Australian rules football is one of the nation's favourite pastimes. It is a game steeped in and sustained by its tradition, beloved for its singularity as much as its spectacle.
However, this has rarely hindered those in charge of the country's most-watched code from attempting to edit its foundations. History is littered with ill-fated, albeit well-intentioned experiments, undertaken for a variety of reasons. Some were executed in an effort to broaden the game's appeal to the dormant masses, particularly in the northern frontier; some were an attempt to level the playing field, while others were in aid of globalising this uniquely Australian sport.
We're counting down 10 of these AFL experiments, and casting a verdict on their respective efficacies.
Games abroad, for premiership points.
Perhaps the most pertinent experiment on this list is the AFL's attempts to take its code abroad, given AFL CEO Andrew Dillon's recent Indian junket. Buzzword-laden correspondence from AFL House attempted to justify the trip, purporting chances of a genuine foothold in the world's fastest-growing sports market.
Overseas exhibitions were commonplace in the 20th century, but until relatively recently, games played for premiership points had never been contested outside of Australia's golden soil.
Games on the subcontinent would be reminiscent of the AFL's ventures across the ditch, and into the Orient, that characterised the 2010's. St Kilda went 0-for-3 at the venue colloquially referred to as 'The Cake Tin' in Wellington, New Zealand, proving just how half-baked that idea was, while Port Adelaide were triumphant in their three outings at Jiangwan Stadium, in China, between 2017 and 2019.
Verdict: Given that planning for games in India is still in its infancy, a grade on that attempt cannot be given. However, given the short-lived and commercially unsuccessful nature of previous efforts to take the game abroad, this experiment receives a 3/10, with the commendable audacity of the AFL's thinking, the only reason the grade isn't lower.
