The AFL final eight system is an eight-team championship playoff tournament developed and adopted by the Australian Football League in the 2000 season.
The eight finalists are split into two groups for the opening week of the Finals Series.
The top four teams have the best chance of winning the premiership and play the two Qualifying Finals.
The bottom four teams play the two Elimination Finals, where the winners advance to Week Two away games and the losers' seasons are over.
The higher a team's position on the ladder, the greater benefits they receive.
A team's final rank in the home-and-away season also determines their pairings for the first week.