<P> Each year, the premiership is awarded to the club that wins the AFL Grand Final . The grand final has been played in all VFL / AFL seasons except for 1897 and 1924 (where the premiership was awarded without a Grand final being played), and has been an annual tradition in its current format since 1931 . </P> <P> Since the introduction by the League of equalisation policies of a salary cap and draft in 1987, every AFL club (except for Gold Coast, which has not yet qualifed for a final series) has made a preliminary final . This has had a significant impact on the spread of premierships: since 1987, thirteen clubs have won premiership, compared with only five clubs in the twenty - three seasons between 1967 and 1989 . </P> <P> Essendon and Carlton have won the most VFL / AFL premierships, with a total of 16 each . Of the current teams competing in the Australian Football League, only Fremantle, Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney are yet to win a premiership . </P> <P> The following is a list of the premiers, and the grand final results and circumstances . Most conventional grand finals are a single match at the end of a finals series where the winner of the match wins the premiership . </P>

Who's won the most premierships in afl