What’s going on with AFLX? A few months ago it was going to be played in the bye week before finals, then it changed to being played in pre-season.
Now it looks like that is off the table as well. So what’s going on then? Has the AFL realised that creating a game essentially from scratch, and then getting professional players to test it comes with a set of problems.
The concept itself is fine – a version of Australian football that can be played on a soccer pitch making the game more accessible to people in different countries which have fewer ovals than Australia.
The problem mainly comes from transferring a game from one shaped surface to another.
Over the last 100 years, Australian football has developed as a game to be played on an oval. In its earliest years, it was played on a rectangular field, but that is ancient history now.
Besides, the rectangle it was played on dwarfed the current soccer and rugby fields that AFLX will utilise.
Since the AFL is yet to release their rules for the new game, we can’t be sure about how some of the problems that come from a smaller rectangular field will be solved. The first problem is kick length.
On a standard AFL ground, a good 50m kick from the goal square will just clear your defence. On a soccer field, it will get you just shy of halfway.
It is not inconceivable that a goal might be scored after just two kicks, or even directly from a ball up in the centre (which we assume there will be to start a match at least).
You’d suggest that this might be solved by instituting netball like zones, forcing the ball to progress through the zones before you score, but this would change the game totally, from the free-flowing oval version to a shorter kicking, zoned, rectangle versions – certainly unlike modern Australian football.
The trial games that have been played so far have reportedly been high scoring, with teams being killed on the turnover, so maybe the AFL is happy to keep a fast, long kicking, easy scoring version of the game.
We won’t really know until the rules are released.
The other problem comes from the rectangle nature of the field itself. We can assume that boundary throw ins won’t be a thing in AFLX (with the AFL still toying with the idea of getting rid of them in the ‘official’ rules), but then what happens when the ball goes behind the goal-line?
This was solved in the original rules by having either the standard kick in by the opposition if it was between the ‘behind’ posts, or by a boundary throw in if not.
If the boundary throw in is kept in the rules it will be a simple solution, but if it’s not, might we see a kind of corner lick from soccer, or a penalty corner from hockey work its way into AFLX?
Once again, this is quite a foreign concept to Australian football so it will be interesting to see how it works if it is adopted.
The goal for the AFL should be to have a game of AFLX at AAMI Park – the novelty factor itself should ensure a crowd.
This would act as a proof of concept for the entire idea of the game and also suggest that the concept has a future in both Australia and the rest of the world.
Allianz Stadium has been mentioned as a possible venue, but trying to place a new product, especially one from the AFL, in Sydney to start with would be a mistake.
AFLX can be a success if the AFL plays it right, but it is a fine line. One wrong rule, or even a wrong venue, may be the difference between a genuinely interesting product and a game that is a laughing stock.
Anthony
Roar Pro
Square peg, round hole. AFLX is a rectangular game. So you would want to play on rectangular grounds where the crowd is right on the boundary. Problem with ovals with a rectangular game, it kills the atmosphere. I think the point of the exercise from what is reported is to have a form of the game which can be taken internationally. You have a point about Suncorp, reports suggest it is overused. It is a 50k stadium yet last season the Brisbane Roar only brought in 14k per game. Why teams play in grounds they have no hope of filling is beyond me.
Ken Spacey
Guest
Why rectangular fields? Why not just shorten the existing oval boundaries? You are aware that Suncorp is overused and stressed, and Hindmarsh is best rectangular surface because its not hacked up by rugby codes etc. Or is taking these fields out of other uses and hacking them up the real point of the exercise?
Cat
Roar Guru
There is at least a point or goal with AFLX, SoO is just pointless rubbish.
Kevin Pearson
Guest
Scrap this AFLX rubbish. Just like in 90's when they brought in the lightning premiership at VFL Park, if anyone remembers. What happen to the lightning premiership, did not last long and is long gone. They said state of origin of was scraped because they did not want to risk injury to players, so why they trying to start AFLX crap, players will risk injuries, ALFX does not make sense. I would much prefer having state of origin again every year. Plus the money they would be pouring into AFLX, I would prefer them put towards AFLW !
RandyM
Guest
20/20 is still the exact same game as cricket, it's just a shortened version. AFLX does not sound like the same game as Aussie Rules...
Cat
Roar Guru
And that is based on your extensive viewing knowledge of the game having watched all of ZERO games.
Martin
Guest
I doubt very much Fox would want to broadcast AFLX in any case, it would be just too embarrassing to view and would reflect negatively on their network's business standards.
Stephen
Guest
Interesting. Reminds me a lot of 20/20 cricket when it was first introduced and the vast majority of initial feedback was negative. Look at it today! Culturally in this digital age, we are in a hurry. Too much of a hurry - sadly for many. My point is - as the pace of living increases, so to does the appeal of fast moving sports. Five days of Test cricket, with no guaranteed winner, is a hard sell. The idea of AFLX being played on a soccer pitch is smart marketing. Combined with no tackling and high scoring sounds exciting. The author makes a good point - rolling out the game will work best only by viewing, learning and the fine tuning that comes from player/audience feedback following several trial games.
Anthony
Roar Pro
How about AFLXW pre-season tournament held over 2 days at AAMI Park or Hindmarsh?
Anthony
Roar Pro
To avoid goals being scored after just two kicks, make a rule where you have to kick three times before a goal is a awarded. Pat, for ALFX (which is equivalent to Rugby 7's), I would also replicate Hong Kong 7's or other Rugby 7's tournament. Basically run the AFLX as a tournament over two days at different locations each year. All teams play at the one location. RECTANGLE STADIUMS TO CONSIDER... Establish AFLX in heartlands first; Year 1. VICTORIA - AAMI Park Year 2. SA - Hindmarsh Stadium. Year 3. WA - Perth Stadium Move to next two major regions in Australia Year 4. NSW - Take your pick of the Rugby/Soccer Stadiums (avoid non rectangular stadiums though) Year 5. QLD - Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane) and/or Dairy Farmers Stadium (Nth QLD) With runs on the board and sizable crowds, move internationally Year 6. NZ Christchurch (Target South Island, Auckland already has two codes, as does Wellington) Year 7. China Year 8. India
Penster
Roar Guru
And yet here you are, on The Roar's AFL page with all the other footy starved junkies freebasing on draft news and hanging around afl.com for a fixture fix.
Penster
Roar Guru
You're thinking of "The Hopoate" which is an NRL maneuver.
LuckyEddie
Guest
FOX just want another product out there to soak up some TV time. FOX have no interest in the game as such it's just business to them.
guttsy
Guest
Firstly I must prefence my comment that I know very little about AFLX. But I recently heard someone say that AFLX is going to have "a long, slow painful death". Which will be about right if they fail to catch the publics imagination. If they want to do something they should do it in December and early January so it doesn't interfere with the womens season. The AFL should also look to make it a non tackling, low body impact form of the game but with lots of running so footy players who play it still have a chance to get rid of those niggling injuries before the start of the next seon. They should also look to have zones so all the players can't be down one end of the pitch, maybe something like requiring two players from each team need to be in each half at all times.
Peter the Scribe
Guest
From the sound of it, the premise will offer a pathway for your lighter, smaller junior footballer with good skills which may stop those kids being lost to the game. Just can’t find much about the concept so seems it will be another year away at least. The Gil McLachlan administration just makes it up on the run but this needs to be right from the start
Craig Delaney
Guest
Yeah, more ‘content’ for media platforms feeding fr3nzied audiences.
Cat
Roar Guru
So go away. No one is forcing you to participate
Kangajets
Guest
Why not wrestle like rugby league or flop
anon
Roar Pro
This year I found myself fatigued with football by the time the finals rolled around. I don't think it helped that we had a boring finals series. I had been bombarded with football since early February with AFLW, the preseason, the real season -- with all the associated drama of will or won't he leave. Fyfe signed, Martin signed in the end so all the experts wasted their time debating these things ad nauseam. I have absolutely no desire for any more football, any more competitions, any more trophies, any more medal presentations. Enough!
Chris
Guest
Why don't the AFL just get affiliated with the FFA and then FIFA then they could be part of world football and have a massive global footprint simple and then they could call it football the most popular game on the planet and everybody would play it everywhere .