Editing Playoffs (section)

==Australian rules football==
{{See also|AFL final eight system|McIntyre system}}

Playoffs are used throughout Australia in [[Australian rules football]] to determine the premiership. The term '''finals''' is most commonly used to describe them.

In each league, between four and eight teams (depending on league size) qualify for the finals based on the league ladder at the end of the season.  Australian rules football leagues employ finals systems which act as a combination between a [[single elimination tournament]] for lower-ranked teams and a [[double elimination tournament]] for higher-ranked teams in order to provide teams with an easier pathway to the grand final as reward for strong performances throughout the season. Finals are decided by single matches, rather than series.

The [[Australian Football League]], which is the top level of the sport, currently has eight teams qualify for the finals under a [[AFL final eight system|system designed by the league]] in 2000. Between 1931 and 1999, variants of the [[McIntyre system]] were used to accommodate four, five, six and eight teams, and prior to 1930, [[Early VFL Final systems|six different finals systems]] were used.

In most other leagues, from state-level leagues such as the [[South Australian National Football League]] and [[West Australian Football League]], down to local suburban leagues, it is most common for either four or five teams to qualify for the finals. In these cases the [[Page–McIntyre system|Page–McIntyre final four system]] or the [[McIntyre final five system]] are used universally.

The [[Australian Football League]] (which was known until 1990 as the Victorian Football League) was the first league to introduce regular finals when it was established in 1897. The [[South Australian National Football League]] introduced finals in 1898, and other leagues soon followed.

Prior to 1897, the premiership was generally awarded to the team with the best overall win–loss record at the end of the season. If two teams had finished with equal records, a playoff match for the premiership was required: this occurred in the Challenge Cup in 1871, the South Australian Inter-club competition in 1874, the SAFA in 1889 and 1894, and in the VFA in 1896.