Google Assistant can now play ball with all the AFL, NRL and Rugby Union scores and news in your feed

Google Assistant is getting smarter, with an exciting new addition for Aussies prepping for a big winter of ball sports with AFL, NRL and Rugby Union scores and more now able to be called at will.

From today, Google Assistant can now tell you all the latest news, scores, match results, game times and ladders from your favourite footy codes including the AFL, NRL and Rugby Union – sorry A-League fans – with a simple question using Google Search and the Google Assistant. While NRL and Rugby Union fans have had this functionality for a while through Google Now, it’s a piece of welcome news for AFL fans.

The new addition works in both the Assistant and search results on your devices, as well as through voice commands on Google Assistant enabled speakers like Google Home and Home Mini. Using voice commands such as ‘Ok Google, when are the Western Bulldogs playing next?’ you can find out the details of upcoming fixtures, or find out live scores by asking the Assistant ‘What’s the score in the Sydney Swans game?’ while the game is in progress, and then find out where they are on the ladder by asking ‘Ok Google, where are the Brisbane Lions on the ladder?’

Google has partnered with ABC Sport, Fox, Rugby and AFL News for sports news bulletins, allowing you access to great news briefs which are updated once a day during the off-season, and twice a day in the regular season – simply by asking Google Assistant ‘Ok Google, play the West Coast Eagles news.’

While the serious sports ball fans are going to be ecstatic, the larrikin side of the game is getting a nod as well, with Google adding in some fun stuff which lets you ask the Assistant to tell you an AFL joke (Isn’t that just AFL? ??). You can also ask the Assistant to ‘do a football interview’ to get some classic cliched post-match goodness.

Of course, this is Google Assistant so it learns over time, learning which teams you follow – and which you don’t – as well as the nicknames you have for your favourite team.

There’s a lot of information there, and Google is fulfilling their mission of organising it, and making it easier to digest. The NRL, AFL and Super Rugby seasons may have already started, but it’s never too late to get access to your favourite games, so try it out and see what you think.