An AFL team has 18 players on the field at a time, plus 4 interchange players on the bench, so 22 available players during a game.

However, when people ask “how many players in AFL,” they might mean two slightly different things:

  • Players on the field during a match:
    • 18 per team are on the ground at once.
* 4 interchange players sit on the bench and can rotate freely during the game.
  • Total squad size for a professional AFL club (season list):
    • Around 38–40 players on the senior list.
* 4–6 rookie‑listed players, giving roughly 44 listed players in total (before special categories).

* Clubs can also carry a small number of additional “Category B / development” rookies (e.g., from other sports or overseas).

So if you’re talking about a match , it’s 22 players per team (18 on field, 4 interchange).

If you’re talking about a club’s list for the season , it’s usually in the mid‑40s once senior and rookie players are included.