The Australian Football League, a sport that has its first club formed in South Australia in 1860 and has since grown to become one of the most popular sports in Australia. AFL is watched by millions of fans each week (112 million in 2010) and consists of 18 teams spread across five states of Australia.
This article will take you through some of the most important things you need to know about the AFL including tips and previews.
The Season
The season consists of 23-round regular games (“home & away”) and the team with the best record after the regular series is awarded the “minor premiership”.
The top eight teams will be playing a four-round final game series and the winners play the AFL grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The final winners will be known as the premiers of the season, and they will be awarded the premiership cup.
The Awards
Here’s the list of some of the awards the AFL teams & players receive every season
- AFL Premiership Cup
- AFL Players Association awards
- AFL wooden spoons
- AFL Coaches Association awards
- Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year
Derbies or the most awaited matches
Some of the most popular derbies on the AFL are:
- Essendon vs Collingwood
- Western Bulldogs v Greater Western Sydney
- West Coast v Fremantle
- Adelaide v Port Adelaide
- Brisbane Lions v Gold Coast
- Sydney v Greater Western Sydney
Diversity
The AFL is an organisation that supports cultural diversity in its game. Every year the committee dedicates at least one round to play among teams which consist of people from the multicultural backgrounds. About nine players of the regular players in the league are from indigenous communities. Some of the most influential indigenoues members in the AFL are
- Michael Long
- Gavin Wanganeen
- Andrew McLeod
- Nicky Winmar
- Graham Farmer.
The Grand Final
Every team in the league has different strengths and weaknesses hence, sometimes, predicting the final winner would be a little challenging.
Grand final scores are normally quite tight, which makes the matches more interesting. However sometimes scores reflect a huge difference between one team and the other. Here’s a list of some of the Highest Scores scored on a grand final
Scr Year Team
177 1972 Carlton
170 1985 Essendon
163 2007 Geelong