The biggest AFL upsets in every year since 2000 featuring West Coast, Fremantle, Geelong, Hawthorn and more

The West Australian looks at the biggest upset of each AFL season since the turn of the century. 2000: Round 21 - Western Bulldogs defeat Essendon 14.8 (92) to 12.9 (81) The Bombers entered the penultimate round unbeaten but the AFL was given the shock of their lives as Dogs coach Terry Wallace flooded the backline before Chris Grant snatched the win late. 2001: Round 18 - Hawthorn defeated by Fremantle 16.10 (106) to 13.12 (90) The Dockers were widely tipped to become the first winless team in 2001 but an 11-goal-to-three second half saw them stun the Hawks. 2002: Round 5 - West Coast defeat Brisbane 18.13 (121) to 10.15 (75) West Coast snapped a 20-game winning streak by the reigning premiers as they returned to finals under John Worsfold. 2003: Round 14 - Geelong defeat Port Adelaide 10.10 (70) to 10.9 (69) The Power sat atop the ladder after having claimed the previous year’s minor premiership while the Cats’ premiership players of coming years were still learning their craft. But they produced a sign of things to come with a classic one-point victory. 2004: Round 12 - Western Bulldogs defeat St Kilda 15.13 (103) to 11.14 (80) Sitting second-last, the Dogs made sure the Saints knew their 10-game win streak was well and truly done, giving the top-placed side their second defeat in as many weeks. 2005: Round 9 - Collingwood defeat West Coast 18.10 (118) to 15.5 (95) An unbeaten West Coast were hoping for a percentage boost against the last-placed Pies but ended up on the receiving end in Andrew Embley’s 100th as Quinten Lynch produced a nightmare performance and Ash Hansen was soundly beaten. 2006: Round 8 - Richmond defeat Adelaide 10.9 (69) to 9.12 (66) An out-of-form Richmond entered their clash with the high-flying Crows with a plan, hog the ball and deny Adelaide’s classy users access. And while it produced a low-scorer, it worked to perfection as the Tigers won a close one. 2007: Round 14 - West Coast defeated by Brisbane 13.13 (91) to 9.10 (64) In a battle of third versus 13th, the reigning premiers ended up stunned on their own deck as Jared Brennan and Jonathan Brown kicked four goals each. 2008: Grand Final - Geelong defeated by Hawthorn 18.7 (115) to 11.23 (89) The Cats had produced the equal second-greatest record on season a year after belting Port Adelaide in the grand final and went into the decider as heavy favourites against a young Hawks outfit. But Alastair Clarkson announced himself as one of the great modern coaches before leading the side into their three-peat. 2009: Round 19 - Western Bulldogs defeated by West Coast 16.6 (102) to 13.19 (97) The bottom-four Eagles found themselves 47 points in front during the second quarter against the top-four Dogs only to trail by eight midway through the fourth. But Andrew Embley stood tall to help the Eagles claim a major upset. 2010: Round 3 - Fremantle defeat Geelong 18.17 (125) to 17.16 (118) Fremantle finished third-last in 2009 and after starting the new campaign 2-0, may have been quietly confident against the reigning premiers. And it showed as the young side proved they had taken a step forward to knock off the Cats in a thriller. 2011: Round 15 - Essendon defeat Geelong 18.7 (115) to 16.15 (111) Geelong won their first 14 games in a row to start 2011 and despite clinging to eighth, the Bombers were given little hope. It didn’t worry Dyson Heppell who collected 30 disposals and kicked a goal in the four-point boilover. 2012: Round 22 - Gold Coast defeat Carlton 15.8 98 to 11.20 86 Coming in off the back of a 96-point victory, Carlton were huge favourites on the Sunshine Coast. However, the Suns led at every change to notch a remarkable upset victory and help them avoid the wooden spoon. 2013: Round 13 - Brisbane defeat Geelong 15.13 (105) to 14.14 (98) Dubbed the miracle on grass, Ash McGrath kicked the winning goal after the siren as the Lions kicked nine of the last ten goals after trailing by 52 points. 2014: Round 1 - Greater Western Sydney defeat Sydney 15.9 (99) to 9.13 (67) Just the previous season the Swans had doled out a 129-point hiding in the battle of the bridge and had even added the firepower of Lance Franklin. But it was the ‘little brothers’ day as they survived lightning strikes to take down the Swans. 2015: Round 23 - Port Adelaide defeat Fremantle 18.14 (122) to 8.5 (53) The Dockers were the power side of 2015 and sat clear atop the table heading into finals. meanwhile, the Power needed wins just to be a chance of the eight and that desperation saw them crush Fremantle in a major 69-point upset. 2016: Grand final - Sydney defeated by Western Bulldogs 13.11 (89) to 10.7 (67) The Dogs came from outside the eight, beat West Coast in Perth, toppled the reigning premier Hawks and won a nail-biter against the Giants just to reach the 2016 decider. They then overcame a half-time deficit to beat the minor premier Swans who had won eight of their last nine. 2017: Round 7 - North Melbourne defeat Adelaide 22.13 (145) to 13.8 (86) Despite sitting in the bottom four, the Kangaroos gave top-placed Adelaide a lesson. The score at quarter time was 64-0 as North claimed a monster win in Hobart. 2018: Round 18 - Sydney defeated by Gold Coast 12.16 (88) to 8.16 (64) The Suns’ first-ever victory over the Swans eventually cost the side a place in the top four, and it came off the back of eight unanswered goals in the second and third terms. 2019: Round 23 - West Coast defeated by Hawthorn 16.9 (105) to 9.13 (67) You could pinpoint the start of the Eagles decline to this loss. They had top four in their hands with a win but with the Hawks needing a win to be a chance of finals, Hawthorn fired on all cylinders in Perth. 2020: Elimination Final - West Coast defeated by Collingwood 12.4 (76) to 11.9 (74) Finishing fifth gave West Coast hosting rights in the first week of finals of the COVID season. It left the Pies not only needing to overcome a strong team in front of a parochial crowd, but they did it after going through COVID protocols and while in isolation. 2021: Round 1 - Adelaide defeat Geelong 15.13 (103) to 13.13 (91) Coming off a wooden spoon in 2020, playing the previous year’s grand final losses was not an ideal start to the year for the Crows. That was until Taylor Walker stepped up with five goals from 18 disposals. 2022: Round 4 - Collingwood defeated by West Coast 14.3 (87) to 10.14 (74) In a season from hell where the Eagles needed COVID-19 top-up players just to field a team, this win was truly a miracle at Marvel. 2023: Round 23 - Western Bulldogs defeated by West Coast Eagles 14.8 (92) to 12.13 (85) Almost any win from the Eagles this decade has been an upset but sitting bottom of the table and knocking off the Dogs at Marvel is one of their best. Jamie Cripps kicked five goals to overturn a nine-point deficit in the last term. 2024: Round 6 - West Coast defeat Fremantle 16.9 (105) to 10.8 (68) The Eagles have been belted in recent derbies but Harley Reid’s first was one to remember. The Dockers were left stunned after a nine-goal-to-three first half. 2025: Round 1 - Richmond defeat Carlton 13.4 (82) to 9.15 (69) The Tigers weren’t expected to win many games after their mega draft but they started the year with a huge statement over Carlton that ended up being the story of the Blues’ year.