| Competition: | AFL finals |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Date: | 7 September – 30 September |
| Teams: | 8 |
| Matches: | 9 |
| Attendance: | 664780 |
| Highattend: | 100,024 (Grand Final, v) |
| Prevseason: | 2022 |
| Nextseason: | 2024 |
| Runners-Up: | Brisbane |
The 2023 Australian Football League finals series was the 127th annual edition of the VFL/AFL finals series, the Australian rules football playoff tournament staged to determine the winner of the 2023 AFL premiership season. The series was played over four weeks in September, and culminated in the 2023 AFL Grand Final, which saw Collingwood win its record-tying 16th premiership by 4 points over the Brisbane Lions.
The top eight teams from the 2023 AFL Premiership season qualify for the finals series. AFL finals series have been played under the current format since 2000.
See also: 2023 AFL season. In Round 23 of the 2023 AFL season, 's win over confirmed,, and as the top 4, while sealed a finals appearance with a win over . The ' shock loss to last-placed confirmed finals for and, while in Round 24 defeated Carlton to seal the last finals spot at the Bulldogs' expense.
| Melbourne | Brisbane | |
|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Cricket Ground | The Gabba | |
| Capacity: 100,024 | Capacity: 36,700 | |
| Adelaide | ||
| Adelaide Oval Capacity: 53,500 |
See also: AFL final eight system.
The system used for the 2023 AFL finals series is a final eight system. The top four teams in the eight receive the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals, such that if a top-four team loses in the first week it still remains in the finals, playing a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight play knock-out games – only the winners survive and move on to the next week. Home-state advantage goes to the team with the higher ladder position in the first two weeks, and to the qualifying final winners in the third week.
In the second week, the winners of the qualifying finals receive a bye to the third week. The losers of the qualifying final plays the elimination finals winners in a semi-final. In the third week, the winners of the semi-finals from week two play the winners of the qualifying finals in the first week. The winners of those matches move on to the Grand Final. [1]
The first qualifying final saw first-placed face fourth-placed, the twenty-third final between the two sides and the first since the 1989 elimination final.
The first elimination final saw fifth-placed face eighth-placed, the twelfth final between the two sides and the first since the 2013 first semi final.
The second elimination final saw sixth placed take on seventh placed . This was the first meeting between the two sides in a finals series match.
The second qualifying final saw the second-placing face third-placing, the fourth final between the two sides and the first since the 2004 AFL Grand Final. and also previously met in the 2001 qualifying final and the 2002 preliminary final.
The first semi-final saw host . This was the ninth final contested between the two teams and the first since 2000, when defeated in a qualifying final. They had previously played in five semi-finals (1915, 1936, 1941, 1959 and 1962), a preliminary final in 1988 and a qualifying final in 1994.
This was the first meeting between and in a finals series match.
This was the third meeting in the Finals between and after the 2018 semi-final (won by Collingwood) and the 2019 preliminary final (won by Greater Western Sydney).
This was the fourth time and meet in the finals; they have previously contested one qualifying final in 1999 (won by the Lions) and two semi-finals in 2000 and 2009 (respectively won by the Blues and the Lions).
This was the third time that Brisbane and Collingwood faced off in the Grand Final, after the 2002 and 2003 Grand Finals, both won by Brisbane. Collingwood won the Grand Final by 4 points and equalled the record of 16 premierships with and .
See main article: 2023 AFL Grand Final.