The premiership was won by the Geelong Football Club for the ninth time, after it defeated Collingwood by 38 points in the 2011 AFL Grand Final.

Collingwood defeated Essendon in the Grand Final at Etihad Stadium on Friday, 11 March.

Early in the season, it emerged that there were several suspicious plunges on players who were usually defenders to kick the first goal of a match; in each case, the player unexpectedly started in the forward-line, indicating that the plunges may have been caused by team information somehow leaking to punters.

[76] In their respective investigations, it was found that both Nick Maxwell and Nathan Bock had informed family members and friends that they would be starting in the forward-line before their respective plunges, and, unbeknownst to the players, those family members and friends then placed bets.

[77] Following round 24, Essendon assistant coach Dean Wallis was found to have placed three separate FootyQuad bets worth a total of $400 during the latter half of the season, one of which included a leg which involved an Essendon match.