2 months too much hey . but you are right , once you leave Adelaide and see the world , you get a sense of how stupid the place is sometimes
From nepotism , to thinking wineries,cafes and AFL will convince tourists to visit Adelaide ( hint , wineries  and high class eateries exists all over the world  , and no one gives a shit about AFL overseas except for handful of expats )

The fact that you think it's a novelty consigns womens AFL to its deathbed already.

What a wanker. Bit of a novelty giving those girlies something to do outside the kitchen, hey.

I'm stuck in Adelaide for 2 more months and it's like stepping out of the tardis and walking amongst dinosaurs in this place. Still the 70s in Adelaide.

When a hack sport writer wishes he was a political commentator

New game shows how to use airtime in the silly season

• The Australian
• 12:00AM January 27, 2018
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• PATRICK SMITH

  

  Senior sports commentator

  Melbourne

  @Smithersss

  

So the less than serious or sensible are often given a significant run in the press, broadcast and digital outlets when normally they would fall to the side unloved and unnecessary. While it might be called padding, the articles and news grabs suit the mood of a ­nation sozzled on sunscreen and exhausted from a sudden exercise routine of slip, slop and slapping. The Sydney to Hobart yacht race is the quintessential example.

A scary challenger to the big boat event has set sail this summer. Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm pushed his name into the spotlight (momentarily it must be said) when he accused the federal government of racism. ­

Leyonhjelm thought a government-funded program designed “to provide a better understanding of indigenous Australians in the workplace, social environments and the community in which you live and work” not at all helpful. Worse, it was racist.

Leyonhjelm was reported in The Australian on Wednesday as having said that although the training was not compulsory, he was opposed to the use of ­tax­payers’ money to deliver it.

“It’s racist because it favours a particular race over another race,” Leyonhjelm said.

Mmmm. Favours or informs?

“It infers other Australians require training to become culturally aware of indigenous Australians, whereas we don’t require training to be aware of other cultures.”

He appears to wilfully apply any logic to his position. It is the banal response of someone who has read or heard something but is incapable of understanding it so churns out mechanical responses. Does he not know of protocols in football leagues that teach exactly what the federal government plans? Is he unaware of the value these programs have been to ­officials, players and fans. Mark him down a fool.

It is true just about everyone is after a fix for summer. Pity Leyonhjelm picked a topic of which he has no understanding or empathy. A Leyonhjelm comic comet.

Yet such is the vacuum of the holiday hiatus that sports have tried — seriously — to grab ­whatever air is to spare to get a hold in summer on what they might have once had by right in winter. Soccer and basketball for starters.

Both codes moved away from the saturation of rugby league and the AFL. At one time, rugby union made that a trio but since losing any threatening space in the ­football marketplace, its chances of doing anything mesmerising or relevant are minimal. One rider on that: Rugby Australia appears to have made a shrewd decision (there have been precious few of them lately) with the appointment as its chief of rugby league’s ­Raelene Castle, who is said to be as smart as she is robust. But there is a morbid sense that Castle is the code’s last and final line of defence.

The AFL’s many critics have formed a substantial posse as they swipe away at the league heavies over the introduction of a new form of the indigenous game — AFLX. It has been called a joke, embarrassment, ego tripping, money gouging. And that’s even before a game has been played. When it comes to any change in any code, blind resistance is for media’s first responders. Not to nurture new products or rules but to save the game from change ­itself.

AFLX will be played over three days next month, replacing the usual weekend of pre-season trial matches. The game is such a ­radical change you would not necessarily believe it is naturally related to its mother, the AFL.

To best understand the presence of AFLX, it is important to note that demand for AFL in the northern states has continued on a growth spurt. It was fast tracked last summer by the unpredicted growth of women’s football. It meant the game was running out of venues. Demand was squashing the sport of playing fields and thus a grander future. Without a quick and viable solution, momentum would hit a brick wall as thick as Leyonhjelm.

The next available grounds were used for rugby codes and ­soccer. If the AFL games were short so they did not impinge on the other codes then maybe the AFL could fashion a variation that got kids on the park and off quickly enough that the regular businesses of all codes remained unaffected.

Quickly, though, AFL innovators believed they had a game they figured worked and worked so well it could and should be incorporated into the senior AFL curriculum. And better still, of course, it is set up perfectly for the AFL to be played anywhere in the world.

You can see why: there are seven players from each team on the field with three each on the bench. It will be a more intimate game played on the small rectangle fields (about 70m wide and 110m long).

As in the big time there will be four posts at each end of the field for goals and behinds. There will be 40m arcs and in the middle X marks the spot.

The game is over quickly. So quickly commentator Dermott Brereton may not be able to finish his opening sentence. Depending on the rules of a particular tournament, the contest can be played in 10-minute halves or 10-minute quarters.

There is a free kick against the side that last touched the ball before it went out of bounds. Play will be restarted after all scores with a kick-in from behind the goal line.

In a rule change long ­demanded for the big league by purists, marks will not be paid if they come on the end of a ball kicked backwards. The rule sensibly does not apply in the forward 40m zone.

Each quarter is started with a ball-up but two players from each side must start in the 40m zones. A rushed behind point will be ­recorded but also penalised with a free kick to the opposition from in front of the goals on the 40m arc.

And the “piece de tough resistance” will be 10-point super goals when kicked on the full from outside the 40m arc.

Perversely, the greatest impact from the truncated game will be seen in the numbers required to play. Essentially it is seven a side. Any reasonable scratch match of Australian rules would take more than that.

AFLX’s best ingredient for scratch matches with kids and any international contest is that the depth of talent is not so obviously tested.

Nonetheless, this AFLX is a gamble and it will create interest (hopefully excitement, too) in the silly season. It should be fun if nothing else.

If it works, the AFL has just ­another vehicle with which to dominate the nation’s sporting market. Might not be as silly a ­season as it sounds.

New game shows how to use airtime in the silly season

Yeah me too. 

If you really want to go deep. AFL will change to 17 weeks plus 4 finals. Using this year the AFL GF is in week 39. 39  minus the 21 rounds is 18. This year the A-League GF is week 18. 



AFLX will be popular and successful. Start around Jan until May. The same final date and the A-League GF. Probably the same time. Normal season will shorten and still have the GF in September. 

I have a feeling this might be more successful than some people think. I also have a feeling this may have unforeseen consequences for the AFL. 

They actuallu dropped the "iri" incase people thought wog ball would be associated with ethnics. 

And all this time we thought "wog ball" was a pejorative term.

Dont get your knickers in a twist.  I agree the link to Aboriginal culture is tenuous, and that in the main, the origin is in English school sports tradition.  Firstly, I think you will find the biggest push to create the association comes from indigenous people, who by your argument are therefore insulting themselves.  Secondly, by indigenous, I think he means local, not Aboriginal.  The backdrop of Australian football is the English school system, but the actual game of Australian football was developed and codified here and is therefore indigenous by definition.

Maybe settlers took rules back to England from Australia or China or all the other countries that had kicky bally games. 

Woggabaliri is a traditional Indigenous Australian "co-operative kicking volley game" similar to the games of keepie uppie and footbag.

The Aborigines in areas near New South Wales played a ball game called Woggabaliri. The ball is made of possum fur. It is played in a group of four to eight players in circle. It is a cooperative kicking game to see for how long the ball can be kept in the air before it touches the ground.

History[edit]

Woggabaliri is a non-competitive game played with a ball made of Bulrush roots wrapped in possum fur where the objective of it is to keep the ball in the air using association football type skills of teamwork and ball control. Played by the Wiradjuri and surrounding peoples before European arrival,^[1][2] Woggabaliri is the Ngunnawal word for "play".^[3] Author Ken Edwards notes that a similar game with a ball made of grass covered in beeswax was also played by the Jingili people of the Northern Territory.^[2]

Woggabaliri is recognised by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) as one of the oldest Indigenous ball games and is the earliest depicted, believed by the ASC to be the subject of an engraving "never let the ball hit the ground" based on William Blandowski's observations in 1857 of camp life near Merbein, Victoria.^[1] The image is inscribed:

A group of children is playing with a ball. The ball is made out of typha roots (roots of the bulrush). It is not thrown or hit with a bat, but is kicked up in the air with a foot. The aim of the game – never let the ball touch the ground.

In 2010, Football Federation Australia referenced Woggabaliri in its Australian 2022 FIFA World Cup bid citing its similarity to football (soccer) as part of Australia's national heritage.<sup>[1]

Woggabaliri - Wikipedia</sup>

So can we finally accept that it isn't football?

Marngrook, Marn Grook

A traditional game from the Gunditjmara people in Victoria. The name comes from a corroboree by the Djabwurrung and Jardwadjali clans in Victoria’s Western District [6].

Marngrook is said to be the Aboriginal game that provided the first lawmakers of football with some of the fundamentals of the game millions know and love as Australian Rules (Aussie Rules) Football [2], a view which is not totally undisputed.

‘Marngrook’ means ‘Game Ball’. The National Indigenous Television (NITV) turned the radio program The Marngrook Footy Show into a TV show in 2007. The show came to be due to a lack of Indigenous people in any of the other football shows.

Jim Poulter wrote the book Marn-Grook, Original Australian Rules in 1985.
Traditional Aboriginal ball made from possum or kangaroo skin. The ball was made in various sizes to fit the game it was used in.
Image source: [2]

Traditional Aboriginal games & activities - Creative Spirits

Haha.....you need to you the blue font.

Dude  aussie rules was being played by tge aborigines  before the english came here.  Mangrook is the percurser of aussie rules.

AFL is not indigenous, the definition of indigenous is "naturally occurring" in an area. AFL exists in Australia because the laws of football migrated from Europe.

Trying to associate themselves with indigenous culture is an insult to indigenous culture and simply trying to legitamise anglo-Australian culture as indigenous culture.

He's not really the target market

This radio clip sums it up atm. 

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/bite-sized,-fast-paced-aflx-on-the-way/9362896

Nobody is really sure what the AFLs motive is. 

I think it is a combination of the main 3 people think - land grab over soccer fields, tv and rules. 

The first one is what this thread is about. 
The second, the market is changing. They may get a reduced tv deal next time or more, but certainly not as much gambling advertising revenue. Does this game create more ad space? yes. AFL and 7 are very good at packaging the game. Post show with highlights and so on and showing fans with their faces painted etc. It may translate very well to tv. This trail may be for 2 reasons; to see if it works and as the player mentioned they may look at shortening the current game and go to a full home and away. Sure for the AFLX it is 3 hours, but it will be 7 matches and 7 results. 
The third, I looked on an AFL forum and people seem to be convinced that this game is a way to bring in rule changes in the full game. A test ground for new rules also. 

Its hard to know what will happen. It could in a decade take over the normal game and that gets shortened to 17 rounds and AFLX is played for how ever many months. They have a lot of room to move with their concept. 

From Kevin Bartlett on SEN

I don’t know what AFLX will lead to, but I suggest it will be a curiosity training drill for clubs.

I can’t imagine fans being captured by the seven-a-side games.

It may turn out to be a social game for groups who much like indoor footy and cricket for all ages. It’ll never create a market overseas. Again expats may start up a competition for fun

Aussie Rules will never be played as a meaningful competition anywhere in the world. It’s an indigenous game that will never capture the world’s attention – despite it being in my eyes, the greatest game.

I’m KB, that’s my take.

This is a pretty horrible concept and in no way should be compared to 20/20 cricket, the shorter form of cricket is justified reducing a 50 over match that normally takes 8 hours to complete cut down to a 3 hour match which whether we like it or not is much more fan and family friendly.

So much "in my days" garbage in here.

Imagine being deluded enough to actually think that a customer is inherently better because they're being rewarded or challenged instead of indulged. 

Imagine taking a kid to the cinema and instead of watching a Disney or Marvel film with popcorn, the cinema manager decides that watching Blue Velvet and eating chilli con carne is a more rewarding experience.

Fuck off. 

That's because it's only Melbourne & Adelaide for now. Once it becomes popular NIB will be used.

FFA are a bunch of dicks who seem to know diddly squat about the  game and whose only interest seems to be "let's grab the big wage for doing SFA, before we move somewhere where a real product is  sold"
First cab of the rank, for me, would be to lower prices and try to fill the stadiums!
$10 GA seems reasonable & extra bums on seats may pay the rent.

Sad thing is, you're right. The next gen is completely fucked.

I'm in Perth, but haven't heard anything about it.
All the foody media here is focused on the new stadium AFAIK.

It is. The purists hate it . Its a afl version  of 2020 . Which  is targeted  to women and kids. There is going to be  side attractions  during the games and fireworks . 

I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories but I'm certain a big part of the AFLX gameplan is to establish a presence on rectangular pitches in the rugby league states and disturb the status quo. 

And I'm still saying that's the only real reason for this whole thing.