HAWTHORN’S run to an AFL preliminary final, plus the club’s strong AFLW form, has the Hawks in first place in the race for the McClelland Trophy and the $1 million prize. 

But AFL premier Brisbane is coming with a rush, claiming the most available points in the trophy race from its flag victory over Geelong on Saturday. Combined with traditionally strong AFLW form, the Lions are well in the hunt.

Fellow AFLW powerhouse Adelaide, which fell out of the AFL flag race in straight sets, nevertheless remains a strong chance to contend for the McClelland Trophy if it can mount a strong premiership charge in the women’s competition.

The Hawks (fourth in AFL, currently third in AFLW) lead the way on 31 points and are in the box seat for a second successive McClelland Trophy win, with Brisbane (first in AFL, seventh in AFLW, 30 points) and Adelaide (fifth in AFL, fourth in AFLW, 29 points) trailing narrowly.

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Under the new format, clubs will be ranked on their combined finishing position after the finals series of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season and the NAB AFL Women’s competition.

In the past two years, the trophy has been awarded based on ladder positions after the home and away season, rather than finals.

That led to Hawthorn winning last year’s prize after registering a higher combined home and away ladder position than Brisbane, despite the Lions making the men’s and women’s Grand Finals while the Hawks were knocked out in the semi-finals.

The Lions’ AFL premiership win on Saturday means they ranked first after the men’s season, earning them 18 ranking points under the new system, while defeated Grand Finalist Geelong is allocated 17 points. Adelaide, which finished first after the home and away season, lost both finals to end fifth on the ladder, so earned 14 points from the men’s season.

The changes mean there could be far more movement on the McClelland Trophy ladder, potentially making for a thrilling race to the $1 million prize, of which $500,000 goes to the players and $500,000 goes to the club.

2025 McClelland Trophy ladder after AFLW R7

The new McClelland Trophy criteria

• At the end of the finals in both the men’s and women’s competitions, teams will be ranked 1 to 18, with the top-ranked team getting 18 points and the bottom-placed team receiving one point
• Where two teams are knocked out in the same week of finals, the club that finished higher on the ladder at the end of the home and away season will be given a higher ranking
• In the event that two or more clubs have the equal highest combined ranking score, the number of trophy points and then combined percentage will be used as the tiebreaker