The AFL Wooden Spoon — Last On The Ladder

The Wooden Spoon goes to the team that finishes last on the AFL ladder. It’s not officially handed out, but it’s thoroughly earned. Every year a club loses 18 matches and ends up at the bottom of the heap, and the cultural ridicule that follows is one of the AFL’s enduring traditions. From West Coast’s recent residency to North Melbourne’s prolonged struggles, the Wooden Spoon is the shorthand for “we gave up trying to be competitive”. It’s a piece of AFL folk humour that won’t go away.

The History: The Cricket-Style Gag Award

The “Wooden Spoon” terminology comes from cricket, where the team finishing bottom of a competition has been informally awarded a wooden spoon since the 19th century. The AFL/VFL adopted the same terminology — informal, never formally awarded, but culturally significant.

The Wooden Spoon is never presented at any official ceremony. There’s no medal, no trophy, no AFL recognition of any kind. It’s purely media-driven and culturally enforced — the team finishing last is the de facto Wooden Spoon “winner” and faces 12 months of ridicule until the next bottom-of-the-ladder finisher emerges.

Recent Wooden Spoon Holders

• 2024: Richmond (rebuilding after the premiership era)
• 2023: West Coast Eagles (post-Optus Stadium era struggles)
• 2022: North Melbourne
• 2021: North Melbourne
• 2020: Adelaide Crows
• 2019: Gold Coast Suns
• 2018: Carlton
• 2017: Brisbane Lions (still pre-Fagan rebuild)
• 2016: Essendon (post-ASADA suspensions)
• 2015: Carlton

The Modern Era’s Most-Spooned Clubs

• North Melbourne: Multiple Wooden Spoons in the 2020s (2021, 2022) — the Kangaroos’ recent struggles have made them the most-Spooned modern club.
• West Coast Eagles: 2023 Wooden Spoon, having gone from 2018 premiership to bottom of the ladder in five years.
• Gold Coast Suns: Multiple Wooden Spoons since their 2011 debut.
• Brisbane Lions: Multiple Wooden Spoons in the post-2003 dynasty / pre-Fagan rebuild era.
• Adelaide Crows: Multiple Wooden Spoons in the post-2017 Grand Final loss / ongoing rebuild era.
• Carlton: Multiple Wooden Spoons in the 2010s prior to the current renaissance.

The 2010s “Wooden Spoon Champions”

The 2010s produced a brutal Wooden Spoon era for several clubs:

• 2010 — Melbourne Demons: Bottom of the ladder, eventually leading to a series of rebuilds.
• 2014 — St Kilda: Bottom of the ladder, eventually triggering the Roo brothers’ coaching era.
• 2015 — Carlton: Wooden Spoon, end of the David Parkin era influence.
• 2016 — Essendon: Wooden Spoon partly attributable to the ASADA suspensions of 2016.

Trivia for the Pub

• The Wooden Spoon is never officially awarded.
• The terminology comes from cricket.
• The team finishing 18th (last) on the AFL ladder is the de facto recipient.
• North Melbourne has multiple recent Wooden Spoons.
• West Coast Eagles’ 2023 Wooden Spoon is one of the most striking recent declines in AFL.
• The cultural ridicule of the Wooden Spoon is severe for affected clubs.
• Some clubs have multiple Wooden Spoons in consecutive years.
• The Wooden Spoon is sometimes presented as a satirical “trophy” by media outlets.
• Bottom-finishing clubs receive the top draft pick as compensation.
• The Wooden Spoon culture is part of the AFL’s broader media ecosystem.

The Compensation: Top Draft Pick

Wooden Spoon clubs receive the AFL’s top draft pick — Pick #1 in the National Draft. This is meant to incentivise rebuilding rather than tanking. Recent #1 picks (and Wooden Spoon recipients):

• 2018 — North Melbourne / #1 pick: Tarryn Thomas (later traded)
• 2020 — Adelaide / #1 pick: Riley Thilthorpe
• 2021 — North Melbourne / #1 pick: Jason Horne-Francis
• 2022 — North Melbourne / #1 pick: Aaron Cadman (actually Cadman’s pick was contentious)
• 2023 — West Coast Eagles / #1 pick: Harley Reid
• 2024 — Richmond / #1 pick: TBD at draft

The top draft pick is the consolation prize for a Wooden Spoon — a chance to rebuild with elite young talent.

The Rumours

The persistent rumour: introducing a formal Wooden Spoon trophy. Has been canvassed periodically; the AFL has resisted to maintain the cultural informality of the term.

The other rumour: relegating the Wooden Spoon team. Has been canvassed (similar to soccer leagues); the AFL has firmly resisted, citing the closed-shop nature of the league.

The Verdict

The Wooden Spoon is the AFL’s most enduring informal recognition. The team that finishes last is shamed, the supporters are mocked, and the players spend a year reading “Wooden Spoon” headlines until the next bottom-finisher takes over. It’s harsh, it’s culturally entrenched, and it’s not going away. Long live the cricket-derived ignominy.

For clubs in the rebuilding phase, the Wooden Spoon is sometimes a strategic reality — the bottom-of-the-ladder finish guarantees the top draft pick and accelerates the rebuild. North Melbourne’s recent Wooden Spoon era was partly a strategic reset; West Coast’s 2023 was acknowledgement of the post-premiership decline. The compensation (top draft pick) softens the blow but doesn’t eliminate the cultural sting.