List of West Australian Football League premiers
This is a list of the West Australian Football League premiers, the premier state-based Australian rules football league in Western Australia, and includes premiers of the Western Australian Football Association, West Australian Football League, Western Australian Football League, Western Australian National Football League, WA State League, and Westar Rules.
In 1967, WAFL football historian Dave Clement discovered a discrepancy between the official premiership list as published by the league and what he had determined from examination of records from the time. The original list has Fremantle winning six of the first seven premierships; however, documentation was found that the Unions club had won three premierships in succession. The discrepancy was not officially acknowledged and fixed until the League's centenary in 1985.
In the early years, a number of cups were awarded to clubs who won the premiership, including the "Dixson Cup" and the "Farley Cup".
On March 27, 1907, the WAFA was renamed the West Australian Football League.
The 1907 grand final ended in a controversial manner, after Perth won their first premiership after a protest.
On Wednesday October 12, 1927, the WAFL was renamed the Western Australian National Football League – the "national" in the name being adopted by the SANFL, TANFL and other leagues when the Australian Football Council became the Australian National Football Council earlier in that year.
Prior to 1931, premierships were either awarded to the team leading the ladder or who won a final. If the top team lost the final, then they had the right to call for a challenge match to be played the following week to determine the premiership.
In 1931 the system changed to the Page finals system where the top two teams play in the second semi final, with the loser having a second chance and the winner progressing straight to the Grand Final. The winner of the third and fourth placed teams who played in the first semi final play the loser of the second semi final in the preliminary final.
Since 1945, the best player on ground in the Grand Final has been awarded the Simpson Medal.
In 2016, the Australian Football League determined the provision to play extra time in the event of a draw, ensuring that future grand finals will always be decided on the scheduled day. In the event of a drawn game, the teams will play two extra time periods in full, each lasting three minutes plus time on, with a change of ends after the first period: if still tied, further pairs of extra time periods will be played in the same manner until a winner is determined. As of season 2025, extra time has not yet been required to decide a grand final. Previously, a drawn grand final would be replayed the following week to determine the premier. This occurred on two occasions: in 1905, and 1938.
Premiers
Records
Premierships
Current clubs
Defunct Clubs
Consecutive appearances
Consecutive Premierships
Consecutive Grand Finals
Prior to 1904, the premiership and runners-up of the season were decided by position on the ladder. From 1904 onwards, a grand final was played to determine the premiers of that year. Since no grand final was played prior to 1904, despite East Fremantle either winning a premiership or being determined as the runners-up in the years of 1899-1903, these years are not counted additionally towards East Fremantle's consecutive grand final appearances from 1904-1912.| # | Club | Years | Win/Loss |
| 9 | East Fremantle | 1904, 19051, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912 | W, L, W, L, W, W, W, W, L |
| 6 | East Fremantle | 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921 | L, L, W, L, L, L |
| 6 | East Perth | 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923 | L, W, W, W, W, W |
| 6 | East Perth | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 | W, L, W, W, L, L |
| 6 | Subiaco | 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 | W, W, L, L, W, W |
| 5 | Claremont | 1936, 1937, 19382, 1939, 1940 | L, L, W, W, W |
| 5 | South Fremantle | 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 | W, L, W, W, W |
| 5 | Claremont | 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 | W, L, W, L, W |
| 4 | East Fremantle | 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931 | W, W, W, W |
| 4 | East Fremantle | 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946 | W, L, W, W |
| 4 | West Perth | 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949 | L, L, L, W |
| 4 | East Fremantle | 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 | L, L, L, W |
| 4 | East Perth | 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 | L, L, L, L |
| 4 | Subiaco | 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 | L, W, L, W |
| 4 | Subiaco | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 | W, W, W, L |
| 3 | Perth | 1907, 1908, 1909 | W, L, L |
| 3 | East Fremantle | 1923, 1924, 1925 | L, L, W |
| 3 | Subiaco | 1924, 1925, 1926 | W, L, L |
| 3 | East Perth | 1926, 1927, 1928 | W, W, L |
| 3 | East Fremantle | 1937, 1938, 1939 | W, L, L |
| 3 | West Perth | 1951, 1952, 1953 | W, L, L |
| 3 | Swan Districts | 1961, 1962, 1963 | W, W, W |
| 3 | Perth | 1966, 1967, 1968 | W, W, W |
| 3 | Perth | 1976, 1977, 1978 | W, W, L |
| 3 | South Fremantle | 1979, 1980, 1981 | L, W, L |
| 3 | Claremont | 1981, 1982, 1983 | W, L, L |
| 3 | Swan Districts | 1982, 1983, 1984 | W, W, W |
| 3 | East Perth | 2000, 2001, 2002 | W, W, W |
| 3 | Claremont | 2010, 2011, 2012 | L, W, W |
| 3 | South Fremantle | 2019, 2020, 2021 | L, W, L |
1 East Fremantle drew the 1905 WAFA Grand Final and was defeated by West Perth in the replay.
2 Claremont drew the 1938 WANFL Grand Final, and defeated East Fremantle in the replay.
Grand Final Matchups
Grand finals commenced from 1904, onwards. Grand final replays are not counted as individual appearances.This table is a list of all the grand final matchups in the West Australian Football League by order of how often two teams have played against each other. The table denotes the number of grand final appearances between two teams, the year both teams have played against each other, and the premiership years of each team.
Premiership Droughts
The following tables summarise the different premiership droughts for each club. The first table is limited to droughts lasting twenty or more seasons, while the other three are specific to each club. The duration of the drought is given as the number of full seasons contested between premierships; the season in which the drought is broken is considered to be part of the drought, and if the drought began from a club's entry to the league, the club's inaugural season is also considered to be part of the drought. Grand final replays are not included in grand final appearances.The East Perth Football Club currently playing in the WAFL since 1906, are only referred to as East Perth when appearing on the same table along with the original East Perth Football Club, to avoid any confusion with the lesser known club.
Longest Premiership Droughts
Table correct to the beginning of the 2026 season.Longest club premiership droughts
Bold indicates clubs currently playing in the WAFL.Table correct to the beginning of the 2026 season.
Current club premiership droughts
Table correct to the end of the 2025 season.Time taken to win first premiership
| Club | Seasons | Entry to league | First premiership | Runners-up during drought |
| Centrals | 1× | 1891 | — | — |
| Claremont | 13 | 1926 | 1938 | 1936, 1937 |
| East Fremantle | 3 | 1898 | 1900 | 1899 |
| East Perth | 2× | 1891 | — | — |
| East Perth | 14 | 1906 | 1919 | 1910, 1918 |
| Fremantle | 2 | 1885 | 1886 | — |
| High School | 1× | 1885 | — | — |
| Imperials | 3× | 1895 | — | 1896, 1897 |
| Metropolitan | 2× | 1889 | — | 1890 |
| Midland Junction | 10× | 1905 | — | — |
| North Fremantle | 15× | 1901 | — | 1902 |
| Peel | 20 | 1997 | 2016 | — |
| Perth | 9 | 1899 | 1907 | 1904 |
| Rovers | 1 | 1885 | 1885 | — |
| South Fremantle | 17 | 1900 | 1916 | 1900, 1914 |
| Subiaco | 12 | 1901 | 1912 | — |
| Swan Districts | 28 | 1934 | 1961 | 1943 |
| Unions/Fremantle | 2 | 1886 | 1887 | — |
| Victorians | 4× | 1885 | — | 1885, 1886, 1887 |
| West Australian | 2× | 1887 | — | — |
| West Coast | 7° | 2019 | — | — |
| West Perth | 7 | 1891 | 1897 | 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894 |
Bold indicates clubs currently playing in the WAFL.
Table correct to the beginning of the 2026 season.