AFL X

[smasha]

Radio programmed to not bag the concept,North Korea style.

 

[Snake_Baker]

The cheesy over the top production doesn't serve it well.

 

[smasha]

At least minimal chance of injuries.

The only positive.

See how the final goes.

 

[Bazzar]

At least it's better than that s**t Women's comp.

 

[Gibbke]

How can one realistically predict now (& after the -initially ridiculed- BBL juggernaut) that there will not be an ongoing, strong interest in AFLX in Aust. -particularly if it is played in a free flowing, limited stoppages, high scoring style (which appears to be the rationale behind its Rules)?
One should not forget that one of the greatest appeals of the VFA (which is not disputed) is that they played 16-a-side (no wings). The VFA wisely understood that it needed a Point Of Difference to the more skilled VFL; & that AF fans preferred a generally more free flowing game, more action, & less stoppages.

IMO, AFLX will be a success due to its Point Of Difference:-
. Rules
. action packed & more one-on-one contests
. played in the offseason
. played on rectangular, smaller soccer/rugby grounds -this will add to its curiosity factor & charm.
(The AFL also knows AFLX will assist in growing AF in NSW & Qld.'s rectangular grounds -delicious irony!)

Fans cant get enough of "footy" in the off season. This has been clearly demonstrated by the huge success of the AFLW (& even FoxFooty channel broadcasts 365 days pa). It will be the AFL's aperitif.
The AFL has cleverly positioned AFLX to also be played overseas, where large oval grounds generally don't exist. If the AFL can attract the interest of 0.25 - 1% of the market in China, India, USA, Europe etc, it will be a significant triumph -potentially, in 20 years+, opening up more broadcast rights for the proper AFL season/more players etc.

There's a big difference in opening up the game when it's played at Box Hill in the mud, v removing the contests on a pristine summers night...

They're constantly making basketball references...there is a reason why this site is called Bigfooty and not Bigbasketball...! Rebounding non-contact training drills...sterile as f###...

Yeah, it does fit onto northern hemisphere square fields quite nicely, and I've got the footy equivalent of blueball around this time each year so of course it's on tv, but once the debut novelty wears off, this will be like cricket Sixes or the rugby sevens...a contender to the BBL it isn't...unless the international players start rolling in and the Hawks can recruit the footy equivalent of Chris Gayle...

 

[Our Game]

One should not forget that one of the greatest appeals of the VFA (which is not disputed) is that they played 16-a-side (no wings). The VFA wisely understood that it needed a Point Of Difference to the more skilled VFL; & that AF fans preferred a generally more free flowing game, more action, & less stoppages.
The AFL has cleverly positioned AFLX to also be played overseas, where large oval grounds generally don't exist. If the AFL can attract the interest of 0.25 - 1% of the market in China, India, USA, Europe etc, it will be a significant triumph -potentially, in 20 years+, opening up more broadcast rights for the proper AFL season/more players etc.[/QUOTE]

Im with you torps this will have the Soccer and rugby mob worried
Let the knockers have their usual whinge but this will take off and esp where only rectangle stadiums are available which is most of the rest of the world.This is an ideal game for countries like India and China,
The small number of players is also a big bonus plus the lack of tackling will make it a popular sport into the future.The AFL is on a winner.

 

[BringBackTorps]

There's a big difference in opening up the game when it's played at Box Hill in the mud, v removing the contests on a pristine summers night...[Its designed to minimise stoppages]They're constantly making basketball references. Rebounding non-contact training drills...sterile as f###...[There was some tackling; & plenty of contests for the ball!]Yeah, it does fit onto northern hemisphere square fields quite nicely, and I've got the footy equivalent of blueball [?]around this time each year so of course it's on tv, but once the debut novelty wears off, this will be like cricket Sixes or the rugby sevens[Rugby 7's is growing rugby in non-traditional areas]...a contender to the BBL it isn't...unless the international players start rolling in and the Hawks can recruit the footy equivalent of Chris Gayle...

I generally enjoyed it, but each to their own. No one is suggesting AFLX will challenge AF.

I would like to see a bit more variety in the style of play eg have a 45 mtr arc (40 mtrs is too easy for professional AFL players -retain 40 mtrs when played overseas): & only allocate, for 45+ mtrs, 12 points for a torpedo, 9 points for a drop punt goal (keep 6 points for <45 mtr goal). Perhaps also remove the point posts (ie no one point scores); & reduce width of goals slightly from 7 yards to 6 yards (it is too easy to score in this game -if a team turns it over, it should still be difficult for the other side to rebound & score)

I would retain the return to the centre after a goal was kicked (with time-on). These breaks provide the AFL with a crucial advantage of regular commercial slots, & thus significant funding.

Perhaps even reintroduce dropkicks & stabs! That would be revolutionary, & requires much skill eg all kickouts after a score had to be a drop or stab kick; if kicking backwards, only a drop or stab permitted. That would awaken what the Australian game was really about once! Crowds were thrilled to see these kicks, made the game more exciting -but in wet weather, very difficult to execute accurately.
(The more skill required to play AF, the less chance performance enhancing drugs/steroids etc. could creep into AF)

Clubs would not want a preseason game with lots of tackles, to minimise injury (Footscray, IIRC, were in a record 192 for one game in 2016). Thus, the very freeflowing, "bruise free" style of AFLX is suitable for preseason. I would like to see 8-a-side experimented with -a bit more physicality could make it more attractive.

Nearly all the "experts" & much of the public predicted the BBL would fail, even after its first season was completed. I think this can work as a summer, off-season diversion. It may probably need to be tweaked -probably need to see another 20+ games in Aust. to accurately judge. As an AF game to be played overseas on soccer pitches, it would definitely be advantageous for AF.

 

[BobbyMorri]

Im with you torps this will have the Soccer and rugby mob worried
Let the knockers have their usual whinge but this will take off and esp where only rectangle stadiums are available which is most of the rest of the world.This is an ideal game for countries like India and China,
The small number of players is also a big bonus plus the lack of tackling will make it a popular sport into the future.The AFL is on a winner.

Watch out world. This non-physical, basketball lite, XTREME, training run will soon conquer the world.

I was going to call you Gil, but not even he is smoking what you are.

 

[NoobPie]

Im with you torps this will have the Soccer and rugby mob worried
Let the knockers have their usual whinge but this will take off and esp where only rectangle stadiums are available which is most of the rest of the world.This is an ideal game for countries like India and China,
The small number of players is also a big bonus plus the lack of tackling will make it a popular sport into the future.The AFL is on a winner.

Right on queue!

Watch out world. This non-physical, basketball lite, XTREME, training run will soon conquer the world.

I was going to call you Gil, but not even he is smoking what you are.

 

[Le Grille]

Better than I thought it would be, I liked the flowing nature and space but felt it became just pot shots for goal which got a bit boring. 5.5/10 in my opinion


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[BringBackTorps]

SEN Radio Melb. 16.2 R.Connolly Program

AFLX Project Mngr D. Stevenson said "Perhaps we will consider 8 or 9 players per side" (responding to question whether there were enough contests).

K. Cornes said, re AFLX, it was generally OK - but his suggested AFLX improvements were " We want to see some TORPS (my emphasis). The things we love about AFL are high marks (BUT contested high marks are in decline in the modern AFL -my words) and long goals"

Connolly said:-
. Re a negative for the AFLX, "In the last 10 years, physical pressure has become one of the key selling points (my emphasis) of the game".

This is probably one of the most depressing comments I have ever heard, from an expert commentator, about the AFL's aesthetics & virtues. It was not said in a sarcastic manner.
Historians agree that long kicking, high marking (from c.1880) & full forwards kicking bags of goals (starting with Coll.'s D.Lee, c.1910) were the MAIN reasons AF became so popular :the antithesis of the modern AFL, due to congestion caused by interchange & 4 on the bench.

. Paraphrasing, "Super goals should be from the 45 mtr mark at least -since it is too easy for AFL players to kick them from 40 mtrs".

 

[Ian Dunross]

Rohan Connolly is a muppet if he truly said that

If i wanted to watch a rolling maul I'd watch rugby

AFL needs to fix the bs congestion of modern football

 

[flamethrower]

I believe AFLX will evolve like T20 has for cricket - it is a bit of an extravagance at the highest level (T20 internationals, AFLX for the 18 AFL teams), but it is great entry point to the game at lower levels - much easier to gather teams of 7 to 10 and play on a soccer ground or shortened oval to introduce them to the game, than finding 2 teams of 16-18 to play on a full size oval. I can also see it being played by local footy comps as mid week tournaments or during pre-season.

 

[BobbyMorri]

Right on queue!

so, let me get this right. whenever someone comments negatively on a sport, who is a part of a "mob"(whatever), it is because they are "worried".

Holy moly, you and ourgame must be petrified about the soccer.

If AFLX can't win a domestic audience, what makes you think it will do well overseas. It is flawed or as Richard Hinds says

AFLX is a nothing of a game. One that combines neither the best aspects of Australian Rules, nor those of any other sport, but rather dilutes them so greatly that even the leather-lunged commentary box spruikers struggled to maintain their well-paid enthusiasm.

Silver ball

 

[NoobPie]

so, let me get this right. whenever someone comments negatively on a sport, who is a part of a "mob"(whatever), it is because they are "worried".

Holy moly, you and ourgame must be petrified about the soccer.

If AFLX can't win a domestic audience, what makes you think it will do well overseas. It is flawed or as Richard Hinds says



Silver ball

nah, just thought it hilarious that whenever soccer is mentioned Bobby Morri appears!

Pathetic really

 

[NoobPie]

Rohan Connolly is a muppet if he truly said that

If i wanted to watch a rolling maul I'd watch rugby

AFL needs to fix the bs congestion of modern football

Torps doesn't always accurately reflect people he quotes, I've found

Rohan Connolly's constantly bangs on about the game being to congested and not reflecting the free flowing game of his hey day in the 80s. I'd be shocked if he was criticisng the game on that basis

 

[Our Game]

Im with this expert 100% and interestinlgy most of the Media are on board

• 
  AFLX might be a 'Mickey Mouse' tournament, but it still makes sense

There are more than a few who think this weekend’s flurry of AFLX tournaments across the country is a complete waste of time.

AFL great and radio broadcaster Kevin Bartlett reckons it has no hope of succeeding. He described AFLX as a “Mickey Mouse game ... [that] would have no interest for fans” last year.

And he, like many others, doesn't think Australian football, in any form, will ever capture the world's attention.

So, why bother?

The answer, of course is simple. The AFL has to. It is not so big, so grand or so untouchable that it can afford to sit back and watch the world go by.

Make no mistake, there's a lot to get your head around when it comes to AFLX.

It's the express version of Australian football. It’s quick, flashy and high scoring. There are only 10 players on each team, it's played with a silver ball and has only two 10-minute halves. Blink and you might miss it.

It appears to be the product of market research into the tastes and trends of young consumers. It's manufactured and gimmicky. It's commercialised, perhaps crassly so. A team gets a 10-point ''Zooper goal'' for kicking a goal from beyond 40 metres. Why a ''Zooper'' goal? You guessed it, the AFL has struck a sponsorship deal with icy pole maker ''Zooper Dooper''.Geelong player Harry Taylor speaking to media at Deakin University’s oval in Waurn Ponds says the new AFL X game is exciting and fast paced. Taylor along with the rest of the Cats trialled the new code which scales down the traditional game for

Yet for all of that, the most significant aspect of AFLX is that it’s played on a rectangular field, the size of a soccer pitch.

This means the game can be played anywhere - any state in Australia and any country in the world. As AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan stated, AFLX provides “an opportunity that means we can get onto different ovals in NSW and internationally in different spots, and it's just a different format for a different audience".

This is its purpose. A new shiny AFL product means a lot of things. It means the AFL can create a new tournament, attracting more fans, ticket sales, merchandise sales, sponsorships and eyeballs on screens.

Furthermore, it gives the AFL another discussion point to dominate the Australian sporting agenda. It invades the territory of other sports and makes the AFL brand relevant for almost 12 months of the year. There was once just the AFL. Now there's the AFL, AFLW and AFLX.


Melbourne
Turbo-charged footy: Will AFLX hit the spot?
Yet, perhaps even more significant than that is the fact it's a product the AFL plans to take overseas. McLachlan has already flagged a mini-tournament in Hong Kong late next year for the modified game: "To take our game and showcase all the best bits of it, and actually not have to build infrastructure like we did in Shanghai, for example, that presents a huge opportunity."

If it works, it's a huge opportunity. In the long term the AFL hopes to see the game being played across the globe, but in the short and medium term, it’s a tool to attract money.

You see the fact the game can be played on any soccer pitch, anywhere in the world, means the AFL can now get into any country and introduce its brand to businesses that just might be interested in reaching Australian consumers.

And if they do want to do business in Australia, what better way to introduce themselves to the Australian public than through a sponsorship with the AFL or one of its clubs? After all, the AFL is Australia's biggest football code, with significant brand recognition and customer loyalty.

It’s a tough, crowded market out there and the AFL wants to find new ways of attracting sponsors and other revenue. As big and as successful as it is, the AFL still needs to help prop up many of its clubs. In 2017, not all clubs made a profit, despite the AFL handing each club grants between $10 million and $15 million. The Gold Coast Suns were granted almost $25 million just to help them break even. And then there’s the grassroots, who are crying out for more money.

But just where will it come from?

The AFL relies on its TV broadcasting rights deal for a large percentage of its revenue. Should these deals not grow at the rate it wants, or needs, the struggle for some clubs to stay afloat will only intensify.

So, like it or not, perhaps the simple reality is that the AFL has to try. Like all sports, it can't stand still. If it does, it will go backwards, and if that happens, in today's competitive market, it may never catch up.

Sam Duncan is a lecturer in sports media and a Fairfax columnist.

 

[NoobPie]

Im with this expert 100% and interestinlgy most of the Media are on board

• 
  AFLX might be a 'Mickey Mouse' tournament, but it still makes sense

There are more than a few who think this weekend’s flurry of AFLX tournaments across the country is a complete waste of time.

AFL great and radio broadcaster Kevin Bartlett reckons it has no hope of succeeding. He described AFLX as a “Mickey Mouse game ... [that] would have no interest for fans” last year.

And he, like many others, doesn't think Australian football, in any form, will ever capture the world's attention.

So, why bother?

The answer, of course is simple. The AFL has to. It is not so big, so grand or so untouchable that it can afford to sit back and watch the world go by.

Make no mistake, there's a lot to get your head around when it comes to AFLX.

It's the express version of Australian football. It’s quick, flashy and high scoring. There are only 10 players on each team, it's played with a silver ball and has only two 10-minute halves. Blink and you might miss it.

It appears to be the product of market research into the tastes and trends of young consumers. It's manufactured and gimmicky. It's commercialised, perhaps crassly so. A team gets a 10-point ''Zooper goal'' for kicking a goal from beyond 40 metres. Why a ''Zooper'' goal? You guessed it, the AFL has struck a sponsorship deal with icy pole maker ''Zooper Dooper''.Geelong player Harry Taylor speaking to media at Deakin University’s oval in Waurn Ponds says the new AFL X game is exciting and fast paced. Taylor along with the rest of the Cats trialled the new code which scales down the traditional game for

Yet for all of that, the most significant aspect of AFLX is that it’s played on a rectangular field, the size of a soccer pitch.

This means the game can be played anywhere - any state in Australia and any country in the world. As AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan stated, AFLX provides “an opportunity that means we can get onto different ovals in NSW and internationally in different spots, and it's just a different format for a different audience".

This is its purpose. A new shiny AFL product means a lot of things. It means the AFL can create a new tournament, attracting more fans, ticket sales, merchandise sales, sponsorships and eyeballs on screens.

Furthermore, it gives the AFL another discussion point to dominate the Australian sporting agenda. It invades the territory of other sports and makes the AFL brand relevant for almost 12 months of the year. There was once just the AFL. Now there's the AFL, AFLW and AFLX.


Melbourne
Turbo-charged footy: Will AFLX hit the spot?
Yet, perhaps even more significant than that is the fact it's a product the AFL plans to take overseas. McLachlan has already flagged a mini-tournament in Hong Kong late next year for the modified game: "To take our game and showcase all the best bits of it, and actually not have to build infrastructure like we did in Shanghai, for example, that presents a huge opportunity."

If it works, it's a huge opportunity. In the long term the AFL hopes to see the game being played across the globe, but in the short and medium term, it’s a tool to attract money.

You see the fact the game can be played on any soccer pitch, anywhere in the world, means the AFL can now get into any country and introduce its brand to businesses that just might be interested in reaching Australian consumers.

And if they do want to do business in Australia, what better way to introduce themselves to the Australian public than through a sponsorship with the AFL or one of its clubs? After all, the AFL is Australia's biggest football code, with significant brand recognition and customer loyalty.

It’s a tough, crowded market out there and the AFL wants to find new ways of attracting sponsors and other revenue. As big and as successful as it is, the AFL still needs to help prop up many of its clubs. In 2017, not all clubs made a profit, despite the AFL handing each club grants between $10 million and $15 million. The Gold Coast Suns were granted almost $25 million just to help them break even. And then there’s the grassroots, who are crying out for more money.

But just where will it come from?

The AFL relies on its TV broadcasting rights deal for a large percentage of its revenue. Should these deals not grow at the rate it wants, or needs, the struggle for some clubs to stay afloat will only intensify.

So, like it or not, perhaps the simple reality is that the AFL has to try. Like all sports, it can't stand still. If it does, it will go backwards, and if that happens, in today's competitive market, it may never catch up.

Sam Duncan is a lecturer in sports media and a Fairfax columnist.

Its funny how anyone looking at this through the lens of some sort of qualified commercial / technical expertise thinks its a good idea (here's another one https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/aflx-a-stroke-of-sport-marketing-genius-20180214-p4z0az.html), where as the stick in the muds like bartlett and those like Richard Hinds who channel soccer paranoia for a taxpayer funded living are against it (ie those engaging at purely an emotional level)

 

[BringBackTorps]

Torps doesn't always accurately reflect people he quotes, I've found

Rohan Connolly's constantly bangs on about the game being to congested and not reflecting the free flowing game of his hey day in the 80s. I'd be shocked if he was criticisng the game on that basis

My quote from Connolly was accurate -check the SEN tape if you have any doubts. He wants to have more contests in AFLX (ie in contrast to the AFL).

 

[Our Game]

22,300 not too shabby for the first time in Melbourne and a good way for players to get fit.The skills seemed also good this far out from the regular season It will be very interesting to see how it goes tomorrow in a non heartland city like Sydney.
As someone else said it puts the womens game to shame and exposes their lack of skills esp kicking and marking.
Biggest footy crowd of the night only 16,000 at the RL International at AAMI and 10,000 at the A League soccer at Spotless in Sydney

 

[Bazzar]

22,300 not too shabby for the first time in Melbourne and a good way for players to get fit.

16,000 at the RL International at AAMI and 10,000 at the soccer at Spotless in Sydney

Melbourne Victory played South Korea a few nights ago and a massive 5000 turned up

 

[The_Wookie]

AFL great and radio broadcaster Kevin Bartlett reckons it has no hope of succeeding. He described AFLX as a “Mickey Mouse game ... [that] would have no interest for fans” last year.

This list of stuff Barlett has predicted incorrectly would be fairly long. My favourite being where he predicted no national competition - the day before the VFL voted to expand the competition nationally.

 

[footyfan1978]

I reckon to make it more watchable as a "contest", that a 10 point goal should be given a moment to celebrate and not just straight play on with opposition kicking ball out. At present if feels Too much like basketball to enjoy a 10 point goal even feel like a goal. Take the ball back to centre after each 10 point goal I think would improve it to watch. That gives a moment for players to enjoy the moment and also set back up for next centre throw up. Probably outline a centre square in middle where the 3 followers for each team *contest* the next throw up to win control of the ball again. For me, as someone watching that would make it more football like, than basketball and get me feeling like a real contest is being had. Going up and down field just scoring from each end to the other just feels like too much of a training drill to me.

 

[D-N-R]

It's manufactured and gimmicky. It's commercialised, perhaps crassly so.

The author got that bit right. I love AR footy and soccer. One thing I really like about soccer coverage is that they treat the audience like adults. The commentators generally describe the play, the field isn't covered in crass advertising, there are no ground announcers screaming through a microphone during the game, no fireworks. If the AFL want to appeal to countries with rectangular pitches, perhaps they need to tone down the circus aspect of the game and try not to market it to 8 year olds with ADD.

Geelong player Harry Taylor speaking to media at Deakin University’s oval in Waurn Ponds says the new AFL X game is exciting and fast paced.

He got it half right, it is fast paced.

A new shiny AFL product means a lot of things. It means the AFL can create a new tournament, attracting more fans, ticket sales, merchandise sales, sponsorships and eyeballs on screens.

I'm not so sure about this. The feedback so far hasn't been great. The fact there were 22,000 in Melbourne to watch 6 Melbourne based teams play off doesn't bode well. 6 clubs managed to only attract less that 4000 fans each. And that was before anyone had really seen it (tickets sold in advance).

"To take our game and showcase all the best bits of it, and actually not have to build infrastructure like we did in Shanghai, for example, that presents a huge opportunity."

Even Gil has conceded that the game needs tweaking and the 'best bits' (one-on-one contests and high marking) were completely absent from the game. Uncontested marks and long bombs are not the best bits of AFL, IMHO.

If it works, it's a huge opportunity. In the long term the AFL hopes to see the game being played across the globe, but in the short and medium term, it’s a tool to attract money.

We'll see about that. It's trying to emulate the Big Bash but it has missed the mark. Plus, the games are so short that you really need to have 6 teams competing for it to be worth going to.

The AFL have promoted this game as fast-paced and exciting. It was dull. Whoever thought this up, tested the concept and brought it to market should be sacked. Trying to say this was an 'experiment' or part of the testing phase won't cut it. This game was sold as a finished product, as an exciting new version of AFL.

That they are flagging changes to the rules and tweaking the concept demonstrates 2 things; one, that this has been poorly thought out, and 2, that when the AFL fiddle with the rules of the game they invariably create situations they hadn't foreseen.

Hell, they didn't even test the silver balls to see if they would be visible on TV. Hint, they're not. But it's a 'cool' idea.

Will this game work overseas? It's hard to say. Many people have said it looks like it would be fun to play, so it may work at that level. To introduce people to the sport to learn the skills of kicking, marking and hand-balling, it might well be a success. But then again, we already had AFL 9's, which has the added benefit of appealing to both men and women.

As a spectacle in Australia that is going to attract big crowds and make heaps of money, it has a long way to go and the AFL fans are already skeptical.

 

[BringBackTorps]

I reckon to make it more watchable as a "contest", that a 10 point goal should be given a moment to celebrate and not just straight play on with opposition kicking ball out. At present if feels Too much like basketball to enjoy a 10 point goal even feel like a goal. Take the ball back to centre after each 10 point goal I think would improve it to watch. That gives a moment for players to enjoy the moment and also set back up for next centre throw up. Probably outline a centre square in middle where the 3 followers for each team *contest* the next throw up to win control of the ball again. For me, as someone watching that would make it more football like, than basketball and get me feeling like a real contest is being had. Going up and down field just scoring from each end to the other just feels like too much of a training drill to me.

Spot on!
Super goals kicked allowed the player (& the crowd) no chance to celebrate/fist pump/others to get around him! The immediate play-on diminishes the significance of a super goal.

I watched the games live last night at DS -it is obvious the players were probably going around at c. 70% in the preliminary games. In the final, GF game, the intensity noticeably increased, & AFLX then become more contested -& a much better spectacle (similar to Adelaide GF).

I am definitely convinced now that AFLX should have more contests & tackles (so it doesn't look like basketball), thus it needs more than 7 per side -either 8 or 9. I would like to see the occasional hanger (quintissential highlight of AF) so we need a "pack" of at least 3 people regularly contesting an overhead mark!