‘This way we make sure of it:’ How to get an AFL grand final ticket
Relying on online purchasing systems and a good internet connection is not everyone’s preferred way of securing tickets to one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar.
For Chris Walkley, fronting up in person to ensure he gets AFL grand final tickets is more important than being able to purchase them from the comfort of his own home.
Walkley – a Brisbane Lions supporter and AFL member – has attended the grand final for the past 16 years, apart from the COVID grand finals in Brisbane and Perth, and he continues to use the method that he knows works – camping out for tickets.
Each year Walkley sets up camp on Exhibition Street, right outside Ticketek, starting at 5am on Thursday. A group of eight people – comprising family and friends – helps over the weekend to make sure they are each able to attend the grand final.
For the past two years, this masthead has checked in with Walkley about his plan that never changes.
“Last year my youngest decided to sleep out here with me for a night so that was good fun,” Walkley said.
“I think they made the online [access] a lot more random,” Walkley said. “There’s more AFL members than there [are] tickets… this way we make sure of it, and we generally get pretty good seats.
“It [queueing] is a bit old-school. It doesn’t happen for too many things any more, so it’s great that we can still do this,” he said. “We’ve always had good seats, never an issue with lining up.”
With his blanket, camping chair and swag, Walkley is all set up to get through the cold nights.
Still, the vast majority of fans depend on virtual ballots for the chance to see their team fight for a flag.
How much do grand final tickets cost?
The most expensive grand final ticket will be $536 (excluding corporate or hospitality packages), with the cheapest coming in at $172(compared with $165 in 2025).
On average, prices are up about four per cent in all categories compared with last year.
Who gets the tickets?
Last year the MCG was just shy of its capacity at the grand final with 100,022 in the house out of a possible 100,024.
Between 16 and 40 per cent of all tickets are sold to members of the competing clubs, with up to 40,000 potentially being available. Each club will be potentially allowed up to 20,000 tickets.
Melbourne Cricket Club and AFL members are allotted a slightly larger portion of tickets (up to 26,000), with the balance going to corporates.
AFL and MCC members face years-long waiting lists to even be eligible to buy grand final tickets, and it costs upwards of $730 per year to retain that membership – not including the charge to secure a ticket.
For full MCC members there are two options for a spot in the members’ reserve: a reserved seat ballot to book a seat in advance, or walk-ups on the day for unreserved seating and standing room.
The MCC does not allow its members to bring a visitor to the grand final, and decides on the day (based on demand) about whether to extend access to restricted members.
How do club members get tickets?
The two clubs who progress to the grand final will distribute their allocation of tickets via a ballot – an automated, electronic draw held this the weekend by Ticketek.
The member ballot registration forms went out when the teams qualified for the preliminary finals, so if you haven’t registered by now, it’s too late.
Members pay $6 per to enter the ballot for a chance to purchase a grand final ticket, but there are no guarantees.
Who enters the ballot?
Members from any of the four clubs competing in this weekend’s preliminary finals have had a chance to register for the ballot. However, when a team is eliminated by losing on Friday night (Sydney v Fremantle) and another bows out on Saturday (Hawthorn v Brisbane Lions), the members of the two losing clubs will no longer be considered for the grand final ballot.
For example, if Hawthorn beat the Lions on Saturday, Hawks members who registered for a grand final ticket will be in the hands of Ticketek, which carries out a random ballot in each priority group to determine the order of allocating tickets.
For those who are successful, their credit card will automatically be charged for tickets on either September 19, 20 or 21. So if you entered the grand final ballot, it’s important to make sure there are enough funds available on your card.
Does everyone have equal chance in the ballot?
The short answer is no. Memberships are broken up into priority registration, based on people willing to pay extra for a better chance.
Each club has their own name for these tiers, with the ability to secure grand final tickets varying with each. While the priority one, or highest-tier level, typically is only available to the more expensive types of memberships, some clubs have ways to purchase add-ons during the season.
Ticketek uses an automated system to randomly allocate tickets to priority one members, then randomly allocates the remaining tickets among priority two members, and so on until they run out.
What if I missed out?
There is no public allocation of tickets for the grand final.
If you missed out, be careful about trying to buy resale tickets from unauthorised agents as they could be scams.
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