03 Australian Rules / Betfair Education / 26 September 2008 / Leave a comment

To die-hard fans, it's the greatest game on the planet. To foreigners, it's that weird game with no sleeves. To the in-play betting fan, it's probably the ideal sport for it. Welcome to Australian Rules footy!

Created in the 1850s by some cricketers wanting to keep fit over the winter, 'Aussie Rules' is the biggest and most parochial sport Down Under. The AFL is the national competition with clubs from each mainland state, although the real die-hard AFL states are the southern ones. The format of the league is similar to American sports in that there is no promotion and relegation format, although plans are afoot to add another two teams to the current sixteen. Also recruiting and player salaries are controlled by a draft and salary cap system, which makes it unlikely a team can dominate or be terrible for more than a couple of seasons. Recently Geelong and Sydney have overcome 44 and 72 year droughts to win the premiership. This means historic data isn't that relevant as most teams will go through highs and lows within a decade.

SEASON FORMAT

The AFL season has three sections.

- The pre-season cup which isn't taken all that seriously

- the home and away season where each side plays 22 matches in order to reach stage three

- the finals. All Australian sport climaxes via a finals series. The top eight teams play off in September to ultimately decide the best team of the season, the premiers.

THE GAME

An AFL match lasts about two hours, played as four quarters of 20 minutes plus time on (every time the ball goes out of play the clock stops or when an umpire stops play). Note that different TV networks show the clock differently - some show a countdown (where the clock will pause for time on) with an exact end, others will show it counting up until the umpire stops the match.

Teams change ends at the end of each quarter, so that teams having the advantage of kicking with a strong wind in one quarter then have to face the breeze soon after. Wind varies from ground (stadium) to ground - smaller venues have low grandstands so are more vulnerable to wind, bigger venues may have stands all around making the wind swirly and hard to predict. Kicking for goal can become very tricky in windy conditions. One stadium, Telstra Dome in Melbourne, can (but not always) host matches with a closed roof so the wind may or may not be a factor.

Eighteen players per side are allowed on the field with another four on the interchange bench. Rolling substitutions are allowed with no restrictions. The positional structure of an AFL team has changed markedly over the last two decades as the game has become fully professional for players and coaching staff. Elite midfielders (running players) will often run a half-marathon during a match. Taller, specialist position players may remain stationed in key attack or defensive roles but most other positions rotate via the interchange bench to keep the freshest and fittest legs on the field at all times.

RULES

Take a look at Wikipedia or the AFL Explained.

SCORING

A goal is worth six points and can only be scored when the ball is kicked between the tall goalposts by the attacking team. A behind (one point) is scored if the ball passes between the four goalposts by any means, or hits one of the central (taller) goalposts.

A team's score will usually be listed as 10.5.65 (goals, behinds, total points - in this case 10x6 + 5 = 65).

DID YOU KNOW?

Australian Rules is the only football code where you can only score the highest pointscoring option with your feet. So which code really is 'football' then?

BETTING IN-PLAY

All AFL matches go in-play but due to a strange Australian Federal Government law, Australian cusotmers can't bet in-play from Australia online (but they can over the phone). This means the markets aren't too quick to react, and will often be priced up at around the 110% mark. Some will say that's a poor market, others will get excited because it means opportunity to get involved!

Setanta Sports in the UK televise three live matches per week on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The average total score in a match is around 190 points. With the game lasting about two hours, a lead of five goals (30pts) early in the game, doesn't mean a lot, particularly when they have had the aid of kicking with the wind. It is very hard for a team to maintain momentum for the entire match. Coaches will change tactics regularly in order to close down opposition players who are having an influence on the match, rest key players in order to leave enough in the tank for the closing stages, a key player may get injured etc.

As with all betting in-running, the key to making a profit is watching out for the over-reactions. If other punters want to take a silly price, then why not let them bet with you?

TACTICS

Modern tactics for the sport vary greatly to decades gone by. Previously it was players stay in their set positions, the interchange bench was used sparingly and teams would keep pushing forward regardless. Nowadays, the emphasis is heavily onto running hard and keeping possession. Elite midfielders can run over 15km per match and will be rotated through the interchange to give them a short rest.

The spectacle of the pack mark, where players would leap high in order to mark (catch) the ball, is far less common. Players are now instructed to wait patiently for the right lead to arrive where a teammate can gain an uncontested possession rather than risk a turnover.

A good defence goes a long way to winning a match. They may not be able to deny their opponents the ball every time, but forcing them wide each they try to score makes kicking goals much harder. Taking a shot at goal from 20m out directly in front is far easier than 50m out against the boundary line, especially when there's a breeze blowing.

WHAT CAN YOU BET ON?

On matches, the main markets are Match Odds, Handicap and Total Points in order of popularity. The handicap market can even up what is expected to be a lopsided contest, making that ten-goal thrashing quite interesting right down to the final siren.

The ultimate prize in Australian football is the Premiership, also known as the Grand Final Winner. All Australian sports have final series to determine the eventual champion; there's little glory in finishing on top during the regular season but then falling short when the pressure is on in the finals. Grand Final day is traditionally the last Saturday in September and this match is televised live around the world. Eight teams play off in the finals series, and the Top 8 market will be full of interest for the whole season.

Note that as there will be eight 'winners', then this market percentage should be over 800% on the 'back' side.

Unique to Australian football is the Brownlow Medal - the best and fairest award for players, as awarded by the umpires. After each match, the field umpires vote 3-2-1 for the best (and fairest - players who get reported for striking or give the umpires abuse are unlikely to poll well) and the sealed envelope is then locked away until the vote count ceremony on the Monday before the Grand Final. Every year, Melbourne radio stations that day are full of rumours about a guy down the road who knows someone who once spoke to someone who had a secret source who had counted the votes already. Bookies love these rumours because they are always wrong and the big betting plunges go astray! The medal count is screened live on TV (in the UK as well) and the votes are read out round-by-round. It makes for great television, and more importantly, a great betting contest!

RESOURCES

Betting.betfair Australia - the Betfair editorial site, now with a localised Australian version.

The official AFL site - live radio, scores, statistics, articles and more

Footyform - match previews and statistics

HeraldSun AFL section - leading Melbourne newspaper

RealFooty - AFL section of The Age newspaper

FoxSports - generic Australian sports site

InjuryUpdate - great site for player injury news