Well, THAT was… something.

And WAY better!

Whoa, kids!  Have we got a new season of awesome Australian Rules Football for you!  There are a lot of exciting developments such as:  New updated league and team mobile apps, new and updated WatchAFL packages, MOAR games to watch for free, and a NEW AFL Women’s league!

All of that and more on

Welcome to Balls of Steel’s AFL Beat!

Where to begin?  Well, let’s start with how you can watch this wonderful sport on this side of the Pacific Ocean.  You can easily watch through the Internet using the WatchAFL app and a Season Pass.  The cost is $149 USD and it includes:

The WatchAFL package this year has been taken over by Fox Sports Australia and new options for watching AFL-related content are now available.  This includes weekly preview and review shows as well as new ON-DEMAND viewing and the ability to use Chromecast to watch on regular-sized televisions.  It is way improved from previous years and has remained at the same price point.

Alternatively, you can become an International Member like many of us DFOers have become and have the WatchAFL package included in your membership.  The table below shows the different offers and perks offered to the international member for each club.  Each provides access to the entire WatchAFL package above plus some cool stuff!  Keep in mind that the conversion rate right now is $1.30 AUD to $1 USD, so it actually ends up being a better deal to join a club.

Those are pretty good deals!  There are some headscratchers (looking at you, Melbourne and Sydney!) but there are also some real bargains.  My Geelong Cats membership, in particular, is practically nothing after the Cats store credit!  Speaking of, this is about as good a time as any to remind ourselves which DFOer supports which club:

Carlton Blues – King Hippo

Collingwood Magpies – JJ Fozz, Moose

Fremantle Dockers – Yeah Right

Geelong Cats – tWBS, Balls

North Melbourne Kangaroos – Sunrisesunrise

Port Adelaide Power – entropy, WhyEaglesWhy

St. Kilda Saints – Dok Zymm, Litre_cola

Sydney Swans – Sill Bimmons, Spanky Datass

Please let me know if I missed anyone. Last season, BFC, Blax, and SonofSpam joined in the fun of our Footy Tipping Contest.  It’s time to pick teams, boys! The rest of you DFOers should also pick a team, join the Footy Tipping Contest, and follow along, specially considering the great deals you get as International Members!  If you can’t decide which team to support, let me know in the comments and I may put together a special post to help you pick one.

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On top of all the regular AFL action, we have a brand new AFL Women’s league that has started play!  All Women’s league games are being broadcast for free at the AFL website. The Women’s season has been conveniently placed for us in North America between the end of the NFL season and the beginning of the AFL regular season.  There is also some overlap with AFL pre-season matches (which are also being shown for free on the WatchAFL app!). Here is the schedule of all the games coming up in the next few weeks leading up to the start of the AFL Home and Away Season (All times Pacific):

Please note that AFL pre-season and AFL Women’s games are held at smaller parks/stadiums which actually make the visuals more interesting.  It’s like you get a little more of the Australian experience from your couch.

As you can see from the table, the Women’s 1st Round has already taken place this weekend.  Interest was so high that the opening game was sold out, people had to be turned away, and they may move future games to ensure everyone can attend!  Let’s ease our way back onto the AFL Beat with some game recaps:

The very first game in AFL Women’s was played between the Carlton Blues (no “Lady Blues” or any other denigrating/separating nickname, thankyouverymuch!) and the Collingwood Magpies.  The Pies started the game well and Jasmine Garner was able to get the very first AFL Women’s goal in the first:

Unfortunately, that was the ONLY goal the Pies would score all day as the Blues dominated the rest of the game on their way to a 46-11 victory at Ikon Park, Carlton’s traditional ground.  As this highlight package will show you, Darcy Vescio was clearly the Woman of the Match as she was all over the place getting possession of the footy and leading the scoring for both clubs:

In the second game of Round 1, the GWS Giants showed they are much better at hitting than the New York Jets against Tom Brady:

The Crows’ Erin Phillips got up and calmly converted the goal and led her team to the 48-12 home win.

In the third game, the Western Bulldogs hosted the Fremantle Dockers before another packed house.  In this one, the scoring was more balanced for the home team as all contributed to a convincing 44-12 victory.  Here is a good highlights package showing how Western dominated:

In the final game of the Round, Melbourne hosted Brisbane at Casey Fields. This game bucked the trend as it was relatively close and because the road team won! The Brisbane Lions overcame a driving rainstorm that actually caused a delay shortly before halftime due to a lightning strike that hit within 1 kilometer of the Fields.  The Lions were also very good at taking advantage of opportunities and limiting what the Demons could get off theirs.  Here is a good highlights package that shows not only the action on the field but the conditions with the rain:

I really miss playing in the rain.  It was so much fun when I was a kid!

It will be very interesting how things change this week in Round 2.  Three of the home teams dominated but I’m not sure if that is a function of the home field advantage or if the winning teams are really that much better than the losing teams.  Also, in footy, it can be difficult to turn momentum if you don’t have much experience.  That, more than anything, may explain the eerily similar scorelines for the first three Round 1 games.  The Lions-Demons outlier was a great even match most of the game.

It will be very interesting to see how this competition shapes up and how these teams distinguish themselves.  As it is, I am VERY happy to see women play the game with heart, ferocity, and a willingness to hit and get hit.  This is truly not a watered-down version of the men’s game.

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During the next few weeks, I’ll start giving proper previews for the AFL season as well as continue to recap the AFL Women’s league.  BTW, did I mention that all Women’s games that are not part of double-headers with AFL pre-season games (all but 5) are free admission?  That’s how you grow a league!  Not by charging regular season prices for meaningless pre-season NFL games, Mr. National Disgrace!

As disappointed and disillusioned as I am by the NFL, I am excited by and looking forward to the AFL this year.  This league’s leadership really understands how to grow the game and the league and how to provide a game experience (on-field, online, and broadcast) that builds interest and loyalty.  As I mentioned at the top, this has included upgrading the AFL mobile app and the individual team mobile apps.  They are now equipped to handle video content in a more user-friendly way.

I hope more of you DFOers jump on the AFL Beat, check out some games, and pick a team to support.  It really is an amazing sport and it’s only getting better.

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I’ll leave you with this week’s Pacific Heat dialogue exchange.  I don’t care that the US Internet thinks the show is crap, I think it’s hilarious:

Chief:  The only hope for us is to mount a rescue operation.

Todd: Us?!?  Surely it’s a job for the Army. Special Forces?

Chief: We need a group used to operating outside the law.

Todd:  Motorcycle gang?

Veronica: Union heavyweights?

Zac: Off-duty bouncers?

Chief:  No can do. If we want to see Maddie’s father alive, it’s up to us!

Todd:  And if we don’t want to see…

Maddie:  Todd!

Todd:  Well, I’m just canvassing the options!

“Canvassing the options” has definitely made it into my daily vocabulary.  See you next week!