The 2019 AFL or the Australian Football League is a tournament being played at the time of writing this article, according to the rules of the Australian version of the football. It is the 123th edition of the tournament overall and the 30th under the name of AFL. It was once the Victorian Football League until 1989.
Like the seven seasons played earlier, there are 18 teams in the tournament. The inaugural match was played on 21st March with the final scheduled to be played on the 28th of September, 2019. The current champions of the tournament are West Coast Eagles.
Rules changes in the 2019 AFL Season
The AFL Commission which is the governing body of the rules of the game brought in several changes which are in effect first from the 2019 season. Some of them are listed below:
- Both the teams playing must have 6 players inside the 60m arcs and one of the players must be inside the goal square.
- At the start, four midfield players must be placed and two of the wingmen must be stationed along the wing side.
- Water carriers are not allowed to enter the field while the play is resumed.
- At the centre bounces, players will no longer be allowed to set up behind the umpires.
- Team runners are only allowed to enter the field after a goal has been scored, and they must exit before the play restarts from the centre.
AFLX Tournament
It was confirmed by the AFL on December 2018 that the modified form of the game, the AFLX would be played once again in the 2019 pre-season duration. But nor similar to the competition held in 2018, none of the clubs took part in the competition. Instead, four all-star teams played which were picked by four high profile players of the game whilst the best of entertainment viewing will be experienced by the fans from the AFL corporate box.
The JLT Community Series
This pre-season series also returned to be played in 2019, and the teams played two games each. Note that the games were stand-alone and there was no winner declared for the overall series. The games were mostly played at suburban and regional areas and the broadcasting of those was done by Fox Footy.
Highlights of the Premiership Draw
It will be St Kilda that will be hosting the Post Adelaide instead of Gold Coast for the Shanghai rounds.
The Tony Ireland Stadium at Townsville hosted an AFL event for the first time, and it replaced the game which was supposed to be held in Cairns as in the years 2011,and 2018.
This time, like the first, Collingwood will be hosting the Queen’s Birthday Match.
Who can make the finals of 2019?
The betting odds shown for the 2019 season primarily speak of the two teams out reality.
The Crows and the Bombers are among the top picks for the top 8 in 2019, on the other hand, Sportsbet has put their favourite card on the preliminary finalists of the 2018 season, Richmond, West Coast and Collingwood, all of them tied. Next comes Melbourne followed by Essendon and Adelaide.
With the way the tournament is progressing, it is harder to put a tip on the team that will be dropping out of the top eight than entering into it.
While Melbourne is tipped to land into the top 8, Sydney which has been inconsistent over the last few seasons are more likely to miss it even this time around.
Maybe the finals this time around will also be around the three powerhouses of the modern Australian football era.
