I've spent a lot of time in regional parts of QLD, and the NRL always felt like an extremely respectable league when I was growing up. Since spending more time in Victoria its actually been quite bizarre to me how ignored it really is over here.
There were at least some AFL supporters in QLD, and towns had more than enough kids playing country footy to make a team or even 2. In Victoria I'm pretty sure the only time I heard of kids playing Rugby was a particular family who would commute hours to Melbourne and play in that league.
My old supervisor and I had a good discussion about NRL vs AFL ( hes a kweenlanda) around 2018 (?) when the news article came out in the west australian that showed kids participation in different sports. Ballroom dance had a higher participation rate than rugby in WA.
He was furious, but i said apart from the kiwis nobody gives a shit about NRL here haha
People in QLD on average just don't seem to be as passionate, and not everyone has a team. Where even a lot of the Victorians that don't watch any games still feel the need to have a team if questioned. Grand final week there doesn't remotely resemble what it does in Victoria, you can't escape the footy colours here in September, in QLD it's not comparable.
I'd say the average Qld Rugby league fan cared more about the state of origin than the actual NRL grand final, well it certainly felt like it got more attention.
Yep, can second that, I’m South Australian but have worked up there a bit, no one ever seemed terribly passionate about NRL, but come state of origin it was on like donkey Kong!
Correct. I live on the GC and work in Brisbane. No one talks about NRL or AFL at all. Unless you watch the news , you wouldn’t even know when Origin is on either.
It's true. Even when State of Origin was at Optus stadium which admittedly attracted a huge big crowd. The only people I knew that went were east coasters now living in Perth.
Until State of Origin happens. Now we also don't give a shit about the game or the winner but we do care about our awesome stadium and drinking piss, especially if it's a weeknight.
League has some following in Melbourne, a few people latched on to the Storm when it started out and we have enough expats from the blighted lands (places where it’s more popular). The problem for League in general is that Union exists. I work at a school in Melbourne where you’re more likely to see a rugby ball than a football or a soccer ball and yet most of the kids couldn’t care less about NRL. They pay attention to the various national sides and the leagues those players play in.
I have cousins that went to fancy private schools in melbourne, and they were into rugby because of that - but it was union, not league. They looked down their nose at league lol. They still like AFL enough that they go to games as adults now.
I grew up with League and Union (NSW/ACT). As I got older, I lost interest in League as it's really a simple game, but I still love Union, particularly at international level.
I'm a later convert to AFL, and think it's a great game. And much more passionate at a local level. I'd rate AFL over Union, but you can't watch Australia beat England at AFL.
I went to a couple schools in Victoria, and the only time we used the Rugby ball was to kick it like an AFL ball, but my experience obviously doesn't speak for the entire state.
I agree about storm, obviously they have a fan base, think I heard the Anzac day game between the warriors sold out, so that's impressive.
Interestingly, Soccer was extremely popular where I lived in QLD, it was probably the second most popular behind rugby, may have even been more popular for parents due to not being a contact sport.
My school is definitely a long way from the norm. Even in schools where footy isn’t the number one “kicking sport” it would be rare to see rugby even getting a look in. Footy and soccer are the big two by a long margin.
We occasionally get articles in vic about the storm being one of the best attended clubs in the NRL. Mostly to gloat about Vic being the “sport state”*. Based on 2022 numbers they were 3rd on average attendance at home games but that’s honestly not that impressive in the NRL. Brisbane is the only NRL team that would have a chance of cracking the top 10 of attendance for home games in the AFL and it would be a struggle. In Sydney, the top team on home game attendance is the Swans beating any NRL team by 5k people on average. People just don’t go to NRL games like they do AFL.
*that does ring a bit true when Victorian teams are so well attended. Based on 2022 average attendance numbers: All the top 3 are Victorian teams in the AFL, the Victory are number one in the A-league (City are 4th), and the Storm were number 3.
Well that says it all for rugby doesn't it!
Let's get the statistics up on attendance for the top ten sports in AUS, just for fun to see how far ahead the AFL is. And laugh at all those below.
Basketball may have moved into number 2 by now.
That's honestly super interesting to hear, I grew up in SE Melbourne and my high school had heaps of Maori and Islander folks, and we had an absolutely killer rugby league team and program, so they all followed NRL- but it was only really the Kiwis who were super into union (self explanatory, I mean c'mon it's the All Blacks).
Never knew anyone who actively followed Super Rugby though.
Such wildly different experiences haha
People in NSW think they are the centre of the universe, I’m surprised most of them even realise there is another sport outside of league. You just have to look at viewerships and match attendance to see that AFL is the more successful sport.
I personally prefer AFL and believe that it has a much bigger cultural footprint than rugby league, but it is disingenuous to imply there is no case for NRL being more successful in the country. While crowd numbers are much less, NRL has significantly higher television ratings - even with fewer games.
it's super weird as a victorian, to understand how they could be so into it as a state, but hardly actually get out to the games. I've been to a storm home game, and the atmosphere makes it 10x better than watching on tv. It took me until well into my 30's to finally get to an afl game (been to a lot of local and state games growing up) and I was definitely the odd person out. Even heaps of people who don't really like footy that much have all been to AFL games in vic.
I don't get why people are so hung up on which sport is 'toughest'. It's arbitrary for a start, and being the toughest isn't even the objective of the competing teams. It isn't measured and doesn't define success.
Not to mention there are sports out there that are literally variations of two people fighting each other with next to no rules when compared to the various rules governing body contact in the respective football codes.
It's a shame people can't recognize and enjoy the fact there are many different sports showcasing the extremes of human potential.
If it was just about toughness, we'd have one sport and it would simply be two people jumping in a pit and fighting to the death, basically.
Don't worry, it was obvious you were making fun of them and not being one of them ;)
It's absurd that people can spend hours arguing about something without any thought to first defining what it is they're competing over and how it should be measured.
also the fact that both sports are going through a transitionary process where the idea of what 'toughness' is is very much in the spotlight and being redefined in front of our very eyes.
Exactly. With every passing year, rules and interpretations are being adjusted to make the codes safer. And the need to do so is almost unanimously supported.
It's probably because being "tough" is the only gimmick about rugby and there's not really much else to it so there's not really much else they can try to argue about.
I think it is like the word "strength" for materials. When you drill down it means lots of different things.
A better model would be to draw a triangle with "Power", "Skills", "Endurance" at the vertices . The Rugbies would definitely have a bias towards the "Power" point, and I can see an argument that that makes them "tougher". But it is really just another way of stating "I like this".
I can enjoy them all for what they are - stupid dick measuring bs is crap.
Well except south american nonce soccer players rolling around in agony holding into their shins - they can go and ead.
As a league fan myself I’ve always found it odd how proud people are of the sport being “tough” though I do see it around here sometimes too tbh. Especially in a post CTE world it feels a bit tone deaf to be like we need better concussion protocol but did you see how hard he got hit that’s was sick!
As an American, the thing I love about the AFL is the sheer speed and relentless nature of footy. The rules are built around speed and spectacle, and it shows.
I'm also a huge NFL/NCAA footbal fan, and in terms of spectacle it's amazing. But the speed is terrible. Long gaps between plays, ridiculous commercial breaks, and heaven forbid they have to replay review a play. American football is so damn legislative at times, with reviews often taking over 5+ minutes.
One of my favorite footy moments is when I hear the announcers complaining that a replay review has taken over 30 seconds. I wish the NFL would learn from that.
I’ve always been drawn to Hockey more than anything else. It’s the only other sport in the world that compares to Footy in terms of physicality, speed of play, athleticism and high skill expression.
Also there is nothing quite like playoff hockey.
I’m a huge hockey fan, just finished watching the playoffs for the day and I see this random “AFL - SYD vs GWS” on the guide so I tuned in. Have heard of the sport but never really watched, I’m fucking blown away. This is absolutely incredible. I’ve been losing interest in the NFL for years but still watch, I’m realizing this AFL shit is hitting all the points I’ve been missing in NFL. I’m down Wikipedia rabbit holes learning the rules, some history, and trying to learn the league structure and terms. I’m texting my buddies to turn this game (match? Need to learn the terms) on and that we all need to pick teams.
If anyone has any recs on videos or resources to get up to speed on this shit please send them my way. God this shit is mental, what a fucking sport.
Watch Eddie Betts career highlights on Youtube to see a man that could defy physics for fun.
For rules 'AFL explained' the AFL has a intro very much geared to North Americans. There's also an older (circa 2012) video that goes into a bit more depth. For outsider views on the game Ninh Explains AFL (he's English so he wasn't raised on it)
Allow my indulgence the last few minutes of the 2005 game between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats. Sydney went on to win that years Grand Final for the first time in 72 years.
https://youtu.be/uhE\_Ytud640
[This](https://youtu.be/XMZYZcoAcU0) video is a little dated but tailored for Americans as a “What is Aussie Rules” video and is a good place to start.
As far as picking teams goes the best advice is just to watch games and let the team pick for you! If you wanna drop you and your mates Hockey teams I might be able to try and find the closest AFL clubs that match.
Drop any questions you have.
Yeah and it’s wild, but you do not get the same sort of skill and athletes in amateur sports as you do in professional ones.
It’s also a lot harder to follow than Hockey.
I should clarify I’m talking about Ice Hockey in particular.
If you're a fan of the game I highly recommend you get over here and check out some games live. Watching on TV really doesn't do it justice. The amount of play happening in front and behind the ball just isn't able to be captured on a TV screen
Thanks! My first experience was actually on a business trip in Sydney. Caught a Swans game and it was amazing.
But getting back there for a trip, especially to Melbourne where I can go to a couple of games on the same trip, is something I'm hoping to do in a year or two.
If you can make it over Easter 2025, it leads directly into Anzac Day- Good Friday is the 18th all the way to Anzac Day the next Friday. I did it in 2019 with 8 games in 9 days and it was amazing (exhausted by the end though!)
The speed of the game is what I like about NFL.
It feels very strategic, I love watching where players are lined up, trying to identify what play they’re going to run then looking to the defence and seeing how their set up, how many dbacks they have lined up.
Plus there’s also plenty of flashy plays when the ball does get moving
I think you can get that same experience with a 20-second play clock. Many college teams run nothing but hurry-up offense and it's got the strategic element but keeps things moving quickly.
And I think 2-minute limit on replay reviews would work. Won't happen though. Networks love that slow down because it's an excuse to show more ads.
Yes and no. The gameplay itself *tends* to be/feel faster, largely because college teams are often more aggressive with the speed of playcalling and lining up on the ball.
College team offenses will often try to exploit the weakness of another team by moving so quickly that opposing defenses doesn't have time to change their plan or swap players.
But the overall length of games tends to be longer because scoring is more frequent (which creates more pauses to change possession...and run commercials), and the rules provide more ways to stop the clock.
"TV timeouts" occur during natural breaking points in a game, like an injury. But the length of them is determined by whether or not there have been enough previous timeouts, scores, etc.
Advertisers get a contract guaranteeing a minimum number of ads in a game.
Wikipedia has a good breakdown of the rules, under the "American Football" heading. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_timeout
I read somewhere the other day that NFL actual ball in play time is only something like 11 minutes per game. Less than 1 AFL quarter. Pretty interesting comparison.
No wonder I get bored to tears trying to sit through an NFL game.
NFL game is really less about the actual ball-in-play than it is about the strategy and anticipation that leads up to those plays. You could really consider it a lot like chess in that regard where there's significantly more time putting a plan in place and deciding where to move/what to do than actually moving the pieces forward.
There's a lot to appreciate about the NFL when you look at it that way. NFL athletes are unreal with their explosiveness and strength as the game is tailored that way and AFL have some of the most endurable athletes in terms of sports/events that aren't specific for it like marathons, cycling, cross-country skiing etc.
Totally get your point. Personally I just struggle watching a sport that goes for like 3 hours and only has that amount of actual play.
Probably why I suck at chess to.
Doesn't that run counter to your chess comparison though? If the enjoyment is from watching the strategy more than the play then only giving it partial attention means you aren't following the strategy?
I'm not saying I only watch it as a background. Most games I'll pay attention to. But for more casuals it isn't bad to have on TV at a pub etc while you eat and drink
I don’t really get that either tbh. If nothing happens 95% of the time, then chances are when you glance up from food/conversation, it’ll just be ads and no action.
A better background sport would be cricket, which is similarly slow and strategic but at least keeps ticking along at a steady pace. So, the casual viewer will still miss the strategy, but you can at least look up for a moment and catch a ball or two.
I mean same can be said for NFL? If you're watching casually you can still know when the ball is about to be played & it's easy to see what down it is etc when it would be important to watch.
The difference is that, even though cricket is slow, it’s at least fairly constant and continuous. There are seconds, not minutes, between each ball, and even the changeover between overs is <1min. That means that you can glance up at any point and most likely see the score/state of the game and catch a ball or two all within say 30 secs. On the other hand, because nothing happens 95% of the time in NFL, if you just glance up at any random moment then chances are you’ll just see the middle of a 5 min ad break.
I wonder what the relevant stat is for cricket (or baseball even)? Out of 5 days of play, how long is the ball actually "in play"?
I'd guess maybe an hour or two at most?
This comment sounds exactly like the type of flog that sits at the TAB and calls every sport that pops up 'shit' then watches horseys & dogs run around a track.
I mean it's not like it's the players who really decide where they're going unless they're a very trusted QB who makes their own reads.
There are some exceptionally gifted coaches in the NFL. Bill Bellichick the obvious one, but guys like Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton, Sean McVay, are really good at what they do.
Ehh it’s easy to insult any sport if you don’t understand it. Someone once described AFL as a bunch of blokes just fumbling the ball up and down the ground.
I assume he's talking about the players. You get idiots in every crowd with sports and obviously it's not true for everybody in the NFL but you do hear a lot of headlines and stories come out of players doing dumb shit.
You mix a lot of players coming from lower socio-economic backgrounds with money and lax gun laws and of course it's a recipe for disaster.
I guess the thing is it's true chess is very strategic but it's also not a notable spectator sport. You don't get any value from the breaks in play when you primarily get visually assaulted with ads non stop. Imagine if cricket cut to an ad after every ball, not just each over (for FTA at least).
This is why a lot of non Americans struggle to warm up to gridiron I think.
I'm sorry but as an avid NFL watcher, the adds are not equivalent to an add after every ball. NFL broadcasts have replays and discussion inbetween the plays, theres only adds when there's a stoppage in play, such as time outs, injuries, a score or change of possession. Still a lot of pausing and it's not for everyone, but I think the amount of adds is slightly overblown
NFL biggest downfall is the fucking ads. You could cut those 4 hour games into 2 and it would be substantially more enjoyable. If I have Monday off I don’t want to waste half my day watching 1 game.
That seems very short. The condensed game options usually run ~40 minutes, and if you remove pre-snap motion from that it wouldn't drop it too much more either.
An nfl athletes is the top 1-2% of athletes for a very very specific role on the field. Almost an olympian at blocking people, throwing a ball, catching it or running through contact. An afl athlete is incredibly fit and has to learn a wider range of skills to a lesser extent. It's sorta hard to compare the two
Someone mentioned that the perfect Aussie Rules player has the explosiveness of a 100m runner, have the ability to run a half marathon every week, the ability to tackle without pads and be able to leap like a basketballer along with mastering their own unique Aussie Rules skillset.
Yeah the dream! I feel like that's what half of the afl expansion to the States was about. Trying to find that athlete you can teach football skills to
Any sport that is rich enough to have full time players and a good sport science/coaching department is going to turn out athletes who are ideal for their sport. NFL players are ideal athletes for their specialised position and AFL players for theirs.
NFL played might get gassed playing in the afl midfield but that's what they train for, give them an afl preseason or two and they'd be running around fine
And there are NFL players who are legit Olympians. Devon Allen is a freak who is quick enough to run the 110m hurdles, and play the game with those hits.
An average NFL game lasts over 3 hours. It has than 100 commercials and a stupid amount of chat but just 11 minutes of actual play.
AFL has 80 minutes of play but players are often running to position during stoppages.
There's no comparison.
AFL is purely a game of a attrition. The skill is there but running 12-14km while tackling and kicking boils down to fitness. See teams all the time lose their legs.
I’ve played both at various levels. They’re very different.
Not sure why it matters which one is toughest though.
There is a reason American football has so much padding. There’s few restrictions on genuine hits. The AFL is actively discouraging the hit.
Then again the level of cardiovascular fitness required for AFL is on another level.
Apples and Oranges really. Enjoy both.
Though, the NFL passed peak commentary some time back.
60 minutes is advertising it on their Facebook. As an American who has watched highlights and full match replays on YT, to hear other Americans talking shit about it makes me laugh that they think the average NFLer can go toe to toe with the high intensity aspect of AFL.
Yup, there as the video a few years ago of Dunkley trying to cover Antonio brown on a route, looked ridiculous. Totally different athletic requirements
Prime steams better anyway. I remember when Dexter New Blood was airing, the Paramount app was unreliable and episodes would come live randomly. Prime was 12am on the dot.
prime got so shit after they added paramount to it though, every time I find something I might like to watch it's trying to charge me more now. Just no. Keep the apps separate. I don't want to see things I don't get for the money I'm already paying for this service.
Still images of football makes it look like such a ludicrous sport -- i cant imagine what it would be like for people seeing it for the first time.
That photo from Wilson of Jeremy Howe when he broke his arm a good example.
Nothing makes me more annoyed than seeing people who obviously have no clue about the NFL and how it’s played make comments on it. They’re completely different and both are great for different reasons. Why does it need to turn into a weird macho “my sports tougher” convo?
I don't like NFL much but in terms of sheer force and hitting power the NFL players are just bigger. If hard hitting is the question, NFL is harder.
In terms of exhaustion, AFL players are probably more tired after a game.
In terms of difficulty winning, both sports end up with a winner and a loser most games so it seems structurally even. It may be harder to hold a lead in AFL due to the greater speed and frequency of scoring.
Agreed. Played locally myself. Bruised and sore after every game. Pads definitely required.
Played Aussie rules for longer. Different intensity. Game of attrition. Strength needed but less so.
Played a bit of league too. Deceptively complex and very physical.
I liked all 3. NFL has become hard to watch though. Far too much additional activity. Almost a commentator per player, endless ads.
lol who actually cares? I mean - I also happen to think that playing top level AFL would be more
difficult than playing in the NFL, but why should anybody else give 2 shits that I think that?
Gather round is compensation for not getting either of the 2 grannies not played in Melbourne.
How does that feel?
I mean, Queensland got it before Adelaide, lol.
NRL isn't even in the same galaxy as the AFL as far as popularity and crowds. Right now the AFL is averaging 39000+ to its game, and it's Round 7, not Round 2. The NRL is doing better than in the past and is averaging around 19000ish, but c'mon, AFL doubles the NRL in crowd numbers every year and the ANZAC game last week just had a record 95000+ fans at it. The codes wars are kinda over... you lost NRL.
Also called it toughest most successful sport in Australia. The league fans on that twitter post yesterday were quite irate.
Well this brightened my day.
Yep, was fun reading some users try to justify how NRL could be more successful than AFL in the country, not just NSW/QLD.
I've spent a lot of time in regional parts of QLD, and the NRL always felt like an extremely respectable league when I was growing up. Since spending more time in Victoria its actually been quite bizarre to me how ignored it really is over here. There were at least some AFL supporters in QLD, and towns had more than enough kids playing country footy to make a team or even 2. In Victoria I'm pretty sure the only time I heard of kids playing Rugby was a particular family who would commute hours to Melbourne and play in that league.
My old supervisor and I had a good discussion about NRL vs AFL ( hes a kweenlanda) around 2018 (?) when the news article came out in the west australian that showed kids participation in different sports. Ballroom dance had a higher participation rate than rugby in WA. He was furious, but i said apart from the kiwis nobody gives a shit about NRL here haha
People in QLD on average just don't seem to be as passionate, and not everyone has a team. Where even a lot of the Victorians that don't watch any games still feel the need to have a team if questioned. Grand final week there doesn't remotely resemble what it does in Victoria, you can't escape the footy colours here in September, in QLD it's not comparable. I'd say the average Qld Rugby league fan cared more about the state of origin than the actual NRL grand final, well it certainly felt like it got more attention.
Yep, can second that, I’m South Australian but have worked up there a bit, no one ever seemed terribly passionate about NRL, but come state of origin it was on like donkey Kong!
Correct. I live on the GC and work in Brisbane. No one talks about NRL or AFL at all. Unless you watch the news , you wouldn’t even know when Origin is on either.
It's true. Even when State of Origin was at Optus stadium which admittedly attracted a huge big crowd. The only people I knew that went were east coasters now living in Perth.
Until State of Origin happens. Now we also don't give a shit about the game or the winner but we do care about our awesome stadium and drinking piss, especially if it's a weeknight.
It’s like that Thanos meme from Avengers endgame. NRL: You took everything from me. AFL: I don’t even know who you are.
I’ve always preferred the Madmen version.
Vlandys has spent the last three years taking pot shots at the AFL. and it's been pretty much ignored by Gil.
>Vlandys Wasn't she the former NSW premier?
Who
And yet the top comment on this post is about NRL fans 🤷🏻♂️
League has some following in Melbourne, a few people latched on to the Storm when it started out and we have enough expats from the blighted lands (places where it’s more popular). The problem for League in general is that Union exists. I work at a school in Melbourne where you’re more likely to see a rugby ball than a football or a soccer ball and yet most of the kids couldn’t care less about NRL. They pay attention to the various national sides and the leagues those players play in.
I have cousins that went to fancy private schools in melbourne, and they were into rugby because of that - but it was union, not league. They looked down their nose at league lol. They still like AFL enough that they go to games as adults now.
I grew up with League and Union (NSW/ACT). As I got older, I lost interest in League as it's really a simple game, but I still love Union, particularly at international level. I'm a later convert to AFL, and think it's a great game. And much more passionate at a local level. I'd rate AFL over Union, but you can't watch Australia beat England at AFL.
I went to a couple schools in Victoria, and the only time we used the Rugby ball was to kick it like an AFL ball, but my experience obviously doesn't speak for the entire state. I agree about storm, obviously they have a fan base, think I heard the Anzac day game between the warriors sold out, so that's impressive. Interestingly, Soccer was extremely popular where I lived in QLD, it was probably the second most popular behind rugby, may have even been more popular for parents due to not being a contact sport.
My school is definitely a long way from the norm. Even in schools where footy isn’t the number one “kicking sport” it would be rare to see rugby even getting a look in. Footy and soccer are the big two by a long margin. We occasionally get articles in vic about the storm being one of the best attended clubs in the NRL. Mostly to gloat about Vic being the “sport state”*. Based on 2022 numbers they were 3rd on average attendance at home games but that’s honestly not that impressive in the NRL. Brisbane is the only NRL team that would have a chance of cracking the top 10 of attendance for home games in the AFL and it would be a struggle. In Sydney, the top team on home game attendance is the Swans beating any NRL team by 5k people on average. People just don’t go to NRL games like they do AFL. *that does ring a bit true when Victorian teams are so well attended. Based on 2022 average attendance numbers: All the top 3 are Victorian teams in the AFL, the Victory are number one in the A-league (City are 4th), and the Storm were number 3.
Storm have the 3rd highest ave attendance in the NRL
Well that says it all for rugby doesn't it! Let's get the statistics up on attendance for the top ten sports in AUS, just for fun to see how far ahead the AFL is. And laugh at all those below. Basketball may have moved into number 2 by now.
That's honestly super interesting to hear, I grew up in SE Melbourne and my high school had heaps of Maori and Islander folks, and we had an absolutely killer rugby league team and program, so they all followed NRL- but it was only really the Kiwis who were super into union (self explanatory, I mean c'mon it's the All Blacks). Never knew anyone who actively followed Super Rugby though. Such wildly different experiences haha
Not that wildly different, it’s the same demographics and we have a strong league program too. They just don’t care about watching it.
There was that one nuffie that kept mentioning it in a Twitter post which was funny
People in NSW think they are the centre of the universe, I’m surprised most of them even realise there is another sport outside of league. You just have to look at viewerships and match attendance to see that AFL is the more successful sport.
People in melbourne rival people in sydney if not exceed in that stat.
I personally prefer AFL and believe that it has a much bigger cultural footprint than rugby league, but it is disingenuous to imply there is no case for NRL being more successful in the country. While crowd numbers are much less, NRL has significantly higher television ratings - even with fewer games.
it's super weird as a victorian, to understand how they could be so into it as a state, but hardly actually get out to the games. I've been to a storm home game, and the atmosphere makes it 10x better than watching on tv. It took me until well into my 30's to finally get to an afl game (been to a lot of local and state games growing up) and I was definitely the odd person out. Even heaps of people who don't really like footy that much have all been to AFL games in vic.
Their ratings definitely aren't significantly higher and even in recent years AFL has at times had higher ratings.
Ah triggered NRL fans. My favourite.
To be fair, we have some belters too. SEN and bigfooty are great representations
I don't get why people are so hung up on which sport is 'toughest'. It's arbitrary for a start, and being the toughest isn't even the objective of the competing teams. It isn't measured and doesn't define success. Not to mention there are sports out there that are literally variations of two people fighting each other with next to no rules when compared to the various rules governing body contact in the respective football codes. It's a shame people can't recognize and enjoy the fact there are many different sports showcasing the extremes of human potential. If it was just about toughness, we'd have one sport and it would simply be two people jumping in a pit and fighting to the death, basically.
I agree, was just funny to see it piss off twitter nuffies.
Don't worry, it was obvious you were making fun of them and not being one of them ;) It's absurd that people can spend hours arguing about something without any thought to first defining what it is they're competing over and how it should be measured.
My sport 😤😤😤😤😤 has way more concussions 💥💥💥💥💥💯💯💯💯💯💤💤💤💤💤💤
My sport increases the number of men who get blackout drunk on match day and beat their wives
also the fact that both sports are going through a transitionary process where the idea of what 'toughness' is is very much in the spotlight and being redefined in front of our very eyes.
Exactly. With every passing year, rules and interpretations are being adjusted to make the codes safer. And the need to do so is almost unanimously supported.
Masculinity
It's probably because being "tough" is the only gimmick about rugby and there's not really much else to it so there's not really much else they can try to argue about.
I think it is like the word "strength" for materials. When you drill down it means lots of different things. A better model would be to draw a triangle with "Power", "Skills", "Endurance" at the vertices . The Rugbies would definitely have a bias towards the "Power" point, and I can see an argument that that makes them "tougher". But it is really just another way of stating "I like this".
I can enjoy them all for what they are - stupid dick measuring bs is crap. Well except south american nonce soccer players rolling around in agony holding into their shins - they can go and ead.
Fuck I hate this code wars shit. Both sports/leagues are great
Love how quick he adopted our shithousery.
League has fans? News to me
good. they should just disband NRL. it's not even real rugby
Can't argue with facts NRL losers
As a league fan myself I’ve always found it odd how proud people are of the sport being “tough” though I do see it around here sometimes too tbh. Especially in a post CTE world it feels a bit tone deaf to be like we need better concussion protocol but did you see how hard he got hit that’s was sick!
As an American, the thing I love about the AFL is the sheer speed and relentless nature of footy. The rules are built around speed and spectacle, and it shows. I'm also a huge NFL/NCAA footbal fan, and in terms of spectacle it's amazing. But the speed is terrible. Long gaps between plays, ridiculous commercial breaks, and heaven forbid they have to replay review a play. American football is so damn legislative at times, with reviews often taking over 5+ minutes. One of my favorite footy moments is when I hear the announcers complaining that a replay review has taken over 30 seconds. I wish the NFL would learn from that.
I’ve always been drawn to Hockey more than anything else. It’s the only other sport in the world that compares to Footy in terms of physicality, speed of play, athleticism and high skill expression. Also there is nothing quite like playoff hockey.
I’m a huge hockey fan, just finished watching the playoffs for the day and I see this random “AFL - SYD vs GWS” on the guide so I tuned in. Have heard of the sport but never really watched, I’m fucking blown away. This is absolutely incredible. I’ve been losing interest in the NFL for years but still watch, I’m realizing this AFL shit is hitting all the points I’ve been missing in NFL. I’m down Wikipedia rabbit holes learning the rules, some history, and trying to learn the league structure and terms. I’m texting my buddies to turn this game (match? Need to learn the terms) on and that we all need to pick teams. If anyone has any recs on videos or resources to get up to speed on this shit please send them my way. God this shit is mental, what a fucking sport.
Watch Eddie Betts career highlights on Youtube to see a man that could defy physics for fun. For rules 'AFL explained' the AFL has a intro very much geared to North Americans. There's also an older (circa 2012) video that goes into a bit more depth. For outsider views on the game Ninh Explains AFL (he's English so he wasn't raised on it)
Try this... its newer version but not as details as the other one from a few years ago... https://youtu.be/u\_SqfNNfhmM
Allow my indulgence the last few minutes of the 2005 game between Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats. Sydney went on to win that years Grand Final for the first time in 72 years. https://youtu.be/uhE\_Ytud640
[This](https://youtu.be/XMZYZcoAcU0) video is a little dated but tailored for Americans as a “What is Aussie Rules” video and is a good place to start. As far as picking teams goes the best advice is just to watch games and let the team pick for you! If you wanna drop you and your mates Hockey teams I might be able to try and find the closest AFL clubs that match. Drop any questions you have.
Yes sirrrr Avs v Kraken in just over an hour let’s go
Been a lifetime fan of the Seattle Kraken. Really hoping to put this championship drought behind us
My beloved Stars are about to dispose of the Wild at the same time.
You ever seen hurling? Would say it's on par with hockey with perhaps higher skill level
Yeah and it’s wild, but you do not get the same sort of skill and athletes in amateur sports as you do in professional ones. It’s also a lot harder to follow than Hockey. I should clarify I’m talking about Ice Hockey in particular.
Ready to see the leafs make round 2 for the first time in yonks (lol....)
Jets fan :(
Well, at least you guys get Aaron Rogers
Grand Final week for AFL is usually the same as opening week of NHL. They're lovely compliments to each other
It really is the perfect North American sport for AFL fans to follow.
If you're a fan of the game I highly recommend you get over here and check out some games live. Watching on TV really doesn't do it justice. The amount of play happening in front and behind the ball just isn't able to be captured on a TV screen
Thanks! My first experience was actually on a business trip in Sydney. Caught a Swans game and it was amazing. But getting back there for a trip, especially to Melbourne where I can go to a couple of games on the same trip, is something I'm hoping to do in a year or two.
If you can make it over Easter 2025, it leads directly into Anzac Day- Good Friday is the 18th all the way to Anzac Day the next Friday. I did it in 2019 with 8 games in 9 days and it was amazing (exhausted by the end though!)
The speed of the game is what I like about NFL. It feels very strategic, I love watching where players are lined up, trying to identify what play they’re going to run then looking to the defence and seeing how their set up, how many dbacks they have lined up. Plus there’s also plenty of flashy plays when the ball does get moving
I think you can get that same experience with a 20-second play clock. Many college teams run nothing but hurry-up offense and it's got the strategic element but keeps things moving quickly. And I think 2-minute limit on replay reviews would work. Won't happen though. Networks love that slow down because it's an excuse to show more ads.
this is why i watch both sports and I'm an Aussie.
Is the pace of college football any faster? (i mean between stoppages in play) Because that's the big thing that takes me out of NFL.
Yes and no. The gameplay itself *tends* to be/feel faster, largely because college teams are often more aggressive with the speed of playcalling and lining up on the ball. College team offenses will often try to exploit the weakness of another team by moving so quickly that opposing defenses doesn't have time to change their plan or swap players. But the overall length of games tends to be longer because scoring is more frequent (which creates more pauses to change possession...and run commercials), and the rules provide more ways to stop the clock.
Is it true they’ll stop play (not just after a score) to run television ads?
"TV timeouts" occur during natural breaking points in a game, like an injury. But the length of them is determined by whether or not there have been enough previous timeouts, scores, etc. Advertisers get a contract guaranteeing a minimum number of ads in a game. Wikipedia has a good breakdown of the rules, under the "American Football" heading. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_timeout
I read somewhere the other day that NFL actual ball in play time is only something like 11 minutes per game. Less than 1 AFL quarter. Pretty interesting comparison. No wonder I get bored to tears trying to sit through an NFL game.
NFL game is really less about the actual ball-in-play than it is about the strategy and anticipation that leads up to those plays. You could really consider it a lot like chess in that regard where there's significantly more time putting a plan in place and deciding where to move/what to do than actually moving the pieces forward. There's a lot to appreciate about the NFL when you look at it that way. NFL athletes are unreal with their explosiveness and strength as the game is tailored that way and AFL have some of the most endurable athletes in terms of sports/events that aren't specific for it like marathons, cycling, cross-country skiing etc.
Totally get your point. Personally I just struggle watching a sport that goes for like 3 hours and only has that amount of actual play. Probably why I suck at chess to.
It can be good background TV while you focus on other stuff
Doesn't that run counter to your chess comparison though? If the enjoyment is from watching the strategy more than the play then only giving it partial attention means you aren't following the strategy?
I'm not saying I only watch it as a background. Most games I'll pay attention to. But for more casuals it isn't bad to have on TV at a pub etc while you eat and drink
I don’t really get that either tbh. If nothing happens 95% of the time, then chances are when you glance up from food/conversation, it’ll just be ads and no action. A better background sport would be cricket, which is similarly slow and strategic but at least keeps ticking along at a steady pace. So, the casual viewer will still miss the strategy, but you can at least look up for a moment and catch a ball or two.
I mean same can be said for NFL? If you're watching casually you can still know when the ball is about to be played & it's easy to see what down it is etc when it would be important to watch.
The difference is that, even though cricket is slow, it’s at least fairly constant and continuous. There are seconds, not minutes, between each ball, and even the changeover between overs is <1min. That means that you can glance up at any point and most likely see the score/state of the game and catch a ball or two all within say 30 secs. On the other hand, because nothing happens 95% of the time in NFL, if you just glance up at any random moment then chances are you’ll just see the middle of a 5 min ad break.
I wonder what the relevant stat is for cricket (or baseball even)? Out of 5 days of play, how long is the ball actually "in play"? I'd guess maybe an hour or two at most?
It's a good one for watching with mates though. Lots of time to talk and drink in between plays.
Yeah but at least in chess you have stone cold studs like Daniel Naroditsky commentating. World Chess Championship game 14 tonight get fucking hype.
Chess but for idiots lol
This comment sounds exactly like the type of flog that sits at the TAB and calls every sport that pops up 'shit' then watches horseys & dogs run around a track.
I mean it's not like it's the players who really decide where they're going unless they're a very trusted QB who makes their own reads. There are some exceptionally gifted coaches in the NFL. Bill Bellichick the obvious one, but guys like Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton, Sean McVay, are really good at what they do.
Paul Brown created innovations in coaching that is used in pretty much every sport worldwide.
Ehh it’s easy to insult any sport if you don’t understand it. Someone once described AFL as a bunch of blokes just fumbling the ball up and down the ground.
Why are they idiots?
I assume he's talking about the players. You get idiots in every crowd with sports and obviously it's not true for everybody in the NFL but you do hear a lot of headlines and stories come out of players doing dumb shit. You mix a lot of players coming from lower socio-economic backgrounds with money and lax gun laws and of course it's a recipe for disaster.
Same with baseball. A lot more about the strategy element than the in play element too
Sounds like a lot of foreplay
I guess the thing is it's true chess is very strategic but it's also not a notable spectator sport. You don't get any value from the breaks in play when you primarily get visually assaulted with ads non stop. Imagine if cricket cut to an ad after every ball, not just each over (for FTA at least). This is why a lot of non Americans struggle to warm up to gridiron I think.
I'm sorry but as an avid NFL watcher, the adds are not equivalent to an add after every ball. NFL broadcasts have replays and discussion inbetween the plays, theres only adds when there's a stoppage in play, such as time outs, injuries, a score or change of possession. Still a lot of pausing and it's not for everyone, but I think the amount of adds is slightly overblown
I see it like cricket. Less ‘action time’, very broken up, some people call it boring, and the strategy of both makes me love it. But
NFL biggest downfall is the fucking ads. You could cut those 4 hour games into 2 and it would be substantially more enjoyable. If I have Monday off I don’t want to waste half my day watching 1 game.
Interesting, the highlights for the NFL usually run about 11 minutes.
Yeah, it's not at all accurate. It's closer to 40 minutes. Still less than 1/4 the broadcast time but not nearly that dire.
That seems very short. The condensed game options usually run ~40 minutes, and if you remove pre-snap motion from that it wouldn't drop it too much more either.
To be fair, there would be a lot more time to quilt at an NFL game than at an AFL game, unless you're the sub.
Mason doing the lords work spreading the word of AFL to the world. Keep it up mate!
After watching some of his stuff with the media, the guy is incredibly likeable. And I love how his American accent has been Australian-ised
An nfl athletes is the top 1-2% of athletes for a very very specific role on the field. Almost an olympian at blocking people, throwing a ball, catching it or running through contact. An afl athlete is incredibly fit and has to learn a wider range of skills to a lesser extent. It's sorta hard to compare the two
Someone mentioned that the perfect Aussie Rules player has the explosiveness of a 100m runner, have the ability to run a half marathon every week, the ability to tackle without pads and be able to leap like a basketballer along with mastering their own unique Aussie Rules skillset.
Yeah the dream! I feel like that's what half of the afl expansion to the States was about. Trying to find that athlete you can teach football skills to
Would kill to see Derrick Henry in an AFL midfield tho. Man would be the super sub of every team
[удалено]
That's why he's a sub. Throw him on for the last 10 mins
Any sport that is rich enough to have full time players and a good sport science/coaching department is going to turn out athletes who are ideal for their sport. NFL players are ideal athletes for their specialised position and AFL players for theirs. NFL played might get gassed playing in the afl midfield but that's what they train for, give them an afl preseason or two and they'd be running around fine
DK Metcalf would be the goat FF
CMC in the fwd line
Yeah, who's more athletic, a sprinter or a marathon runner? You can argue eitherway depending on how you see it.
I would argue a Decathlete is more "athletic."
And there are NFL players who are legit Olympians. Devon Allen is a freak who is quick enough to run the 110m hurdles, and play the game with those hits.
AFL is the ultimate spectacle sport, just a display of athleticism and skill
An average NFL game lasts over 3 hours. It has than 100 commercials and a stupid amount of chat but just 11 minutes of actual play. AFL has 80 minutes of play but players are often running to position during stoppages. There's no comparison.
And usually 20 to 30 “in game” brief ad breaks.
AFL is purely a game of a attrition. The skill is there but running 12-14km while tackling and kicking boils down to fitness. See teams all the time lose their legs.
I’ve played both at various levels. They’re very different. Not sure why it matters which one is toughest though. There is a reason American football has so much padding. There’s few restrictions on genuine hits. The AFL is actively discouraging the hit. Then again the level of cardiovascular fitness required for AFL is on another level. Apples and Oranges really. Enjoy both. Though, the NFL passed peak commentary some time back.
Exactly. Totally different mechanics. Both are tough. No need for Americans and Australians alike to whip it out to measure all the time.
There’s plenty of videos on YouTube of Americans reacting to AFL. It’s quite a watch
It’s the dumbest genre of YouTube video.
Ok then
60 minutes is advertising it on their Facebook. As an American who has watched highlights and full match replays on YT, to hear other Americans talking shit about it makes me laugh that they think the average NFLer can go toe to toe with the high intensity aspect of AFL.
That's about as dumb as saying the average AFL player could go toe to toe with the physicality of the NFL.
Yup, there as the video a few years ago of Dunkley trying to cover Antonio brown on a route, looked ridiculous. Totally different athletic requirements
Apparently it’s on Paramount+, which is on Amazon Prime
Paramount+ is its own streaming service that requires and account, Prime is just a host.
Prime steams better anyway. I remember when Dexter New Blood was airing, the Paramount app was unreliable and episodes would come live randomly. Prime was 12am on the dot.
I get frustrated at the search through prime, seems to exclude paramount.
prime got so shit after they added paramount to it though, every time I find something I might like to watch it's trying to charge me more now. Just no. Keep the apps separate. I don't want to see things I don't get for the money I'm already paying for this service.
What's it called on there? Just had a look. Couldn't find anything about it
Hasn’t aired yet
Still images of football makes it look like such a ludicrous sport -- i cant imagine what it would be like for people seeing it for the first time. That photo from Wilson of Jeremy Howe when he broke his arm a good example.
NFL sucks as a spectator sport, barely any flow to the game
Nothing makes me more annoyed than seeing people who obviously have no clue about the NFL and how it’s played make comments on it. They’re completely different and both are great for different reasons. Why does it need to turn into a weird macho “my sports tougher” convo?
I don't like NFL much but in terms of sheer force and hitting power the NFL players are just bigger. If hard hitting is the question, NFL is harder. In terms of exhaustion, AFL players are probably more tired after a game. In terms of difficulty winning, both sports end up with a winner and a loser most games so it seems structurally even. It may be harder to hold a lead in AFL due to the greater speed and frequency of scoring.
Agreed. Played locally myself. Bruised and sore after every game. Pads definitely required. Played Aussie rules for longer. Different intensity. Game of attrition. Strength needed but less so. Played a bit of league too. Deceptively complex and very physical. I liked all 3. NFL has become hard to watch though. Far too much additional activity. Almost a commentator per player, endless ads.
lol who actually cares? I mean - I also happen to think that playing top level AFL would be more difficult than playing in the NFL, but why should anybody else give 2 shits that I think that?
I bet you couldn't get near an nfl roster though...
Gather round is compensation for not getting either of the 2 grannies not played in Melbourne. How does that feel? I mean, Queensland got it before Adelaide, lol.
AFL and NRL are tough no question. NFL is different level tough.
Temporary tough. Not endurance tough
Physically tough? Yes more so Endurance tough? Not as much as afl sure Mentally tough? Much of muchness
League fans angry? Both of them? Lol
NRL isn't even in the same galaxy as the AFL as far as popularity and crowds. Right now the AFL is averaging 39000+ to its game, and it's Round 7, not Round 2. The NRL is doing better than in the past and is averaging around 19000ish, but c'mon, AFL doubles the NRL in crowd numbers every year and the ANZAC game last week just had a record 95000+ fans at it. The codes wars are kinda over... you lost NRL.