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Quarantine has introduced us to plenty of new and obscure sports as the average fan, and that’s going to continue with the Australian Football League. AFL is coming to DraftKings on June 11, so it’s time to start researching.
The video below from the AFL does a great job of summing up the basics in just about five minutes. Here’s a quick summary of my understanding, which will likely give you a reasonable idea of how the sports works.
AFL is a pretty wild combo of football, rugby and soccer. The field is massive, measuring 180 yards by 150 yards, but the game makes up for it with more players on the field. You can pass the ball by kicking it or using your hands — but a pass with your hands has to be a hit … think of serving a volleyball.
When passing, the receiver of the pass will try and “mark” the ball, which just means receiving the pass. But like any sport, defenders will try and “spoil” this and can be extremely physical in doing so.
Scoring goals puts six points on the board, but if you narrowly miss a goal, there are also ways to score a “behind,” which is worth a single point. Watch the videos to best see exactly how the goal posts work when it comes to scoring.
If you plan on really investing in AFL, you probably want to conduct even more research. I highly recommend the video below, which goes over all of the scoring and rules, along with a background of the history of the league and its teams.
If you desperately want to knock yourself out, you can go ahead and try and tackle the 37-page rulebook from the AFL.
DK Nation has a deeper breakdown that includes how you can watch and bet on AFL.
AFL Classic contest info on DraftKings:
Scoring (DKFP = DraftKings Fantasy Points)
Goal: 6 DKFP
Tackle: 4 DKFP
Kick: 3 DKFP
Mark: 3 DKFP
Handball: 2 DKFP
Hit Out: 1 DKFP
Behind: 1 DKFP
Free Kick For: 1 DKFPFree Kick Against: -3 DKFP
Lineup Requirements (You will have a $50,000 salary cap to fill 9 positions)
Forward — 2
Midfielder — 4
Defender — 2Ruck — 1
Current AFL standings:
Rather than list off the 18 teams, let’s put it this way. The season was shutdown just one game in, so nine of the teams are off to a 1-0 start, and the other nine are 0-1.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is jedlow) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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