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Before each round of the Sim season you will submit your
Teamsheet, which lists your team selections and orders for the round. A Sim team consists of
the 18 on-field positions and 3 interchange positions. Each of these 21 players can score goals and behinds depending on
the Sim position they are played in, and the stats of their real-life counterparts in the corresponding AFL round. There
are also 3 emergency players who cannot score goals, but who can fill any scoring positions that are not contested, thus
avoiding a one-goal penalty for a DNP (Did Not Play). Rule 4A - Any of the 21 scoring positions that are not contested - either through injury, non-selection, late withdrawal or whatever cause - are fined 1 goal. An emergency player may fill an uncontested position provided that player also plays in the corresponding AFL round. The bottom line of this rule is that if you haven't got 21 players who are running around on the AFL fields in any particular round, it will cost you goals and possibly matches. So the depth of your squad is very important. It is not unusual to have 9 or 10 players in your squad either injured, suspended or simply out-of-favor with their AFL club. So even with a maximum squad of 33, you would just get by with 10 missing. If you only had a squad of 27 it would be disastrous. The results of a Sim game are recorded on the Matchsheet. The players from each club are shown in their opposing positions, for example full forward (FF) v full back (FB). The relevant stats of each player are shown, along with their individual Sim score in goals and behinds. An uncontested position shows a 1 goal penalty. Now is a good time to print a copy of a Teamsheet and Matchsheet. You can do that by right-clicking on the highlighted words above and selecting "Print Target", or by going to the relevant page and clicking "File" then "Print". Have you got the printed copy of a Matchsheet in front of you? Good, let's get into the guts of a game of Sim Football - how the players score. Each position is abbreviated in a very simple way - back pocket one becomes BP1, centre half forward becomes CHF etc. Position names are always shown in capital letters, whether on the Matchsheet or in the Sim Rules. In a similar way, each category of statistic is abbreviated - kicks becomes Ki, handballs becomes Hb etc. Statistic categories are always shown as an uppercase letter followed by a lowercase letter. This is to differentiate "full forward" (FF) from "frees for" (Ff). From now on in the Sim Rules, all positions and stat categories will be referred to by their abbreviations. As you can see, each position on the Matchsheet has either one or two stat categories. What do they mean? Let's start with the very first position on the Teamsheet, BP1. Beside the position you see Ki(10) Ff(1-1/2-2). The first stat is the Base Stat, and the figure in brackets is the minimum number of that particular stat required to score. So for BP1, the Base Stat is a minimum of 10 kicks. The second stat is the Bonus Multiplier, and the figures in brackets show how many goals are scored for different numbers of that particular stat. For BP1, the Bonus Multiplier is Ff, and 1 Ff = 1 goal, 2 Ff = 2 goals. Rule 4B - A Sim player scores goals when his AFL counterpart achieves the Sim position's statistical scoring requirements - the Base Stat AND any of the levels of the Bonus Multiplier for the 18 on-field positions, and the Base Stat for the 3 interchange positions. This means the player at BP1 would need a minimum 10 kicks to be eligible to score, and also 1 Ff to score 1 goal, and 2 or more Ff to score 2 goals. Stats of 9 Ki and 2 Ff would not score because the Base Stat hasn't been reached. Stats of 27 Ki and 1 Ff would score only 1 goal because the Base Stat is irrelevant once the minimum has been reached. Stats of 15 Ki and 5 Ff would score 2 goals only, because the maximum BP1 can score is 2 goals. Now let's move across to FB. You will immediately notice a difference - there is still a Base Stat and a Bonus Multiplier, but the latter has more figures than BP1. This is because FB is a Corridor position. Rule 4C - Corridor positions can score up to 4 goals. Corridor positions consist of the goal-to-goal line - FB, CHB, CNT, CHF & FF, plus the following division - RK, RR & RV. The pockets, flanks and wings can score up to 2 goals, and the interchange positions can score 1 goal only. The emergency positions cannot score goals. So why are Corridor positions able to score more goals than the others? Well, not just anyone can play in the Corridor. To be selected in a Corridor position, a Sim player must Qualify. Rule 4D - To Qualify for a Corridor position, a Sim player must have Average Stats equal to or greater than the Base Stat of the position. The selection of a Player Not Qualified (PNQ) is fined 1 goal. Rule 4E - A Sim player's Average Stats are his AFL counterpart's average match stats from his previous AFL season, as calculated by Sim Football. So let's look at FB. The Base Stat is 6 Hb. In order for a Sim player to qualify to play at FB, his AFL counterpart needs to have averaged a minimum of 6 handballs per game in the previous season. Then to score, he needs to get a minimum of 6 handballs and at least 4 marks in the current round. The criteria of Hb(6) Mk(4-1/5-2/6-3/8-4) show us that provided the player gets 6 or more Hb, 4 Mk scores 1 goal, 5 Mk 2 goals, 6 Mk 3 goals & 8 Mk 4 goals. Getting the idea? It's not so hard once the confusing array of numbers is explained. The interchange positions require only the Base Stat to score, but can only score 1 goal. Actually, that's all there is to the basics. Let's summarise. What have we covered in A Game of Sim Football? - Before each round you submit a Teamsheet, showing which players in your squad are selected in the various Sim positions. - For each scoring position that is not contested - either the position is left blank or the selected player does not play in the corresponding AFL round - a 1 goal fine is imposed. - Emergencies may fill uncontested positions to avoid fines, but cannot score goals. - Each Sim position directly opposes the corresponding position of the opposition. - Each Sim position has scoring criteria - the Base Stat and the Bonus Multiplier for the 18 on-field positions, and the Base Stat for the interchange positions - in order to score goals. - To Qualify for a Corridor position, a player must have Average Stats at least equal to the Base Stat of the position. That covers how Sim players score (and lose) goals, but how about behinds? Rule 4F - A Sim player scores behinds when he scores more goals than his direct opponent. The number of behinds scored is equal to the number of goals by which he outscores his opponent. Let's take FB and his direct opponent, FF. Say FB has stats of 10 Hb & 5 Mk, while FF has 4 Mk & 4 Gl. FB would score 2 goals to FF 3 goals so FF also scores 1 behind because he outscored his direct opponent by 1 goal. Another - CHF has 12 Ki & 9 Mk, while his CHB opponent pulled out before the bounce, and his Sim club has no emergencies to cover him. CHF scores 4 goals while CHB is fined 1 goal for an uncontested position. CHF scores 5 behinds because he outscored his direct opponent by 5 goals: 4 to minus 1. But not only players can score goals... |
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