AFL secretly trials new version of football
Larissa Nicholson

The AFL has been quietly developing a modified form of Australian Rules that is played on a soccer field, which it trialled in a secret match between two VFL teams last weekend.

With the working name AFL X, the new version of the game allows just seven players from each team on the ground, far fewer than the usual 18-a-side, and is as part of a broader plan to become a year-round sport

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, speaking after the Hawks Young Executive Wing grand final breakfast, said the concept had come from a brainstorming session with his staff.

He said the idea behind AFL X had been to attract non-football fans to the game and enable it to be taken to venues where football could not normally be played because they did not have an oval.

"It was an idea that came up, to develop a new product, that was able to work in different venues and look different, in a shorter and different format" he told Fairfax Media.

McLachlan said the trial match on the weekend had been a success, but plans to launch an AFL X competition are still a long way off.

The AFL's general manager of game and market development Simon Lethlean stressed that AFL X was still very much in its infancy.

He described it as an "internal think-tank" project, but said it had the potential fill a gap between a full-scale AFL games and the recreational AFL-9s format.

AFL-9s does not allow tackles or bumping, whereas AFL X does.

Lethlean said the weekend's AFL X match, run in four 10-minute quarters, had been a fast, high-intensity encounter which had left the VFL players involved exhausted.

By fielding smaller teams and playing on a soccer pitch, he said it was easier than full-scale football to take overseas and may one day form a part of the AFL's international expansion plans.

Lethlean also mentioned using the game in an off-season competition involving well-known, recently retired players.

Every sporting body wanted to expand its reach, he said.

"It's part of everyone's plan to be a 12-month a year sport," said Lethlean.

The innovation comes as sports compete for the best athletes and bigger audiences. Cricket is an example of a sport that has launched a shorter format with spectacular success, Twenty20 becoming a massive money spinner and compelling TV product.

The AFL's inaugural women's competition kicks off in February, an early start that would allow the players to remain involved in their local competitions and ensure they were not pitted against the men's season.

Asked whether a future AFL X series would compete for public attention with the women's game, Lethlean said it was too early to give that any consideration.

AFL staff will now review footage of the AFL X game between VFL players from the weekend and review statistics from the match.

"I hope it leads to more people playing our game," Lethlean said.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-secretly-trials-new-version-of-football-20160907-gral7s.html

I guess this is their 'stop the sokkah monster' tactic. They truly are infactuated with trying to attack other codes, almost as changing their own rules.

Not insecure at all 

Our pitches are over used to the point where clubs and councils have to decide whether to turn away kids or let them turn into dustbowls.

Good luck to the AFL if they think they can get a booking in.

Good for them. Their normal game is sh*t so it needed changing up lol

Lol what the fuck.

Good luck with that international expansion

So the form a new game so to play on soccer pitches oversea and introduce the game?

Well there's plenty of ovals to play their full AFL game, places like NZ, India, South Africa, England etc. So their statement is utter bullshit.

They know the sport won't get international attention as they've and failed already. Theyre doing it take attention away from sockah's and stifle its continuing growth.

Smell the fear.

Most park pitches in Sydney either get used all year round for football/rugby/rugby league/touch, or in summer they get turned into AstroTurf cricket fields.

The AFL struggle to find fields for the full team game in winter as it is. Good luck finding an empty field in summer.

Their attempts at trying to get people overseas into the game are embarrasing. It's almost at a pathological state, where you have to start thinking, they've done the sums and they cannot long term keep going the way they have.

Even with a couple of billion TV deal, ten teams this year may lose money - this is even with pokies revenue coming in at around 100 million 
Add in things like 250 million spent on just two teams (gws & suns) already. Maybe it's a case of expand overseas or their game contracts. 

Also having played a AFL 9's tournament in Brisbane last year, I can say pretty confidently that AFL just can't have it's Futsal or Sevens equivalent that it's desperate for. The ball goes way to quickly and easily from one end to the other because it's a viable tactic to just hoof it forward. The ball bypasses the midfield every time and everyone else is just chasing scraps. Imagine a Futsal game where both goalkeepers just throws the ball over everyone to a Target Man lurking around goal, it's hardly enjoyable for anyone else.


If you reduce the numbers to 7, it doesn't make things any better or more enjoyable. People can still kick a footy most of the way up a soccer pitch, it's just you have to be fitter to get to the loose ball first which imo hardly makes it better.

one more step in trying to relate itself to the nba. AFL already tries to compare themselves to it in every facet.

Not if they bring in offside, make the goal shorter, remove point posts and bring in a keeper 

Not wanting to give the kunts ideas or anything but they could make the ball heavier like they do in futsal so you can't physically kick it 60m.

Years ago they redesigned the javelin because they were nearly hitting the track inside stadiums.

 

Probably helps that amateur Basketball players are more than capable of being a success in the AFL despite having played 0 games in their life.

I have a feeling I've seen that before somewhere....

I heard the AFL had recently looked at launching a new version of AFL, with 11 players on a rectangular field, touching the ball with your hands is prohibited, and rather than vertical posts they had a rectangular box on both ends of the field through which they had to kick the ball past an opponent in order to score a 'goal'.

A revolutionary idea. 

Even better if they make it so that only the keeper can touch the ball with their hands...

The idea is nothing new. 9-a-side Aussie Rules played on Football or Rugby pitches is known as Metro Footy, in the USA and Europe.
I played 9-a-side in England and in Spain while I was living there, as well as 18 or 15 a-side in England. They were playing in aussie rules in summer in Europe, so I could finish my winter football season and start playing aussie rules in the summer with only a little bit of overlap in May and September.  

That's because they can only find18 ex-pats (with a few local numpties) tops willing to play. 

This is a compeition proposed to try and expand their game. 

I already got yelled at because I was the only white guy amongst a bunch of Karen dudes playing Association Football on a proper synthetic pitch because a local Aussie Rules team had booked it for preseason training. If this came through there would be nowhere to play our sport at all. Which is probably the point.

Does the FFA or curriculum have any organised leagues in the summer season.
I play aussie rules in winter but would love to play the round ball over summer but i'm struggling to find anything about it...

The problem for me is the AFL is the governing body and these hybrid games shouldn't be AFL anything. In soccer there is Small Sided Games (not FIFA SSG), or Futsal etc.League have touch footy, again not NRL Touch.

The problem is that the AFL is acting with brand imprint their main priority rather than actually developing a game. AFL 9's (again with the AFL brand used) obviously hasn't been taken up enough by locals?? (Any ideas on numbers??) Only one comp held in the area that I live, and there are about 3 different summer soccer competitions in the same catchment. If their argument is you can't tackle, then why not do what many Summer Soccer (SSG) tournaments do ... have a competitive and social competition. Allow tackling in the competitive comp.

The poor folks @ the AFL Commission (& ol' mate Gill himself) really need to get laid, from the sounds of it:laugh:

The only way anything to do with their game can/will get ANY legitimate international exposure is to let their clubs field sides in the HAL, NRL or NBL-  end of. Nothing else can or will do.

Carn the Hawks

So they're playing with reduced numbers on a rectangular field to increase overseas appeal?

Seems like a legitimate tactic, I mean it's not like there's some other game that's so similar they can play an 'international rules' with the AFL every few years that is played on a rectangular ground and also completely lacks any kind of following outside its country of origin.

Well played AFL they can split a normal team into 3 teams and probably have them play 2-3 matches on one day.

This is probably aimed at kids, who will be subsidized.

Can see them trying to install posts at public football grounds.

Round ball?
If it's played on a football field, with an oval ball ,won't you just need two,kicks to score?Sounds like everyone will be on the halfway mark and will be 7ft or will there be height restrictions and long kick restrictions?
Maybe they will market it as the big kick league or two kick.
This could be fun to watch on a windy day.Pointsxoring could be quicker than basketball.

That's the best thing about it, we don't need to fight back. They attack us by stabbing themselves repeatedly and we just crack ope a coldie and watch.

;)