Premier
About the iVFL
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- League Types
- Registration
- Fees and Prizes
- Rules of the Game
- Scoring
- Ladder Placings
- Finals
Introduction
[ToC]The internet Virtual Football League (iVFL) is Australia's leading virtual Australian Football game. Unlike many "fantasy" and "virtual" football web sites that take a "one game suits all" approach, the iVFL offers its members three types of competitions (league types) to choose from, this allows you to choose the game that appeals to both your passion to coach a premiership winning team and your available time to play the game.
League Types
[ToC]The iVFL offers participants three different ways to play the game via the following types of leagues.
Spectator Leagues
A Spectator League is by far the easiest way to play iVFL. Prior to the commencement of the season you are allocated a team of 36 randomly selected AFL players. A method is used whereby each team in the league is allocated an identical number of similarly rated players based on player statistics from the previous season. In theory your team has as good a chance at winning the Premiership as the next team in that league.
With Spectator Leagues there is no need to participate in pre-season or mid season drafts, and no need to submit weekly team sheets. You will play a different team in your league each week for four premiership points. Your individual player scores are automatically calculated and your team score is determined based on your 18 highest scoring players. You just sit back and relax and visit the iVFL Web site on a regular basis to monitor your team's progress. Before too long you will probably be wanting to play in either an Amateur or Professional League!
Amateur Leagues
An Amateur League is similar to a Spectator League with the exception that you choose your team of 36 players via a pre-season draft and have an option to fine tune your team via a mid season draft. You can choose any AFL player for your team provided you adhere to drafting guidelines. Then you just sit back, relax and watch how your team progresses through the season as it takes on other teams in the league.
Professional Leagues
A Professional League puts you right in the coach’s box. It begins with the selection of a team of 36 players at the pre-season draft. Unlike Amateur Leagues, players can only belong to one team in that league. Therefore, timing of your selection of players is critical in the draft. A mid-season draft allows you to fine tune your team. Unique to Professional Leagues, are that team scores are determined by the Coach’s player selection. Therefore, coaches can vary their player selections line-up on a round by round basis. Then you simply wait to see your team's result.
League Accessibility
Leagues can be either open to the public or private.
Public Leagues
Public leagues are co-ordinated by iVFL and generally appeal to individuals who are happy to compete in a league with the general public.
Only Spectator and Amateur type leagues are offered as Public leagues
Private Leagues
Private leagues can be established for any type of league. Generally they are established by groups of people who wish to compete against one another. One coach is to nominate as the league co-ordinator and after creating a league will advise their friends which league to register their teams in.Web pages for both private and public leagues are viewable by the general public. If you wish to remain anonymous, please ensure your "Display Name" field in "My Account" remains blank.
Both Spectator and Amateur leagues can be either private or public. You can create your own Private Spectator or Amateur League with a group of friends or join a public league. Professional leagues are only private.
League Size
All leagues must have at least 4 registered teams before the competition can commence. Leagues can have no more than 10 registered teams.
Registration
[ToC]To play the game, you must first register as a coach, following which you can create one or more teams in one of more leagues. It is important to complete the registration form accurately. Please ensure you record you full name, email address, user name and password.
Once you have successfully register as a coach you can create your teams Your teams can then be assigned to the next available Public league or Private league you have either created of been invited to join.
If you have created a private league, please advise other participant's of the league name and league id. They will need to provide both pieces of information when assigning their team to your league.
At the completion of the registration period, the iVFL will confirm all participants of there acceptance and provide information on the draft process.
Fees and Prizes
[ToC]There are no fees involved in playing iVFL. As it is completly free, the iVFL does not provide any prizes. Private league co-ordinators may choose apply fees and prizes; however such arrangements are independant of the iVFL.
Rules of the Game
[ToC]
Player Drafts
Spectator Leagues
There is no formal drafts for Spectator Leagues. Teams are allocated 36 randomly selected players. A method is used whereby each team in that league is allocated an identical number of similarly rated players based on player statistics from the previous season.
Amateur Leagues
Pre-season Draft
Each team is given an equal budget to draft their 36 players. Players are graded based on last years statistics and are priced accordingly. Your challenge is to select what you believe are the 36 best players that your money can afford. Unlike the Professional Leagues, a player can be selected by multiple teams.
Team budgets and player prices will be advised at least 2 weeks prior to the draft.
Mid Season Draft
The mid season draft allows you to de-list and replace a limited number of your players (up to a number equal to the number of teams in your league). All players will be re-priced based on their average statistics up to and including the game prior to the mid season draft. Coaches must replace every player they de-list. In drafting replacement players, coaches will be able to use any remaining budget from the pre-season draft plus whichever is the higher value of the pre-season or mid season draft player price (of those players being delisted).
Professional Leagues
Pre-season Draft
Professional League drafts will be conducted using the iVFL rotational draft method, whereby the last selecting team in the preceeding round becomes the first selecting team in the following round, and so on.
For new leagues, the starting order for the draft will be based on registration date/times. The first registration will get first selection and so on.
For leagues that were operating in the previous season, coaches will choose their starting draft selection position based on a reversed ladder order. Where the league introduces a new coach, the new coach will have first selection. Where there is more than one new coach, the order will be determined by their registration date/time, with the first registration having the first selection, etc.
Each team is required to select 36 players.
All AFL players will be allocated a grade based on last seasons performance (average iVFL score), with Grade 0 being the most skillful iVFL players. The following table identifies the average scores for the current grades:
| Grade | Average |
|---|---|
| 0 | > 55 |
| 1 | > 50 to 55 |
| 2 | > 45 to 50 |
| 3 | > 40 to 45 |
| 4 | > 35 to 40 |
| 5 | > 30 to 35 |
| 6 | > 25 to 30 |
| 7 | > 20 to 25 |
| 8 | 0 to 20 |
Existing teams must retain 9 to 18 players from their previous season player list. The iVFL will advise the composition of this Retention Structure prior to the pre-season draft.
Where a team does not contain the number of players for a given grade as advised in the Retention Structure, they will have the option of an early draft pick (ie. selecting a player for that grade at a designated round during the first 18 rounds of the pre-season draft) or retain an existing player of a lesser grade.
No restrictions apply beyond round 18 of the draft.
Mid Season Draft
The mid season draft allows you to de-list and replace up to 8 of your players. The iVLF rotational draft method will be used as described above. The selection order will based on the reverse ladder positions of the previous round.
Apart from the number of players that can be de-listed and replaced, no other restrictions apply.
Weekly Team Selection
Each week during the season, Professional League coaches will nominate 22 of their 36 players drafted to make up their weekly team. This is achieved by completing a weekly team spreadsheet online.
In the event that less than 18 of your selected players play in the AFL that week, emergencies can be drawn upon from the remaining 14 players. Accordingly, the remaining 14 players should be listed in order of preference below the first 22.
In the event that a coach doesnt submit a team, the previous week's team is used.
Scoring
[ToC]The sum of the 18 highest scoring players make up the team score. The team with the highest score for that game will be declared the winner.
Teams are awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw and zero for a loss. In the event a league has byes, the team with the bye will be awarded 4 points.
Each player's score is calculated using official player statistics published for that week. Those scores are calculated as follows:
| Statistic | Points |
|---|---|
| Kicks | 1 |
| Handballs | 1 |
| Marks | 2 |
| Hitouts | 0.5 rounded |
| Tackles | 3 |
| Goals | 4 |
| Behinds | 1 |
Should any of your players play for an AFL team which has a bye, those players will be awarded there season average score providing they played for their AFL in the previous round, otherwise they will be awarded a zero score.
Ladder Placings
[ToC]Positions on the ladder are determined by a team's total points and their percentage. The percentage is calculated as follows:
| Aggregate team score FOR |
| --------------------------------------- X 100 |
| Aggregate team score AGST |
Finals
[ToC]The number of teams eligible to play in finals is determined as follows:
| Teams in League | Finalists | Finals |
|---|---|---|
| 7 or less | 4 | 3 weeks |
| 8 or more | 5 | 4 weeks |
At the end of the iVFL home and away season the finalists will play off during the remaining 3 or 4 weeks of the AFL home and away season (see table above), ending with the Grand Final being played in the final round of the AFL season.
In the event of a drawn game during the finals, the two teams will play a three way play off with the team they play against the following week. Should a draw occur during the Grand Final, the highest placed team during the Home and Away season will be deemed the Premier.