Adelaide finished top of the 2005 AFL ladder with 68 points and 136.5%, ahead of West Coast on percentage. Sydney won the premiership from 3rd, beating West Coast by 4 points in the Grand Final.
Final AFL ladder · Updated Tue 25 Jan 2022, 11:07am (Melbourne time)
| Pos | Club | P | Pts | % | W | L | D | PF | PA | Last 5 | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AdelaideADE | 22 | 68 | 136.5 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2070 | 1517 | WWWWW | Lost PF |
| 2 | West CoastWCE | 22 | 68 | 124.0 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2261 | 1824 | WLWLL | Runner-up |
| 3 | SydneySYD🏆 | 22 | 60 | 116.4 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1974 | 1696 | LWWWW | Premiers |
| 4 | St KildaSTK | 22 | 56 | 133.3 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2407 | 1806 | WWWLW | Lost PF |
| 5 | North MelbourneNTH | 22 | 52 | 99.2 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2053 | 2069 | WWLLW | Lost FW1 |
| 6 | GeelongGEE | 22 | 48 | 112.0 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2134 | 1906 | LLLWW | Lost SF |
| 7 | MelbourneMEL | 22 | 48 | 95.8 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2171 | 2266 | LLWWW | Lost FW1 |
| 8 | Port AdelaidePTATOP 8 | 22 | 46 | 98.2 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 2028 | 2066 | LWLWW | Lost SF |
| 9 | Western BulldogsWBD | 22 | 44 | 101.4 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 2385 | 2351 | WWWLW | – |
| 10 | FremantleFRE | 22 | 44 | 100.1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 2041 | 2038 | WWLWL | – |
| 11 | Brisbane LionsBRI | 22 | 40 | 98.8 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2139 | 2164 | LWLLL | – |
| 12 | RichmondRIC | 22 | 40 | 92.3 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2022 | 2190 | LLLWL | – |
| 13 | EssendonESS | 22 | 32 | 92.0 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 2118 | 2302 | WLLWL | – |
| 14 | HawthornHAW | 22 | 20 | 82.2 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1904 | 2317 | LLWLL | – |
| 15 | CollingwoodCOL | 22 | 20 | 77.7 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1884 | 2425 | LLLLL | – |
| 16 | CarltonCAR | 22 | 18 | 75.5 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 2016 | 2670 | WLWLL | – |