Call it a coincidence if you will, but in all four AFL Finals in Week One, the team that lost to their opponent during the Home & Away season won the September rematch.

Melbourne defeated Collingwood in Round 13, but Collingwood defeated Melbourne in the Qualifying Final

Sydney defeated Carlton in Round 11, but Carlton defeated Sydney in the Elimination Final

St Kilda defeated GWS in Round 10, but GWS defeated St Kilda in the Elimination Final:

Port Adelaide defeated Brisbane in Round 1, but Brisbane defeated Port Adelaide in the Qualifying Final:

Going back through AFL Tables, this is the first time such an event has occurred in the 21st Century, and in fact it’s the first time since the Top 8 was introduced in 1994 that all 4 matches have been a perfect form reversal, in part helped by the fact that all 4 matchups only occurred once during the season.

We came very close in 2020 with every team playing each other once, but St Kilda held on by 3 points against the Western Bulldogs in the Elimination Final.

However, if you based the results on the most recent match-up prior to the Finals, then the last time all four Week One finals results were a form reversal was way back in 2005:

Sydney defeated West Coast in Round 17, West Coast won by 4 points in the Qualifying Final (West Coast also won in Round 6)

Melbourne defeated Geelong in Round 20, Geelong won by 55 points in the Elimination Final (Melbourne also won in Round 3)

Adelaide defeated St Kilda in Round 9, St Kilda won by 8 points in the Qualifying Final (Only match-up prior to Finals)

North Melbourne defeated Port Adelaide in Round 18, Port Adelaide won by 87 points in the Elimination Final (Port Adelaide also won in Round 7)