Which AFL club would you have wanted to support most since the turn of the century? Of course, the answer to that question has to be your own team, but if we did get a second choice, who would you pick? In other words, which club has provided its fanbase with the most happiness? On the flip side, which team has provided the most disappointment?
Welcome to ESPN's AFL Misery Index.
This is a countdown of the teams that have given its fans with the least amount of joy since 2000. I'm not just looking at premierships and win percentages, but also finals records, droughts, off-field issues, as well as the ability to draft well and attract free agents.
Let's get into it, beginning with the team you would have most wanted to support!
18. Geelong
Record: 422-6-217 (65.9%)
Premierships: 4
Finals series/finals: 21/53
Bottom four finishes: 0
The Cats may not have won as many flags as the Lions in this period but what this club has going for it is sustained relevance and competitiveness since basically the turn of the century. Geelong just doesn't know how to be bad and if you're a fan born in 2000 you would have already witnessed your team win four premierships, play in seven Grand Finals, and feature in a staggering 15 preliminary finals. The Cats have also had more stability than anyone else, with just two coaches in the last 26 years. And to cap off the perfect supporter experience, Geelong is now just about the destination club for free agents and homesick Victorians.
17. Brisbane
Record: 331-6-297 (52.7%)
Premierships: 6
Finals series/finals: 14/41
Bottom four finishes: 8
Some will argue vehemently that it's insane to not have the Lions sitting top of this list given the club has won six premierships (and completed two separate three-peats) since 2000. Granted, that's more success than anyone else, and it's not particularly close. But between these two modern day dynasties, Brisbane was a complete rabble. In fact, the club featured in finals just once from 2005 to 2018 -- that's half of the period we're taking into consideration here! You'd love to have supported this mob, no doubt, but the Cats simply have to pip them for top spot based on their significantly higher floor.
16. Hawthorn
Record: 351-6-274 (56.1%)
Premierships: 4
Finals series/finals: 15/38
Bottom four finishes: 4
Of all the dynasties we've witnessed since the turn of the century, was Hawthorn's the best? There's a real argument to be made the dominance of this club, under Alastair Clarkson, tops anything else we've seen in recent times. The Hawks were the envy of the competition between 2008 and 2015, winning four flags with one of the greatest teams ever assembled. You'd be pretty thrilled going to the footy each week and watching both Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli running around in your forward line! With Zach Merrett and Ben King being added to the mix this current offseason, Hawthorn is once again a premiership favourite.
15. Sydney
Record: 380-6-254 (59.8%)
Premierships: 2
Finals series/finals: 21/47
Bottom four finishes: 2
When you consider the Swans have played in seven of the last 21 Grand Finals and own the second-best win percentage since 2000, there's a strong argument they should rank higher on this list. But, of course, five of those Grand Finals ended in heartbreaking defeat. In the last two Grand Final losses, they've been belted off the park. That really stings! As does the recent Pullman Hotel saga involving a number of the club's most high-profile players. Still, there would be many footy fans selling their souls to the devil to have what the Swans have had this millennium.
14. Collingwood
Record: 361-8-267 (57.4%)
Premierships: 2
Finals series/finals: 17/43
Bottom four finishes: 4
The Magpies have provided their passionate fanbases with real bang for their supporter buck over the last 26 years. Of course, there's been six Grand Finals and two memorable triumphs, but also 17 finals series and 12 preliminary final appearances. Basically, just about one in every two years Collingwood is still alive at preliminary final weekend! The club has also avoided bottoming out and made a habit of immediately catapulting itself back up the ladder whenever they've suffered a down season. Say what you want about the Magpies army, but they've certainly experienced happiness since 2000.
13. Richmond
Record: 272-9-331 (45.2%)
Premierships: 3
Finals series/finals: 9/19
Bottom four finishes: 9
What an incredible four-year period it was for the Tigers between 2017 and 2020 where it played in three Grand Finals and won all three. Talk about capitalizing on your premiership window! From a fan perspective, the best part of the era might have been getting to watch three-time Norm Smith Medal winner and club legend Dustin Martin play each of his 302 games. However, outside of that dominant four-year block, Richmond managed to win just one final (in 2001) and finished in the bottom four on nine occasions, three times collecting the wooden spoon. Things also don't appear to be improving any time soon.
12. West Coast
Record: 291-4-327 (47.1%)
Premierships: 2
Finals series/finals: 14/29
Bottom four finishes: 9
Since 2000, the Eagles have played in four Grand Finals, winning two and losing two. Both flags were incredibly memorable. In 2006, West Coast got its revenge against Sydney, winning the thrilling decider by a solitary point. In 2018, they stormed over the top of Collingwood, a game that will forever be remembered for Dom Sheed's late brilliance in the pocket. Had it not been for an absolutely dire last five years -- arguably the worst 100-game stretch in the AFL era -- this club would probably have been in the top four. Still, Eagles fans continue to show up and support the club through its dark times.
11. Western Bulldogs
Record: 307-5-308 (49.9%)
Premierships: 1
Finals series/finals: 13/27
Bottom four finishes: 5
The Bulldogs are usually there or there abouts. A memorable breakthrough flag in 2016 provided so much joy to the loyal fanbase that had been starved of success for so long. They then returned to the Grand Final in 2021, losing to the Demons in the west. Before the Luke Beveridge era, the Bulldogs also enjoyed a strong patch under Rodney Eade, reaching three consecutive preliminary finals between 2008 and 2010. This club continues to employ Marcus Bontempelli, one of the greatest players of the generation, and just landed superstar midfielder Zak Butters. There's plenty to be chuffed about if you support the Dogs.
10. Port Adelaide
Record: 333-3-288 (53.6%)
Premierships: 1
Finals series/finals: 13/31
Bottom four finishes: 4
This club has played in two Grand Finals since the turn of the century. The first, in 2004, resulted in a premiership and denied Brisbane a fourth successive flag. The second, in 2007, resulted in the greatest loss in Grand Final history, a 119-point defeat at the hands of Geelong. Port Adelaide has not been back to the big dance since that day but under Ken Hinkley they were a picture of consistency for a decade, reaching four preliminary finals since 2014. Did you know that only Geelong, Sydney, Collingwood, and Hawthorn have won more games than the Power since 2000?
9. Adelaide
Record: 330-2-289 (53.3%)
Premierships: 0
Finals series/finals: 14/29
Bottom four finishes: 4
The Crows have been average to decent for much of the last 26 years, which has to rank them somewhere in the middle. How does ninth sound?! This club has the best winning percentage since 2000 of teams that haven't won a premiership in the period, and sixth-best overall. They have also claimed three minor premierships in that time and outside of the shortened 2020 season haven't ever really had a bad year. But despite all of that, Adelaide has only featured in one Grand Final (where it started as a significant favourite and lost). That 2017 heartbreak against Richmond was followed by an infamous pre-season camp and seven-year September drought.
8. Melbourne
Record: 266-4-343 (43.7%)
Premierships: 1
Finals series/finals: 10/20
Bottom four finishes: 8
The 2021 premiership is doing plenty of heavy lifting for the Demons here. In fact, without that flag there's a real argument Melbourne should be on the bottom of this list. From 2005 to 2017 this club experienced the lowest of lows, routinely belted off the park and never coming close to playing finals. Who can ever forget that humiliating 186-point loss to the Cats in 2011 -- the second-greatest defeat in league history? But all (well, most) was forgotten with that breakthrough flag at Optus Stadium, though that in itself was a sore point for many of the Demons faithful who missed out on witnessing it in the flesh! The fact this club still hasn't won a final since that day is wildly disappointing.
7. Fremantle
Record: 304-3-308 (49.7%)
Premierships: 0
Finals series/finals: 10/22
Bottom four finishes: 5
After this year's extraordinary Grand Final capitulation against Brisbane, maybe it wouldn't be outrageous for the Dockers to be at the bottom of this list. After all, has anything more demoralizing ever happened to a footy team on the field? I'm not so sure. It's now two Grand Finals Fremantle has played in and on both days they could probably consider themselves the better team. Yet the club still awaits its inaugural premiership. The fact the Dockers' list is in such a great spot right now, and is set up for the next half decade (at least) probably saves them from dropping a few more rungs here.
6. St Kilda
Record: 282-8-323 (46.7%)
Premierships: 0
Finals series/finals: 9/20
Bottom four finishes: 6
Saints fans will argue they must be lower on this list, but remember, we're only talking from 2000 onwards. Since the turn of the century, this club has featured in three Grand Finals. Sure, one of them was a replay, and they were unable to win any of them, but simply being in those positions is far more than can be said for any of those ranking below them. What's incredibly tough to swallow for St Kilda supporters is seeing the club fall agonisingly short when they were competitive, a period which has been sandwiched by prolonged middling stretches. In other words, irrelevance.
5. GWS
Record: 164-4-180 (47.7%)
Premierships: 0
Finals series/finals: 8/19
Bottom four finishes: 4
Remember when the media was convinced the Giants were going to win the next 10 premierships? Well, that aged like milk. GWS currently sits on zero flags, but the club did feature in the 2019 Grand Final, a day they were humiliated by Richmond. And then of course there was the home semifinal loss to eventual premier Brisbane in 2024, a game in which they led by 44 points. Oh, and the heartbreaking 2016 home preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs, another eventual premier. This club has had no shortage of talent but nothing to show for it. Its two best players, Jeremy Cameron and Toby Greene, have also both ultimately wanted to leave.
4. Essendon
Record: 276-7-328 (45.7%)
Premierships: 1
Finals series/finals: 11/18
Bottom four finishes: 8
Essendon's 2000 premiership might well have saved the club from last spot on this list, because since then they have basically lurched from one disaster to the next. There was heartbreak the following year with a Grand Final defeat to Brisbane, before three consecutive semifinal losses. The Bombers have now not won a final in 22 years, something that's become a meme in footy circles. Essendon also endured the biggest off-field saga this century with its involvement in the infamous supplements saga that led to coach sackings and player suspensions, setting the club back years. To cap it off, captain Zach Merrett begged to be traded, wasn't, and then was. Grim.
3. North Melbourne
Record: 256-5-349 (42.4%)
Premierships: 0
Finals series/finals: 9/17
Bottom four finishes: 10
No team has finished in the bottom four more times since 2000 than North Melbourne. Even the 'good' periods were hardly worth celebrating, back-to-back preliminary final losses in 2014 and 2015 were followed by an elimination final loss in 2016 and then a dreadful, competition-worst 10-year finals drought. The Kangaroos have had nine coaches (Jaymie Graham will be the 10th) in the last 26 years and in many ways have forgotten what it feels like to win. The fact Nick Blakey is seen as the club's saviour proves attracting free agents and marquee signings has been slim pickings for this mob.
2. Carlton
Record: 242-6-362 (40.2%)
Premierships: 0
Finals series/finals: 9/17
Bottom four finishes: 9
From the salary cap breach and draft pick punishment to a merry-go-round of coaches, there's been setback after setback for the Blues in the 21st century. This club has claimed a league-high five wooden spoons since 2000 (they had zero prior to 2000) and forced its fans to witness its most barren and disappointing stretch in history. The best moment in 26 years was a stirring semifinal win over Melbourne in 2023, which tells you all you need to know about how much this club has been starved of success in the modern era.
1. Gold Coast
Record: 114-2-237 (32.6%)
Premierships: 0
Finals series/finals: 1/2
Bottom four finishes: 9
Question: what's this club's greatest moment in history? Answer: a one-point win over Fremantle in an elimination final in 2025. Literally every other team has enjoyed a significantly higher peak this century, which has to place the Suns dead last on our ranking. That memorable final was one of just two finals Gold Coast has ever played and the only finals series it has qualified for (everyone else has at least eight in this time!). Season 2025 remains the only campaign in which the Suns won more games than they lost. Gold Coast also has easily the worst winning percentage of any club. Yeah, supporting this team has brought basically zero happiness.