The league abandoned the AFLX tournament format adopted for the inaugural series which featured all 18 AFL clubs, and instead appointed four high-profile players as captains of their respective teams. Geelong midfielder and Brownlow MedallistPatrick Dangerfield captained the Bolts, Fremantle captain and fellow Brownlow winner Nat Fyfe captained the Flyers, Adelaide forward Eddie Betts captained the Deadlys, and Richmond forward and three-time Coleman MedallistJack Riewoldt captained the Rampage.[1] Teams were live-drafted from a pool of available players by the captains – although by pre-agreement the Deadlys team was drawn entirely from Indigenous players. The teams had 14 players each, with eight on the field and six on the bench.[1][2]
In the grand final, Patrick Cripps (Rampage) humorously kicked a goal with a place kick, with Jack Riewoldt serving as holder in the style of a gridiron football field goal attempt. Place kicking (off the ground, rather than with a holder) had been obsolete in Australian rules football since the 1950s.[3][4][5]
Rule changes
A new rule was added to the competition in which teams could nominate one of their players on the field to be the Gatorade Game Changer for the last five minutes of the game. The Game Changer had the ability to score double the points of any other player; a behind scored by him would be worth two points, a goal would be worth 12 points, and a super goal would be worth 20 points.
A draft of 48 selections was broadcast on Wednesday 6 February by Network Seven and Fox Footy after being held in secret the previous day.[9][10]
The draft featured 12 selections by each captain with a snake draft order determined by random draw on the night of the draft. No more than four players from each AFL club, inclusive of the pre-selected captains and vice-captains, were eligible to play in the tournament.[10]
