St Kilda finished top of the 1997 AFL ladder with 60 points and 119.6%, ahead of Geelong on percentage. Adelaide won the premiership from 4th, beating St Kilda by 31 points in the Grand Final.
Final AFL ladder · Updated Thu 10 Nov 2022, 9:19pm (Melbourne time)
| Pos | Club | P | Pts | % | W | L | D | PF | PA | Last 5 | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St KildaSTK | 22 | 60 | 119.6 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2294 | 1918 | WWWWW | Runner-up |
| 2 | GeelongGEE | 22 | 60 | 117.9 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2111 | 1791 | WLWWW | Lost SF |
| 3 | Western BulldogsWBD | 22 | 56 | 101.8 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2100 | 2062 | LWWWW | Lost PF |
| 4 | AdelaideADE🏆 | 22 | 52 | 121.6 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2151 | 1769 | WWLWL | Premiers |
| 5 | West CoastWCE | 22 | 52 | 111.2 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 1969 | 1770 | WWWLW | Lost SF |
| 6 | SydneySYD | 22 | 48 | 116.2 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2093 | 1801 | WLWLL | Lost FW1 |
| 7 | North MelbourneNTH | 22 | 48 | 111.8 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2051 | 1835 | WWLWL | Lost PF |
| 8 | Brisbane LionsBRITOP 8 | 22 | 42 | 105.2 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2076 | 1973 | WLDLL | Lost FW1 |
| 9 | Port AdelaidePTA | 22 | 42 | 91.8 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1852 | 2017 | LLDLL | – |
| 10 | CollingwoodCOL | 22 | 40 | 111.4 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2138 | 1919 | LLWLW | – |
| 11 | CarltonCAR | 22 | 40 | 96.7 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1978 | 2045 | LWLWL | – |
| 12 | FremantleFRE | 22 | 40 | 91.9 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1748 | 1902 | LWLLL | – |
| 13 | RichmondRIC | 22 | 40 | 83.6 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 1883 | 2253 | WLWWW | – |
| 14 | EssendonESS | 22 | 36 | 92.4 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2004 | 2170 | LWLWW | – |
| 15 | HawthornHAW | 22 | 32 | 87.4 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1873 | 2144 | LLLLL | – |
| 16 | MelbourneMEL | 22 | 16 | 60.8 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1477 | 2429 | LLLLW | – |