National Cup

Round 3 (Rivalry Round

AFL team rivalries

AFL team rivalries are matches in the Australian Football League which typically draw large crowds and interest regardless of both teams' positions on the ladder...

)

• Michael Voss
  Michael Voss
  Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
  
   of the Brisbane Lions
  Brisbane Lions
  The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
  
   played his 250th game.

Round 5 (ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...

)

• At the conclusion of the round the Brisbane Lions
  Brisbane Lions
  The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
  
   were on the bottom of the ladder for the first time in seven seasons. West Coast inflicted what was to be the Lions' worst ever defeat at the Gabba at the time, winning by 73 points.
• Sydney came under scrutiny following its insipid performance against Melbourne.

Round 9 (Community Weekend)

• Carlton played their last match at Optus Oval (currently known as Visy Park; previously called Princes Park) in this round. This was also the last VFL/AFL match to be held at a surburban ground, leaving only two stadiums in Melbourne to host AFL matches.
• West Coast suffered their first loss of the season against Collingwood who were on the bottom of the ladder at the time

Round 10

• In this match, Richmond forward Nathan G. Brown
  Nathan G. Brown
  Nathan Gordon Brown is a former Australian rules footballer for the Richmond and the Western Bulldogs in the AFL...
  
   broke his leg in one of 2005's most shocking incidents.
• Fraser Gehrig
  Fraser Gehrig
  Fraser Gehrig is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles...
  
   of St Kilda played his 200th game.
• The Sydney Swans were condemned for the way they played against the Saints. Please see this section of Andrew Demetriou.

Round 20 (Heritage Round

AFL Heritage Round

Heritage Round was a round of matches in the Australian Football League in which all the teams wore guernseys from their past. The first Heritage Round was in 2003 and had been continuing every year until 2008....

)

• Melbourne defeated Geelong at Skilled Stadium for the first time since 1987 in this round.

Awards

• The Brownlow Medal
  Brownlow Medal
  The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
  
   was awarded to Ben Cousins
  Ben Cousins
  Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with and in the Australian Football League ....
  
   of . Ben Cousins
  Ben Cousins
  Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with and in the Australian Football League ....
  
   received 21 votes to beat fellow West Coast
  West Coast Eagles
  The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
  
   midfielder Daniel Kerr
  Daniel Kerr
  Daniel Matthew Kerr is an Australian rules footballer.Kerr was recruited from East Fremantle Football Club and made his AFL debut in 2001 with the West Coast Eagles. He is a hard-running midfielder who is a vital part of the midfield at the Eagles.-Background:Kerr is of Anglo-Indian descent...
  
  .
• The Leigh Matthews Trophy
  Leigh Matthews Trophy
  The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...
  
   was awarded to Ben Cousins
  Ben Cousins
  Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with and in the Australian Football League ....
  
   of .
• The Coleman Medal
  Coleman Medal
  The Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
  
   was awarded to Fraser Gehrig
  Fraser Gehrig
  Fraser Gehrig is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles...
  
   of .
• The Norm Smith Medal
  Norm Smith Medal
  The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
  
   was awarded to Chris Judd
  Chris Judd
  Christopher Dylan "Chris" Judd is a professional Australian rules footballer and current captain of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
  
   of .
• The AFL Rising Star award
  AFL Rising Star award
  The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League. Since 2007 the winner has been presented with the Ron Evans Medal and was first awarded in 1993...
  
   was awarded to Brett Deledio
  Brett Deledio
  Brett Deledio is an Australian rules football player currently playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life/career:...
  
   of .
• The Wooden Spoon
  Wooden spoon (award)
  A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
  
  was "awarded" to for coming last. They became the first team in AFL history to win the pre-season competition and then finish last in the season proper.