2017 AFL season

The following amendments were made to the Laws of the Game for the 2017 season: • Rules relating to around-the-ground ruck contests were amended such that only the nominated ruckman for each team is permitted in the contest, eliminating the option for another player to enter the contest and take the tap, otherwise known as the "third man up" strategy. This was done to make ruck contests easier to adjudicate, to reduce the risk of injuries to ruckmen, and to increase the value of the skill of ruckwork. • A more stringent interpretation of punches to the body was introduced to the match review panel and tribunal to allow for suspensions to be imposed; and to allow fines to be imposed for low impact jumper punches. • The deliberate out of bounds free kick was amended, lowering the threshold for a free kick from 'intentionally' putting the ball out of bounds to 'not demonstrating sufficient intent' to keep the ball in bounds. ==Pre-season==

The pre-season series of matches in 2017 was known as the JLT Community Series; its new sponsor was Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), who replaced National Australia Bank (NAB) after NAB elected to sponsor the inaugural AFL Women's season instead. The series featured 27 practice matches played over 25 days, beginning on 16 February and ending on 12 March. The matches were stand-alone, with no overall winner of the series. Each team played three games, many at suburban or regional venues. All matches were televised live on Fox Footy as well as on the AFL Live app. The nine-point super goal was used in these matches. ==Premiership season==

Notable features of the draw include: • The naming rights of York Park were bought by the University of Tasmania from Aurora Energy in the week prior to the full fixture being released, with the venue becoming known as the University of Tasmania Stadium. • sold the naming rights for Manuka Oval during the AFL season to the University of New South Wales, and the stadium became known as the UNSW Canberra Oval. • and the played in the AFL's first ever Good Friday match, which was played at Etihad Stadium. • and competed in the first AFL premiership match outside Australia and New Zealand when they played in round 8 at Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai, China, with the match televised live on the Seven Network. Both teams had a bye the following round, while the remaining sixteen teams had their byes from rounds 11 to 13. • Owing to redevelopment, Simonds Stadium was unavailable until round 9. • The Western Bulldogs competed in the first AFL premiership match to be played at Mars Stadium in Ballarat when they faced in round 22. The match was also the first AFL premiership match in a Victorian regional venue (other than Geelong) since a one-off round of promotional matches held in 1952. • All 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 Season notes • recorded the longest unbeaten start to a season in club history, winning its first six games. • was the first reigning grand finalist in VFL/AFL history to lose its first six matches of the following season, before becoming the first club to reach the finals after starting the season with zero wins and six losses. • became the first team since in 2009 and the first team in the 18-team competition to fail to make the finals after winning the premiership the previous year. • became the first team since in 2011 to qualify for the finals after finishing wooden spooners the previous season. • reached the finals at the expense of on percentage by 0.48 percentage points, a difference equivalent to only nine on-field points. It is the narrowest margin in VFL/AFL history to decide a finals spot. • This was the last season in which games were played at Domain Stadium, with the Western Australian teams playing home games at Perth Stadium from 2018 and onwards. • 's record of 15 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses is the least successful of any minor premier since 1997. • ' record of 5 wins and 17 losses is the most successful of any wooden spooner since the Lions themselves in 1998. • had the highest average home-and-away and home game attendance of any club in 2017, with figures of 46,580 and 55,958, respectively. ==Win/loss table==

Bold – Home game X – Bye Opponent for round listed above margin ==Ladder==

Ladder progression • Numbers highlighted in green indicates the team finished the round inside the top eight. • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished in first place on the ladder in that round. • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round. • Underlined numbers indicates the team had a bye during that round. • Subscript numbers indicate ladder position at rounds end. Positions of teams round by round ==Finals series==

Week one Week two Week three Week four ==Attendances==

• The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Dustin Martin of , who polled a record 36 votes. • The Coleman Medal was awarded to Lance Franklin of , who kicked 69 goals during the home and away season. It was the fourth time Franklin has won the award. Franklin kicked ten goals in the final round to move above Josh Kennedy. • The Ron Evans Medal was awarded to Andrew McGrath of , who received 51 votes. • The AFL Goal of the Year was awarded to Daniel Rioli of for his goal against in round 3. • The AFL Mark of the Year was awarded to Joe Daniher of for his mark against in round 17. • The wooden spoon was "awarded" to the for the first time since 1998 after obtaining five wins during the season. • The AFL Players Association Awards • The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Dustin Martin of , polling 1,333 votes ahead of Patrick Dangerfield, who polled 776. • The Robert Rose Award was awarded to Rory Sloane of . • The Gary Ayres Award for the best player in the finals series was awarded to Dustin Martin of who polled 25 votes ahead of teammate Trent Cotchin on 15. • The Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year Award was awarded to coach Damien Hardwick. • The Assistant Coach of the Year Award was awarded to assistant Rhyce Shaw. • The Best Young Player Award was awarded to Clayton Oliver of , who received 72 votes. Milestones Coleman Medal • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the Coleman Medal at the end of that round. • Numbers underlined indicates the player did not play in that round. Best and fairest ==Club leadership==

International Rules Series The International Rules Series returned in November 2017, with Australia hosting two test matches. The series was played on an aggregate-points basis, with the winner being the team that scores the highest amount over the two test matches. The matches were played on 12 and 18 November 2017 at Adelaide Oval and Domain Stadium. The Australian team was again composed exclusively of players who have won All-Australian honours in their careers. The times and venues for the series were announced in August. ==References==