The 2013 AFL season was the 117th 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 22 March until 28 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 Hawthorn Football Club for the eleventh time, after it defeated by 15 points in the 2013 AFL Grand Final.
The season was marred by a series of off-field controversies, with three clubs penalised in 2013 for separate infractions which had taken place over previous years: , following an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation into the club's supplements program; , after illegal payments and draft-tampering charges relating to Kurt Tippett's 2009 contract extension; and , after an investigation into allegations that the club had intentionally lost matches towards the end of the 2009 season.
Pre-season
All Stars game The biennial All Star game played in the Northern Territory, 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 2013 pre-season. Richmond were selected as the AFL team to partake in the game, which was played at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.
NAB Cup
The 2013 NAB Cup was won by the Brisbane Lions, their first ever win preseason competition win, when they defeated Carlton by 40 points.
Premiership season The full fixture was released on Wednesday 31 October 2012.
For the second consecutive year, the AFL's opening round was spread across two weekends. Due to concern over one-sided matches, each of the top four teams from 2012 (, , and ) played each of the bottom four teams (the , , and ) only once each – except that Sydney played local rival Greater Western Sydney twice, and that the played twice. None of the bottom five teams from 2012 (, , , and ) featured in a Friday night match during the home-and-away season. This is due to the AFL's policy of awarding Friday night matches only to teams that perform consistently throughout the season. This season was the last in which AFL football was played at AAMI Stadium, with both and moving to a redeveloped Adelaide Oval from the 2014 season.Port Adelaide to play in last AAMI game Herald Sun Match starting times are local.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Round 23
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 Ess−35BL+19PA−9WB+52Carl−32Haw−11GWS+135StK+40NM+1Frem−7Syd−77Rich−38XGCS+28WCE−6Coll−27Geel+2Frem−22PA−4NM+9WB−17Melb+68WCE+86XXXX11 WB−68Adel−19GCS+2NM−63Melb+28Syd−60WCE−26Ess+10Carl−13Coll−49XFrem−40Geel+5Haw−58GCS+33NM+12Melb+19PA−9StK+31Rich−23GWS+60WB+7Geel−1XXXX12 Rich−5Coll−17Geel−16WCE+24Adel+32Melb+61StK−9PA+18BL+13GWS+94Ess−5Haw−16XSyd−22Coll−41StK+36NM+1GCS+43Frem−36WB−28Rich+10Ess−6PA+1Rich+20Syd−24XX8 NM+16Carl+17Haw−55Rich+34Ess−46StK+26Frem−27Geel+6Syd−47BL+49Melb+83WB+34XPA−35Carl+41Adel+27GCS−7GWS+40Ess+79Syd+29Haw−35WCE+62NM−11PA−24XXX6 Adel+35Melb+148Frem+4StK+37Coll+46GWS+39Geel−28BL−10Rich+29Syd−44Carl+5GCS+43XWCE+7PA+30WB+31GWS+39Haw−56Coll−79WCE−53NM−45Carl+6Rich−39XXXX9 WCE+28WB+28Ess−4Haw−42Rich+1GCS+45Coll+27Syd0Melb+90Adel+7XBL+40NM+38Geel−41StK+30WCE+28Rich−27Adel+22Carl+36GWS+113Melb+95PA+74StK−71Geel+15XSyd+25Haw−153 Haw+7NM+4Carl+16Syd+21WB+21Rich+44Ess+28Coll−6PA+48GCS+52GWS+59XBL−5Frem+41Haw+10Melb+68Adel−2StK+101NM−10PA+25WCE+66Syd+44BL+1Frem−15PA+16Haw−5X2 StK+13Syd−41BL−2PA−38GWS+44Frem−45Melb+60WB+32Haw−26Geel−52NM+15Ess−43XAdel−28BL−33Rich−9Coll+7Carl−43WCE−17Melb+13PA−17StK−46GWS+83XXXX14 Syd−30PA−56StK−72Melb−41GCS−44Ess−39Adel−135Haw−83WCE−100Carl−94Geel−59PA−75XNM−86WB−4Syd−129Ess−39Coll−40Melb+37Frem−113BL−60Rich−121GCS−83XXXX18 Geel−7WCE+50Coll+55Frem+42NM+3Adel+11Syd+37GWS+83GCS+26Melb+95XCarl+16WCE+20BL+58Geel−10PA+45WB+19Ess+56Rich−41StK+46Coll+35NM+14Syd+12Syd+54XGeel+5Frem+151 PA−79Ess−148WCE−94GWS+41BL−28Carl−61GCS−60Rich−34Frem−90Haw−95Coll−83XStK−35WB+3Syd−31Geel−68BL−19NM−122GWS−37GCS−13Frem−95Adel−68WB−20XXXX17 Coll−16Geel−4Syd−39BL+63Haw−3PA+10WB+54WCE−2Adel−1StK+68GCS−15XFrem−38GWS+86Rich+62BL−12Carl−1Melb+122Geel+10Adel−9Ess+45Haw−14Coll+11XXXX10 Melb+79GWS+56Adel+9GCS+38WCE+5NM−10Rich−41Carl−18Geel−48WB−9XGWS+75Syd+18Coll+35Ess−30Haw−45StK+5BL+9Adel+4Geel−25GCS+17Frem−74Carl−1Coll+24Geel−16XX7 Carl+5StK+17WB+67Coll−35Frem−1Geel−44PA+41Melb+34Ess−29WCE+41XAdel+38WB+60StK+64NM−62GCS+9Frem+27Syd−47Haw+41BL+23Carl−10GWS+121Ess+39Carl−20XXX5 GCS−13Rich−17GWS+72Ess−37Syd−16Coll−26Carl+9Adel−40WB−9NM−68WCE−4XMelb+35Rich−64Frem−30Carl−36PA−5Geel−101BL−31Haw−46Syd−59GCS+46Frem+71XXXX16 GWS+30GCS+41NM+39Geel−21StK+16BL+60Haw−37Frem0Coll+47Ess+44Adel+77XPA−18Carl+22Melb+31GWS+129WCE+34Rich+47WB+35Coll−29StK+59Geel−44Haw−12Haw−54Carl+24Frem−25X4 Frem−28Haw−50Mel+94Carl−24PA−5WB+70BL+26NM+2GWS+100Rich−41StK+4XHaw−20Ess−7Adel+6Frem−28Syd−34WB−22GCS+17Ess+53Geel−66Coll−62Adel−86XXXX13 BL+68Frem−28Rich−67Adel−52Geel−21WCE−70NM−54GCS−32StK+9PA+9XColl−34Rich−60Melb−3GWS+4Ess−31Haw−19WCE+22Syd−35Carl+28Adel+17BL−7Melb+20XXXX15 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 Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder
Ladder progression
Finals series
Week one
Week two
Week three
Week four
Attendances
By club + 2013 AFL attendances Club Total Games Avg. Per Game 693,855 22 31,539 503,994 22 22,909 1,116,734 24 46,531 1,236,343 23 53,754 1,036,044 22 47,093 819,016 25 32,761 980,408 25 39,216 389,966 22 17,726 345,730 22 15,715 1,144,222 25 45,769 549,418 22 24,974 634,033 22 28,820 648,854 24 27,036 1,137,980 23 49,477 634,858 22 28,857 798,556 25 31,942 678,430 22 30,838 513,729 22 23,351
By ground + 2013 H&A ground attendances Ground Total Games Avg. Per Game AAMI Stadium 665,808 22 30,264 ANZ Stadium 104,297 3 32,347 Aurora Stadium 52,950 4 13,238 Blundstone Arena 23,488 2 11,744 Cazaly's Stadium 11,197 1 11,197 Etihad Stadium 1,466,099 48 30,544 Gabba 231,909 11 21,083 MCG 2,346,893 45 52,153 Metricon Stadium 152,980 11 13,907 Patersons Stadium 773,485 22 35,158 Simonds Stadium 187,545 7 26,792Škoda Stadium 57,969 7 8,281 StarTrack Oval 25,056 3 8,352 Sydney Cricket Ground 230,659 9 25,629 TIO Stadium 15,465 2 7,733 Westpac Stadium 22,546 1 22,546
Awards The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Brian Lake of . The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Gary Ablett Jr. of , who received 28 votes. The AFL Rising Star was awarded to Jaeger O'Meara of , who received 44 votes. The Coleman Medal was awarded to Jarryd Roughead of , who kicked 68 goals during the home and away season. The McClelland Trophy was awarded to for the second year in a row. The Wooden Spoon was "awarded" to for the second year in a row. The AFL Players Association awards The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Gary Ablett Jr. of for a record fifth time. The Robert Rose Award was awarded to Joel Selwood of for the second year in a row and third time overall. The Best Captain was awarded to Joel Selwood of . The Best First-Year Player was awarded to Jaeger O'Meara of . The AFL Coaches Association Awards were as follows: The Player of the Year Award was given to Scott Pendlebury of , who received 96 votes. The Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award was awarded to Ken Hinkley of The Assistant Coach of the Year Award was awarded to Robert Harvey of . The Development Coach of the Year Award was awarded to Chris Maple of . The Support Staff Leadership Award was awarded to Stephen Wells of . The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to George Stone. The Best Young Player Award was awarded to Jeremy Cameron of . The Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award was awarded to Zac Smith of .
Coleman Medal
Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the Coleman that round. Underlined numbers indicates the player did not play that round. Player1234567891011121314151617181920212223Total1 Jarryd Roughead 1 2 3 4 1 1 4 5 3 3 0 4 5 4 2 5 3 4 0 5 1 4 4 682 Travis Cloke4 0 5 7 2 4 0 1 3 0 3 5 0 2 5 2 2 3 5 2 2 3 5 663 Jeremy Cameron 1 3 1 1 3 6 3 4 3 2 4 2 0 0 3 3 4 7 4 4 2 0 2 624 Josh J. Kennedy 2 5 5 0 4 4 4 2 5 3 0 0 5 2 4 2 4 3 5 1 0 0 0 605 Lance Franklin 2 5 4 4 0 0 3 2 5 2 0 4 2 4 1 0 0 8 1 0 4 5 2 586 Jack Riewoldt 0 7 5 3 1 3 5 3 2 2 0 3 3 3 2 1 4 3 3 1 2 1 0 577 Lindsay Thomas4 5 3 4 5 2 2 0 5 3 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 6 1 2 1 1 3 538 Nick Riewoldt 2 4 3 3 2 4 3 1 4 3 1 0 3 1 0 1 2 2 2 1 2 4 2 509 Tom Hawkins 2 3 3 3 0 2 2 4 6 2 2 0 3 2 0 2 2 5 1 1 0 0 1 4610 Jay Schulz4 1 1 4 0 3 3 2 3 0 0 3 1 3 0 1 1 2 2 2 3 1 4 44
Best and fairest Club Award name Player Ref Malcolm Blight Medal Merrett–Murray Medal John Nicholls Medal Copeland Trophy Scott Pendlebury Crichton Medal Doig Medal Nathan Fyfe Carji Greeves Medal Joel Selwood Club Champion Kevin Sheedy Medal Peter Crimmins Medal Josh Gibson Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal Syd Barker Medal Scott Thompson Daniel Wells John Cahill Medal Jack Dyer Medal Trevor Barker Award Bob Skilton Medal Jarrad McVeigh John Worsfold Medal Charles Sutton Medal
Club leadership Club Coach Captain(s) Vice-captain(s) Leadership group Brenton Sanderson Nathan van Berlo Patrick Dangerfield, Scott Thompson Sam Jacobs, Jason Porplyzia, Rory Sloane Michael Voss (Rds 1–20);Mark Harvey (Rds 21–23) Jed Adcock, Jonathan Brown Daniel Rich, Tom Rockliff Mick Malthouse Marc Murphy Andrew Carrazzo, Kade Simpson Nick Duigan, Jarrad Waite Nathan Buckley Nick Maxwell Scott Pendlebury Luke Ball, Dayne Beams, Harry O'Brien James Hird (Rds 1–22)Simon Goodwin (Rd 23) Jobe Watson Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell, Heath Hocking, Michael Hurley, Brent Stanton, Jason Winderlich, David Zaharakis Ross Lyon Matthew Pavlich Hayden Ballantyne, Matt de Boer, Chris Mayne, David Mundy, Luke McPharlin, Aaron Sandilands Guy McKenna Gary Ablett Nathan Bock, Michael Rischitelli Karmichael Hunt, Zac Smith, David Swallow Kevin Sheedy Phil Davis, Callan Ward Tom Scully Chris Scott Joel Selwood Jimmy Bartel Tom Hawkins, Steve Johnson, James Kelly, Andrew Mackie, Harry Taylor Alastair Clarkson Luke Hodge Jordan Lewis, Jarryd Roughead Lance Franklin, Sam Mitchell Mark Neeld (Rds 1–12)Neil Craig (Rds 13–23) Jack Grimes, Jack Trengove Nathan Jones Shannon Byrnes, Mitch Clark, Chris Dawes, James Frawley, Colin Garland, Jordie McKenzie Brad Scott Andrew Swallow Drew Petrie, Jack Ziebell Brent Harvey, Scott Thompson, Daniel Wells Ken Hinkley Travis Boak Brad Ebert Robbie Gray, Hamish Hartlett, Jay Schulz, Jackson Trengove Damien Hardwick Trent Cotchin Brett Deledio, Daniel Jackson, Jack Riewoldt Dylan Grimes, Ivan Maric Scott Watters Nick Riewoldt David Armitage, Nick Dal Santo, Sean Dempster, Ben McEvoy, Jarryn Geary, James Gwilt, Leigh Montagna, John Longmire Kieren Jack, Jarrad McVeigh Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes, Josh Kennedy, Ryan O'Keefe, Ted Richards, Rhyce Shaw, Nick Smith John Worsfold Darren Glass Beau Waters Dean Cox, Andrew Embley, Shannon Hurn, Josh Kennedy, Mark LeCras, Matt Priddis, Matt Rosa, Adam Selwood, Scott Selwood Brendan McCartney Matthew Boyd No official leadership group
Club membership + 2013 AFL membership figures Club Members Change from 2012 % Change from 2012 46,405 24,130 50,564 78,427 56,173 43,880 42,884 12,502 12,681 63,353 33,177 34,607 39,838 60,321 32,707 36,358 58,501 30,209 Total 756,717 49,096 6.94%
Coach changes