Perhaps the most amazing aspect of this season's finals series was the fact that two top-four teams crashed out in straight sets for the first time in the current top eight system's 15-year existence. In fact, only two sides had ever wasted their double chance in the previous 14 seasons, so it certainly was stunning when Geelong and Fremantle were sent packing by North Melbourne and Port Adelaide respectively in the space of 24 hours. And both semi-finals were crackers. The Cats fought back from 32 points down to fall short by a solitary goal, while the Power overturned a 31-point deficit to run out 22-point victors over the Dockers at Patersons Stadium.

9. Demetriou departs

After 10 years in the job, Andrew Demetriou resigned from his post as the AFL chief executive officer. While his tenure ended on a sour note due to the protracted Essendon supplements saga, his legacy will resonate in the game for generations to come. Under his reign, the game underwent unprecedented growth and change. The competition expanded to 18 teams with the introduction of Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, back-to-back record-breaking broadcast deals were achieved totalling more than $2 billion, games were played in every state and territory as well as New Zealand, the match review panel was established and the Adelaide Oval became the new home ground for the Crows and Power. Demetriou was replaced by his long-time deputy Gillon McLachlan.

8. Buddy proves his worth

Lance Franklin was always going to attract an enormous amount of attention as he began life as a Sydney Swan on an astonishing nine-year contract worth a reported $10 million. And it didn't take long for the naysayers to line up and take aim. His first few months in the Harbour City were dogged by allegations of him being a bad influence on the Swans' famed "Bloods" culture, and the Swans' 1-3 start to the year only served to fan the flames of criticism. He did himself no favours either when he crashed his car into four parked cars in April. But as the year wore on, the Franklin of old began shining through with some vintage match-winning performances that silenced the critics. He ended up winning his third Coleman Medal, earning his fifth All-Australian guernsey, finishing equal third in the Brownlow Medal and was a driving force behind the Swans' charge to the minor premiership and the grand final.

7. Shoulder costs Gaz Chas

Gold Coast skipper Gary Ablett was careering towards a record-equalling third Brownlow Medal before a season-ending shoulder injury suffered in round 16 put a spanner in the works. With seven rounds left in the year, Ablett was already on 22 votes and five clear of his nearest rival. But it wasn't enough for the little master to hang on and he ended up falling just four votes short of shock winner Matt Priddis who fought off more fancied counterparts Franklin, Patrick Dangerfield, Travis Boak and Sydney's Josh Kennedy. Ablett's injury seemingly also cost the Suns an inaugural finals berth as they managed just one more win for the year without him and fell out of the top eight. But the Suns produced arguably the victory of the year in the very game they lost Ablett, defeating Collingwood by five points despite having no fit players on their bench for the final quarter.

6. Viney fought the MRP, and Viney won

The simmering tension between footy fans and the match review panel over the contentious interpretation of, and penalties relating to, dangerous head-high contact reached boiling point in round seven when Melbourne youngster Jack Viney was controversially suspended for two weeks for colliding with Adelaide forward Tom Lynch. The incident left Lynch with a broken jaw, but the overwhelming view was that Viney had no realistic options available to him to avoid contact. Talkback radio and social media went into meltdown in the ensuing days as outrage over the proposed ban spread through the land. Viney ultimately successfully appealed his suspension, unofficially thanks largely to the immense public backlash, and from that moment on the MRP's attitude towards head-high contact became a lot more relaxed and reasonable. This whole episode showed that people power can still be a formidable force in the world of AFL.

5. Fans give AFL wake-up call

The disconnect between the league and its fans was alarming this year - especially in Victoria with the state's average match attendances reaching a nine-year low. Poor fixturing and ticket prices were two key reasons for fans turning away from the grounds in their droves. No match symbolised the concerning trend more than the round 15 clash between arch rivals Carlton and Collingwood. The contest was scheduled in the hugely unpopular Sunday night timeslot and attracted a paltry crowd of 40,939. To put that into context, it was the lowest MCG crowd watching the two Victorian heavyweights in 93 years. Unsurprisingly, the league responded to the attendance crisis by announcing a more fan-friendly fixture for the 2015 season. Sunday night and Monday night games were scrapped and weekend matches during the day in Victoria increased by almost 40 per cent.

4. Richmond roars into September

The fairytale story of the year belonged to Richmond which completed football's version of Mission: Impossible by qualifying for the finals after languishing in 16th spot on the ladder after round 14. At that stage of the season, Damien Hardwick's men had slumped to a woeful 3-10 win-loss record and all appeared lost. The Tigers completed a remarkable recovery as they proceeded to win nine games in a row for the first time since 1980. The last of those victories was the most memorable one as they flew up to Sydney to knock off the Swans at ANZ Stadium to clinch eighth spot. No team had ever recovered from 3-10 to play in the finals. But unfortunately, the jubilation for Richmond was short-lived as it received an almighty reality check in the first elimination final against Port Adelaide, losing by 57 points at Adelaide Oval.

3. Bulldogs lose captain, coach in kennel crisis

Ryan Griffen dropped a massive bombshell during the AFL trade period when he announced he wanted to leave the Western Bulldogs. It's not every day that a club captain requests a trade to a rival club and his decision brought into sharp focus the scale of the rumoured rumblings of discontent at Whitten Oval between the playing group and coach Brendan McCartney. Griffen nominated GWS as his preferred destination and after initial reluctance by the Bulldogs to let their star midfielder go, the situation took an incredible twist when days later Giants No.1 pick Tom Boyd announced he wanted to join the Bulldogs after just one year on Greater Western Sydney's list. GWS expressed similar stubbornness about letting Boyd go, but after a brief stand-off, wiser heads prevailed and a trade was facilitated in which the Giants also received pick No.6 which they used to select Caleb Marchbank in the November draft.

Boyd reportedly scored himself a seven-year deal with the Bulldogs worth $7 million - not bad for a guy who's played only nine games! The fallout of Griffen's departure led to McCartney resigning from his position. McCartney wasn't the only coach to lose his job: Brenton Sanderson and Guy McKenna were sacked by Adelaide and Gold Coast respectively. McCartney was replaced by Luke Beveridge, Sanderon was succeeded by Phil Walsh and Rodney Eade assumed the reins from McKenna.

2. Essendon-ASADA saga drags on and on...

The Essendon supplements scandal took a dramatic turn in June when 34 past and present Bombers were handed show-cause notices by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority. In response, Essendon took the matter to the Federal Court claiming ASADA's joint investigation with the AFL into the club was unlawful. Justice John Middleton ruled against Essendon, which allowed ASADA to proceed with the show-cause process. While Essendon decided against appealing Middleton's decision, coach James Hird opted to appeal it on his own - a decision that reportedly almost cost Hird his job, and prompted interim coach Mark Thompson to make an extraordinary pitch to remain in the role permanently at the club's best-and-fairest awards night, which Hird was told to stay away from. However, Hird lived to fight another day and Thompson is no longer at the club. The players' tribunal hearing has finally begun and isn't expected to be resolved until January. Hird's appeal is still pending.

1. Hawks kings of the jungle once more

The 2014 season belonged to Hawthorn which scaled the mountain once again to win back-to-back premierships for the second time in club history. But the Hawks had to overcome considerable adversity to defend their title. In the middle of the year they lost coach Alastair Clarkson for five weeks with Guillain-Barre syndrome, key players Brian Lake, Cyril Rioli, Ben Stratton, Sam Mitchell and Josh Gibson missed a combined total of 54 games due to injury and/or suspension and at the end of last year their superstar forward Lance Franklin defected to premiership rival Sydney. But none of those setbacks fazed the amazing Hawks who steamrolled Franklin's Swans in the grand final by 63 points. For these reasons, many rate Hawthorn's 12th premiership as the greatest achievement in the club's 113-year history.