The AFL has added a Wildcard Round to the competition layout. The league overhauled tournament rewards and disclosed financial rewards for these extra games. The AFL outlined the rules of the Wildcard Round to clarify how the matches work.

The status of the Wildcard games meets ongoing resistance across the football community. Coach Ross Lyon raised doubts if the Wildcard games must be listed as "Finals" in a last-ditch attempt to question the framework. The trend was published Fri, 21 Aug 2026 04:50 -0700. Reports from afl.com.au, Herald Sun, and SEN covered the format, prize money, and his objection.