Here at NetBet, we’ve got a whole load of great markets for sports betting, and we offer some of the best Aussie Rules odds around. Not only do we offer the popular match result bets for a team to win a game, but we also have plenty of deeper, more unique online betting markets available on our UK betting site. If you want to place any sport bet on Aussie Rules, here’s a quick guide on how exactly you should go about it.
What is Aussie Rules?
Australian rules football, more commonly referred to as Aussie Rules, is the country’s most widely spectated sport. The Australian Football League (AFL) is the sport’s only professional competition, the final of which boasts the largest attendance of any club championship event in the world. Aussie Rules is a full contact sport contested between two teams of 18 on a large oval pitch, with the aim of the game to score points for kicking the ball through the goalposts that are stationed at either end.
Players can move the ball with any part of their bodies; kicking, hitting and dribbling to advance towards the goal. Athletes can also use most of their body to block or tackle, although a key rule of the game is that players cannot be tackled when they have safely claimed possession from a teammate’s kick.
Aussie Rules leagues have sprung up across the world, but the AFL is still regarded as the pinnacle of the sport. Melbourne are the reigning champions after defeating the Western Bulldogs in the 2021 Grand Final, but Richmond have enjoyed a spell of recent dominance that has seen them claim three championships in the last five years. Essendon and Carlton are the sport’s most decorated clubs with 16 titles each, but neither have managed to make it to a final in over 20 years.
History of Aussie Rules
Aussie Rules, formerly known as Victorian Rules Football, was initially established in the mid-1800s as a way for cricket players (the country’s most popular summer sport) to keep fit during the winter. The suggestion was made by Thomas Wentworth Wills, an Australian-born man that was educated in an English rugby school. His idea led to the creation of two of the world’s oldest football clubs, Melbourne and Geelong, which were formed in the late 1850s and paved the way for the first set of standardised rules – a combination of English public school football and rugby laws. In the decades that followed, many adaptations were made to the ruleset which distinguished Aussie Rules as its own independent game.
During the late 19th century depression, the Victorian Football Association (VFA) proposed a revenue sharing scheme, which was met by fierce opposition. Some of the clubs broke away and formed the Victorian Football League (VFL), allowing for the movement and payment of players – the first sign of professionalism. The VFL was the dominant organisation heading into the 20th century and agreed to add VFA teams to the league following WW1. The addition of more teams from across the country led to the VFL changing its name to the AFL.
The AFL has since only grown in popularity and is the most widely spectated sport in the country, both in person and on TV. The AFL’s finale is one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar, and the 1971 Grand Final attracted a crowd of 121,000 for the match between Carlton and Collingwood.
How do I bet on Aussie Rules?
Here at NetBet, we have a wide variety of markets available for Aussie Rules games, with the season typically beginning in March and ending in September. Here are some of the most popular markets:
- Grand Final winner – bet on a team to reach and win the Grand Final.
- Regular season winner – bet on a team to finish the regular AFL season at the top of the table.
- Top 4/8 finish – bet on a team to finish in a certain position come the end of the regular season.
- Grand Final winning state – bet on which state (eg. Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia) will have the Grand Final winning team.
- Regular season most losses – bet on which team will suffer the most losses in the regular campaign.
- Outright – bet on a team to win an individual match.
- Over/Under FT – bet on whether the total number of points scored will be over or under a specified amount.
- Winning margin – bet on a team to win a match and how many points they will win by. Eg. Brisbane Lions to win by 13-24 points.
- Race to – bet on a team to achieve a certain goal first in a game. Eg. Melbourne Demons to reach 25 points first.
- Spread FT – bet on a team with a handicap. If you bet on a minus handicap team, they must win by a certain number of points for your bet to be successful. If you back a plus handicap team, that team cannot lose by more than a certain number of points if your bet is to land.
However, there is often more to choose from. Occasionally, we might Boost a price which you can find at our Promotions page.
When you choose NetBet Sport, you can enjoy a whole range of top quality sports and markets. Whatever you choose, always remember to bet responsibly. Here at NetBet, player wellbeing is our number one priority – check out our Responsible Gambling tips and tools page for more information.