Brisbane’s strong AFLW form and Hawthorn’s surprise loss to Port Adelaide has changed the rankings at the top of the McClelland Trophy ladder

Brisbane players celebrate their win over Essendon in AFLW round 10, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

BRISBANE is in the box seat to claim the $1 million prize for the McClelland Trophy after its recent AFLW form surge lifted the club into the overall lead ahead of Hawthorn.

The Lions sit fourth on the NAB AFLW ladder after round 10, and coupled with their AFL premiership victory, currently have 33 points on the McClelland Trophy ladder, two clear of the Hawks after their surprise loss to Port Adelaide on Friday night.  

Those two clubs are a further five points clear of third-ranked Adelaide (26 points), which has fallen to seventh on the AFLW ladder after their loss to North Melbourne on Saturday. 

>> SEE BELOW FOR THE FULL McCLELLAND TROPHY TABLE

The raging AFLW premiership favourite, North Melbourne, is sixth on the McClelland Trophy ladder with 21 points, courtesy of its AFL team’s lowly 16th-placed finish.  

Under the new format, clubs will be ranked on their combined finishing position after the finals series of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season and the NAB AFL Women’s competition.

That means this year’s AFLW finals series will have even more riding on the outcome of each game, with the McClelland Trophy race potentially going down to the Grand Final.  

AFL STATEMENT Changes to McClelland Trophy criteria

In the past two years, the trophy has been awarded based on ladder positions after the home and away season, rather than finals.

That led to Hawthorn winning last year’s prize after registering a higher combined home and away ladder position than Brisbane, despite the Lions making the men’s and women’s Grand Finals while the Hawks were knocked out in the semi-finals.

The Lions’ AFL premiership win on Saturday means they ranked first after the men’s season, earning them 18 ranking points under the new system, while defeated Grand Finalist Geelong is allocated 17 points. Adelaide, which finished first after the home and away season, lost both finals to end fifth on the ladder, so earned 14 points from the men’s season. 

The changes mean there could be far more movement on the McClelland Trophy ladder, potentially making for a thrilling race to the $1 million prize, of which $500,000 goes to the players and $500,000 goes to the club.

2025 McClelland Trophy ladder after AFLW R10

 

AFL pts

AFLW pts

TOTAL

Brisbane

18

15

33

Hawthorn

15

16

31

Adelaide

14

12

26

Geelong

17

6

23

Melbourne

5

17

22

North Melb

3

18

21

St Kilda

7

14

21

Fremantle

11

9

20

Carlton

8

11

19

Sydney

9

10

19

Collingwood

16

2

18

W. Bulldogs

10

8

18

GWS

12

4

16

Gold Coast

13

1

14

West Coast

1

13

14

Port Adel

6

7

13

Essendon

4

5

9

Richmond

2

3

5

The new McClelland Trophy criteria

At the end of the finals in both the men’s and women’s competitions, teams will be ranked 1 to 18, with the top-ranked team getting 18 points and the bottom-placed team receiving one point
Where two teams are knocked out in the same week of finals, the club that finished higher on the ladder at the end of the home and away season will be given a higher ranking
In the event that two or more clubs have the equal highest combined ranking score, the number of trophy points and then combined percentage will be used as the tiebreaker