2000 AFL season

The 2000 AFL season was the 104th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.

The season featured sixteen clubs. It ran from 8 March until 2 September, scheduled as the earliest season in history to avoid a clash with the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The season comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.

The premiership was won by the Essendon Football Club for the 16th time, after it defeated by 60 points in the AFL Grand Final. Essendon lost only one match for the season, its 24–1 season win-loss record standing as the best in the league's history.

Ansett Australia Cup
The 2000 pre-season began with the 2000 Ansett Australia Cup. Unlike most pre-season competitions which start in February, the 2000 series started on 31 December 1999 with a one-off "Match of the Millennium" between and, which was notable for Brendan Fevola kicking twelve goals, a pre-season record. defeated the by 41 points in the grand final.

Home-and-away season
All starting times are local time. Source: AFL Tables

Ladder

 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 1 || align=left | (P) || 22 || 21 || 1 || 0 || 2816 || 1770 || 159.1 || 84
 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 2 || align=left | || 22 || 16 || 6 || 0 || 2667 || 1979 || 134.8 || 64
 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 3 || align=left | || 22 || 14 || 8 || 0 || 2557 || 2159 || 118.4 || 56
 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 4 || align=left | || 22 || 14 || 8 || 0 || 2447 || 2304 || 106.2 || 56
 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 5 || align=left | || 22 || 12 || 9 || 1 || 2234 || 2306 || 96.9 || 50
 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 6 || align=left | || 22 || 12 || 10 || 0 || 2602 || 2222 || 117.1 || 48
 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 7 || align=left | || 22 || 12 || 10 || 0 || 2321 || 2241 || 103.6 || 48
 * - style=background:#FFFFBB
 * 8 || align=left | || 22 || 12 || 10 || 0 || 2198 || 2251 || 97.6 || 48
 * 9 || align=left | || 22 || 11 || 11 || 0 || 2068 || 2221 || 93.1 || 44
 * 10 || align=left | || 22 || 10 || 12 || 0 || 2254 || 2219 || 101.6 || 40
 * 11 || align=left | || 22 || 9 || 13 || 0 || 2255 || 2347 || 96.1 || 36
 * 12 || align=left | || 22 || 8 || 14 || 0 || 1886 || 2618 || 72.0 || 32
 * 13 || align=left | || 22 || 7 || 14 || 1 || 2216 || 2399 || 92.4 || 30
 * 14 || align=left | || 22 || 7 || 14 || 1 || 1928 || 2295 || 84.0 || 30
 * 15 || align=left | || 22 || 7 || 15 || 0 || 2089 || 2431 || 85.9 || 28
 * 16 || align=left | || 22 || 2 || 19 || 1 || 1855 || 2631 || 70.5 || 10
 * }
 * 13 || align=left | || 22 || 7 || 14 || 1 || 2216 || 2399 || 92.4 || 30
 * 14 || align=left | || 22 || 7 || 14 || 1 || 1928 || 2295 || 84.0 || 30
 * 15 || align=left | || 22 || 7 || 15 || 0 || 2089 || 2431 || 85.9 || 28
 * 16 || align=left | || 22 || 2 || 19 || 1 || 1855 || 2631 || 70.5 || 10
 * }
 * 16 || align=left | || 22 || 2 || 19 || 1 || 1855 || 2631 || 70.5 || 10
 * }
 * }

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for Average score: 103.4 Source: AFL Tables

Progression by round
Source: AFL Tables

Home matches and membership
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series
All starting times are local time. Source: AFL Tables

Win/loss table
The following table can be sorted from biggest winning margin to biggest losing margin for each round. If two or more matches in a round are decided by the same margin, these margins are sorted by percentage (i.e. the lowest-scoring winning team is ranked highest and the lowest-scoring losing team is ranked lowest). Opponents are listed above the margins and home matches are in bold.

Source: AFL Tables

Season notes

 * became the first team in VFL/AFL history to win 21 matches in a home-and-away season.
 * By winning the grand final, Essendon set a new record for the most wins in a season (24); the club also set a new record for the highest average winning margin in a season (51 points).

Major awards

 * The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Shane Woewodin of Melbourne.
 * The Coleman Medal was awarded to Matthew Lloyd of Essendon.
 * The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to James Hird of Essendon.
 * The AFL Rising Star was awarded to Paul Hasleby of Fremantle.
 * The wooden spoon was "awarded" to St Kilda.

Leading goalkickers
! rowspan=2 style=width:2em | # ! rowspan=2 | Player ! rowspan=2 | Team ! colspan=22 | Home-and-away season (Coleman Medal) ! colspan=4 | Finals series ! rowspan=2 | Total ! rowspan=2 | Games ! rowspan=2 | Average ! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! 11 !! 12 !! 13 !! 14 !! 15 !! 16 !! 17 !! 18 !! 19 !! 20 !! 21 !! 22 !! F1 !! F2 !! F3 !! GF ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 1 ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 2 ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 3 ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 4 ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 5 ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 6 ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 7 ! scope=row style=text-align:center rowspan=2 | 8 ! scope=row style=text-align:center | 10 ! scope=row style=text-align:center |
 * align=left | Matthew Lloyd || align=left | || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 77 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 714 || 418 || 422 || 325 || 328 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 533 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 538 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 644 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 145 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 752 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 658 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 159 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 463 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 366 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 369 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 473 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 982 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 587 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 188 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 290 || bgcolor=CCFFCC | 494 || 7101 || X101 || 4105 || 4109 || 109 || 25 || 4.36
 * align=left | Jeff Farmer || align=left | || 22 || 13 || 36 || 511 || 112 || 416 || 723 || –23 || –23 || 326 || 228 || 129 || 029 || 938 || 745 || 247 || 148 || 452 || 254 || 862 || 062 || 365 || 065 || X65 || 873 || 376 || 76 || 23 || 3.30
 * align=left | Lance Whitnall || align=left | || 11 || 56 || 511 || 112 || 416 || 420 || 222 || 022 || 022 || 325 || 227 || 330 || 333 || 639 || 645 || 954 || 155 || 560 || 060 || 363 || 063 || 265 || 368 || 270 || 070 ||  || 70 || 25 || 2.80
 * align=left | Wayne Carey || align=left | || 22 || –2 || 24 || 04 || 37 || 411 || 112 || –12 || 618 || 725 || 126 || 531 || 132 || 537 || 340 || 242 || 547 || 451 || 354 || 458 || 159 || 362 || 163 || 366 || 369 ||  || 69 || 23 || 3.00
 * align=left | Alastair Lynch || align=left | || –0 || 00 || 44 || 37 || 512 || 214 || 014 || –14 || 418 || 624 || 529 || 332 || 436 || 238 || 341 || 445 || 247 || 249 || 352 || 254 || 357 || 461 || 566 || 268 || colspan=2 |  || 68 || 22 || 3.09
 * align=left | Scott Lucas || align=left | || –0 || –0 || 22 || 57 || 310 || 616 || 622 || 123 || 124 || 327 || 431 || 031 || 334 || 236 || 137 || 340 || 242 || 547 || 451 || 051 || 051 || 253 || 255 || X55 || 257 || 057 || 57 || 23 || 2.48
 * align=left | Daniel Bradshaw || align=left | || 44 || 711 || 213 || 316 || 016 || 319 || 019 || 019 || –19 || –19 || –19 || –19 || 726 || 329 || 433 || 437 || 542 || 143 || 548 || 452 || 254 || 256 || 056 || –56 || colspan=2 |  || 56 || 19 || 2.95
 * align=left | Clive Waterhouse || align=left | || 22 || 35 || 16 || 28 || 19 || 211 || 213 || 417 || 623 || 124 || 428 || 129 || –29 || 433 || 538 || 038 || 240 || 040 || 242 || 345 || 752 || 153 || colspan=4 |  || 53 || 21 || 2.52
 * align=left | Michael O'Loughlin || align=left | || 55 || 05 || 38 || 08 || 210 || 212 || 012 || 012 || 113 || 114 || 317 || 017 || 522 || 325 || 126 || 430 || 232 || 335 || 641 || 445 || 348 || 553 || colspan=4 |  || 53 || 22 || 2.41
 * align=left | Michael O'Loughlin || align=left | || 55 || 05 || 38 || 08 || 210 || 212 || 012 || 012 || 113 || 114 || 317 || 017 || 522 || 325 || 126 || 430 || 232 || 335 || 641 || 445 || 348 || 553 || colspan=4 |  || 53 || 22 || 2.41
 * align=left | Luke Power || align=left | || 11 || 12 || 13 || 03 || –3 || 36 || 17 || 18 || 614 || 216 || 319 || 524 || 226 || 228 || 331 || 233 || 134 || 337 || 138 || 341 || 344 || 347 || 552 || –52 || colspan=2 |  || 52 || 22 || 2.36
 * colspan=32 |
 * colspan=32 |
 * align=left | Peter Everitt || align=left | || 44 || 913 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 720 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 323 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 528 || bgcolor=C9F0FF | 331 || 031 || 334 || 236 || 036 || 339 || 039 || –39 || –39 || –39 || –39 || –39 || –39 || –39 || 039 || 039 || 140 || colspan=4 |  || 40 || 15 || 2.67
 * }

Source: AFL Tables