AFL

Bod said:

I like Aussie Rules, it's a fabulous game that kicks the shite out of the American equivalent. I'd love to watch some live matches but I find that TNT is ridiculously expensive, it would be good if you could have 1 or 2 channels of their output like Sky Sports used to be in olden times but unless I'm very much mistaken it's all or nothing.

For a number of years now I've used the overseas service from the AFL called 'Watch AFL'. There's a website and a mobile app so you can use it via phone/tablet or laptop and, unlike Sky Go for example, you can cast it to your Smart TV. (I'm old-fashioned and use an HDMI cable from my laptop).

It's about £130 per year, I think (there are monthly packages available) and give you access to all matches, all season, mens' and womens' comps, with the coverage from Fox Footy. You also get access to the live stream of the Fox Footy channel as well as all their main programming (they do have some good panel shows) and the Brownlow Medal count, Grand Final etc even though they aren't broadcast live on Fox.

During the season you can join matches in progress (or even up to an hour or so after they've finished) from either the "live" position or from the start (which is handy if you're late!) and they're always available on demand packaged up into a 2hr 15-ish, no adverts program. The Fox Footy channel often shows 20-ish mins highlights "mini matches" for every game and you can generally find these wthin the app/website.

Most weekends I'd have watched the Thursday and Friday night games, the West Coast match, and maybe one or two more depending on what I'm doing.

If there's a particularly interesting match-up that's taken place after the Eagles have played I might watch that on catch-up on a Monday before I start on the likes of First Crack (ex-North dual Premiership David King and ex-Saint Leigh Montagna discussing and analysing the weekend's footy on a Sunday night) and On The Couch on a Monday (ex-Tiger Jack Riewoldt, ex-Hawk and Demon Jordan Lewis, former Lion Jonathon Brown and Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley - occasionally "Lethal" Leigh Matthews -  discussing all matches, talking points etc).

If you're serious about watching the AFL I'd say it's worth the money, especially if you want to watch live or without knowing the scores beforehand. The AFL website often has full match replays from the host broadcaster (so, at the moment, some of those are from the Seven Network) but you run the risk of seeing the result before you watch them!

It's safe to say that, thanks to the overseas package, I probably watch more Australian Rules football than I do Association Football - it's really only Charlton that keeps me attached to the round-ball game ... and they've been testing my patience for years!

I love AFL as well. Spending eight years in Melbourne basically brainwashed me into loving the game. Now living in Auckland, where they do show a couple of games per week on Sky Sport, there’s, however, almost zero public interest in the game.

One major drawback I think AFL has is the number of blowouts you get. I feel that a lot of games have been decided before the fourth quarter has even started.

Still, a really close AFL game (like the Grand Final) is about the most spectacular thing sports-wise you can witness. Bloody hell, it can be so entertaining!