THE rich history of Australian Rules Football extends far below the AFL stars on the television. A heavy sense of pride and reputation exists when the local weekend warriors battle it out in rain, hail or shine on a Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
But for most of the game\u2019s 150-year history, this reputation and authenticity at the local level has mainly taken a back seat in the dominant AFL states of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. It seems now though that Queensland has taken a big step towards stamping its mark on local AFL in Australia.<\/p>\n
The Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) has this year begun to film all games for public viewing online as well as conducting a live streamed game with commentary every round on Facebook during the 2018 season. This extended coverage follows suit with the Victorian Football League (VFL), being the trend setters with live streaming along with radio and televised games for several years now.<\/p>\n
Part of this new process is\u00a0Riley Staraj<\/strong>, one of the appointed commentators to call the live QAFL games this season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a product that\u2019s only started this year and it\u2019s a very authentic product bringing our local game to a wider audience and bringing exposure to the QAFL,\u201d Staraj said.<\/p>\n The new coverage of the QAFL also has taken a page out of the North Eastern Australian Football League\u2019s (NEAFL) book. The NEAFL have streamed games online for several years also to show off the talent that exists in the reserve grades of teams such as the Brisbane Lions.<\/p>\n QAFL Competition Manager\u00a0Christopher Davies<\/strong>\u00a0said that when discussions were first held in spring last year to undertake the extended coverage, the main goals were based on qualitative, not quantitative results.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t set ourselves any goals in terms of numbers it was about whatever we did, we do it properly and that it looked professional,\u201d Davies said.<\/p>\n The principal statistic that measures the reach of the QAFL coverage is that an average of between 1500-2000 people tune in each week to watch the live streamed game. Although this figure does not account for how long people are watching the game, it demonstrates the interest in Queensland AFL.<\/p>\n There have inevitably been challenges for the QAFL taking its first steps in national recognition, in regard to the logistics and technical aspects of the coverage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had our technical challenges to start with in learning the new system that we use to upload our videos and of course unfortunately it wouldn\u2019t stream\u2026 Aside from that it\u2019s all been relatively good,\u201d Davies said.<\/p>\n Of course, like any broadcasting team there are the unsung \u2018tech\u2019 heroes who virtually put on the show and the same heroes exist in the QAFL coverage. QAFL caller\u00a0Matt Carroll<\/strong>\u00a0has nothing but praise for the tech team behind the streaming, making his job very easy.<\/p>\n \u201cAll that I do is clip the microphone to my lapel that\u2019s it, the tech guys have done a great job,\u201d Carroll said.<\/p>\n The increased exposure that the streaming of games gives to the QAFL, opens up talent pathways for all those involved. This includes players, coaches, commentators and coaches alike.<\/p>\n For Staraj, it has always been a goal of his to call AFL at the highest level. He strongly believes that calling QAFL games is the best avenue\u00a0for the foreseeable future, to develop his commentary career.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the best stepping stone you can get because it\u2019s such a niche industry,” Staraj said. “You need practical experience and you can\u2019t get a better opportunity than this, calling the QAFL.”<\/p>\n With more eyes than ever on every QAFL game, the opportunities are there for players aspiring to reach the highest levels. The pathway may now be easier than ever before as a result of the extended coverage of the QAFL.<\/p>\n Mt Gravatt Senior Coach\u00a0Daniel Webster<\/strong>\u00a0believes that the streaming of QAFL games is a great tool that might help his players get picked up by the higher leagues around the nation.<\/p>\n \u201cMore people actually get to watch the games,\u201d Webster said. \u201cSo, if a recruiter or someone from interstate wanted to watch a replay of a player\u2019s game they just need to jump on the AFLQ website. \u201cFrom that perspective it\u2019s definitely a good tool for recruitment.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps the most excited party in all this coverage are the players running around the paddock on Saturday afternoons. All eyes are now on the best of the best club footballers in Queensland for the first time. This offers extra motivation for players looking to impress and move up the AFL ranks.<\/p>\n Mt Gravatt\u2019s very own QAFL senior player\u00a0James Markham<\/strong>\u00a0said that with more spectators online, it\u2019s another reason to play better. On the flip side for players are their nerves before they play, and James claims that it plays on the mind on some of his teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cRhys Estall<\/strong>\u00a0(Mt Gravatt teammate) gets nervous when a lot of people are watching especially with the games being streamed nowadays,\u201d Markham said.<\/p>\n Furthermore, Markham echoes his coach\u2019s thoughts that the broader coverage of the QAFL will do nothing but help players chasing a football dream.<\/p>\n Looking ahead to the future, the administration at AFL Queensland have plans in place to extend even more the online broadcast of QAFL matches.<\/p>\n \u201cWe probably will look to extend the live stream to every game in time. Obviously, there\u2019s a lot of challenges that come with streaming every game live each round along with incorporating more pre-game and post-game content,\u201d Davies said.<\/p>\n