Okay, let’s talk sportsball. I don’t think we’ve ever talked about sportsball in ‘The Big Question’ and boy do I have a question for you. This question is simple: NRL or AFL?
I know it’s not a video game question. I’ve asked about cats and dogs before, so please forgive me!
Being a bit of a sports fan in general, I’ve been to both NRL games and AFL games live. Despite being a pale, pasty Scotsman I’ve actually started to get a grip on the rules of both games. And I hate to pick a preference in such things, but I actually prefer AFL. I know, this will be absolute blasphemy to roughly 50% of you! So try and convince me otherwise? Which do you prefer? Vote below and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments
102 responses to “The Big Question: AFL Or NRL”
Why not do a larger survey that includes more sports? Or at least include an option for none of the above.
Yeah, like throw Quake in there or something.
Or maybe even include a sport that calls itself ‘football’ where you actually use your foot to kick the ball.
What, are you trying to refer to the pussy sport of soccer… where, god forbid, if you get slightly nudged it’s an absolute actor fest to try and prove you were fouled or whatever it’s called? Yeah ok sure….
Well I’m definitely not referring to the sport that seems to be entirely populated by steroid abusing thugs who glass women in the face and bite each others penises.
Or you could think about the etymology of the word where it references a ball sport played on foot. As opposed to horseback or something else
I never thought about it like that, although I’m not sure it’s a distinction that really needs to be be made, it’s not like we’re getting it confused with baseball or elephant polo.
Aussie Rules fits that.
Then why are they always carrying it around with their hands?
Also I hate they way people (especially commentators) refer to it as ‘AFL Footy’ so what they’re saying is actually ‘Australian Football League… Footy’.
Because it isn’t soccer. Different games have different rules, and soccer and aussie rules both involve kicking the ball quite a lot*. A goal in aussie rules doesn’t even count unless it is kicked in (amusingly distinct from soccer where heading the ball is just as valid).
*Obviously soccer has more kicking than aussie rules, but aussie rules still has far more kicking than most other alleged “football” sports (rugby and gridiron as the obvious culprits).
I’m aware AFL isn’t soccer, no need for clarification. It definitely has more kicking than other ball related sports though, I’ll give you that.
Although AFL may only count goals if they are kicked, you still get points if you miss the quite large area of the main goal posts and get it through what I like to refer to as the ‘training wheel’ goal posts. So both sports have their concessions.
Football sometimes has it’s stupid moments though ie: Maradona.
They carry it with their hands because the rules state they can. They use their FOOT to kick the BALL because it’s a good option to move the ball. The commentators call it ‘AFL Footy’ because it is the AFL level of football, as opposed to ‘Local Footy’ or ‘State Footy’.
You mean like AFL where you kick the ball with your foot. At least, unlike grid iron ( and rugby to a lesser extent), the primary form of ball movement is actually kicking,
*Stares at question*
*Blinks a lot*
*Looks left and right as though clues will appear there*
*Stares at question some more*
The thing about… Arsenal is, they always try to walk it in.
What was Wenger thinking, sending Walcott on that early?
Did you see that ludicrous display last night too?
.
Who’s on first
What’s on second
Well done.
The IT Crowd for those confused.
I can’t answer this, but if the question was “Which one do you despise the most? there would need to be an “Equal amounts” option.
CARN THE CROWS
I concur.
AIHL\NHL. No grassy field sports for me 😛
Ice Hockey all the way! #Bleedorange 😉
#GoStarsGo! ‘Stangs are my secondary 😉
Neither.
I think you might want to expand your horizons a little as there are more than two kinds of “football” in this country. And both of those are popular at a global level.
Neither.
Missing option C) Neither
NRL for sure! AFL is a strange game. As a pom, I’ve learnt to tolerate it, but it’s pretty weird.
To quote the little girl in the tv AD’s “Why not both”
yaaaaaaay! *raises xuchiex on his shoulder*
Born and bred in QLD, so it’s NRL all the way… honestly, I think it has a lot to do with where you live/grew up in Australia.
This.
I grew up in WA and couldn’t give a flying, but I now live in Victoria and hear stories of parents alienating or disowning their kids because they follow a different AFL team. It’s bizzare to me.
While it’s footy in WA, in Queensland Rugby is footy and AFL is Aussie Rules.
Easiest way to tell a state/countries favourite is to work out what sport it calls “football”.
NRL is awesome. Except when you reach the end of the season, then you really love it for a while, then you fucking hate it.
Screw you football!
Sports-egg!
\o/
Where is C?
C) Couldn’t give a fat rats clacker about either!
Think of it like the two-party-preferred number in the opinion polls. Even if you hate both, you nominate the one that you hate slightly less than the other.
Well, I guess living in SA, we don’t have to listen about NRL players’ groins all that much, so I’d say I dislike NRL the least
I vote for the one with the ball thing and toned men groping each other
NRL. I like contact sports and the rules make more sense to me than a game that stops everytime the ball is caught.
A league / EPL / Bundesliga / TDF
I was brought up on NRL.
loved it as a kid, but as I got older the culture of the game changed (or maybe I just started noticing it)
now I find the idea that anyone involved with that game & its thuggish, glorified bogan mentality of booze violence & sleaze could be seen as a celebrity or role model absolutely embarrassing.
so definitely not NRL.
& being from NSW, I’m not allowed to have an opinion on AFL.
so I’m gonna say I prefer proper football (soccer).
then Rugby Union, though I’m not a huge follower.
Edit: /not helping
If it helps, I had the exact same revelations about AFL.
My vote goes to Quake.
Cooper Cronk goes alright as a role model.
1 in 300 players isn’t too bad?
Go the Wallabies!
Going to the game: AFL wins. (bigger crowd, better atmosphere, longer games = more value)
On TV: NRL is easier to watch on TV but in terms of ratings AFL was been winning over the last 2 years.
They are both good but in terms of media exposure and revenue the AFL wins hands down.
ALLLLLL BLACKSSSSSS
Always preferred Ice Hockey. Pity there aren’t too many fans here.
Start following your local team. Go to THEAIHL.COM for more info on the Australian clubs
There are more of us than you think….
I meant in comparison to the U.S, I know there are a few here but we can’t beat the national sports.
Oh, of course. Hopefully, there will be greater exposure over time. Take more friends to AIHL games, then host NHL watching parties with Gamecenter, or vice versa – We’ll get more people interested through word of mouth that way! Hockey has the ability to gain a great following over here, it’s just that most people have never experienced it to know what they’re missing.
Yes! Exactly that. I’ve only shown a handful of friends the sport and all of them have shown more of an interest in it than our national ones.
I think the biggest boost here would be more advertisements on free to air, Because lets face it, Those who pay for the sport channels may already be watching the games.
NFL. GO PACK GO!
Neither, its all about the world game!
Blitzball!
Speedball! …And I’m backing Brutal Deluxe 😛
Neither. Proper Rugby.
NRL IS proper Rugby. None of that uncultured artless ‘union’ crap. 😛
This song by the stellar Dead Cat Bounce sums it up…
Although to be fair, almost all these points apply to AFL as well.
Draw?
In light of the new Free to Air announcement deal to finally show soccer to a broader audience on a regular basis (not just pay TV) this will be an interesting question to ask in a few years time. As much as I love AFL, I’ve always felt soccer’s been a bit of a sleeping giant here.
“Soccer” and “sleeping” are 2 words definitely synonymous with each other.
😀
AFL. More entertaining game overall.
NRL is just a bunch of overweight, tattooed up thugs that can hardly run.
Not really. Jonathan Thurston springs to mind.
That’s like saying AFL is just lanky Melbourneans who high five way too much.
JT Is a legend!
The man is a wizard.
Considering some of the biggest man (Andrew Fifita) were racking up 100+ Metres a game this season, I wouldn’t say they can hardly run!
Midfielders in AFL often run over 15kms a game, the majority of it at a run or a sprint. The amount of running rugby players or American football players do per game is pitiful by comparison. Completely different games. By AFL standards, rugby players can’t run. By rugby standards, AFL players can’t tackle.
Well I wasn’t comparing the games but thanks for that :p It’s silly to compare them as of course AFL players run more, it’s required for the way the game is played. Was merely pointing out that for a big man like Andrew Fifita or Matt Scott for example, running 100+ metres is proof that the NRL is more then just “a bunch of overweight, tattooed up thugs that can hardly run” as stated by user @bigguss
Actually, I think you’ll find in order become an AFL footballer you need to get a tacky sleeve tattoo to qualify.
Quidditch
Vossy nose football!
As I am my father’s son, I am obligated to vote AFL, and say that NRL is a strange, incomprehensible oddity.
Or vice-versa. Honestly, I can never remember which is which. I think NRL is the one where some players occasionally wear silly hats, but don’t quote me on that.
Man a lot of commenter on this site really don’t watch any sport hey? NRL gets my vote. Been following it since I can remember. IMO there is more skilled involved then in AFL.
neither sports Sucks, maybe motor sports is alright
-_-
Definitely prefer AFL out of the two, usually try and make it to as many games as possible to see my team play.
That being said, instead of worrying about which sport we prefer out of these two, we should talk about real football and get pumped for the A-League starting this week! 😀
Dislike NRL, only watch AFL when the Hawks are in the finals.
Soccer by far.
But if forced to choose between those two, NRL I guess.
You might as well have asked “is Kotaku’s readership from the southern states or northern states?”.
And the answer is… overwhelmingly the south! (plus probably some Northerners who, being Kotaku readers, are a bit smarter and chose AFL over thugby)
Sports?…. No. I’d rather eat a bag of caramel koalas and play video games.
NHL, NRL an NFL are all i need
Was brought up on NRL. Over time I realised that all people want to do is complain about the refs and there is absolutely nothing appealing about the players. Bad haircuts, bad tattoos and bad attitudes. I gave AFL a shot and it’s not any better and I find it a lot less entertaining. I moved over to Rugby Union and I still watch it off and on (although the bad haircuts seem to become more and more present). The last couple years I’ve gone over to NBA and never looked back. Way more entertaining and the players all come across as much more decent people. Even the worst of them (Meta World Peace, Garnett) would be saints in NRL.
Long time NBA fan here and basketball player. I gotta stand up for my fav. player KG here as he is not among the leagues worst! He is among the best, his competitive spirit just gets a bit out of hand sometimes. MWP and players like DeAndre Cousins, Rondo and Matt Barnes are more thuggish. KG is a legend, watch his interviews with Bill Russell. 🙂
EDIT: Although I take your point on board, MWP would be shoulder charge, spear tackle and head high tackle king if he was in the NRL.
Happy to see a fellow NBA fan here for once!
That said, I respectfully say KG deserves all the hate he gets. Constantly getting in fights, dirty plays, wishing Tim Duncan a happy mothers day after his mother died. The Carmelo Anthony incident made me laugh though.
Deandre Cousins and Rondo are pretty bad, but I wouldn’t put them as bad as KG. I think Matt Barnes is a little aggressive but usually not that bad, his image makes him look way more thug than I think he actually is. He’s usually pretty good natured.
I wouldn’t say he’s constantly getting in to fights, but he certainly is a dirty trash talker (and talks a lot tougher than I think he is.) Trash talking has been around for ever in the NBA though and he’s just keeping it going. :p
Mother’s day comment was out of order. Was disappointed when I heard about that, but if it did happen it was back in ’99 and he was 22 if it makes it any better.
Cousins & Rondo just act like little children. Matt Barnes is actually not so bad now that Kobe reigned him in. MWP remains a c***.
You follow any team in particular?
Clippers! (that might explain my Barnes bias).
I daresay it is probably because of Blake Griffin. I watched some highlights as I was getting interested in NBA again and Griffin definitely dominated those a couple seasons ago. Deandre Jordan and Chris Paul were just some fantastic additions. I will say, though, that Memphis Grizzlies impressed me. They achieved so much with very few big players and I’ll be paying them more attention this season. You?
How do you feel about some of the trades? I’m happy that LAC traded Bledsoe, I think he’s a bit overhyped and most of their bench teams success was just down to Jamal Crawford anyway. Houston with Dwight could be truly amazing. I see Harden and Howard getting along much better than Howard and Bryant.
Yeah you def joined at the right time to become a Clipers fan! They’re gonna go far this year with Doc at the helm. Unfortunately, they’ve said no more ‘lob city’ however I imagine Blake & DJ still gonna be human highlight reels.
Well, I followed KG. So used to be a T’Wolves fan, then Celtics and now I’m following him across to Brooklyn. I like watching bball so much though that I pretty much like every team and just appreciate good ball!
It’s been a great off-season for trades. Really excited to see how it plays out. Excited for Detroit! They could potentially make a run in the playoffs for the first time in a while. Rockets a better fit for Dwight for sure, his personality doesn’t suit the Lakers. They could be really good if it all comes together. Warriors have an incredible team too. I like Bledsloe, I think he deserves a starting PG spot somewhere. Apart from Brooklyn, I’m actually most excited to see Greg Oden play with the Heat (if he is healthy.) When he was the number 1 draft pick, there was so much hype and he was a beast in college. He’s just one of those players that is injury prone.
I think this season is going to be amazing! The East is so much stronger and the West still has like 9/10 strong teams. Bulls are a scary team and I think the only team that could knock Miami off their perch at this stage, but I doubt it.
There certainly are a few bad eggs in the NRL as there is with the NBA but I would hardly bring the whole code in with them. There are a lot of quality blokes in the NRL that do a lot for local clubs,charity’s, the indigineous community and more.
Erm… DOTA 2 wasn’t an option, so I had to choose AFL due to the fact I live in Victoria and hardly ever get exposed to the other game except when there’s some scandal on the news involving gang rape or organised crime.
Dat logic. :p
The International 2013 was more fun than any RL sports grand final I’ve ever seen. I don’t even play Dota.
Neither. It’s all about competitive pigeon juggling for me.
Out of those two I’d pick AFL. But I’m more of a cricket fan.
The world game and American Football. Maybe it’s cultural cringe, but I never enjoyed aussie rules or either brand of rugby.
UFC/MMA
Don’t care about spectating RL sports. Great photo though.
Baseball!
I prefer NRL. Rugby League is an internationally recognised game with a national body in France, England, New Zealand, Australia and others. AFL is only relevant to Australia, it is an eccentric game that is insular to Australia. Imagine how much better Australia would be at cricket, soccer, rugby, athletic and swimming if the vast talent pool of AFL/VFL players didn’t have a globally irrelevant game preoccupying them?
Anal F*ckers League is practically non-existant outside of Victoria. It needs to die already.
There is a western side too Australia as well you know? And Tassie