Australian football has the highest spectator attendance and television viewership of all sports in Australia, while the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's only fully professional competition, is the nation's wealthiest sporting body.
The Australian Rules football annual grand final is the highest attended club championship event in the world. The sport is also played at amateur level in many countries and in several variations. The game's rules are governed by the AFL Commission with the advice of the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee.
Western Bulldogs - 2016 AFL Grand Final winners
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, or simply called Aussie Rules, football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of eighteen players on an oval-shaped field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the oval-shaped ball between the opposing goal posts (worth six points) or behind posts (worth one point). The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins unless a draw is declared.
A goal line camera perspective of the Aussie Rules goal posts
During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled: for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground (running bounce). Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball.
A packed Aussie Rules Grand Final stadium
A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick (with specific conditions) are awarded possession. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick or mark is paid. Players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents.
Australian Football League West Coast Eagles v Melbourne at the MCG Ashley Sampi takes one of the all-time greatest marks. (Photo by Trevor Collens)
Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in the back), interference when marking and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties or suspension for a certain number of matches, depending on the seriousness of the infringement. The game features frequent physical contests, spectacular marking, fast movement of both players and the ball and high scoring.
The laws of Australian Rules Football ...
The laws of Australian rules football describe the rules of the game of Australian rules football as they have evolved and adapted, with the same underlying core rules, since 1859.
The current laws consist of an extensive document titled "Laws of Australian Football", which contains the rules and interpretations of the game, and is managed and administered by the Australian Football League.
The Australian Football Leage official logo
The rules were first formed by the Melbourne Football Club, chaired by Tom Wills in 1859. The laws significantly predate the advent of a governing body for the sport. The first national and international body, the Australasian Football Council, was formed in 1905 to govern Australian Football. Since 1994, the rules for the game known as Australian football have been governed by the AFL and the organisation's Laws of the Game committee.
The players, ground and equipment
18 players are permitted to take the field for each team, with an additional four players on an interchange bench (although this number often varies in exhibition and practice matches). The equipment needed to play the game is minimal. As in other kinds of football, players wear boots with stops (known as "cleats" or "studs" in some regions) in the soles, shorts, and a thick, strong shirt or jumper known as a guernsey, normally sleeveless, although long sleeve jumpers are sometimes worn in very cold weather by some players.
Protective gear is minimal. Most players wear a mouthguard but only a very few wear a helmet, normally a bicycle style helmet with a soft outer covering, and only after medical advice, such as if they have been concussed numerous times. Some players, predominantly ruckmen, wear shin guards. All protective equipment must be approved by the umpires to ensure that it can not injure other players.
Aussie Rules players with optional protective headgear
The game is played with an ellipsoid ball, on a grassed oval.
The Field
Four posts, aligned in a straight line, 6.4 metres (21 feet) apart from each other, are erected at either end of the oval. The size of the ground is not fixed, but is generally between 135-185m (443 - 607 feet) long and 110-155m (361 - 508.5 feet) wide. Lines are drawn on the field to mark
the boundary,
a 50m (164 feet)-wide centre square,
two concentric circles in the centre with diameters 3m (9.85 feet) and 10m (32.8 feet), both bisected by one line,
a 9×6.4m (29.5 x 20.1 feet) goal square at each end of the ground,
a 15m (49.2 feet)-wide "interchange" on one flank of the oval.
a curved line at each end, 50 metres (154 feet) from the goal line (the "Fifty-Metre Line") After introduction of the 50m centre square, the "Fifty Metre Lines" were replaced by 45m (147.6 feet) lines at Sydney Cricket Ground due to the ground's short length, to avoid overlapping with the centre square.
Diagram of a standard ground for Australian rules football
The Play
The game is a fast-paced combination of speed, athleticism, skill and physical toughness. Players are allowed to tackle the player with the ball and impede opposition players from tackling their teammates (known as shepherding), but not to deliberately strike an opponent (though pushing the margins of these rules is often a substantial part of the game). Like most team sports, tactics are based around trying to get the ball, then – through a combination of running with the ball, hand-passing (punching the ball from the open palm of the other hand) and kicking – to deliver it to a player who is within range of goal.
Because taking a mark entitles the player to a free kick, a common tactic is to attempt to kick the ball on the full (without bouncing) to a teammate who is within kicking range of goal. In this situation, packs of players often form around the goal square, and the opportunity arises for spectacular marks in which players launch themselves off opponents' backs to mark the ball, high in the air. This particular skill is highly regarded as a spectacle, and an annual "Mark of the Year" is awarded at the end of a season.
There are no set positions in the rules of the game, but traditionally the field was divided into three major sections: the forward line, back line, and midfield. The forward and back lines consisted of six players, arranged into two lines of three players each. The midfield generally consists of the designated ruckman (i.e. player who contests the ruck or bounce-down) and players who either stay in the centre area of the ground (between the two 50 metre arcs) or follow the ball and are not confined to a particular area.
Traditional Australian Rules Football playing positions
The modern game, however, has largely discarded positional play in favour of a free flowing running game and attempting to have loose men in various positions on the ground. The rise in popularity of the hand-pass since the 1970s has greatly influenced this style of play, with players more willing to follow the ball and move it quickly amongst themselves rather than kicking long to a one-on-one marking contest. In the late 1990s a tactic known as flooding was devised and also shifted focus away from set positions.
When a team "plays a flood", they direct two or more of their midfield or forward line players into their defence, thus out-numbering their opponent and making it difficult for any opposing forward to take an uncontested mark. Most football sides are named (and demonstrated) in the traditional set positions, but it is in fact uncommon for players to stay within the traditional areas of their position. The players are shuffled on and off the field using the interchange bench, the blood rule means that if any player, for any reason, should begin to bleed, no matter how minor or severe, they must remove themselves from the ground to receive treatment. They may return when the flow of blood has stopped and has been treated by the team medic.
Holding the ball
One of the things that cause the most confusion for people that are not familiar with the game are the Holding the Ball, Dropping the Ball, and Throwing rules. Confusion arises because a player being tackled is not allowed to hold onto the ball, but is not allowed to throw it either.
These rules are easily summarised:
Players must always dispose of the ball by either a kick or a hand-pass.
A hand-pass, also called a handball, is performed by punching the ball from one hand with the other fist. The ball cannot be thrown up (like a volleyball serve) and hit, nor handed to a teammate like an American/Canadian football handoff, nor tossed to a teammate like a lateral in rugby or gridiron football.
When a player is in possession of the ball, and moving, the ball must be bounced or touched to the ground at least once every 15 metres. Failure to do so results in a penalty, where a free kick is awarded to the opposing team. This is sometimes called running too faror travelling, and is signalled by the umpire in the same way as travelling is signalled in basketball.
If the ball-carrying player decides to run with the ball or to evade a tackling opponent, he or she would be deemed to have a prior opportunity of being able to dispose of the ball legally, as long as there was a reasonable time for the player to dispose of the ball correctly prior to being tackled; e.g., a couple of steps would not normally constitute "prior opportunity".
When a player is in possession of the ball, and is tackled correctly (i.e., above the knees and below the shoulders), he or she must immediately dispose of the ball by kicking or hand-passing. Failure to do so, when a prior opportunity to dispose of it existed, results in a penalty benefiting the tackling team, which is awarded a free kick. A free kick is also awarded to the tackler if there was no prior opportunity, but the player in possession of the ball does not dispose of it or attempt to do so within a reasonable time. This is also called holding the ball. Exceptions to this rule include:
Being bumped, that is, hit side-on by another player or tackled in such a manner that causes the ball to be knocked free or come loose from a player's possession.
Being tackled with the ball despite gaining possession of it but had no chance of disposing it (no prior opportunity), where the ball is unable to be released. A ball-up would result to restart play.
If the ball carrier, who had prior opportunity before the tackle, was swung off balance while attempting to dispose the ball but not making contact, a holding the ball decision would be awarded against the ball carrier on the basis of the ball not being legally disposed of whilst tackled. Where there is no prior opportunity, the umpire will call "play on".
In a recent effort to reduce the amount of unnecessary stoppages, the interpretation of the prior opportunity has widened to include any player who grabs hold of the ball during a ball-up or throw-in situation instead of knocking it away. In this instance, if the player is then tackled and could not dispose of the ball legally, a holding the ball penalty would be paid against him.
Scoring
Like many other codes of football, the way to score points is to score goals. In Australian Football, there are two types of scores: a goal and a behind. There are four posts at each end of the ground; the two middle (and taller) posts are the goal posts, and the two outer (and shorter) posts are the behind posts. The area between the goal posts is the goal; kicking the ball between these posts scores a goal which is worth six points. Kicking the ball between a goal and a behind post scores a behind, which constitutes a single point. A behind is also scored if the ball passes between the goal posts but has not been kicked by the attacking team (e.g., it comes off the hands of either team, or is kicked by the defending team), or if the ball hits or passes directly above the goal post. (If the ball hits the behind post, the ball is considered to have gone out of bounds.) A rushed behind (also worth one point) is scored when the defending team deliberately forces the ball between any of the posts. This may occur in pressure situations where a defender decides that it is safer to concede one point to the opposing team rather than risk a goal being scored.
A goal umpire judges whether a goal or behind is scored. The goal umpire shows that a goal has been scored by pointing both index fingers in front of him at waist level and then waving two flags above his or her head to indicate the score to the other goal umpire. A behind is signalled by pointing one finger and waving one flag.
As an example, consider a match in which the home team scores 11 goals and 12 behinds, totalling 78 points, and the away team scores 8 goals and 8 behinds, totalling 56 points. The home team wins the match by 22 points, and the result would usually appear like this:
The exact convention for punctuation can vary. When spoken, the above result would be reported as:
Home Team, eleven twelve seventy-eight, defeated Away Team eight eight fifty-six.
The first number is the number of goals (six points) scored, the second number is the number of behinds (one point) scored, and the final number is the total score. The final result is decided on the total score only: a team may win the game despite scoring fewer goals (e.g. 13.21 (99) def. 14.9 (93)); and, if two teams finish with the same total score, the match is considered a draw even if the teams kick a different number of goals (e.g. 12.10 (82) drew 11.16 (82)).
A typical Australian Rules Football scoreboard
Game length
The length of a game of Australian Football can vary from league to league, but is generally around 15 to 25 minutes per quarter. In the AFL, each quarter runs for 20 minutes plus time on – which makes up for time occupied in stoppages, such as when the ball goes out of bounds, injuries, goals (or behinds) being kicked, or when the umpire is setting the angle of a free kick on goal. A typical AFL quarter might run from 27 to 33 minutes, but may be even longer if, for instance, injuries cause delays. AFL breaks after the first and third quarters are six minutes, with a 20-minute break at halftime. Thus, a match with quarters averaging 30 minutes would last about two and a half hours.
Time is kept by two off-field officials, known as "timekeepers", who sound the siren at the start and end of each quarter. The quarter or match ends immediately when a field umpire hears the siren, with the exception that a player is allowed to kick for goal after the sirenfrom a mark or free kick which was paid before the siren.
The manner of timekeeping in Australian rules football is unusual compared with other sports, in that the timekeepers keep track of time using a count-down clock which begins at 20 minutes and is stopped during any time-on; but, clocks displayed at the ground count up from zero and are not stopped during time-on. As such, spectators and players present at the ground never know exactly how much time is left in the game. The timekeepers' countdown clock is seen by the coaches and is shown by many television broadcasters.
Check out the video below for an in-depth explanation of the game of Australian Rules Football...
Read the full article
The Australian Rules football annual grand final is the highest attended club championship event in the world. The sport is also played at amateur level in many countries and in several variations. The game's rules are governed by the AFL Commission with the advice of the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee.
Western Bulldogs - 2016 AFL Grand Final winners
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, or simply called Aussie Rules, football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of eighteen players on an oval-shaped field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the oval-shaped ball between the opposing goal posts (worth six points) or behind posts (worth one point). The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins unless a draw is declared.
A goal line camera perspective of the Aussie Rules goal posts
During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled: for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground (running bounce). Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball.
A packed Aussie Rules Grand Final stadium
A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick (with specific conditions) are awarded possession. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick or mark is paid. Players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents.
Australian Football League West Coast Eagles v Melbourne at the MCG Ashley Sampi takes one of the all-time greatest marks. (Photo by Trevor Collens)
Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in the back), interference when marking and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties or suspension for a certain number of matches, depending on the seriousness of the infringement. The game features frequent physical contests, spectacular marking, fast movement of both players and the ball and high scoring.
The laws of Australian Rules Football ...
The laws of Australian rules football describe the rules of the game of Australian rules football as they have evolved and adapted, with the same underlying core rules, since 1859.
The current laws consist of an extensive document titled "Laws of Australian Football", which contains the rules and interpretations of the game, and is managed and administered by the Australian Football League.
The Australian Football Leage official logo
The rules were first formed by the Melbourne Football Club, chaired by Tom Wills in 1859. The laws significantly predate the advent of a governing body for the sport. The first national and international body, the Australasian Football Council, was formed in 1905 to govern Australian Football. Since 1994, the rules for the game known as Australian football have been governed by the AFL and the organisation's Laws of the Game committee.
The players, ground and equipment
18 players are permitted to take the field for each team, with an additional four players on an interchange bench (although this number often varies in exhibition and practice matches). The equipment needed to play the game is minimal. As in other kinds of football, players wear boots with stops (known as "cleats" or "studs" in some regions) in the soles, shorts, and a thick, strong shirt or jumper known as a guernsey, normally sleeveless, although long sleeve jumpers are sometimes worn in very cold weather by some players.
Protective gear is minimal. Most players wear a mouthguard but only a very few wear a helmet, normally a bicycle style helmet with a soft outer covering, and only after medical advice, such as if they have been concussed numerous times. Some players, predominantly ruckmen, wear shin guards. All protective equipment must be approved by the umpires to ensure that it can not injure other players.
Aussie Rules players with optional protective headgear
The game is played with an ellipsoid ball, on a grassed oval.
The Field
Four posts, aligned in a straight line, 6.4 metres (21 feet) apart from each other, are erected at either end of the oval. The size of the ground is not fixed, but is generally between 135-185m (443 - 607 feet) long and 110-155m (361 - 508.5 feet) wide. Lines are drawn on the field to mark
the boundary,
a 50m (164 feet)-wide centre square,
two concentric circles in the centre with diameters 3m (9.85 feet) and 10m (32.8 feet), both bisected by one line,
a 9×6.4m (29.5 x 20.1 feet) goal square at each end of the ground,
a 15m (49.2 feet)-wide "interchange" on one flank of the oval.
a curved line at each end, 50 metres (154 feet) from the goal line (the "Fifty-Metre Line") After introduction of the 50m centre square, the "Fifty Metre Lines" were replaced by 45m (147.6 feet) lines at Sydney Cricket Ground due to the ground's short length, to avoid overlapping with the centre square.
Diagram of a standard ground for Australian rules football
The Play
The game is a fast-paced combination of speed, athleticism, skill and physical toughness. Players are allowed to tackle the player with the ball and impede opposition players from tackling their teammates (known as shepherding), but not to deliberately strike an opponent (though pushing the margins of these rules is often a substantial part of the game). Like most team sports, tactics are based around trying to get the ball, then – through a combination of running with the ball, hand-passing (punching the ball from the open palm of the other hand) and kicking – to deliver it to a player who is within range of goal.
Because taking a mark entitles the player to a free kick, a common tactic is to attempt to kick the ball on the full (without bouncing) to a teammate who is within kicking range of goal. In this situation, packs of players often form around the goal square, and the opportunity arises for spectacular marks in which players launch themselves off opponents' backs to mark the ball, high in the air. This particular skill is highly regarded as a spectacle, and an annual "Mark of the Year" is awarded at the end of a season.
There are no set positions in the rules of the game, but traditionally the field was divided into three major sections: the forward line, back line, and midfield. The forward and back lines consisted of six players, arranged into two lines of three players each. The midfield generally consists of the designated ruckman (i.e. player who contests the ruck or bounce-down) and players who either stay in the centre area of the ground (between the two 50 metre arcs) or follow the ball and are not confined to a particular area.
Traditional Australian Rules Football playing positions
The modern game, however, has largely discarded positional play in favour of a free flowing running game and attempting to have loose men in various positions on the ground. The rise in popularity of the hand-pass since the 1970s has greatly influenced this style of play, with players more willing to follow the ball and move it quickly amongst themselves rather than kicking long to a one-on-one marking contest. In the late 1990s a tactic known as flooding was devised and also shifted focus away from set positions.
When a team "plays a flood", they direct two or more of their midfield or forward line players into their defence, thus out-numbering their opponent and making it difficult for any opposing forward to take an uncontested mark. Most football sides are named (and demonstrated) in the traditional set positions, but it is in fact uncommon for players to stay within the traditional areas of their position. The players are shuffled on and off the field using the interchange bench, the blood rule means that if any player, for any reason, should begin to bleed, no matter how minor or severe, they must remove themselves from the ground to receive treatment. They may return when the flow of blood has stopped and has been treated by the team medic.
Holding the ball
One of the things that cause the most confusion for people that are not familiar with the game are the Holding the Ball, Dropping the Ball, and Throwing rules. Confusion arises because a player being tackled is not allowed to hold onto the ball, but is not allowed to throw it either.
These rules are easily summarised:
Players must always dispose of the ball by either a kick or a hand-pass.
A hand-pass, also called a handball, is performed by punching the ball from one hand with the other fist. The ball cannot be thrown up (like a volleyball serve) and hit, nor handed to a teammate like an American/Canadian football handoff, nor tossed to a teammate like a lateral in rugby or gridiron football.
When a player is in possession of the ball, and moving, the ball must be bounced or touched to the ground at least once every 15 metres. Failure to do so results in a penalty, where a free kick is awarded to the opposing team. This is sometimes called running too faror travelling, and is signalled by the umpire in the same way as travelling is signalled in basketball.
If the ball-carrying player decides to run with the ball or to evade a tackling opponent, he or she would be deemed to have a prior opportunity of being able to dispose of the ball legally, as long as there was a reasonable time for the player to dispose of the ball correctly prior to being tackled; e.g., a couple of steps would not normally constitute "prior opportunity".
When a player is in possession of the ball, and is tackled correctly (i.e., above the knees and below the shoulders), he or she must immediately dispose of the ball by kicking or hand-passing. Failure to do so, when a prior opportunity to dispose of it existed, results in a penalty benefiting the tackling team, which is awarded a free kick. A free kick is also awarded to the tackler if there was no prior opportunity, but the player in possession of the ball does not dispose of it or attempt to do so within a reasonable time. This is also called holding the ball. Exceptions to this rule include:
Being bumped, that is, hit side-on by another player or tackled in such a manner that causes the ball to be knocked free or come loose from a player's possession.
Being tackled with the ball despite gaining possession of it but had no chance of disposing it (no prior opportunity), where the ball is unable to be released. A ball-up would result to restart play.
If the ball carrier, who had prior opportunity before the tackle, was swung off balance while attempting to dispose the ball but not making contact, a holding the ball decision would be awarded against the ball carrier on the basis of the ball not being legally disposed of whilst tackled. Where there is no prior opportunity, the umpire will call "play on".
In a recent effort to reduce the amount of unnecessary stoppages, the interpretation of the prior opportunity has widened to include any player who grabs hold of the ball during a ball-up or throw-in situation instead of knocking it away. In this instance, if the player is then tackled and could not dispose of the ball legally, a holding the ball penalty would be paid against him.
Scoring
Like many other codes of football, the way to score points is to score goals. In Australian Football, there are two types of scores: a goal and a behind. There are four posts at each end of the ground; the two middle (and taller) posts are the goal posts, and the two outer (and shorter) posts are the behind posts. The area between the goal posts is the goal; kicking the ball between these posts scores a goal which is worth six points. Kicking the ball between a goal and a behind post scores a behind, which constitutes a single point. A behind is also scored if the ball passes between the goal posts but has not been kicked by the attacking team (e.g., it comes off the hands of either team, or is kicked by the defending team), or if the ball hits or passes directly above the goal post. (If the ball hits the behind post, the ball is considered to have gone out of bounds.) A rushed behind (also worth one point) is scored when the defending team deliberately forces the ball between any of the posts. This may occur in pressure situations where a defender decides that it is safer to concede one point to the opposing team rather than risk a goal being scored.
A goal umpire judges whether a goal or behind is scored. The goal umpire shows that a goal has been scored by pointing both index fingers in front of him at waist level and then waving two flags above his or her head to indicate the score to the other goal umpire. A behind is signalled by pointing one finger and waving one flag.
As an example, consider a match in which the home team scores 11 goals and 12 behinds, totalling 78 points, and the away team scores 8 goals and 8 behinds, totalling 56 points. The home team wins the match by 22 points, and the result would usually appear like this:
Home Team 17.12 (114) def. Away Team 15.8 (98).
The exact convention for punctuation can vary. When spoken, the above result would be reported as:
Home Team, eleven twelve seventy-eight, defeated Away Team eight eight fifty-six.
The first number is the number of goals (six points) scored, the second number is the number of behinds (one point) scored, and the final number is the total score. The final result is decided on the total score only: a team may win the game despite scoring fewer goals (e.g. 13.21 (99) def. 14.9 (93)); and, if two teams finish with the same total score, the match is considered a draw even if the teams kick a different number of goals (e.g. 12.10 (82) drew 11.16 (82)).
A typical Australian Rules Football scoreboard
Game length
The length of a game of Australian Football can vary from league to league, but is generally around 15 to 25 minutes per quarter. In the AFL, each quarter runs for 20 minutes plus time on – which makes up for time occupied in stoppages, such as when the ball goes out of bounds, injuries, goals (or behinds) being kicked, or when the umpire is setting the angle of a free kick on goal. A typical AFL quarter might run from 27 to 33 minutes, but may be even longer if, for instance, injuries cause delays. AFL breaks after the first and third quarters are six minutes, with a 20-minute break at halftime. Thus, a match with quarters averaging 30 minutes would last about two and a half hours.
Time is kept by two off-field officials, known as "timekeepers", who sound the siren at the start and end of each quarter. The quarter or match ends immediately when a field umpire hears the siren, with the exception that a player is allowed to kick for goal after the sirenfrom a mark or free kick which was paid before the siren.
The manner of timekeeping in Australian rules football is unusual compared with other sports, in that the timekeepers keep track of time using a count-down clock which begins at 20 minutes and is stopped during any time-on; but, clocks displayed at the ground count up from zero and are not stopped during time-on. As such, spectators and players present at the ground never know exactly how much time is left in the game. The timekeepers' countdown clock is seen by the coaches and is shown by many television broadcasters.
Check out the video below for an in-depth explanation of the game of Australian Rules Football...
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_Australian_rules_football
Read the full article
