As it stands, the AFL is arguably the most popular sport in Australia, but is unknown away from our shores.
There are a number of tweaks that can be made to the game, rules and the adjudication of AFL in order to successfully market it to other countries and to make it even more popular than it currently is in Australia. Below are some alterations that I believe will further increase the popularity.
Shorten the game
Make the quarters 15 minutes instead of 20 in order to lengthen careers of players and decrease fatigue.
Mid-season trade period
In order to even up the competition and give fringe players an opportunity a mid Season trade period should be introduced. It works well in soccer.
Every team plays against each other twice
This will prevent teams from being favoured. The Victorian teams would play interstate a minimum of eight times; the draw would be evened up.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Promotion and relegation
This will give clubs in the Foxtel Cup hope, by allowing them to be promoted to the AFL level and will get rid of tanking for the bottom teams in the AFL. I think three teams is the right amount to be promoted and relegated.
Introduce a yellow and red card
In particular for a grand final or when a player is playing their last game; there are no consequences for a player if they can’t get sent off. There has to be a punishment given in the game.
There is nothing to prevent a player from endeavouring to injure an opponent if they don’t care about suffering a suspension. The temptation to injure an opponent has to be taken away through punishment being put in place in a game.
Nine points for a goal outside fifty
This would make the game more exciting and could even encourage teams to recruit players with longer kicks.
No more deliberate out of bounds
In order to eliminate confusion, ensure that the last player to touch the ball concedes possession to the opposition.
Can’t kick backwards from half way
This will make the game more even and quicker. As it stands there is nothing stopping teams wasting time by kicking backwards deliberately and maintaining possession; when this is done it detracts from the spectacle.
Have a countdown clock at the grounds
Every other sport in the world, the players have knowledge of the amount of time left in the game. The runners can tell the player how long is left in the game anyway.
Have the names on the back of the guernseys
If the game is to be more attractive the surnames of players must be printed on the back of their guernseys, especially if we start having more overseas players playing our game.
Simplify the rules in order to take it overseas
In particular the holding the ball and dropping the ball rule. For fans new to the sport some of the rules need to be clarified and made basic so that these people don’t turn away from the game.
SFHood
Guest
As an American who loves Aussie Rules, don’t change a damn thing about the sport. The pace of the game is superior to the NFL. Just show more games on free-to-air TV and you’ll find an audience. It would also be helpful to have mid-week analysis shows to help Americans add context to the games they are watching.
Doran Smith
Roar Guru
Thanks for your input.
Ryan Geer
Roar Pro
We keep talking about the state of the game like it's in disarray, a few years the game was in great shape was fast, intense and exciting. Then the AFL kept changing the rules and they want to keep changing the rules, here's an idea stop tinkering every year and let the clubs just play the game. The change I hate the most is capping the interchange saying it opens up the game, and this hasn't happened if anything it's getting more congested. Players are spending longer out the ground and the more fatigued they get it makes them less likely to push away into space that's why sometimes you'll see at times like 30+ plus players in the 50 arc at once congesting it up. It's also shortening players careers due to the more stress on the body and teams spend most weeks just trying to get their players to recover and less time out training on the track. The promotion/relagation rule will never work you'll kill clubs and clubs coming up will not be ready for the standard and then they'll be relagated again. I'm also not a fan of the midseason trades, you spend months getting your list ready for the season and that should be your list for the season just manage it and sometimes with injuries and suspensions you will get to that point playing players that aren't ready for AFL standard but you got to think this will help future development maybe if these youngsters and rookies get a chance and not just play in the 2's all season.
Bondy
Guest
Why don't you just watch soccer instead of just copying everything they do .. .
clipper
Guest
Compared to the strength league had in France, England and Wales, improving a few Pacific Islands doesn't even begins to make up for the losses in those countries. The Pacific Islands are great for gaining players, but as far as expansion they are a negative gain - you will always have to put in more than you get out, especially with PNG. But, yes - AFL has never tried to expand, so that point is true.
On the Ball
Guest
@clipper I would say what Rugby League has done in the Pacific Islands (Tonga, Fiji, Samoa) and Papua new guinea over the last ten years is fantastic. Rugby Union was all they knew in Tonga, Fiji, Samoa now Rugby league is moving in. With a Fiji team in the NSW cup and Papua new guinea in the Qld Cup. In 10 years union could be in big trouble in Tonga, Fiji, Samoa. League is already the national sport of Papua new guinea. More then anything the AFL has done.
Doran Smith
Roar Guru
Good idea bryan, I think it could work well.
Doran Smith
Roar Guru
I was referring to the viewing audience of the AFL.
clipper
Guest
In every sport participation drops off after 17-18, let alone 25 Football would be No. 1 in participation, tennis would be up there, AFL, cricket, netball, league, Rugby golf, Bowls - which really has had a downturn. Attendance would be AFL by a mile, NRL,Cricket, Aleague, Rugby FTA AFL, NRL, Cricket, Tennis in season, A league, Rugby's not really on FTA Pay TV, NRL maybe, AFL, Cricket, Rugby and Football would be interesting as they have international competition.
Confused
Guest
"...the AFL is arguably the most popular sport in Australia" I would like to see some statistics to support this claim as I believe AFL is NOT the most popular organised sport. 1. Participation in playing Aussie Rules drops off significantly after the age of 24 years. I would like to see participation numbers compared to Golf, Lawn bowls, Football, Basketball, Cricket, Rugby, Netball. I think it will rate below all of these. 2. The number watching Aussie Rules might compare better than participation as AFL is a great spectator sport.
clipper
Guest
Promotion / Relegation just wouldn't work in AFL or NRL - there is no culture for it in Australia, if a non AFL state team gets dropped it would be a disaster - look at the Lions and the attendance drop with a run of poor years - it would kill off the team if it got moved down. Pretty tall task to move beyond niche status overseas - league has been trying for 108 years and has gone backwards overseas with the majority of players in the world cup coming from Australia. Like league, the Australian team in AFL would be so far ahead of any country that any test would be a forgone conclusion. The focus should be on consolidating gains in Sydney, fixing up QLD and sorting out Tasmania (although that one may be too hard)
Bobbo7
Guest
The sport will never make it in any significant way outside Auatralia. There is simply very little interest apart from expats.
bryan
Guest
Promotion & Relegation could have worked if my original preferred model for the AFL had been used. (This sounds like I thought it up, but it was suggested by various people in the State Leagues---I just liked the idea!) In such a model, selected VFL, SANFL & WAFL teams would have played each other, with the bottom team dropping back into the State League, being replaced by the top team from that League. This would have kept the quality of the State Leagues up to their previous levels. As it happened, the AFL was destined to be an extended VFL. The result is that the State Leagues have been decimated, so with P & R, a poor AFL team would probably do well in say, the WAFL, & bounce back into the AFL before they were ready.
Powerboy
Guest
Well said. This author is a goose.
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
I like maintaining the heritage of relocated clubs. Swans still wear the SMFC label (as do the Lions, I think) and Sydney fans have no problem with this.
Mango Jack
Roar Guru
Good point re switching. I still think the out of bounds penalty (deliberate or otherwise) should be an indirect free kick. It gives an advantage to the side that hasn't "infringed", while avoiding inevitable controversy of allowing a team to score directly from a dubious infringement. Even determining who was the last player to touch the ball is sometimes difficult, and let's not go to video replays for this, please!
Doran Smith
Roar Guru
The AFL would have to accommodate a 2nd tier Football League and reallocate the funds from the AFL to the 2nd tier. This would also increase the opportunities for other players to grow their experience. How much of a viewing audience will Carlton v Brisbane attract when they play each other?
Scott
Guest
I like your comment Perry Bridge. I’ll ad my own 2 cents which is similar. Leave regular aussie rules as is and focus on AFLX to attract overseas interest. There aren’t big enough grounds overseas, plus it is bloody hard to find 22-25 to make up a team. For amateurs AFLX actually looks like a lot of fun, it’s just boring watching pros because it’s to easy. Keep the uniqueness of Aussie rules, with all its quirks, to get people interested and entertained. They can watch real AFL played by pros then play AFLX on their local soccer field. One major point that is massively overlooked by the executives who want to expand the game are all the rule changes and interpretations. Stop adding 3 new rules every single year. The players playing the game even get confused. These executives should have to watch every game with someone from overseas. I went to one game with an Irish bloke and I spent the whole game trying to explain rules, then contradicting myself 2 seconds later. Keep the rules simple and the game will sell itself
Perry Bridge
Guest
I was waiting for him to suggest allowing goals to count no matter how the ball goes between the posts.... (this is an original rule that the good folk in Melbourne who met on a Tuesday afternoon almost 159 years ago to the day (16 days time).
Perry Bridge
Guest
#MangoJack re last touch out - at very least - only off a clean disposal and not from a contested situation. I suspect though the AFL is moving towards the 'end game' - remove boundary umpires as there'll be no need to adjudicate on the full or not. Saves money - cheaper to run at grass roots. The public is taken along a journey whereby the AFL creates all this angst about deliberate or not such that they create a problem to which the only offered solution is the end game one above. The public accept it as no one is going to suggest a reversion to how it had been (granted we once allowed a kick out on the full). The kicking backwards - a couple of elements to this - one is that the defending team needs to come out and man up/force a different action, if you concede the easy sideways/backward kicks then too bad. This rule would also discourage switching - which is a vital tool to accessing the 'fat side' and providing attractive footy rather than just down the line (arial ping-pong).