Aussie Rules Football season set to begin
Graham Wright of the Collingwood Magpies in action during an AFL match in Australia. (Photo by Sport the library/Icon SMI)
March 17th, 2020
Despite major sporting events across the world being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Round 1 of the 2020 Australian Football League (AFL) season is still scheduled to kick-off behind closed doors this weekend.
The AFL will make a final decision on whether to postpone the start of the season on Wednesday, but should it commence as planned, the Richmond Tigers will host the Carlton Blues at the Melbourne Cricket Ground at 4:25 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 19.
| Richmond Tigers | Carlton Blues |
|---|
-340 | +230 |
The good news? BetAmerica players can bet on all Australian Rules Football games online through the BetAmerica App and website.
Aussie Rules, as it’s known Down Under, is played on an oval-shaped field with 18 players on each team. There are four vertical goal posts at each end, and points are scored by kicking an oval-shaped football, similar to the one used in American football, between the middle goal posts (worth six points) or the outer goal posts (worth one point).
The Tigers are the defending champion and are -340 moneyline favorites to defeat the Blues (+230) in the season opener. The line is set at 19.5 points.
"The Tigers have been the league’s benchmark over the past three seasons and are expected to continue that momentum in 2020, starting with a big win over the struggling Blues," said BetAmerica’s Andrew Brown.
In futures betting, Richmond are +450 favorites at BetAmerica to win this year’s AFL Premiership, in front of the West Coast Eagles (+550), Collingwood (+750) and Greater Western Sydney (+800).
