2011 AFL finals series
The 2011 Australian Football League finals series determined the winner of the 2011 AFL season. The series was scheduled to occur over four weekends in September 2011, culminating with the 115th AFL/VFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2011. Traditionally held on the final Saturday in September, the grand final date was pushed to October to accommodate two extra rounds in the home and away season. The finals system The system is a final eight system. This system is different from the McIntyre final eight system, which was previously used by the AFL, and was used by the National Rugby League until 2011. The top four teams in the eight receive what is popularly known as the "double chance" when they play in week-one qualifying finals. This means that even if a top-four team loses in the first week, it still remains in the finals, playing a semi-final the next week against the winner of an elimination final. The bottom four of the eight play knock-out games, in that only the winners survive and move on to the next week. Home-state advantage goes to the team with the higher seed in the first two weeks, to