Latest rules document

[m0nty]

BASIC MATCH RULES

Before the match, each coach selects 22 players in position, and the weather for the game is decided. The match is split into four quarters, so that before each quarter the coach performs actions, then watches the match play out based in part on his selection and tactics. The coach names his 18 players on the ground for the quarter and his three bench players plus a substitute, then sets the tactics for each of the seven lines, which are comprised of three players.

Each quarter contains plays, the total number of which is based on the amount of time each play takes. The quarter starts with the ruck contest at the centre bounce and proceeds with a chain of plays which result in goals which lead to another centre bounce, points which lead to rebounds, turnovers which lead to rebounds or spreads, or stoppages which result in ruck duels.

Each play is resolved by contests between random pairs of players in each line. Many factors go into deciding who wins each play: the type of play, the statistics of the players involved, player skills which add bonuses or penalties to rolls, bonuses or penalties conferred by other players in a line, and the weather conditions. The plays are resolved by rolling four virtual six-sided dice (known as 4d6).


TEAM POSITIONS

As in a real Australian football game, each player is selected for a match by the coach in one of 22 positions. Apart from the substitute, each of the 21 onfield players is part of a line.

Line	Position	Full name	Opponent
Full back	LBP	left back pocket	RFP
	FB	full back	FF
	RBP	right back pocket	LFP
Half back	LBF	right half forward flank	RFF
	CHB	centre half back	CHF
	RBF	left half forward flank	LFF
Centre	LW	left wing	RW
	C	centre	C
	RW	right wing	LW
Half forward	LFF	left half forward flank	RBF
	CHF	centre half forward	CHB
	RFF	right half forward flank	LBF
Full forward	LFP	right forward pocket	RBP
	FF	full forward	FB
	RFP	right forward pocket	LBP
Followers	RK1	first ruck	RK1
	RRV	ruck-rover	RRV
	ROV	rover	ROV
Interchange	RK2	second ruck	RK2
	UT1	first utility	UT1
	UT2	second utility	UT2

The substitute (SUB) doesn't play until substituted one time only for one of the other 21 players, who then can not play for the rest of a match. Otherwise, each player is allowed to play anywhere, although of course most players' attribute and skill sets are specialised for one or two positions at most. During a match, players can be moved around to suit their skills and try to get the best matchups with particularly important opponents.


PLAYER ATTRIBUTES, SKILLS AND TRAITS

Strength (ST), Agility (AG), Dash (DA), Quickness (QK), Kicking (KI) and Endurance (EN) are the attributes of a player. They affect various specific opposed rolls in the game, apart from Endurance which affects all rolls. Attributes range from 1 to 11, where 1 is a very poor attribute, 10 is elite and 11 is reserved for the elite of the game. Attributes below 5 give penalties to opposed rolls, whereas attributes above 7 gives bonuses.  (Note: Quickness refers to acceleration from a standing start, whereas Dash refers to top speed once a player is off and running.) Once a player has been drafted, attributes can only be modified during preseason training.

Skills are also added to specific opposed rolls in the game, although some of them only apply to one type of roll. Skills are less important than attributes, though still a vital determinant. Skills can be positive or negative - a negative skill is called a Weakness - and have a bonus attached to them, ranging typically from 1 to 5, although 6 is possible for the elite players. Skills can be improved in preseason training and through experience in games.

Skill	Weakness
Ruck	Concede
Tap	Flub
Extract	Slow
Vision	Blind
Lace Out	Wasteful
Baulk	Stiff
Position	Loose
Chase	Lazy
Tackle	Release
Pinpoint	Bomb
Spring	Immobile
Hands	Butterfingers
Spoil	Flail
Crumb	Fumble
Snap	Spray
Technique	Flawed

Traits are similar to skills in that they affect certain opposed rolls, though they can not be improved through training or experience as they describe physical or mental characteristics. Traits can have positive or negative effects. Primary among these is the Tall/Small trait, which affects ruck contests among other events, and has its own bonus which ranges all the way up to 7.


(More on traits in a later rules update.)


PLAYS AND EVENTS

In these rules, a play means a chain of events which lead to a score and/or a stoppage. Plays can be comprised of the following events, which are resolved with a pair of opposed dice rolls:

-   Ruck contest mostly between a ruckman of either side, at a stoppage (ST to win the tap + AG to determine direction)
-   Pack contest mostly between midfielders after a ruck duel in midfield (ST to win the ball + QK to clear it without being tackled)
-   Spread which happens after a pack contest or rebound, and mostly involves midfielders running to receive and then deliver into the forward line with either a pass or snap for goal (DA to win the ball + KI to deliver the pass)
-   Lead which happens when a spread results in a pass to a leading forward (QK to get to the ball first + AG to win the marking contest)
-   Crumbing contest mostly between a forward and back which happens after a pack contest in either forward line results in a win to the attacking team, or after a turnover in attack (QK to get to the ball + AG to get the shot away)
-   Snap - a shot for goal - which happens after a crumbing contest results in the forward winning the ball, or a lead results in the forward winning the ball after failing to mark, or after an event in midfield in which the player with the ball runs forward and shoots (KI)
-   Set shot - a shot for goal - which happens after a lead or a marking contest results in a mark to the forward (KI)
-   Rebound which happens after a turnover in defence, and involves a pass typically by a back to a midfielder or other backman which leads to a spread, ruck contest or spread to the other team (QK to get free into space + KI to deliver the pass)
-   Turnover which happens after a turnover in midfield, and involves a pass typically by a midfielder to another midfielder or back which leads to a spread, ruck contest or spread to the other team (QK to get free into space + KI to deliver the pass)

The following table lists the skills and traits which are related to specific attribute rolls as part of events. The "Attack skill" is the one that the attacking player adds to his attribute bonus and the "Defend skill" is the one that the defending player adds. The "Trump skill" is the one that is used only if the roll results in a stalemate, to prevent a stoppage. The "Team bonus" is added to the next skill check in the chain of events if the attacking team is successful.

Event	Play	Check	Attack skill	Defend skill	Trump skill	Trump skill	Team Bonus
Ruck	Stoppage	ST	Tall	Tall	Spring	---
Tap	Stoppage	AG	Tap	Spoil	Hands	Vision
Extract	Pack	ST	Extract	Tag	Shepherd	---
Clear	Pack	QK	Baulk	Tackle	Pressure	Vision
Sprint	Spread*	DA	Position	Chase	Vision	---
Pass	Spread*	KI	Pinpoint	---	---	Lace Out
Jump	Lead	QK	Position	Wrestle	Spring	---
Mark	Lead	AG	Hands	Spoil	Wrestle	---
Snaffle	Crumb	QK	Crumb	Chase	Shepherd	---
Evade	Crumb	AG	Baulk	Tackle	Small	---

* Note: the sprint and pass events also apply for rebound and turnover plays, with the same attribute and skill checks, though they have different ticket lists (more on that below).

There are three scoring-related events which occur after successful rolls in the above events.

-   Snap which happens after a successful crumb event or a big success in certain other events in attack, midfield or defence (KI with a +1 modifier plus Snap/Spray skill)
-   Set Shot which happens after a successful lead event or a big success in certain other events in attack, midfield or defence (KI with a +3 modifier plus Technique/Flawed skill)
-   Goal which happens after a a very big success in most events (no roll, automatic goal)

There is no team bonus applied to the second event in a play involving a single player, plus there is no bonus added to scoring shots.


EVENT ELIGIBILITY AND THE TICKET SYSTEM

To determine which pair of players are chosen to contest each event, the game uses a system of "tickets", which simulates pulling raffle tickets out of a hat. Players in more important positions start with the most tickets, plus more tickets accrue to the players with higher attributes and skills relevant to the event.

The starting allocations for tickets per event for attacking players are:

Event	Attr	Skill	Tickets
Ruck	ST	Tall	RK1 6, RK2 3
Pack (defence)	ST	Extract	ROV 5, RRV 5, C 3, LW 2, RW 2, UT2 2, UT3 2, LBF 0, RBF 0, LBP 0, RBP 0
Pack (midfield)	ST	Extract	ROV 5, RRV 5, C 4, LW 3, RW 3, UT2 2, UT3 2
Pack (attack)	ST	Extract	ROV 5, RRV 5, C 3, LW 2, RW 2, UT2 2, UT3 2, LFF 0, RFF 0, LFP 0, RFP 0
Spread	DA	Position	ROV 3, RRV 3, C 4, LW 4, RW 4, UT2 3, UT3 3, LFF 2, RFF 2, LBF 2, RBF 2, RK1 2, RK2 0
Lead	QK	Lead	CHF 6, FF 6, RFF 3, LFF 3, LFP 2, RFP 2, UT2 -3, UT3 -3, LW -3, RW -3
Crumb	QK	Crumb	LFP 6, RFP 6, RFF 5, LFF 5, CHF 4, FF 4, ROV 0, RRV 0, UT2 -3, UT3 -3, LW -3, RW -3
Rebound	DA	Baulk	LBF 5, RBF 5, LBP 3, RBP 3, FB 2, CHB 3, ROV 2, RRV 2
Turnover	DA	Baulk	LBF 4, RBF 4, C 4, LW 4, RW 4, ROV 3, RRV 3, UT2 3, UT3 3, LBP 2, RBP 2

Once the attacker is determined, the defender is determined.

Event	Attr	Skill	Tickets
Ruck	ST	Tall	RK1 4, RK2 2
Pack (defence)	ST	Tag	ROV 4, RRV 4, C 2, LW 1, RW 1, UT1 1, UT2 1, LFF 0, RFF 0, LFP 0, RFP 0
Pack (midfield)	ST	Tag	ROV 4, RRV 4, C 3, LW 2, RW 2, UT1 1, UT2 1
Pack (attack)	ST	Tag	ROV 4, RRV 4, C 2, LW 1, RW 1, UT1 1, UT2 1, LBF 0, RBF 0, LBP 0, RBP 0
Spread	DA	Position	ROV 2, RRV 2, C 3, LW 3, RW 3, UT1 2, UT2 2, LFF 1, RFF 1, LBF 1, RBF 1, RK1 1, RK2 0
Lead	QK	Wrestle	CHB 4, FB 3, RBF 2, LBF 2, LBP 1, RBP 1
Crumb	QK	Chase	CHB 4, FB 3, RBF 2, LBF 2, LBP 1, LBF 1
Rebound	DA	Chase	LFF 4, RFF 4, LFP 2, RFP 2, FF 1, CHF 2, ROV 1, RRV 1
Turnover	DA	Chase	LFF 3, RFF 3, C 3, LW 3, RW 3, ROV 2, RRV 2, UT1 2, UT2 2, LFP 1, RFP 1

The direct opponent of the attacker (as per the team positions table above) gets an extra 8 tickets in addition.


OPPOSED EVENT ROLLS

The set of four six-sided dice used for the resolution of opposed rolls produces a probability curve like so:

Total	Combos	This result	This total or higher
4	1	0.08%	100.00%
5	4	0.31%	99.93%
6	10	0.77%	99.62%
7	20	1.54%	98.85%
8	35	2.70%	97.30%
9	56	4.32%	94.60%
10	80	6.17%	90.28%
11	104	8.02%	84.11%
12	125	9.65%	76.08%
13	140	10.80%	66.44%
14	146	11.27%	55.64%
15	140	10.80%	44.37%
16	125	9.65%	33.57%
17	104	8.02%	23.92%
18	80	6.17%	15.90%
19	56	4.32%	9.73%
20	35	2.70%	5.40%
21	20	1.54%	2.70%
22	10	0.77%	1.16%
23	4	0.31%	0.39%
24	1	0.08%	0.08%

This creates a range of 21 possible results in a bell curve distribution of probabilities. These 21 results are then condensed into only eight outcomes, although each of the 21 possible totals has a different combination of outcome and bonus.

Outcome	Bonus	Total	Combos	This result	This total or higher	Description
Loss+bypass	0	4-6	15	1.16%	100.00%	Defender takes possession and bypasses the next check
Loss	2 to 0	7-9	111	8.56%	98.84%	Defender takes possession
Stalemate	-2*	10-12	209	23.84%	90.28%	New ruck event unless trump skill comparison is successful*
Win	-2 to 2	13-17	655	50.55%	66.43%	Attacker keeps possession
Bypass	0	18	80	6.17%	15.89%	Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next check
Double bypass	0 to 1	19-20	91	7.02%	9.72%	Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next two checks
Triple bypass	0 to 1	21-23	34	2.62%	2.70%	Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next three checks
Quad bypass	0	24	1	0.08%	0.08%	Attacker keeps possession and bypasses the next four checks

This method is used for all events, including snaps and set shots, plus weather, knock and injury rolls.

Note: After the trump skills are compared during a stalemate outcome and there's still a stalemate, for the first attribute check of an event is treated as a win but with a -2 penalty to the next check. Otherwise it results in a new ruck event.

Here are the rules for which event leads to which, in short:

- A successful chain from a stoppage in defence is ruck => pack => rebound => spread => lead => set shot.
- A successful chain from a stoppage in midfield is ruck => pack => spread => lead => set shot.
- A successful chain from a stoppage in attack is ruck => pack => crumb => snap.
- Rebounds out of defence happen after an unsuccessful lead or crumb by the opposition, or a successful ruck or pack event in defence.
- Unsuccessful spreads in midfield can lead to turnovers, which also happen in midfield and can result in further turnover events.
- The crumb => snap combo can also happen after an unsuccessful rebound by the opposition.
- Snaps can also happen on multi-bypass results from various events in attack or midfield.
- A roll of 24 or more (after bonus) in most events results in an automatic goal without having to roll for a snap or set shot.

[m0nty]

EXAMPLE OF OPPOSED EVENT ROLLS

For instance, let's say the Carringbush ruckman has just tapped down to Swan in midfield, who is opposed by Elwood's Jones and has won the extract event to get the ball. Now we have the clear event as part of the pack play, as Swan tries to get the ball to his outside midfielders or forwards. 4d6 is rolled, Swan adds his QK attribute and Extract skill bonus, Jones subtracts his QK attribute and Tag skill bonus.

Total	Chance	Result
4-	0.08%	Swan is tackled and cops an injury (on a natural 4) or a knock, turnover to Elwood, bypass sprint and go to pass
5	0.31%	Swan is tackled and cops a knock, turnover to Elwood, go to sprint
6	0.77%	Swan concedes a free and Jones gets the kick, turnover to Elwood, go to sprint
7	1.54%	Swan is dispossessed, turnover to Elwood, +2 to DA check on sprint
8	2.70%	Swan is dispossessed, turnover to Elwood, +1 to DA check on sprint
9	4.32%	Swan is dispossessed, turnover to Elwood, normal sprint
10	6.17%	Swan is tackled, stoppage unless Swan's Pressure trait is greater than Jones' Pressure trait + 2
11	8.02%	Swan is tackled, stoppage unless Swan's Pressure trait is greater than Jones' Pressure trait + 1
12	9.65%	Swan is tackled, stoppage unless Swan's Pressure trait is greater than Jones' Pressure trait
13	10.80%	Swan clears, -2 to DA check on sprint
14	11.27%	Swan clears, -1 to DA check on sprint
15	10.80%	Swan clears, normal sprint
16	9.65%	Swan clears, +1 to DA check on sprint
17	8.02%	Swan clears, +2 to DA check on sprint
18	6.17%	Swan clears, no DA check on sprint
19	4.32%	Swan wins a free kick, bypass sprint and go to lead
20	2.70%	Swan runs from the pack, bypass sprint and go to lead
21	1.54%	Swan runs from the pack, bypass spread and go to snap
22	0.77%	Swan runs from the pack, bypass spread and go to snap with +1 to KI check
23	0.31%	Jones cops a knock, Swan runs from the pack, bypass spread/lead and go to set shot
24+	0.08%	Jones cops an injury (on a natural 24) or a knock, Swan runs from the pack and snaps himself... it sails through for a goal from long range!

The way the probabilities work, if Swan and Jones cancel each other out with their additions to the roll, there's about a 10% chance of a pro-Jones result, 24% of a stalemate and 66% of a pro-Swan result. If the bonuses stack to a +2 in Jones' favour, the odds shift to 24% pro-Jones, 32% stalemate and 44% pro-Swan. If Swan gets +2, it moves to 2.5% pro-Jones, 13% stalemate and 85% pro-Swan. The table is intentionally slanted towards results favouring the player with the ball, to prevent the game turning into a kick-to-kick with not enough scoring.

A natural roll of 4 (four ones) will always result in the most negative result and a roll of 24 (four sixes) will always result in the most positive result for the player with the ball, regardless of bonuses. Thus an injury will always have a fixed chance of 1 in 1296 for each player per event, though the chance of a knock is dependent on bonuses. This will mean, based on roughly 500 events per game, that there will be on average one injury every two games.


FATIGUE, BENCHING, KNOCKS, INJURY AND JUNKTIME

The endurance attribute affects the game through the fatigue system. Each player starts the game on 0% fatigue, but participating in events raises it, plus getting a knock as part of an event raises it even more. The amount of fatigue from being the attacker in an event is 0-4%. The amount of fatigue from being the defender in an event is 0-2%.

Participating in junktime adds a flat 1% to fatigue. Junktime happens between certain events to simulate a chain of uncontested possessions, and its participants are completely randomised based on the ticket system (without attribute and skill bonuses).

Knocks also lower fatigue. When a knock to a player happens as part of an event, 4d6 are rolled with a +3 bonus, producing the following set of possibilities.

Outcome	Total	Fatigue
Loss+bypass	4	32-35
Loss	5-6	28-31
Stalemate	7-9	24-27
Win	10-14	20-23
Bypass	15	16-19
Double bypass	16-17	12-15
Triple bypass	18-19	8-11
Quad bypass	20-23	4-7
Goal	24	1-3

Recovering fatigue happens in between quarters. Each player has a single six-sided dice rolled for them, to which the bonus from their Endurance attribute is added (-1 for every integer below 5, +1 for every integer above 7). If the result is above 4, the player recovers either 10% (after the first and third quarters) or 20% (after the second quarter).

Each 10% of fatigue lowers each of the other five main attributes by 1 during the match. Once a player's fatigue rises above 90%, that player benches himself and can no longer participate in play until he rests and recovers. Note that this can mean that fatigue can sometimes go over 100%.

When a player sustains an injury as part of an event, he can not play for the rest of the game, and may miss subsequent games. 4d6 is rolled with a +3 bonus to determine the severity of the injury.

Outcome	Total	Injury
Loss+bypass	4	Ruptured ACL, out for the rest of the team's current season
Loss	5-6	Broken bone, out for 5-6 matches
Stalemate	7-9	Torn hamstring, out for 2-3 matches
Win	10-14	Pulled muscle, out for 1-2 matches
Bypass	15	Concussion, out for 0-1 matches
Double bypass	16-17	Sprained ankle, out for 0-1 matches
Triple bypass	18-19	Soreness, out for 0-1 matches
Quad bypass	20-23	Bruising, back for next match
Goal	24	KOed, back for next match

For injuries with a range of matches missed, the player has a 50% chance to recover to be fit for the last match of the range. Additionally, when a player finishes a match with more than 50% fatigue and has picked up a knock during the match, the player has a chance to miss the subsequent game with soreness, with the chance equating to the fatigue percentage over 50%. Thus a player who gets a knock and finishes on 78% fatigue would have a 28% chance to miss the next match.


LINE TACTICS

Each of the seven lines of three players can have tactics dictated to them which emphasise particular parts of the game over others. Each line's chosen tactics are then matched up with the opposing line from the other team (FB/FF, HB/HF, C/C, 1R/1R, 2R/2R) in a rock-paper-scissors method, to produce either a stalemate or bonuses to rolls for either side when the ball is in their area.

FB: Man on man, Zone defence, High line
HB: Lock down, Zone rebound, Push up
Centre:  Defensive flood, Roll the dice, Midfield scrum
HF: Frontal pressure, Up the guts, Push back
FF:  Long bomb, Paddock, Hit up leads
1st Ruck: Tagging, Blocking, Head to head
2nd Ruck: Support roles, Cluster, High rotation

Full back line
Man on man: Wrestle +1, Baulk -1, -1 ticket for rebound
Zone defence: Spoil +1, Wrestle -1
High line: Baulk +1, Spoil -1, +1 ticket for rebound

Half back line
Lock down: Tackle +1, Baulk -1, -1 ticket for rebound
Zone rebound: Spoil +1, Tackle -1
Push up: Baulk +1, Spoil -1, +1 ticket for rebound

Centre line
Defensive flood: Chase +1, Position -1, -1 ticket for spread
Roll the dice: Position +1, Extract -1
Midfield scrum: Extract +1, Chase -1, +1 ticket for spread

Half forward line
Frontal pressure: Chase +1, Crumb -1, +1 ticket for lead
Up the guts: Crumb +1, Position -1
Push back: Position +1, Chase -1, +1 ticket for contested mark

Full forward line
Long bomb: Spring +1, Crumb -1, +1 ticket for contested mark
Paddock: Crumb +1, Position -1
Hit up leads: Position +1, Spring -1, +1 ticket for lead

Followers line
Tagging: Tag +1, Shepherd -1, -1 ticket for pack contest
Blocking: Shepherd +1, Extract -1,
Head to head: Extract +1, Tag -1, +1 ticket for pack contest

Interchange line
Support roles: Tag +1, Chase -1, -1 ticket for spread, -1 ticket for 2R in ruck
Cluster: Chase +1, Position -1
High rotation: Position +1, Tag -1, +1 ticket for spread, +1 ticket for 2R in ruck

The bonuses and penalties only apply to the three players in each line.


WEATHER

Weather affects every game, except those held at Docklands. There are three components of the weather: temperature, rain and wind. Before the start of the match, the conditions for each of these components is set separately to one of nine random settings.

Setting	Chance	Temperature	Rain	Wind
1	1.16%	icy*	pouring*	blustery*
2	4.24%	chilly	raining*	windy*
3	9.73%	cold	showering	gusty*
4	14.19%	cool	drizzly	breezy*
5	52.17%	mild	overcast	calm
6	14.19%	warm	fine	breezy*
7	9.73%	hot	sunny	gusty*
8	4.24%	sweltering*	dry	windy*
9	1.16%	scorching*	humid*	blustery*

The settings marked with a * produce effects on the game.

Icy: AG -1, Spring -1
Sweltering: EN -1
Scorching: EN -2

Pouring: AG -1, DA -1, Spoil +2, Tag +2, Tackle +2
Raining: Spoil +1, Tag +1, Tackle +1
Humid: EN -1

Blustery: KI +4, Position -1, Pinpoint -2, Lace Out -2, Snap -1, Technique -1 
Windy: KI +3, Pinpoint -1, Lace Out -1
Gusty: KI +2,
Breezy: KI +1

The KI effects of wind only affect one side each quarter according to the "direction" of the breeze, which swings to the opposite side every quarter. The other effects apply to both teams.

After every quarter, the dials are twisted to either stay the same, or move one or two settings in either direction.

Movement	Chance
Down 2	1.93%
Down 1	7.79%
Unchanged	80.56%
Up 1	7.79%
Up 2	1.93%

HOME GROUNDS

When you start your team, you will be able to pick your home ground. This will deliver bonuses and penalties for games where you are designated the home team. Of course, this means that if you are the away team, you will also experience the bonuses and penalties of the ground of the home team. There will also be a home ground advantage (HGA) which will deliver an extra bonus to the home team or penalty to the away team.

Note: as well as these individual bonuses, home sides get a +1 to both Snap (accuracy from snap) and Technique (accuracy from set shot) skills.

The G
No bonuses or penalties
HGA: Vision +2 (shared with Docklands opponents)

Docklands
Snap +1, Technique +1, no weather, Knock -1, Injury -1
HGA: DA +1 (shared with The G opponents)

Kardinia
Spoil +2, Position -2
HGA: ignores weather penalties for shots

Manuka
Baulk +2
HGA: Tackle +2

Subiaco
Chase -2, Tag -2
HGA: EN +1 (shared with Perth opponents)

Perth
Position +2, Shepherd +2
HGA: EN +1, Pressure +2 (shared with Subiaco opponents)

West Lakes
Spoil +2, Crumb +2
HGA: Tackle +2 (shared with Adelaide opponents)

Adelaide
KI +1, Spring + 2
HGA: Lace Out +2 (shared with West Lakes opponents)

Moore Park
Chase +2, Tag +2
HGA: Extract +2 (shared with Homebush opponents)

Homebush
Position +2, Extract +2
HGA: Chase +2 (shared with Moore Park opponents)

Woolloongabba
Pinpoint +2, Hands +2
HGA: Spoil +2 (shared with Carrara opponents)

Carrara
Spoil +2, Smother +2
HGA: Pinpoint +2 (shared with Woolloongabba opponents)

Marrara
Tackle -2, Tag -2, EN -2
HGA: EN +1 (shared with Alice Springs opponents)

Alice Springs
QK -1, DA -1, EN -1
HGA: QK +1, DA +1 (shared with Marrara opponents)

Launceston
KI -1, Knock +1, Injury +1
HGA: KI +1 (shared with Bellerive opponents)

Bellerive
Shepherd -2, Pressure -2
HGA: Shepherd +2, Pressure +2 (shared with Launceston opponents)

Note: -1 on the Injury and Knock rolls results in worse injuries, and +1 leads to less severe ones.

[m0nty]

DRAFTS AND PRESEASONS

From the team's creation, every 22 matches that it plays constitutes a season. After the 22 matches there is a knockout finals series, where up to three games can be played to gain bonuses for the purposes of the next season.

Before the first season you play, you have to construct your initial team from a series of drafts of different kinds of players. Like expansion teams have done in the big leagues, you get access to a number of special drafts to build your team from scratch before season 1. In the following table of drafts, the blue drafts happen only in the first preseason. The green draft happens halfway through the season, after round 11.

Draft	Picks	Between	Seasons	Pool	Player quality
Preliminary	6	16	1	120	Best to poor
Zone	12	0	0	40	Average to poor
Mature-Age	5	3	3 to 5	20	Average
Uncontracted	8	1	6 to 10	20	Best
National	6	16	0	120	Best to poor
Rookie	3	5	0	30	Very poor to worst
Pre-season	2	2	3 to 7	30	Poor to very poor
Midseason	1	4	5 to 9	20	Worst

You get a certain number of picks starting with the first pick of the full available player list, with another set number of randomised picks made between yours to represent other teams in the draft, with the number of picks made dependent on which type of draft it is. For some you have the draft all to yourself, for others you get up to 16 other picks made between yours. The other picks are not always made for the best available, so you may decide to bypass someone you'd like to have only to find he's still available at your next pick because he's been passed over... but don't rely on it!

So it can be seen that you will start your first season with eight very good older players, a handful of mid-aged players and a lot of youngsters amid an initial list size of 42 players. Once you get your team up and running, you will be able to build a more balanced, mature squad that challenges every season for premiership glory.

After all drafts bar the first preseason one, the coach must choose players on the team roster to drop to make way for the new draftees. You must drop at least three players before every draft, and you will be allocated a number of picks to bring your squad back to a regular season list size of 40 players. Note: you will not be able to drop players who have played only one season after the first season, implying that every drafted player gets a "contract" of at least two seasons in duration.

When the preseason drafts have been completed, you are taken to the preseason screen, where you can press a button to run your preseason. This is the only part of the game where your players improve their height and weight, which affects the Tall/Small trait and the strength (ST) stat respectively, as they hit the weights room trying to build up muscle and experience natural growth. Players can gain height or weight based on 4d6 rolls.

The height roll is made for players in seasons 1 through 4 to see if they have gained height in the offseason. The ranges for growth are: 0-3cm for a player in season 1, 0-3cm for season 2, 0-2cm for season 3, and 0-1cm for season 4. Height rolls are weighted based on position/s and current height, with smaller players more likely to gain height. Also, a player will not grow beyond 211cm.

Height impacts on the game in the Tall/Small trait, which is determined as follows: 167cm or less, Small +5; 168-170cm, Small +4; 171-173cm, Small +3; 174-176cm, Small +2; 177-179cm, Small +1; 191-193cm, Tall +1; 194-196cm, Tall +2; 197-199cm, Tall +3; 200-202cm, Tall +4; 203-205cm, Tall +5; 206-208cm, Tall +6; 209cm or more, Tall +7. Height also determines how much weight a player can gain in preseason training, as a player can not gain more kgs than his height in cm minus 95. This dictates the level of the ST attribute.

The bonus from the strength & conditioning coach is applied to the weight roll. The 4d6 roll results in a possible increase in kg: 0 kg from a roll of 4-6; 1 from 7-9; 2 from 10-12; 3 from 13-17; 4 from 18-20; 5 from 21+. This then leads to an increase in the ST attribute if the player's weight crosses into the next 5kg weight band. The formula for ST is the player's weight in kg divided by 5 minus 11, with any fractions disregarded. Thus, for example, a player gaining 3kg to go from 84 to 87 in weight would also increase in ST from 5 to 6.

The bonus from the development coach is added to an age bonus/penalty, which is equivalent to 5 minus the player's season. The 4d6 potential roll results in an awarding of 0-6 points of Potential. The results are: 0 Potential from a roll of 4-9; 1 from 13-17; 2 from 13-17; 3 from 18; 4 from 19-20; 5 from 21-23; 6 from 24+. Potential can then be used to upgrade attributes and skills.


PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

POTENTIAL AND MEDALS

Attribute upgrades cost one point of Potential per attribute point up to 4, then 2 Potential to upgrade to level 5 through 7, 3 Potential to reach an attribute level of 8, and 4 Potential to reach an attribute level of 9. You can not upgrade the ST attribute using Potential, as it is affected only by the preseason weight roll. It is possible to reach an attribute level as high as 11, but only through other means than using Potential.

Skill upgrades cost one point of Potential per skill point up to +1, then 2 Potential to reach a skill level of +2, and so on up to 6 Potential to reach a skill level of +5. It is possible to reach a skill level as high as +6, but only through other means than using Potential.

Obviously, since the game is all about developing players, Potential points are one of the most valuable commodities! Earning Potential points can happen in preseason, and also happens in matches when a player achieves certain goals within the match.

The easiest of these goals to reach is the "star", which is a (partially) randomised award which earns the player one Potential point to upgrade his stats or skills... but only if it's awarded to a player on the team whose coach started the match. In other words, if someone else plays your team in a match and one of your players gets the star in that game, the player doesn't get the Potential point. You have to be the coach playing the match to earn it. This will mean that sometimes you don't get that extra Potential point. The rules for getting the star are based on the ticket mechanic. Each player gets a number of tickets equal to his DT score, plus forwards and backs get 40 more, and rucks get 20 more to ameliorate the fact that midfielders are stat accumulators.  Players on the winning team also get a 100 ticket bonus. This means that on average, players on the winning team have better than a 2/1 shot to get the star, and your better players are more likely to get stars.

The more common way your players will earn Potential points is through earning medals, which are awarded for reaching a certain number in certain statistics, plus various other in-game achievements. Players in their first or second season get a Potential point for the first award in each statistical category. All players are eligible for a Potential point every time they hit a milestone of a certain amount of medals in that category. The statistical categories that qualify a player for medals are: a "bag" of goals, DT points, hit outs, spoils, marks, contested balls and tackles.

Category	Description	Milestone
Winning	Play in a winning match	50
Bag of 5	Kick five goals in a match	50
Bag of 6	Boot six goals in a match	25
Bag of 7	Jag seven goals in a match	20
Bag of 8	Score eight goals in a match	10
Bag of 9	Rack up nine goals in a match	5
Bag of 10	Slam on ten goals in a match	2
Bag of 11	Enjoy eleven goals in a match	1
100 DT	Score a DT ton in a match	50
120 DT	Rack up 120 DT points in a match	25
130 DT	Register 130 DT points in a match	20
140 DT	Accumulate 140 DT points in a match	10
150 DT	Compile 150 DT points in a match	5
20 hit outs	Win 20 hit outs in a match	50
25 hit outs	Earn 25 hit outs in a match	25
30 hit outs	Register 30 hit outs in a match	20
40 hit outs	Dominate with 40 hit outs in a match	10
2 spoils	Win two spoils in a match	25
4 spoils	Register four spoils in a match	20
6 spoils	Earn six spoils in a match	10
8 spoils	Rack up eight spoils in a match	5
10 spoils	Accumulate ten spoils in a match	1
6 marks	Take six marks in a match	50
8 marks	Register eight marks in a match	25
10 marks	Earn ten marks in a match	20
12 marks	Rack up twelve marks in a match	10
15 marks	Accumulate fifteen marks in a match	5
8 contested balls	Win eight contested possessions in a match	50
10 contested balls	Register ten contested possessions  in a match	25
12 contested balls	Earn twelve contested possessions in a match	20
15 contested balls	Rack up fifteen contested possessions in a match	10
20 contested balls	Accumulate twenty contested possessions in a match	5
6 tackles	Apply six tackles in a match	50
8 tackles	Register eight tackles in a match	25
10 tackles	Earn ten tackles in a match	20
12 tackles	Rack up twelve tackles in a match	10
15 tackles	Accumulate fifteen tackles in a match	5

It is important to note that medals stack in a single match, e.g. if a player kicks seven goals then he qualifies for a medal for the Bag of 5, Bag of 6 and Bag of 7 categories.


TEAM TROPHIES

A similar system to the medals is used for team trophies based on team totals in statistical categories, which give awards of up to +500 fans for the first time the trophy is earned by the team in each category, plus again when milestones are hit. The number of fans awarded for a team trophy is dependent on the amount of fans a team already has, starting at +500 up to 30,000 fans, with a limit of +100 fans if the team fan total is over 60,000. Note: in the below list, a milestone number of 0 indicates that an award is only given for the first time this achievement is reached.

Category	Description	Milestone
Win the match	Come out victorious in a single match	50
Win by 1 point	Win by a single point!	10
Win by 30 points	Win by five goals or more	25
Win by 60 points	Win by ten goals or more	20
Win by 100 points	Win by a ton or more	10
Score 15 goals	Kick fifteen goals or more	50
Score 20 goals	Rack up twenty goals or more	25
Score 25 goals	Pile on twenty-five goals or more	20
Score 30 goals	Slam in thirty goals or more	10
Bag 5 goals	Have a single player kick five goals	50
Bag 6 goals	Have a single player boot six goals	25
Bag 7 goals	Have a single player jag seven goals	20
Bag 8 goals	Have a single player score eight goals	10
Bag 5+ straight	Have a single player kick five or more goals without a behind	10
Suffer an injury	Have at least one of your players injured	10
Suffer a LTI	Have at least one of your players long-term-injured	1
Earn the star	Have one of your players earn the MVP star	20
4 DT tons	Have four players score 100+ in DT points	50
6 DT tons	Have six players score 100+ in DT points	25
8 DT tons	Have eight players score 100+ in DT points	20
10 DT tons	Have ten players score 100+ in DT points	10
30 hit-outs	Total thirty hit-outs in a match	50
40 hit-outs	Win forty hit-outs in a match	25
50 hit-outs	Earn fifty hit-outs in a match	20
60 hit-outs	Rack up sixty hit-outs in a match	10
50-gamer	Have a player reach 50 matches	20
100-gamer	Have a player play 100 matches	10
150-gamer	Have a player suit up for 150 matches	5
200-gamer	Have a player run out for 200 matches	1
250-gamer	Have a player make it to 250 matches	1
300-gamer	Have a player manage 300 matches	1
I've been everywhere	Play a match at every ground	0
I've won everywhere	Win a match at every ground	0
6 spoils	Earn six spoils in a match	50
8 spoils	Register eight spoils in a match	25
10 spoils	Win ten spoils in a match	20
12 spoils	Rack up twelve spoils in a match	10
Win the contest	Win the contested possession count	50
Win the contest by 20	Win the contested possession count by twenty or more	25
Win the contest by 40	Win the contested possession count by forty or more	20
Win the contest by 60	Win the contested possession count by sixty or more	10

SEASONS AND FINALS

From the team's creation, every 22 matches that it plays constitutes a season of 22 rounds. Each match won by the team earns four premiership points with each draw earning two points. If the teams gets a better than 50% record, i.e. 44 points (which could be 10 wins and two draws, etc), then it qualifies for finals. The finals are all in a knock-out format, where up to three games can be played to gain bonuses for the purposes of the next season. Winning all three games earns you team a flag, which is one of the main aims of the sport!

The finals opponents are dependent on the team's record in the regular home & away season of 22 games. The more premiership points the team accumulates, the easier its opponents will be in finals! The finalist teams are listed below. Check out the attributes and skills on their star players, it's going to be a difficult task to beat them!

Kardinia Cougars, coached by cscott. Home: Kardinia.
Carringbush Jackdaws, coached by nbuckley. Home: The G.
Kew Cottagers, coached by aclarkson. Home: The G.
Parkville Royals, coached by brettrat. Home: Docklands.
Subiaco Surfers, coached by jworsfold. Home: Subiaco.
Elwood Blues, coached by swatters. Home: Docklands.
Sin City Sinners, coached by jlongmire. Home: Moore Park.
Tullamarine 747s, coached by jhird. Home: Docklands.
Kensington Kangas, coached by bscott. Home: Docklands.
Ashmore Reefers, coached by gmckenna. Home: Carrara.
Hilltop Hoods, coached by bsanderson. Home: Adelaide.
West Lakes Whales, coached by mprimus. Home: West Lakes.
Palmyra Sailors, coached by rlyon. Home: Subiaco.
Burnley Tunnellers, coached by dhardwick. Home: The G.
Gabba Roar, coached by mvoss. Home: Woolloongabba.
Jolimont Jokers, coached by mneeld. Home: The G.
Whitten Warriors, coached by bmccartney. Home: Docklands.
Breakfast Pointers, coached by ksheedy. Home: Homebush.

[m0nty]

ASSISTANT COACHES AND THE FAN ECONOMY

In Mr Football, you are the head coach of your football club. In the old days, that was all you needed. Phonse Kyne would bark at the lads, John Wren would pay the bootstudders a shilling, and off the team would go! Now a head coach can't walk into his office without passing a dozen or more desk jockeys, film studiers, fitness gurus, sports science brainiacs... and that's without mentioning about the crowded training track with all the experts poking their noses in.

Assistant coaches are just as much of a job for the coach to coach as the players are. It is your job to hire and fire your assistants, each of which has a special role in the club to improve a certain aspect of your players' performance... but if you can't afford a good one, your players will suffer! Assistants are given a plus/minus rating, with an average coach being +0, the poorest amateur rated at -3 and the best reaching +3 or maybe even higher. The ten assistants are as follows.

Recruitment: affects the quality of the pool of players considered in the draft.
Development: modifies the Potential roll during preseason.
Strength & conditioning: modifies the ST roll during preseason, plus sets the upper limit to attribute improvements.
Doctor: modifies the chance of recovery from injury and soreness during training between games.
Physio: modifies the fatigue recovery roll at breaks during matches
Seconds: enables Potential points to be either added at training between games to player/s who didn't play the main match, or removed from any player.
Forward: sets the upper limit to forward skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.
Back: sets the upper limit to back skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.
Midfield: sets the upper limit to midfield skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.
Ruck: sets the upper limit to ruck skill improvements, plus sets a maximum skill level in preseason beyond which a skill drops.

Assistants are vital to building your team up to become premiership quality, so it is very important to focus your attention on how to improve the ratings on your assistants. How do you improve your assistants? In a football club, fans pay money to the club for memberships, which then goes to pay for things like hiring assistants. So it is in Mr Football. Now we come to the fan economy.

Every coach of a football club knows that the players and other people inside the club are not the only people who need to be kept happy. Fans are one of your most important constituencies - cross them and you will be doomed! Managing the expectations and moods of the public is a vital part of being a successful modern coach. Mr Football is no different, and you'll spend a fair bit of time getting the balance of factors right to keep the punters flowing through the turnstiles.

This is represented by your fans, which begin for each team at a level of 10,000. These are your core supporter base who will follow your boys through thick and thin, no matter what you do as coach. Your fan levels will never drop below 10,000. Additionally, for the first two seasons, the league gives you a bit of help to fund all ten coaches at a rating of +0. However, once your second season is up, you have to fund them yourself. This initial two-season "grace period" is key to preparing your new team for a tilt at the premiership as early as possible.

Each thousand fans you have allows you to improve one of your assistants' ratings above the minimum -3 by one point. This means that to fund the original set of ten assistant coaches all at +0 ratings, you need to have 30,000 fans. Yes, that implies that if you want to keep your assistants at their average ratings, you have to gain 20,000 fans in two seasons! Thankfully, fans are usually eager to see new teams, so you get a lot of bonuses in your new franchise. Managing the amount of fans you have is mostly done through picking the right opponents.


TEAM VALUE, SELECTING OPPONENTS AND TROPHIES

Once you have made your team by finishing your draft, you will be taken to the List page, which is where you can look over all your players and improve their attributes and skills through using up Potential. The next step is the Selection page, where you see a list of prospective opponents for matches. On both pages you will see your selected 22, which you can modify using the dropdown menus. Each player has a value in dollars corresponding to his attributes and skills. The base value is $4000 per attribute point and $2000 per skill point, but very high or low numbers in either of them will boost or deflate the player's price to a larger extent. This value does not imply the game has a salary cap! On the contrary, you can make a team that is as expensive as you can get - though your team value has significant implications on gameplay, good and bad.

Figuring out which opponent to play to maximise your chances of winning is often a hit and miss affair, as some teams are better suited to beat you than others! Most importantly, though, you want to minimise the effect that playing the wrong opponent will incur, which is expressed in a "fan delta", shown in the Selection table as fan ?. This number denotes how many fans you will automatically lose or gain by playing this match, before modifications for events in the match itself. The number is modified by:

- Automatic +250 for teams in their first two seasons
- Sliding scale of penalties for a team which has a selected team strength (percentage of team value compared to most expensive "best 22") of less than 75%
- Sliding scale of penalties for playing a team which has a value more that $250,000 lower than yours

Minimising the penalties is one of the keys to managing your fans. The main one, though, is working towards earning trophies.


DIVISIONS, LEAGUES AND TOURNAMENTS

When created, each team is specified to go into a particular division. Each division has its own rules as to when matches can be played, and how often. Divisions will have team limits per coach, as well, and teams cannot play across divisions.

Open: Compete for coach rankings in this league against any other coach with an Open division team. Finals are against robot opponents.

League: Join a private league for a competition between you and your mates, with each season culminating in a head-to-head finals series to determine who wins the flag!

Dynasty: Much like the League division in that you can't play random games, only participate in leagues, except the rules would be more restrictive in that you can only play in one league which would have one single communal draft shared between all clubs in the league, not randomised individual drafts.

Origin: This division would have a restriction that you would have to choose which state you're from, and you could only draft players from that state, and can only play teams from other states. One team per coach.

Championship: One team per coach to begin with, this division would be subdivided into a number of ranked leagues with promotion and relegation like soccer leagues overseas.

Coaches will be able to access older versions of their team as they are at the end of each season. These will be able to be entered into occasional instant knockout tournaments which are outside the normal season system and have to be completed in a short timespan, a kind of champions league to determine the best team. Further instant knockout tournaments will be scheduled to add excitement to various divisions.