The season was marred by the mid-season death of Adelaide senior coach Phil Walsh, who was the victim of a domestic incident.

Notable features of the draw include: Bold – Home game X – Bye C – Cancelled[a] Opponent for round listed above margin

A highly qualified Australian side, who were looking for back-to-back series wins, fell to a classy Irish team by 4 points.

[147] The AFL suffered significant bad publicity during 2015 related to four cases of illicit substance abuse in AFL clubs – three related to doping and one related to recreational drugs: In the early hours of Friday 3 July 2015, Adelaide coach Phil Walsh was found dead at his Adelaide residency following a domestic violence incident; he was killed by his son, Cy, who was charged with his murder, and ultimately found not guilty due to mental incompetence, meaning he is now subject to a lifetime psychiatric supervision order and is permanently detained at the James Nash House forensic Mental Health Facility.

[1] In the immediate aftermath, the match between Adelaide and Geelong, which was to have been played on Sunday 5 July, was cancelled, with the clubs sharing two premiership points each.