Australian Rules Football: Now featuring actual Australians

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Jimmy the Saint, Mar 21, 2020.

  1. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    For the west coast and insomniac posters, we still have live sports. It looks like FS1 has bolstered coverage.

    Every man a Kanga

    #Penn State Nittany Lions
     
  2. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Bombers are Franklining™
     
    #2 Jimmy the Saint, Mar 21, 2020
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2020
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  3. Corky Bucek

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    What time does this game start? I know the A-League soccer match starts at 1:30 AM PST. Probably won't make it to watch that one.
     
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  4. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    11 PM PT on FS1, great finish here on FS1 right now.
     
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  5. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    That was an incredible finish
     
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  6. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    big afl fan, yes
     
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  7. Barves2125

    Barves2125 "Ready to drive the Ferarri" - Reuben Foster
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    Truly a great sport. Uniforms are a little goofy but the sport combines a bunch of different aspects of athleticism and sure is fun to watch when you understand how it works.
     
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  8. Todd Bonzales

    Todd Bonzales Sex with old ladies for money aaaand bear traps.
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  9. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    ive missed most of the last two seasons due to a change in schedule however thats not the case anymore and im really happy about it.
     
  10. jorge

    jorge Founder of Post ITT if your team sucks
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    So last night they announced they are suspending the AFL season too
     
  11. Odin

    Odin social distancing since 1990
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    its a shame we never got a dislike button
     
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  12. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    For those interested, the AFL season is back on as of this week. Quarters have been shortened to 16 minutes each and the stadiums are empty (with the possible exception of Adelaide I think as they're pretty much COVID-free down there).

    Yesterday's game was a nice close contest but it was pretty obvious the teams hadn't played for a couple of months. It's probably going to take a couple more weeks for the skills and the conditioning to get back up to par as they've only had a couple of weeks since teams were given the go-ahead to train together as a full squad. A bit scrappy on the whole but better than nothing.
     
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  13. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    Also worth noting, the TV coverage tried to pipe in some fake crowd noise to go over the sound of the players but it just seems really weird in an empty stadium. I wonder if other sports are going to consider doing the same when they get games up and running. It might be worth testing it out properly before doing it I reckon.
     
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  14. timo

    timo g'day, mate
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    Bundesliga has started piping in crowd songs, applause, cheers, and boos. I like it better than it was before this, I guess.
     
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  15. NP13

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    Are these games gonna be on FS1 too?
     
  16. Barves2125

    Barves2125 "Ready to drive the Ferarri" - Reuben Foster
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    Are you an Aussie and if so where from?
     
  17. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    Yeah mate. I grew up not far from Brisbane. It's not a bad part of the world.

    :thumb:

    Yourself?
     
  18. Barves2125

    Barves2125 "Ready to drive the Ferarri" - Reuben Foster
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    Couldn't agree more. Lived there for a year back around 2013. I was in WA and Victoria mostly. Brizzy was my favorite big city I visited though.

    Who is your footy team? And how did you find this message board back in 2011? Glad you did.
     
    #18 Barves2125, Jun 12, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2020
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  19. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    Good stuff! That must've been a blast. Judging by that, you've probably seen more of Australia than I have.

    Basically my sister married an American dude just over 10 years ago and moved over to the states. So I took up more of an interest in American sports around that time partly because it's pretty interesting but also because it helps me have something to talk about with my sister and her hubby over there. I've been coming to this site more for the laughs than anything. You guys crack me up.

    As for my footy team, I've been a die-hard Richmond man since I was a kid. What about you? Did you end up adopting a team while you were here?
     
  20. NP13

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    Dockers v Lions on FS2 right now
     
  21. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    I'm in
     
  22. fsugrad99

    fsugrad99 I'm the victim here
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    I’m in

     
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  23. fsugrad99

    fsugrad99 I'm the victim here
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    Thor in the back for Brisbane is an absolute eraser
     
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  24. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    If this aired during "normal" U.S. time I think a lot more people would be interested.
     
  25. Barves2125

    Barves2125 "Ready to drive the Ferarri" - Reuben Foster
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    Love to hear it! I didn't adopt a team while I was there necessarily but the Bombers jerseys were the coolest at the time IMO and I watched a lot of their matches. It was in the midst of the PED scandal and the year after they won the Grand Final I think. I also liked Dockers though because of living in WA and really enjoying what time I spent in Fremantle. I haven't kept up nearly as much as I'd like to but really do enjoy the AFL when I do watch. Such an interesting combination of athletic abilities.

    Spent time in and outside Mt. Isa, Queensland. Driving around there was the last time I got a speeding ticket.
     
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  26. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Obelix Barves2125

    What is the significance of the the first two columns in the score? Like Brisbane is up [11 - 5 - 71] to Fremantle's [7 - 4 - 46] right now.
     
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  27. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    The first column tells you how many goals have been kicked. The second column tells you how many behinds. And the third column is obviously the number of points when you put them both together.

    So in the case of Brisbane's score of 11-5-71:

    11 goals (6 points each) = 66 points
    5 behinds (1 point each) = 5 points
    Total points = 71 points

    This can help you to see how accurate the goal-kicking has been. So Brisbane have basically had 16 opportunities to score and ended up with 11 goals - which is a pretty good ratio. If the score was 5 goals 11 behinds, this tells you that they haven't made the most of their opportunities.

    It can also indicate which team has had the better of the balance of play. Let's say that both teams have 18 points on the board, but Team A has kicked 3 goals and 0 behinds, but Team B has kicked 1 goal and 12 behinds, this tells you that Team B has dominated the general play but is kicking inaccurately whereas Team A has only had 3 opportunities and has made the most of their chances.
     
  28. Jimmy the Saint

    Jimmy the Saint The future is a benevolent black hole
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    Thanks, that was very informative. Does this have any impact on final standings or anything or just a way to measure play?
     
  29. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    Wow, you really got around! I've never been to WA but everyone tells me that Fremantle is a great spot - extremely underrated. Dockers and Bombers are definitely good clubs to get behind - though I suspect it's probably a bit easier for you guys to follow the WA teams given the time zones.
     
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  30. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    I don't know about goals and behinds being included in the final wash-up - maybe. The ladder positions come down to wins and losses i.e. teams get 4 points for a win and 2 points for a drawn game. The next differentiator is percentage - so all of your points scored from all of your games over the course of the year divided by all of the points you've conceded. So if your team ends the season on the same number of points from wins and losses, the team with the higher percentage finishes on top of the other.

    This is why there are a lot of blow-outs as teams like to maximise the winning margin when they have the foot on the throat of the other side. If both teams have the same %, then I'm not sure what splits them. Maybe the number goals - that's probably true actually, but I'd have to check.
     
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  31. jorge

    jorge Founder of Post ITT if your team sucks
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    Seems like Dockers are big on the blue balls comeback
     
  32. Detlef Schrempf

    Detlef Schrempf Back to Back to Back AAU National Champs
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    Big Perth Glory fan over here.

    source: I’ve gambled on them and won a couple of times.
     
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  33. Barves2125

    Barves2125 "Ready to drive the Ferarri" - Reuben Foster
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    Same. But are you aware they're a soccer team?

    Also, if you love sports betting, Australia is the country for you.
     
  34. Detlef Schrempf

    Detlef Schrempf Back to Back to Back AAU National Champs
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    yes, saw the discussion of Australian soccer earlier.
     
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  35. Corky Bucek

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    The Suns and Giants are currently playing on ESPN2 fwiw
     
  36. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    Just a heads up for those interested. I know you've got college football back on so you probably won't care but if you're looking for something to watch over breakfast (your time): the AFL Finals start this weekend.

    Last night's game was actually pretty good.
     
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  37. timo

    timo g'day, mate
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    [​IMG]

    that's quite a complicated bracket
     
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  38. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    Ha ha, yeah - it's pretty confusing. Basically, the top 8 on the AFL ladder qualify for the finals.

    Of the 8, the Top 4 play against each other (1st v. 4th & 2nd v. 3rd) with the winners earning a bye - and the Bottom 4 play against each other (5th v. 8th & 6th v. 7th) with the losers being eliminated.

    The winners of the bottom 4 match up earn a game against the losers of the top 4 match up (with the losers of this game eliminated and the winners earning a game against the two teams who had the bye week.

    Those four teams then play against each other to earn the right to play in the Grand Final. You know it makes sense! :laugh:

    Anyway, it's a big month of footy ahead - Hope you enjoy!
     
  39. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    If you missed the Grand Final, here are the 1st and 2nd half highlights. It was bucketing down all day so the ground was slippery and the ball was like a bar of soap. The game wasn't always pretty (it never is in the wet) but still a great contest. For a crowd that was capped at 30,000 the atmosphere wasn't too bad really.



     
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  40. NP13

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    I'm gonna use "bucketing down" from now on
     
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  41. Barves2125

    Barves2125 "Ready to drive the Ferarri" - Reuben Foster
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    Didn't get to watch but will later for sure. Hate it for the Cats.

    For a nice little touch of Australia, I'll share the fact that the match was played at a stadium people call the Gabba. So very Aussie.
     
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  42. 40wwttamgib

    40wwttamgib Fah Q, Ohio
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    it really is perfect.
     
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  43. Gomez35

    Gomez35 Walker of the world’s weird wall

    Story time... A school colleague and I took a group of students on an international travel tour of NZ, Australia, and Fiji a few years back (10/10, would recommend) and our tour guide dragged me off to the bar around the corner from our hotel in Sydney one night after the kids were all in their rooms so he could try and teach me some footy. Not knowing the rules and having a few beers it was a good time but totally incomprehensible to me. (Couldn't even tell you who was playing).

    Fast forward to 2020. Every year I pick a random theme for my classes that a bunch of our miscellaneous assignments focus on: one year each class got a CO sports team that they read about, watched highlights for, wrote about, etc. Last year it was Marvel characters. This year after struggling for a week to figure out a theme I hadn't already done that might be interesting, AFL teams just randomly popped into my head and I rolled with that. Randomly assigned a team in the middle of the ladder to each class, posted an "AFL explained" video for them, got some articles together and we were off. Before I knew it, I was watching loads of highlights every Sunday night to post Monday morning and discussing the rules/match results with the more curious kids.

    Long story short, this GF was the second full match I ever watched and it was a fucking blast. (My 11 year old was psyched out of his gourd to get up at 2:00 AM to watch the game but only lasted a quarter). Based on my limited knowledge/experience it seemed like both teams were fucking killing themselves out there - Geelong was one of the teams I randomly picked for my 8th graders, so I had seen a bunch of their highlights and was sort of rooting (ha!) for them but that Martin fella was pretty OK in the second half. Total footy convert here now. One of you experts want to sell me on a team to commit to?
     
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  44. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    Brilliant stuff! Yeah, Dustin Martin's a freak. He seems to sleepwalk through the regular season and then come finals time he just goes nuts. Geelong played great in the first half and up to the half time break I thought they'd run away with it. Richmond had trouble sorting out there defensive structure after Vlastuin (no.1 for Richmond) got KO'd so the cats really took advantage of it. I really thought the tigers were going to get belted until Dusty stemmed the bleeding. The second half effort was fantastic from them. Hats off to Ablett for playing the game out with a broken shoulder - it's a shame we didn't see the best of him though.

    I was going to try to convince you to jump on the tiger train (I am a Richmond man after all) but I reckon I'll leave it you to figure out which team to get behind. If you watch enough games you'll eventually cotton on to a team that tugs at the heart strings for whatever reason - colours, club song etc. GWS and Gold Coast have only been around for about 10 years so they don't have many fans. The grand old clubs like Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Geelong etc. have existed for over 100 years so they have a much bigger and more passionate fan base. If the time zone's an issue (which it probably is) you might want to go for one of the WA teams like Freo or West Coast (that's a big club too). Glad you're enjoying it.
     
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  45. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    By the way, I'm curious to hear what your students make of the footy - do they like it?
     
  46. Gomez35

    Gomez35 Walker of the world’s weird wall

    Yeah, totally agree re: Vlaustin. Richmond looked totally discombobulated in the first - Geelong was doing whatever they wanted in the midfield. Then after the half the Tigers' coaches must've gotten everybody straightened out because it was a completely different match in the 2nd. Super entertaining, even for the uninitiated IMO. Geelong's top guys seemed to just disappear in the 2nd. Also, Ablett just couldn't do it after the shoulder (sounds like that was a career-recurring injury?) - BTW what are the substitution rules? I couldn't help wondering why Geelong kept rolling him out there when he was so clearly incapable of giving it a full go.

    A couple kids were quite interested, but subsisting on highlights instead of actual games only takes you so far (had no idea Fox Sports was actually broadcasting games - that might have helped. The only consistent option I found was the $160 Watch AFL deal, which was beyond what I considered reasonable). The group that ended up with the Eagles loved Natanui and thought he should try out for the NFL, and the Geelong group kept calling Hawkins "Beast-Mode" because he was so much bigger and stronger than the defenders he matched up with, but not sure any of those kids will keep up with those teams now that the season is done.
     
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  47. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member


    Yep, I can't blame 'em for loving Nic Nat - he's a phenomenal player. The interchange rules are a bit complicated but I'll do my best to explain them. There are four players on the bench and substitutions are capped at 90 per game (so every time a player comes on for another player this equals one substitution and you can only do this 90 times over the course of the game).

    Teams have different strategies as far as when and how often they rest their players but they tend to get their midfielders (and half-backs/half-forwards) to rotate through the bench throughout the game as those positions do the most running up and down the field.

    If you lose a player for the game with injury (like Richmond did with Vlastuin), this leaves you with only three on the bench so you're a man short in the midfield rotation. Over the course of the game, this can hurt your team's ability to finish the game out as your midfield gets a lot less rest than the opposition's (especially if we go back to 20 minute quarters) and so they'll tire much faster late in the game.

    So if a player is injured in the first few minutes, they're expected to go back in the game if they can play through the pain as this will allow the rotations to continue as scheduled (giving your other players the rest they need). This is why Richmond asked Houli to play on with a torn calf and Geelong needed Ablett to keep playing with his broken shoulder. Unlike the old days, there are now rules where players aren't allowed to come back on if they fail a concussion test as that's becoming an issue. This is probably why Vlastuin and Simpson (who was KO'd badly later in the game) couldn't play on.
     
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  48. Gomez35

    Gomez35 Walker of the world’s weird wall

    So, updating this because I decided to jump in and actually learn the sport (spoiler: it's fucking amazing)...
    • First off, I watched this video multiple times:. It does a great job of explaining the basics
    • Then I started watching videos like this: (I fucking LOVE Eddie Betts). You can pretty much type "AFL top ____" into YouTube and get incredible content that will help teach you parts of the game. It's sort of amazing to me that this sport hasn't taken off in the States. Oh, you like people getting brutalized? But you also like amazingly talented athletes? AND you want high scoring, back-and-forth action? Well, let me tell you about the mother-fucking AFL...

    • Finally, I pitched in for the Watch AFL subscription. I sort of randomly picked a team (North Melbourne, unfortunately WTF was I thinking) to buy it through and saved a few bucks and this has single-handedly been the best thing to help me start learning the game. Being able to watch entire matches with commentary and all the ups and downs is awesome. Since the 2021 fixture started, I've been able to watch 2-3 games per weekend and sort of feel like I "get" how things work with the sport. Downloading the AFL Live app on my phone has helped tremendously too, as it tracks every conceivable stat possible, which teaches you a TON about what to watch for.
    • Conclusion: AFL is 10/10, would recommend for any American sports fan who needs something besides baseball (OMG who the fuck cares about this slow-ass bullshit) for entertainment in the summer.
     
    #48 Gomez35, Apr 20, 2021
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2021
  49. Obelix

    Obelix Well-Known Member

    North Melbourne? Hahaha, you poor bugger! Is this a long-term commitment or were you just dipping the toe in?

    Look, it's an easy mistake to make. They're a great old club (albeit a rather small one) and their kit looks kinda nice and everything, but you might be in for a rough couple of years mate, that's all I'll say. Stick with the kangas though - they'll probably come good eventually... (is it too late for me to suggest that you adopt one of the decent sides as a second team in the mean-time?)

    Jokes aside, it's good to see someone sinking their teeth into Aussie Rules. If you have any questions let me know and I'll do my best.
     
  50. Gomez35

    Gomez35 Walker of the world’s weird wall

    I know, right? But here was my club-choosing criteria:
    • Older club. Who wants to follow a new club when some of the others have been around 160+ years?
    • Decent colors/logo combination. Nothing mostly red (cuts out about half the clubs) plus something I could see myself wearing hoodies/t-shirts for (no teal, no purple, no orange, no yellow and blue together), and not Hawthorn (I know people approached color combos differently back in the day, but seriously?).
    • No top teams. I know you go for Richmond but for a casual American to pick them just seemed too much like picking the Patriots or the Yankees. Definitely didn’t want to come across as a bandwagon fan. Plus the underdog story of a poor team eventually making good is cool - and it seems like every AFL side goes through some up/down cycles naturally, so today’s top/bottom of the fixture clubs will eventually switch places (though learning more it seems like a couple clubs have just been on “down/even further down” cycles, so we will see).
    So, I got down to Western and North. An American picking the red/white/blue team seemed too trite, so there I was: a new Kangaroos fan. My 12 year old decided he likes the Bulldogs colors though and I’ve been following them as well so my new footy fandom isn’t all grim and despairing.

    Actually, I’d say watching the best and worst two teams every week has naturally taught me a TON about the game. For example, watching the Bulldogs move the ball at will through their midfield against every team they faced and then North just kicking it long to their nonexistent forwards... the movement, anticipation, and spacing was so clearly different between the two sides and really helped me start seeing those little things I didn’t notice when I first started watching. It’s been a cool progression.
     
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