That's all we've got time for tonight. Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of AFLX for 2019.
Congratulations to Jack Riewoldt and team Rampage for winning this year's tournament.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan defends AFLX as team Rampage win 2019 tournament
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has defended the league's radical AFLX concept despite widespread criticism of the tournament as Jack Riewoldt's team Rampage secured the 2019 trophy in a thriller over Nat Fyfe's Flyers.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has defended the league's radical AFLX concept despite widespread criticism of the tournament.
South Australian footy great Graham Cornes labelled AFLX "snoozy" on Friday night, while fans mostly slammed the tournament on social media.
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But McLachlan says the fact players clearly enjoyed taking part in the tournament, combined with a strong attendance from families at Marvel Stadium, made it a winner.
"(There are) a lot of kids here and they are having a very good time. It is a good crowd, the players are having a good time," McLachlan said.
"It is a fun night, that is what it is. It is for kids and it is a bit of fun to kick off the year."
The AFL boss said the game's stars who took part, including team captains Nat Fyfe, Patrick Dangerfield, Jack Riewoldt and Eddie Betts, enjoyed the opportunity to play alongside the best of the best.
"It was very new last year and very young," he told Channel 7. "It is good to have some of the great players playing. They enjoy it. They like to be able to plain with each other and hang out and meet each other and sort of coach themselves and have a bit of fun as well.
#AFLX Trying to like it but it's a little snoozy. What's the verdict?
— Graham Cornes (@Cornesy12) February 22, 2019
So,Has AFL realised that this is crap?#AFLX
— kim kingsun (@shifty75) February 22, 2019
Definition of torture.... Waiting patiently for the footy season to start. An having AFLX thrown at you just to make the wait more excruciating. #AFLX
— Brett (@Bluebagger09) February 22, 2019
Bloody boring. Not liking it at all. #AFLX
— Blockchain San (@sanran100) February 22, 2019
"I know they have enjoyed it."
But fans weren't exactly complimentary of the tournament throughout the night as they flooded social media with posts criticising the concept.
By the conclusion of the tournament, AFLX had grown on other fans.
Riewoldt's team Rampage secured the 2019 AFLX premiership in a thriller over Fyfe's Flyers, with captain Riewoldt kicking the winning goal in the dying seconds.
"Thank you to my boys tonight, obviously playing well in the last game and getting $30,000 which will go a long way," Riewoldt said.
"To the rest of the players, we have had a really great two days. We had a great catch-up last night and we all enjoyed it.
"It's not very often you get 50 of the best players in the competition together to play a different brand of footy, enjoy each other's company.
"Finally to our boys, played their hearts out. We really enjoyed it. We love spending time with each other."
With Riewoldt's Rampage securing the 2019 AFLX premiership, $30,000 was donated to his team's chosen charity, Maddie Riewoldt's Vision.
If you didn't like #AFLX then you totally missed the point of it. Everyone involved had fun
— Taj (@TajWhelan) February 22, 2019
The kids were loving it
Got a better crowd then some actual games
Raised money for charity
And the games were entertaining
What more could you want
#AFLX was actually better than I imagined it would be. Next year do State Of Origin instead of made up teams!
— âš¡ï¸ Craig âš¡ï¸âœ¨ (@Beckers_CD) February 22, 2019
Updates
By Eliza Sewell
If Chris Scott needed further proof young gun Tim Kelly was now fully in at the Cattery, he got it on Friday night.
The one-time want-away didn’t get near it at Marvel Stadium as he joined Team Deadly for AFLX. And it’s just the way coach Scott would have wanted it.
Against his Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield’s Bolts side, he showed no flair, no run and dash. No sign he’s been tearing up the track at Kardinia Park.
Good lad, Tim. Not worth wasting it on AFLX, with no points up for grabs. Save it for Round 1.
In his second match, against the Flyers who were wearing Passiona purple, Kelly made an intercept mark. He handballed and received it back, the classic one-two. But that was it.
He got a few touches in the third game, but still didn’t get out of a trot.
Kelly is out of contract at the end of the season and surely West Coast will have another stab at luring him home.
But he wasn’t seen cuddling up to Deadly teammates Lewis Jetta and Willie Rioli, the Eagles teammates that could have been.
And there appeared to be no courting from Fremantle’s Bradley Hill or Nathan Wilson.
Kelly didn’t want to go to the Dockers, but they will most likely have another crack, too.
Maybe Hilly had a quite word, backstage.
Kelly came off for a spell at one stage and sat on the bench between Pie Travis Varcoe and Bomber Anthony Mcdonald Tipungwuti – safe.
He walked the boundary with his two youngest children while the Flyers and team Rampage battled it out.
It was family that was pulling him home, but maybe he’s found that at the Cats.
“We’re confident we can provide an environment Tim will really enjoy and does really enjoy, but we’ll have to see how that plays out throughout the season,” Dangerfield said earlier this month.
KELLY SAVES HIMSELF FOR ROUND 1 AFTER QUIET AFLX
By Eliza Sewell
If Chris Scott needed further proof young gun Tim Kelly was now fully in at the Cattery, he got it on Friday night.
The one-time want-away didn’t get near it at Marvel Stadium as he joined Team Deadly for AFLX. And it’s just the way coach Scott would have wanted it.
Against his Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield’s Bolts side, he showed no flair, no run and dash. No sign he’s been tearing up the track at Kardinia Park.
Good lad, Tim. Not worth wasting it on AFLX, with no points up for grabs. Save it for Round 1.
In his second match, against the Flyers who were wearing Passiona purple, Kelly made an intercept mark. He handballed and received it back, the classic one-two. But that was it.
He got a few touches in the third game, but still didn’t get out of a trot.
Kelly is out of contract at the end of the season and surely West Coast will have another stab at luring him home.
But he wasn’t seen cuddling up to Deadly teammates Lewis Jetta and Willie Rioli, the Eagles teammates that could have been.
And there appeared to be no courting from Fremantle’s Bradley Hill or Nathan Wilson.
Kelly didn’t want to go to the Dockers, but they will most likely have another crack, too.
Maybe Hilly had a quite word, backstage.
Kelly came off for a spell at one stage and sat on the bench between Pie Travis Varcoe and Bomber Anthony Mcdonald Tipungwuti – safe.
He walked the boundary with his two youngest children while the Flyers and team Rampage battled it out.
It was family that was pulling him home, but maybe he’s found that at the Cats.
“We’re confident we can provide an environment Tim will really enjoy and does really enjoy, but we’ll have to see how that plays out throughout the season,” Dangerfield said earlier this month.
By Sam Landsberger
Andrew Gaff strutted into Marvel Stadium with a grey blazer covering a plain white t-shirt and would’ve worn a smile as he left on Friday night.
There was a pink ball, flashing goal posts and a rectangular field but Gaff was back … and $5000 richer for the fun of it.
It was the exact same trim, fit and polished footballer the AFL world admired up until that punch on Andrew Brayshaw in Round 20 last year.
Gaff missed out on West Coast’s premiership and missed another Grand Final last night as his AFLX ‘Bolts’ were knocked out early.
Sadly, league promoters also missed a trick by not including any of the Brayshaw brothers to line up either with or against Gaff.
We’ll have to wait until Round 4 for Gaff’s return date against Fremantle in a derby week he is certain to dominate the headlines.
But imagine Brownlow Medal place-getter Angus Brayshaw and Gaff running full bore for the same ball.
It would’ve brought forward some of the intrigue bubbling on from one of the stories of 2018 and injected some much-needed hype into Friday night's weird experiment.
But for Gaff to run around in a semi-competitive game for the first time in 201 days on Friday night would’ve been soothing for both his mind and his bank account.
And Gaff was spared the unsavoury boos that were angrily shouted at him in Round 20 last year and are certain to be repeated when he returns to the AFL in seven weeks’ time.
Gaff – who is also eligible to plat JLT pre-season series – is set to slot back in against Collingwood in the Grand Final rematch at the MCG before that Dockers derby.
Friday night's hectic running patterns would’ve saddened Kangas fans.
Gaff was playing at North Melbourne’s home ground and in the club’s royal blue colour and the club came agonisingly close to pinching his signature last year.
Gaff’s first two kicks sprayed through for behinds but he then got into his groove.
Gaff charged forward and snapped a goal to bring his team back within 17 points in the first game and then attempted a wild torpedo after the final siren.
Minutes later, Gaff set up the Bolts’ first goal of the second game.
Once again, it is clear Gaff is going to drain the GPS batteries quicker than most.
GAFF MAKES SUCCESSFUL RETURN TO FOOTY AFTER BRAYSHAW PUNCH
By Sam Landsberger
Andrew Gaff strutted into Marvel Stadium with a grey blazer covering a plain white t-shirt and would’ve worn a smile as he left on Friday night.
There was a pink ball, flashing goal posts and a rectangular field but Gaff was back … and $5000 richer for the fun of it.
It was the exact same trim, fit and polished footballer the AFL world admired up until that punch on Andrew Brayshaw in Round 20 last year.
Gaff missed out on West Coast’s premiership and missed another Grand Final last night as his AFLX ‘Bolts’ were knocked out early.
Sadly, league promoters also missed a trick by not including any of the Brayshaw brothers to line up either with or against Gaff.
We’ll have to wait until Round 4 for Gaff’s return date against Fremantle in a derby week he is certain to dominate the headlines.
But imagine Brownlow Medal place-getter Angus Brayshaw and Gaff running full bore for the same ball.
It would’ve brought forward some of the intrigue bubbling on from one of the stories of 2018 and injected some much-needed hype into Friday night's weird experiment.
But for Gaff to run around in a semi-competitive game for the first time in 201 days on Friday night would’ve been soothing for both his mind and his bank account.
And Gaff was spared the unsavoury boos that were angrily shouted at him in Round 20 last year and are certain to be repeated when he returns to the AFL in seven weeks’ time.
Gaff – who is also eligible to plat JLT pre-season series – is set to slot back in against Collingwood in the Grand Final rematch at the MCG before that Dockers derby.
Friday night's hectic running patterns would’ve saddened Kangas fans.
Gaff was playing at North Melbourne’s home ground and in the club’s royal blue colour and the club came agonisingly close to pinching his signature last year.
Gaff’s first two kicks sprayed through for behinds but he then got into his groove.
Gaff charged forward and snapped a goal to bring his team back within 17 points in the first game and then attempted a wild torpedo after the final siren.
Minutes later, Gaff set up the Bolts’ first goal of the second game.
Once again, it is clear Gaff is going to drain the GPS batteries quicker than most.
Congratulations to the Rampage!
RIEWOLDT'S HEARTFELT SPEECH AFTER AFLX TRIUMPH
Nice speech from Jack Riewoldt as he accepts the AFLX trophy on behalf of team Rampage and presents a $30,000 cheque to the side's chosen charity, Maddie Riewoldt's Vision.
"Just want to thank all the fans for coming out tonight," he said. "It's obviously a new idea and everyone embraced it.
"On behalf of Maddie's Vision I want to say a massive thank you to the AFL. This Sunday is five years since Madeline's passing, so it is a tough time for our family but the support we've received from everyone in the AFL community when we first kicked off Maddie's Vision five years ago after her passing was unrivalled in the support we received.
"Thank you to my boys tonight, obviously playing well in the last game and getting $30,000 which will go a long way.
"To the rest of the players, we have had a really great two days. We had a great catch-up last night and we all enjoyed it.
"It's not very often you get 50 of the best players in the competition together to play a different brand of footy, enjoy each other's company.
"Finally to our boys, played their hearts out. We really enjoyed it. We love spending time with each other."
Riewoldt kicks the winner!
2️⃣0️⃣ points from @JackRiewoldt08 to win the Grand Final! 😱#AFLX pic.twitter.com/qmQ7ZKZdZA
— 7AFL (@7AFL) February 22, 2019
Rampage captain Jack Riewoldt kicking the match-winning goal with only seconds to play against the Flyers to secure the AFLX title.
Rampage win 84-67.
Review by Sam Landsberger
HIGHLIGHT
Patrick Cripps was the AFLX “Superboot” with 96 points for the night, helping Rampage win the flag. Cripps was a game changer by title and by nature. Wonder where last night’s gong ranks among two best-and-fairests and an All-Australian gig.
LOWLIGHT
Nat Fyfe’s captaincy. “The Bont” put The Flyers into the Grand Final as the Game Changer in the historic preliminary final win … and then the vice-captain was sacked as Fyfe and Isaac Heeney were named the Game Changers in the decider.
X-FACTOR
Shaun Higgins the ruckman. North Melbourne’s silky star won a tip-off against former teammate Bontempelli and then charged free to snap a goal. Should Todd Goldstein be worried? Don’t think so.
RAMPAGE ARE CHAMPIONS OF AFLX
Rampage captain Jack Riewoldt kicking the match-winning goal with only seconds to play against the Flyers to secure the AFLX title.
Rampage win 84-67.
Review by Sam Landsberger
HIGHLIGHT
Patrick Cripps was the AFLX “Superboot” with 96 points for the night, helping Rampage win the flag. Cripps was a game changer by title and by nature. Wonder where last night’s gong ranks among two best-and-fairests and an All-Australian gig.
LOWLIGHT
Nat Fyfe’s captaincy. “The Bont” put The Flyers into the Grand Final as the Game Changer in the historic preliminary final win … and then the vice-captain was sacked as Fyfe and Isaac Heeney were named the Game Changers in the decider.
X-FACTOR
Shaun Higgins the ruckman. North Melbourne’s silky star won a tip-off against former teammate Bontempelli and then charged free to snap a goal. Should Todd Goldstein be worried? Don’t think so.
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