If you are looking to invest your money on the AFL grand final, it is hard to look past the official betting partner of the AFL, BetEasy.

With competitive markets on all futures markets pertaining to teams, including top-four top-eight and the minor premiership, BetEasy are ensuring Australia’s native game is well represented.

If a multitude of options on the team future markets is what you are after, you should look no further than Sportsbet.

With the all the futures markets covered, grand final quinella bets and even a least amount of wins market on offer, Sportsbet continually prove why they are one of Australia’s favourite online bookmakers.

Top AFL Bookmakers

Other popular AUD bookies:

Palmerbet
Luxbet
Bet365

More Types of AFL Final Bets

The easiest and most popular AFL premiership final bets are the head-to-head bets for the games. Australian bettors would have had the opportunity to place bets on winners from each of the rounds and is an easy way to place a simple bet and to cheer on their team through each of the rounds. Australian bettors should never discount the underdogs, as there are often surprises. One of those surprises is McEvoy whose average points for each game this year is 97.4, which is surprising, as he doesn’t usually rack up those kinds of points.

Australian bettors should always remember that having a good knowledge of the AFL teams and their performances will be a great help when placing a bet.

Futures betting is a great way for Australian bettors to get into the betting spirit. The AFL offers many of these bets, the biggest one of course being on the AFL final. Betting on the AFL final draws huge wagers and picking a winning team at the start of a season is a great way to get the best odds. Bettors may also want to pick the two teams to win the final.

Bookies will often give the various odds on combinations of teams that will help bettors to make a good betting decision. Bookies will also offer odds on the coaches of certain teams before the AFL rounds have begun as well as which players will win awards such as the coveted Brownlow Medal (for the fairest and best player) and Coleman Medal (for the player who kicks the most goals). These futures bets are like a long-term investment and with good research these bets could yield a big payout.

AFL Premiership Grand Final Odds

Part of the finals bets include which teams will go through to make the top 8 or top 4 and there is even the option of betting on which teams will not go through. Australian bettors can also place bets on teams from the various regions such as which region the winning team is from.

The AFL is a great Australian football game and is extremely popular. This league offers huge AFL betting opportunities with a range of different bets to choose from, and the season culminates in the AFL Grand Final.