{"id":842139,"date":"2026-08-03T16:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/842139\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:04:12","slug":"i-might-be-onto-something-here-how-one-man-gamified-afl-pain-and-glory-in-an-online-sensation-afl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/842139\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I might be onto something here\u2019: how one man gamified AFL pain and glory in an online sensation | AFL"},"content":{"rendered":"

An online AFL<\/a> game has drawn more than 300,000 players since it was launched less than a month ago, creating a social media sensation that burst forth to become a talking point at bars and even in MCG bathrooms. Just who must be delisted, and who then drafted, to make an AFL dynasty that never was?<\/p>\n

The creator of Footy Redraft<\/a>, Greg Butyn, says he had the game\u2019s bare bones working \u201cover a night or two\u201d in July. Early feedback from friends was positive. But the response quickly became something more, his first inkling he may have created something meaningful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sent it to a couple of mates and they just said it was good,\u201d he Butyn says. \u201cAnd then the next day I was getting messages from them and they were like, \u2018mate, I\u2019ve been thinking about it all day at work. I can\u2019t wait to get home and play it\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went around to my mates\u2019 house, showed them the game, sat on the couch, and they just sat there glued to their phones playing it instead of watching the footy that was on TV. And I was like, \u2018I might be onto something here\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The losses linger, but it is the hope that keeps footy fans coming back. That mix of nostalgia, pain, glory and what-if inside the mind of every supporter? Butyn managed to gamify it.<\/p>\n

The 40-year data analyst admits his life as a long-suffering Western Bulldogs supporter \u2013 highlighted by memories of their remarkable 2016 flag run \u2013 has moulded his outlook on the sport. That then seeped into the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s that real feeling of, oh, \u2018I\u2019ve got a really good team together, and they\u2019ve got rolled in the prelim\u2019, and that makes you come back for that time that you do win as an underdog,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, for the player-side, we definitely debate who should have gone at what pick. We love putting together our redrafts of what order would we have done it. This game literally lets you go and do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A screenshot of online AFL game Footy Redraft’s front page Photograph: Footy Redraft<\/p>\n

From a humble message on social media announcing the game on 13 July, 20,000 players found it within a day. Two and a half weeks later, that figure crossed 300,000. The total number of seasons simulated stands at more than four million.<\/p>\n

The game allows you to rewind two decades and take a club\u2019s real list, and refashion it for success, using the player performance data from actual AFL seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought maybe the 20-year draft would be too long for people to \u2018get\u2019. If you\u2019re 25, do you really remember some of the Cats or Hawthorn players, or even the Richmond team?,\u201d Butyn says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a bit worried the demographic was just for me and my mates, and then once I posted it on Twitter [X] and had a few guys share it, it really blew up. I was really surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n

The game has already been mined for content by AFL-endorsed creator Dan Gorringe.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSomeone sent me the link of Dan Gorringe going through the game for half an hour on YouTube, and I still can\u2019t watch it because I don\u2019t want to, I\u2019m almost embarrassed by it,\u201d Butyn says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut all the feedback I\u2019ve received \u2013 like if I read the comment section anywhere, whether it be on Twitter, whether it be on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram \u2013 everyone seems so positive. I\u2019m actually really shocked, and no one has pointed out something dumb, like \u2018He\u2019s in the wrong position\u2019, or \u2018That guy had a better season\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The purity and simplicity of the game is part of its charm, a refreshing counterpoint in a football information ecosystem that is now largely dominated by gambling. Even the AFL\u2019s own fixture lists gambling odds next to both teams for each match.<\/p>\n

Butyn is in no rush to commercialise Footy Redraft, however, and has already knocked back two investment proposals. \u201cThe offer would have to be, I don\u2019t know, not going to get bought just for a couple of bucks. I think the game\u2019s too fun and it\u2019s got too much goodwill, and people are enjoying it too much to spoil it with ads,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be worth it. And I feel like a game like this, it\u2019s got a pretty shallow ceiling [in terms of potential market] being in Australia only, and I can\u2019t see a way to monetise it without also spoiling it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead he has simply called for donations from keen players. So far, his takings have covered web server costs, at around $80 per month, \u201cplus a couple of pints, and anything on top that I can get from here will definitely go towards a night out at some stage\u201d.<\/p>\n

Just as the game is addictive to play, so too is it to develop. Butyn has overhauled the game\u2019s hall of fame and rewards system already, and is now starting to test a trade mechanic.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m throwing up if it actually detracts or adds to the game because it really breaks up the cadence of drafting, and re-going. Maybe the fun bit is not having to think too much and just spinning through all these old names. Maybe that\u2019s the fun of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An online AFL game has drawn more than 300,000 players since it was launched less than a month…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":842140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-842139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/842140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}