AFLX
Highest Melbourne, Victoria | |
---|---|
Characteristics | |
Team members | originally 7 per side + 5 interchange (differs to men's 18 per side + 4 interchange) |
Type |
|
Venue | Football pitch (soccer field) |
AFLX is a
It was founded in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience outside of its origin country of
The format of the AFL's AFLX events varied – the
Despite its lack of popularity with spectators and the AFL's short-lived experiment with it, the variation continues to be promoted by the AFL Commission as a participation sport in development regions and areas where full-sized cricket grounds are not available.
Rules
The rules of the game differed from Australian rules football in some significant ways. The game was played on a rectangular
- Games consist of two 10-minute halves with a two-minute break at half-time
- Played on a rectangular field with dimensions similar to that of a soccer field
- Eight players on the field per team, with six players on the bench and no limit to rotations (up from the 10 players per side in 2018)
- Last-touch out-of-bounds rule introduced (team that had last touch loses possession)
- The field umpire will throw the ball up to begin play at the start of each half and after a supergoal is scored
- 10-point super goals are registered for goals kicked from outside the 40-metre arc
- No marks paid for backwards kicks (except for kicks/marks inside the forward[6] 40-metre arc)
- Free shot from inside the 40-metre arc to the opposite team in the event of a rushed behind
- Players can run 20 metres without taking a bounce or touching the ball on the ground.
History
AFLX was first trialled at Arden Street Oval in January 2017.[7] In March 2017, it was trialed at was first trialled on a soccer pitch at Lakeside Stadium in a match between the Port Melbourne Football Club and Coburg Football Club.[7] It was launched by AFL manager of football operations Simon Lethlean in July 2017 and later hailed by the AFL as key means of kickstarting Australian rules football in China as part of the AFL and Port Adelaide's push in to the country which was acknowledged to lacked the infrastructure to support the growth of the full 18-player game.[8]
On 6 February 2018, the AFLX pre-season competition was launched by AFL
The 2018 competition attracted more than 40,000 fans to tournaments in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. In Melbourne, TV ratings were reported as "modest" by AFL standards, with the three events drawing an average five-city metro audience of over 120,000 on Channel Seven's secondary channels.[10]
The AFL made several rule tweaks midway through the second season in attempt to make it higher scoring by inflating the scoring points for behinds from 1 to 2, goals from 6 to 12 and Super Goals from 10 to 20.[11]
The 2019
In August 2019, the AFL confirmed AFLX would not return in 2020, to allow a greater focus on AFLW.[3]
Post the
Reception
The reception to the game among fans and the media was mostly poor,[14][15] with ABC Radio Grandstand journalist Richard Hinds being particularly savage in labelling it a "hollow, unappealing, pressure-free, atmosphere-deficient, oval-in-a-rectangle hole yawn-fest".[16]
Con Stavros of
AFL Pre-season Tournaments
Season | Winner(s) |
---|---|
2018 | Group A: Melbourne Demons
Group C: Brisbane Lions |
2019
|
Rampage |
See also
References
- ^ "AFLX: the business strategy behind the spectacle". Australian Financial Review. 11 February 2018.
- ^ Radical new concept AFLX set to be launched on pre-finals bye weekend by Chris Cavanagh for the Herald Sun 22 June 2017
- ^ a b "X off the map: AFL to remove AFLX from pre-season fixture". afl.com.au. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ "AFLX 2019 rules explained". YouTube, AFL official account. 4 February 2019.
- ^ AFLX 2019 rules explained, Essedon FC official site
- ^ "AFLX Explained". AFL.com.au. 13 February 2018.
- ^ a b 2017 AFL Annual Report
- ^ Implementation of AFLX idea could in the end do more harm than good by Craig Little for The Guardian 26 July 2017
- ^ Lusted, Peter (6 February 2018). "AFL launches AFLX, using rectangular fields to attract new supporters overseas". ABC News. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- Sports Business Daily. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ AFLX game changer: Get ready for 20-point supergoals By Ben Guthrie for afl.com.au 4 February 2019
- ^ "Get ready for 'EJX': Legends game gets new format and new home". Australian Football League. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ New football formats set to change the game By Daniel Webb for Shepparton News 29 September 2022
- ^ Jackson Ryan (16 December 2018). "The AFLX Is The Greatest Farce In Professional Sport". Ten Daily.
- ^ Alana Schetzer (17 December 2018). "Not even superpowers can give soulless AFLX what it most needs". The Guardian.
- ^ Richard Hinds (16 February 2018). "AFLX: If you wanted to kill AFL stone-dead, you'd turn it into this hollow yawn-fest". ABC News.
- ^ "AFLX - a stroke of sport marketing genius?". ESPN. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2019.