INTRODUCTION
Fantasy Footy is a game like no other, not only does it take real-life elements from the sport we all know and love, Aussie Rules football, it also combines it with team management. Rather than provide coaches with points based on how many stats a real life player racks up, Fantasy Footy simulates a game with these numbers creating a whole new aspect of realism!
Playing the game is easy and can take as little as five minutes a week, or up to hours analysing both your games and those of real life. Registration is quick and easy and ensures you will play a part in the game right from the beginning.
Selecting a team to represent is a feature which may be used, depending on the format of the season (see notes in the results section of this page). The length of a game is determined by the number of scoring shots the corresponding real life game has. For an example, click here (link not yet available).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAVIGATION
Navigating around the site is very easy, however I suggest taking a few minutes familiarising yourself with what each page is used for. At the top of each page are seven general game links (Home, Register, News, About, Game Rules, FAQ, Forum, Contact). These links are incredibly useful for everything about the game, whether you are looking for help, or to keep posted on the latest improvements to the game.
When you are logged in, you will also see seven links listed directly below the others (Coaches Box, Your Details, Scouting, Matchday, Your Team, Fixture, League, Stats Centre). These links each have their own special purpose for the coach to optimise their team’s performance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first step for any coach (other than reading the rules) is to choose their players; after all you can’t do anything until you have some players to work with! Fantasy Footy will have a draft approximately two weeks prior to the beginning of the real life AFL pre-season competition.
To prepare themselves for the draft, a coach must visit the scouting page (this will only be available before the draft is completed) and put preferences against players’ names. The lower a number, the higher priority he is in your eyes. So for example, placing a 1 against a player means he will be your first pick in the draft, if available. The optimum situation is to rank every player from 1 through to last. However, this would be extremely tedious and not worth the effort as most of the players will never come into your considerations. For this reason, you do not have to place a priority next to any of the players at all if you wish (once again this is not ideal). Players are also allowed to have the same number assigned to each of them, if you have no preference between them. Entering no value will result in the player being the last preference.
Prior to the draft beginning, each team will be assigned their draft picks. In round 1, each team will have a pick from 1 through to 16. To even this up, the team who had pick 16 will have pick 1 in round 2 and so on…Round 3 will see a redraw in the numbers, while round 4 will be a reversal of round 3 and so on…
The draft will be run in four completely separate parts (one for each position; defenders, midfielders, forwards and rucks), and will last until each team has their full quota of players. Each team must have 10 defenders, 12 midfielders, 9 forwards and 3 rucks. The coach who has the #1 draft pick will then choose their top ranked player (drawn from their scouting preferences). This player will become a part of their team for the entire season ahead. As there can only be one of each player, the player that was chosen is now crossed off of everyone else’s list and the second draft pick is chosen. If they had a unique number one pick, then that player will become part of their team. However if their number one was chosen, then they will receive their #2 preference. This continues until all teams have their full quota of players. If players have an equal preference on a coaches list, then they will be deemed equal and will be randomly assigned if they have not already been taken. If no players are left on a coach’s list, a player will be drawn at random from those remaining in the draft pool.
An example of the draft can be viewed here (link not yet available).
Note that each position is considered completely separately from all other positions in the scouting and draft system.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once the draft has been run, and each coach has a team, it is time to prepare your team for the first game. To do this, you must go to the Matchday page and select the positions you want each of your players to play in. Although each player was selected in a certain position for the draft, they can play in any position on the field, meaning it is all up to you to determine where they are best suited.
Make sure that you do not select a player in more than one position!! If you do this, a player will be chosen at random to fill one of the positions. Once your team has been submitted, it will be updated on your Matchday page as soon as possible.
Your team must be submitted at least one hour prior to the first game of the round starting, often about 6:30pm AEST on the Friday. If you do not submit a team, you will be given the same lineup as you set the week before.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you have selected your team, the game runs with no interaction from the coach. After the real life AFL round has been completed, all of the stats will be put into the program where your fantasy game is simulated from. The game engine is always under constant review to try and make a game as realistic as possible, and as such will be often going through minor changes, or occasionally a major one
Version 1.3.2 matches players up against each other (CHB on CHF etc.) and simulates a contest between the two. Who wins possession of the ball is determined by a players kick, mark & handball stats each multiplied by a random number. Whichever results in the highest number determines who by and how the ball is disposed of. A kick will always move directly forwards (ie. RFP -> RHF -> RW etc.), and a handball will move sideways. Ruck contests work in the same way, by using a player’s hit-out statistic. If a ruckman wins the ruck contest, one of the centre, rover or ruck-rover from their team will then dispose of the ball. The team who disposes of the ball will have a bonus making them more likely to receive the next possession. If a forward line player kicks the ball, they will take a shot at the goals, and will use their goal & behind statistics, along with a ‘miss’ statistic.
NOTE: All marks result in a subsequent kick.
An example of a play can be found here (link not yet available).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once the games have been run, the results can be viewed on the website, along with the complete stats from the game. The league table will be based on the AFL, including their % system. The length of the season etc. is still in the planning stages and discussion with coaches will happen on the forums, but a finals system is possible.
If there is not enough players to fill a full 16 team league, the remaining players will play in a smaller scale league in which teams will enter and leave at various times through the season. If a coach does not log in within 2 weeks (unless prior notice has been given by contacting the moderators), they will lose control of their team and be replaced by a team in the smaller scale, waiting list league. Both coaches will ‘start’ with the squads they have been given, but can then change it as much as they wish, through trading or modifying the line-up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In between rounds, the main tasks to complete are your team selection for the next week and looking for trades you may be able to complete. Trades are an effective way to try and recover your losses if a player receives a serious injury or if they are dropping out of form. To complete a trade, you must visit the scouting page (this will only be available after the draft has been completed), where all uncontracted players are listed.
To put in your proposal, you must nominate the player would like traded into your team, and the player you want to trade out. Keep in mind that your 10, 12, 9, 3 player position limit must still be obtained. All trade proposals must be submitted at least two days prior to the next round beginning (usually Wednesday night). Shortly after this time, the trades will be confirmed. Any player you trade out of your team will be placed on the market for all players to trade with next week. If two or more players put in a proposal for the same player, the order of preference will be as follows*:
- If the player being traded out has a season-ending injury or has retired
- If the player being traded out has an injury of any sort
- If a trade wants to be completed because one player is deemed better than another
- If the player being traded out has been suspended
- Coaches who have completed more than two trades in the round
Note that trades are closely monitored and any suspicious trading could result in both players losing their teams.
Also note that you can do multiple trades, in any one round^. However, your third and subsequent trades will be given last priority if two coaches pick the same player.
*If two coaches are at the same priority level, then whoever put in their proposal first will be involved in the trade.
^ No trading is allowed in the pre-season (first trade between rounds 1 & 2). For the first three trade sessions, a limit of 2 trades per round will be implemented to make sure players maximise their draft choices.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note that the game is still in its early stages and is always under constant review and modification. Any modifications to the game will be given sufficient warning to the playing public and are only intended for the betterment of the game. If you think you have found a bug, or got a great suggestion for the game, head over to the forums. If you have any other issues regarding the game, whether you are going away and can’t access your team or you feel you have been done hard by in any way, contact the team by email.
But most importantly have fun!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Schedule:
Draft: January 27
Pre-season begins: February 9
Pre-season concludes: March 8
Round 1: March 20
Round 22: August 31
The following is
based on an average Friday night – Sunday afternoon round:
Friday night: Team selection closes.
Sunday night: Stats downloaded and games run.
Monday: Results published and website updated.
Monday night: Trade market opens.
Wednesday night: Trade market closes.
Thursday: Trades completed.