The 1997 AFL season was the 101st season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season ran from 27 March until 27 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs. The premiership was won by the Adelaide Football Club for the first time, after it defeated St Kilda by 31 points in the 1997 AFL Grand Final.