2026 AFL Season Elimination Final 2: Adelaide v Western Bulldogs
This is the match report for the match played on 5 September 2026 between Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs in the second elimination final of the 2026 season of the Australian Football League.
Adelaide hosted the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval.
Jordan Dawson captained the hosts.
Marcus Bontempelli captained the visitors.
The hosts were coached by Matthew Nicks and the visitors were coached by Luke Beveridge.
Adelaide (14.6.90) defeated the Western Bulldogs (9.14.68).
Match Details
Season:
2026 AFL Season
Round:
Second Elimination Final
Teams:
Adelaide
v
Western Bulldogs
Date:
Saturday 5 September 2026
Time:
7:05 PM
Venue:
Adelaide Oval
Attendance:
51,370
Match Results
Outcome:
Adelaide
def.
Western Bulldogs
Score:
14.6.90 - 9.14.68
Quarter Breakdown
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 3 | . | 1 | 7 | . | 2 | 9 | . | 5 | 14 | . | 6 | 14 | . | 6 | (90) |
| Western Bulldogs | 1 | . | 7 | 5 | . | 8 | 5 | . | 10 | 9 | . | 14 | 9 | . | 14 | (68) |
| Margin | ADEL by 6 | ADEL by 6 | ADEL by 19 | ADEL by 22 | ADEL by 22 | |||||||||||
| Duration | 30:21 | 31:41 | 26:12 | 33:37 | 2:01:51 | |||||||||||
Score Worm
This chart is oriented such that the margin is positive when the hosts (Adelaide) are in the lead and is negative when the visitors (Western Bulldogs) are in the lead.
Honour Roll
Adelaide
Captain: Jordan DawsonCoach: Matthew Nicks
Western Bulldogs
Captain: Marcus BontempelliCoach: Luke Beveridge
AFLCA Gary Ayres Votes
| Player | Team | # | Votes | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Worrell | ADEL | 24 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Izak Rankine | ADEL | 23 | 6 | 0 | ? | ? | ? | 0 |
| Ed Richards | WBUL | 20 | 6 | 0 | ? | ? | ? | 0 |
| Wayne Milera | ADEL | 30 | 5 | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Marcus Bontempelli | WBUL | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ? | ? | ? |
Player Statistics
Adelaide
| # | Player | Pos. | ToG% | GL | BH | DI | KI | HB | MK | HO | TA | CL | CR | FF | FA | RF | IF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Ah Chee, Callum | FPR | 75% | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Berry, Sam | INT | 70% | 0 | 0 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Borlase, James | FB | 86% | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Cook, Brayden | WL | 74% | 2 | 0 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 44 | Cumming, Isaac | RO | 71% | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Curtin, Dan | WR | 57% | 0 | 1 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | Dawson, Jordan (c) | C | 88% | 0 | 0 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 32 | Fogarty, Darcy | FPL | 78% | 2 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Hall-Kahan, Hugo | INT | 75% | 0 | 0 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 48 | Keane, Mark | CHB | 89% | 0 | 0 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 2 | Keays, Ben | HFFL | 85% | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 29 | Laird, Rory | HBFR | 82% | 0 | 0 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 42 | McAndrew, Lachlan | RU | 74% | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 30 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Michalanney, Max | BPR | 87% | 0 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 30 | Milera, Wayne | HBFL | 79% | 0 | 0 | 27 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 27 | Nankervis, Luke | INT | 72% | 0 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 28 | Neal-Bullen, Alex | INT | 82% | 0 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Rachele, Josh | HFFR | 73% | 3 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Rankine, Izak | RR | 85% | 2 | 0 | 34 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| 14 | Soligo, Jake | INT | 69% | 0 | 1 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Thilthorpe, Riley | CHF | 82% | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | Walker, Taylor | FF | 81% | 1 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 24 | Worrell, Josh | BPL | 85% | 0 | 0 | 34 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 |
| Rushed | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total (23 players) | 14 | 6 | 404 | 258 | 146 | 114 | 47 | 57 | 34 | 62 | 21 | 13 | 51 | 49 | |||
Western Bulldogs
| # | Player | Pos. | ToG% | GL | BH | DI | KI | HB | MK | HO | TA | CL | CR | FF | FA | RF | IF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Bontempelli, Marcus (c) | RR | 82% | 0 | 1 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 29 | Bramble, Lachie | HBFL | 84% | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Budarick, Connor | BPR | 75% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 31 | Dale, Bailey | HBFR | 88% | 0 | 1 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 42 | Davidson, Sam | INT | 70% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Dolan, Josh | BPL | 66% | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 44 | English, Tim | RU | 75% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | Freijah, Joel | C | 82% | 1 | 0 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 43 | Gardner, Ryan | INT | 35% | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Hynes, Cooper | WR | 77% | 0 | 0 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Jones, Arthur | HFFR | 83% | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 35 | Kennedy, Luke | INT | 78% | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | Khamis, Buku | FB | 94% | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | Lewis, Will | FPL | 65% | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Lobb, Rory | CHF | 95% | 0 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 30 | McNeil, Lachlan | INT | 68% | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Naughton, Aaron | FF | 84% | 1 | 3 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | O'Donnell, James | CHB | 94% | 0 | 0 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 20 | Richards, Ed | RO | 82% | 2 | 1 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 9 | Sanders, Ryley | WL | 85% | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Weightman, Cody | HFFL | 68% | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | West, Rhylee | FPR | 76% | 0 | 1 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| 34 | Williams, Bailey | INT | 92% | 0 | 0 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
| Rushed | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total (23 players) | 9 | 14 | 317 | 187 | 130 | 62 | 23 | 56 | 41 | 65 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 61 | |||
Legend
ToG%: Time-on-Ground Percentage, GL: Goals, BH: Behinds, DI: Disposals, KI: Kicks, HB: Handballs, MK: Marks, HO: Hitouts, TA: Tackles, CL: Clearances, CR: Clangers, FF: Free Kicks For, FA: Free Kicks Against, RF: Rebounds Inside 50, IF: Inside 50sPlayer Line-Up
| Adelaide | Coach: Matthew Nicks | ||||||||||||||
| BACK | FOLLOWER | INTERCHANGE | |||||||||||||
| 26 | J. Dolan | 24 | B. Khamis | 19 | C. Budarick | 42 | L. McAndrew | 3 | S. Berry | ||||||
| 4 | C. Ah Chee | 13 | T. Walker | 32 | D. Fogarty | 23 | I. Rankine | 40 | H. Hall-Kahan | ||||||
| FORWARD | 44 | I. Cumming | 27 | L. Nankervis | |||||||||||
| HALF-BACK |
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28 | A. Neal-Bullen | |||||||||||
| 29 | L. Bramble | 18 | J. O'Donnell | 31 | B. Dale |
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14 | J. Soligo | ||||||
| 8 | J. Rachele | 7 | R. Thilthorpe | 2 | B. Keays |
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| HALF-FORWARD |
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| CENTRE |
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| 9 | R. Sanders | 27 | J. Freijah | 6 | C. Hynes |
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| 6 | D. Curtin | 12 | J. Dawson (c) | 15 | B. Cook | FOLLOWER | INTERCHANGE | ||||||||
| CENTRE | 44 | T. English | 42 | S. Davidson | |||||||||||
| HALF-FORWARD | 4 | M. Bontempelli (c) | 43 | R. Gardner | |||||||||||
| 3 | C. Weightman | 7 | R. Lobb | 32 | A. Jones | 20 | E. Richards | 35 | L. Kennedy | ||||||
| 29 | R. Laird | 48 | M. Keane | 30 | W. Milera |
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30 | L. McNeil | ||||||
| HALF-BACK |
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34 | B. Williams | |||||||||||
| FORWARD |
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| 28 | W. Lewis | 33 | A. Naughton | 14 | R. West |
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| 16 | M. Michalanney | 35 | J. Borlase | 24 | J. Worrell |
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| BACK |
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| Western Bulldogs | Coach: Luke Beveridge | ||||||||||||||
Score Timeline
| Quarter | Team | Scoring Event | Score | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ADEL | Darcy Fogarty goal | 1.0.6 | - | 0.0.0 | 01:50 |
| WBUL | Bailey Dale behind | 1.0.6 | - | 0.1.1 | 05:08 | |
| WBUL | Aaron Naughton behind | 1.0.6 | - | 0.2.2 | 06:09 | |
| WBUL | Marcus Bontempelli behind | 1.0.6 | - | 0.3.3 | 07:22 | |
| WBUL | Rushed behind | 1.0.6 | - | 0.4.4 | 09:04 | |
| WBUL | Ed Richards goal | 1.0.6 | - | 1.4.10 | 10:25 | |
| WBUL | Rhylee West behind | 1.0.6 | - | 1.5.11 | 15:03 | |
| ADEL | Ben Keays behind | 1.1.7 | - | 1.5.11 | 17:47 | |
| ADEL | Ben Keays goal | 2.1.13 | - | 1.5.11 | 18:37 | |
| WBUL | Rushed behind | 2.1.13 | - | 1.6.12 | 20:08 | |
| WBUL | Rushed behind | 2.1.13 | - | 1.7.13 | 22:56 | |
| ADEL | Brayden Cook goal | 3.1.19 | - | 1.7.13 | 25:22 | |
| Q2 | ADEL | Josh Rachele goal | 4.1.25 | - | 1.7.13 | 05:26 |
| WBUL | Joel Freijah goal | 4.1.25 | - | 2.7.19 | 07:59 | |
| WBUL | Arthur Jones goal | 4.1.25 | - | 3.7.25 | 09:54 | |
| WBUL | Aaron Naughton goal | 4.1.25 | - | 4.7.31 | 11:53 | |
| ADEL | Brayden Cook goal | 5.1.31 | - | 4.7.31 | 17:56 | |
| WBUL | Cody Weightman behind | 5.1.31 | - | 4.8.32 | 23:21 | |
| ADEL | Callum Ah Chee goal | 6.1.37 | - | 4.8.32 | 24:09 | |
| ADEL | Josh Rachele goal | 7.1.43 | - | 4.8.32 | 25:48 | |
| WBUL | Arthur Jones goal | 7.1.43 | - | 5.8.38 | 27:40 | |
| ADEL | Josh Rachele behind | 7.2.44 | - | 5.8.38 | 30:08 | |
| Q3 | ADEL | Josh Rachele behind | 7.3.45 | - | 5.8.38 | 02:26 |
| ADEL | Izak Rankine goal | 8.3.51 | - | 5.8.38 | 04:26 | |
| ADEL | Ben Keays goal | 9.3.57 | - | 5.8.38 | 07:19 | |
| WBUL | Rushed behind | 9.3.57 | - | 5.9.39 | 17:01 | |
| ADEL | Dan Curtin behind | 9.4.58 | - | 5.9.39 | 21:16 | |
| ADEL | Jake Soligo behind | 9.5.59 | - | 5.9.39 | 23:16 | |
| WBUL | Aaron Naughton behind | 9.5.59 | - | 5.10.40 | 25:07 | |
| Q4 | WBUL | Rushed behind | 9.5.59 | - | 5.11.41 | 00:19 |
| WBUL | Will Lewis goal | 9.5.59 | - | 6.11.47 | 01:42 | |
| WBUL | Will Lewis goal | 9.5.59 | - | 7.11.53 | 04:14 | |
| WBUL | Ed Richards goal | 9.5.59 | - | 8.11.59 | 07:01 | |
| WBUL | Aaron Naughton behind | 9.5.59 | - | 8.12.60 | 08:42 | |
| ADEL | Riley Thilthorpe goal | 10.5.65 | - | 8.12.60 | 12:05 | |
| ADEL | Taylor Walker goal | 11.5.71 | - | 8.12.60 | 14:44 | |
| WBUL | Buku Khamis behind | 11.5.71 | - | 8.13.61 | 17:53 | |
| ADEL | Riley Thilthorpe behind | 11.6.72 | - | 8.13.61 | 20:08 | |
| ADEL | Darcy Fogarty goal | 12.6.78 | - | 8.13.61 | 22:37 | |
| WBUL | Ed Richards behind | 12.6.78 | - | 8.14.62 | 26:57 | |
| ADEL | Izak Rankine goal | 13.6.84 | - | 8.14.62 | 28:15 | |
| ADEL | Josh Rachele goal | 14.6.90 | - | 8.14.62 | 31:02 | |
| WBUL | Ryley Sanders goal | 14.6.90 | - | 9.14.68 | 32:20 | |