AUSTRALIANS flocked to Patong's Soi Bangla after 11 o'clock yesterday . . . nothing unusual about that, except for once it was 11am, not 11pm. The bars were packed for the telecast of a sports event, the Australian Football League Grand Final Replay.

The first Grand Final between the St Kilda 'Saints' and the Collingwood 'Magpies' ended the previous weekend in an exciting draw, so instead of having extra time or a shoot-out, the 100,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground were asked to come back for more.

Why is football played at a cricket ground? That's another quirk of this unusual sport. Australian Rules is a unique code of football that Aussies have largely kept to themselves while other parts of the world have adopted soccer, gridiron, rugby union or rugby league.

People are usually impressed with the speed and athleticism of the Aussie code, which is why Down Under they call it ''world's greatest game.'' A seven-year-old Thai boy who watched it for the first time was impressed because all the players got to use their arms and their legs.

The bars of Soi Bangla are fairly impressed, too, to be packed two Saturdays running before noon. Many of the fans will be back today when the Grand Final of the Australian National Rugby League will be held in Sydney between the Roosters and the Dagons.

In yesterday's game, the Mapies won 16.12 (108) to 7.10 (52).

There is no truth in the rumor that the Australians who invented the game opted to score six points for a goal because it matched the number of fingers on each hand.