Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football,[2]
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.[3]
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.
Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught
holding the ball. 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.[4] 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. 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 sport's origins can be traced to football matches played in
Melbourne, Victoria in 1858, inspired by English public school
football games. Seeking to develop a game more suited to adults and
Australian conditions, the
Melbourne
Melbourne
Football
Football Club published the first
laws of Australian football in May 1859, making it the oldest of the
world's major football codes.[5][6]
Australian football has the highest spectator attendance and
television viewership of all sports in Australia,[7][8] while the
Australian Football League
Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's only fully professional
competition, is the nation's wealthiest sporting body.[9] Its 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.
Contents
1 Etymology and names
2 History
2.1 Origins
2.2 First rules
2.3 Early competition in Victoria
2.4 Spread to other colonies
2.5 Emergence of the VFL
2.6 Effects of the two world wars
2.7 Interstate football and the ANFC
2.8 Towards a national competition
3 Laws of the game
3.1 Field
3.2 Match duration
3.3 General play
3.4 Scoring
4 Structure and competitions
5 Women's Australian football
6 Variations and related sports
6.1 International rules football
7 Global reach
8 Cultural impact and popularity
9 Australian
Football
Football Hall of Fame
10 See also
11 References
12 Bibliography
13 External links
Etymology and names[edit]
Further information: Names of Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football is known by several nicknames, including
Aussie rules, football and footy.[10] In some regions, it is marketed
as AFL after the Australian
Football
Football League.[11]
History[edit]
Main article: History of Australian rules football
Origins[edit]
Main article: Origins of Australian rules football
Statue next to the
Melbourne
Melbourne
Cricket
Cricket Ground on the approximate site of
the 1858 football match between
Melbourne
Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College.
Tom Wills is depicted umpiring behind two young players contesting the
ball. The plaque reads that Wills "did more than any other person –
as a footballer and umpire, co-writer of the rules and promoter of the
game – to develop Australian football during its first decade."[12]
There is evidence of football being played sporadically in the
Australian colonies in the first half of the 19th century. Compared to
cricket and horse racing, football was viewed as a minor "amusement"
at the time, and while little is known about these early one-off
games, it is clear they share no causal link with Australian
football.[13] In 1858, in a move that would help to shape Australian
football in its formative years, public schools in Melbourne, Victoria
began organising football games inspired by precedents at English
public schools.[14] The earliest such match, held in St Kilda on 15
June, was between
Melbourne
Melbourne Grammar and St Kilda Grammar.[15]
On 10 July 1858, the Melbourne-based Bell's Life in Victoria and
Sporting Chronicle published a letter by Tom Wills, captain of the
Victoria cricket team, calling for the formation of a "foot-ball club"
with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter.[16] Born
in Australia, Wills played a nascent form of rugby football whilst a
pupil at
Rugby School
Rugby School in England, and returned to his homeland a star
athlete and cricketer. His letter is regarded by many historians as
giving impetus for the development of a new code of football today
known as Australian football.[17] Two weeks later, Wills' friend,
cricketer Jerry Bryant, posted an advertisement for a scratch match at
the
Richmond Paddock
Richmond Paddock adjoining the
Melbourne
Melbourne
Cricket
Cricket Ground (MCG).[18]
This was the first of several "kickabouts" held that year involving
members of the
Melbourne
Melbourne
Cricket
Cricket Club, including Wills, Bryant, W. J.
Hammersley and J. B. Thompson. Trees were used as goalposts and play
typically lasted an entire afternoon. Without an agreed upon code of
laws, some players were guided by rules they had learned in the
British Isles, "others by no rules at all".[19]
Another significant milestone in 1858 was a match played under
experimental rules between
Melbourne
Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College, held
at the Richmond Paddock. This 40-a-side contest, umpired by Wills and
Scotch College teacher John Macadam, began on 7 August and continued
over two subsequent Saturdays, ending in a draw with each side kicking
one goal.[20] It is commemorated with a statue outside the MCG, and
the two schools have competed annually ever since in the
Cordner-Eggleston Cup, the world's oldest continuous football
competition.[21]
Since the early 20th century, it has been suggested that Australian
football was derived from the Irish sport of Gaelic football, which
was not codified until 1885.[22] There is no archival evidence in
favour of a Gaelic influence, and the style of play shared between the
two modern codes was evident in Australia long before the Irish game
evolved in a similar direction.[23][24] Another theory, first proposed
in 1983, posits that Wills, having grown up amongst Aborigines in
Victoria, may have seen or played the Aboriginal game of Marn Grook,
and incorporated some of its features into early Australian football.
The evidence for this is only circumstantial, and according to
biographer Greg de Moore's research, Wills was "almost solely
influenced by his experience at Rugby School".[25]
First rules[edit]
Further information: Laws of Australian rules football
§
Melbourne
Melbourne Rules of 1859
A loosely organised
Melbourne
Melbourne side, captained by Wills, played against
other football enthusiasts in the winter and spring of 1858.[26] The
following year, on 14 May, the
Melbourne
Melbourne
Football
Football Club officially came
into being, making it one of the world's oldest football clubs. Three
days later, Wills, Hammersley, Thompson and teacher Thomas H. Smith
met near the MCG at the Parade Hotel, owned by Bryant, and drafted ten
rules: "The Rules of the
Melbourne
Melbourne
Football
Football Club". These are the laws
from which Australian football evolved.[27] The document was signed by
the rule-framers and three other club office bearers: Alex Bruce, T.
Butterworth and J. Sewell.[28] The club's stated aim was to create a
simple code that was suited to the hard playing surfaces around
Melbourne, and to eliminate the roughest aspects of English school
games—such as "hacking" (shin-kicking) in
Rugby School
Rugby School football—to
lessen the chance of injuries to working men.[29] In another
significant departure from English public school football, the
Melbourne
Melbourne rules omitted any offside law.[30] "The new code was as much
a reaction against the school games as influenced by them", writes
Mark Pennings.[31]
The rules were distributed throughout the colony; Thompson in
particular did much to promote the new code in his capacity as a
journalist.[32] Australian football's date of codification predates
that of any other major football code, including soccer (codified in
1863) and rugby union (codified in 1871).
Early competition in Victoria[edit]
See also:
List of Australian rules football clubs by date of
establishment
Engraving of a football match at the Richmond Paddock, 1866. The MCG
and its first pavilion are visible in the background, as are kick-off
posts, the forerunner of today's behind posts.[33]
Following Melbourne's lead, Geelong and
Melbourne
Melbourne University also
formed football clubs in 1859.[34] While many early Victorian teams
participated in one-off matches, most had not yet formed clubs for
regular competition. A South Yarra side devised its own rules.[35] To
ensure the supremacy of the
Melbourne
Melbourne rules, the first-club level
competition in Australia, the Caledonian Society's Challenge Cup
(1861–64), stipulated that only the
Melbourne
Melbourne rules were to be
used.[36] This law was reinforced by the Athletic Sports Committee
(ASC), which ran a variation of the Challenge Cup in 1865–66.[37]
With input from other clubs, the rules underwent several minor
revisions, establishing a uniform code known as "Victorian rules".[38]
In 1866, the "first distinctively Victorian rule", the running bounce,
was formalised at a meeting of club delegates chaired by H. C. A.
Harrison,[39] an influential pioneer who took up football in 1859 at
the invitation of Wills, his cousin.[40]
The game around this time was defensive and low-scoring, played low to
the ground in congested rugby-style scrimmages. The typical match was
a 20-per-side affair, played with a ball that was roughly spherical,
and lasted until a team scored two goals.[30] The shape of the playing
field was not standardised; matches often took place in rough,
tree-spotted public parks, most notably the
Richmond Paddock
Richmond Paddock (Yarra
Park), known colloquially as the
Melbourne
Melbourne
Football
Football Ground.[41] Wills
argued that the turf of cricket fields would benefit from being
trampled upon by footballers in winter,[42] and, as early as 1859,
football was allowed on the MCG.[43] However, cricket authorities
frequently prohibited football on their grounds until the 1870s, when
they saw an opportunity to capitalise on the sport's growing
popularity.
Football
Football gradually adapted to an oval-shaped field, and
most grounds in Victoria expanded to accommodate the dual purpose—a
situation that continues to this day.[43]
Spread to other colonies[edit]
Main article:
Australian rules football
Australian rules football in Australia
Engraving of the first intercolonial football match between Victoria
and South Australia at the East
Melbourne
Melbourne
Cricket
Cricket Ground, 1879
As "Victorian rules" gained roots in other Australasian
colonies—beginning with South Australia (1860), Tasmania (1864),
Queensland (1866), and New Zealand (1871)—it came to be known as
"Australian rules" or "Australasian rules". In 1877, the sport's first
governing bodies, the South Australian
Football
Football Association (SAFA) and
the Victorian
Football
Football Association (VFA), formed on 30 April and 17
May respectively. The game was introduced to New South Wales in 1877
and Western Australia in 1881, where it took hold during the colony's
gold rushes.
By the 1880s, Australian football had become the prevailing football
code in Australia's southern and western colonies, and experienced a
period of dominance in Queensland,[44] where, like in areas of New
South Wales, it struggled to thrive, largely due to the spread of
rugby football, regional rivalries and the lack of strong local
governing bodies. In the case of Sydney, denial of access to grounds,
the influence of university headmasters from Britain who favoured
rugby, and the loss of players to other codes inhibited the game's
growth.
In 1879, the first intercolonial match took place in
Melbourne
Melbourne between
Victoria and South Australia, and clubs began touring the colonies. By
this stage, the sport had become the first code of football to develop
mass spectator appeal, with important matches drawing world record
attendances for sports viewing.[45] New rules such as holding the ball
led to a "golden era" of fast, long-kicking and high-marking football
in the 1880s, a time which also saw the rise of professionalism,
particularly in Western Australia and Victoria, and players such as
George Coulthard
George Coulthard achieve superstardom.[46] Australian football was now
widely referred to as "the people's game".[46]
Emergence of the VFL[edit]
In 1896, delegates from six of the wealthiest VFA clubs—Carlton,
Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong,
Melbourne
Melbourne and South Melbourne—met to
discuss the formation of a breakaway professional competition.[47]
Later joined by Collingwood and St Kilda, the clubs formed the
Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League (VFL), which held its inaugural season in
1897. The VFL's popularity grew rapidly as it made several
innovations, such as instituting a finals system, reducing teams from
20 to 18 players, and introducing the behind as a score.[48] Richmond
and University joined the VFL in 1908, and by 1925, with the addition
of Hawthorn, Footscray and North Melbourne, it had become the
preeminent league in the country and would take a leading role in many
aspects of the sport.
Effects of the two world wars[edit]
Further information:
Australian rules football
Australian rules football during the World Wars
and VFL/AFL players who died in active service
Australia's first recruitment poster, published in 1915, questions the
public's commitment to Australian football, rather than the war.
Both
World War I
World War I and World War II had a devastating effect on
Australian football and on Australian sport in general. While scratch
matches were played by Australian "diggers" in remote locations around
the world, the game lost many of its great players to wartime service.
Some clubs and competitions never fully recovered. Between 1914 and
1915, a proposed hybrid code of Australian football and rugby league,
the predominant code of football in New South Wales and Queensland,
was trialed without success.[49][50]
World War I
World War I saw the game in New
Zealand go into recess for three quarters of a century. In Queensland,
the state league went into recess for the duration of the war. VFL
club University left the league and went into recess due to severe
casualties. The WAFL lost two clubs and the
SANFL
SANFL was suspended for
one year in 1916 due to heavy club losses.
The ANZAC Day clash
The ANZAC Day clash is one
example of how the war continues to be remembered in the football
community.
Interstate football and the ANFC[edit]
Further information: Interstate matches in Australian rules football
New South Wales vs. Queensland in the 1933 Australian Football
Carnival at the
Sydney
Sydney
Cricket
Cricket Ground.
The role of the
Australian National Football Council
Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was
primarily to govern the game at a national level and to facilitate
interstate representative and club competition. The ANFC ran the
Championship of Australia, the first national club competition, which
commenced in 1888 and saw clubs from different states compete on an
even playing field. Although clubs from other states were at times
invited, the final was almost always between the premiers from the two
strongest state competitions of the time—South Australia and
Victoria—and the majority of matches were played in Adelaide at the
request of the SAFA/SAFL. The last match was played in 1976, with
North Adelaide being the last non-Victorian winner in 1972. Between
1976 and 1987, the ANFC, and later the Australian Football
Championships (AFC) ran a night series, which invited clubs and
representative sides from around the country to participate in a
knock-out tournament parallel to the premiership seasons, which
Victorian sides still dominated.
With the lack of international competition, state representative
matches were regarded with great importance. The Australian Football
Council co-ordinated regular interstate carnivals, including the
Australasian
Football
Football Jubilee, held in
Melbourne
Melbourne in 1908 to celebrate
the game's bicentenary.[51] Due in part to the VFL poaching talent
from other states, Victoria dominated interstate matches for three
quarters of a century. State of Origin rules, introduced in 1977,
stipulated that rather than representing the state of their adopted
club, players would return to play for the state they were first
recruited in. This instantly broke Victoria's stranglehold over state
titles and Western Australia and South Australia began to win more of
their games against Victoria. Both New South Wales and Tasmania scored
surprise victories at home against Victoria in 1990.
Towards a national competition[edit]
The
West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles and
Sydney
Sydney Swans line up for the national anthem
at the 2005 AFL Grand Final. Traditionally held at the MCG, the Grand
Final is the highest attended club championship event in the world.
The term "Barassi Line", named after VFL star Ron Barassi, was coined
by scholar Ian Turner in 1978 to describe the "fictitious geographical
barrier" separating large parts of New South Wales and Queensland
which predominately followed the two rugby codes from the rest of the
country, where Australian football reigned.[52] It became a reference
point for the expansion of Australian football and for establishing a
national league.[53]
The way the game was played had changed dramatically due to innovative
coaching tactics, with the phasing out of many of the game's kicking
styles and the increasing use of handball; while presentation was
influenced by television.[54]
In 1982, in a move that heralded big changes within the sport, one of
the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne, relocated to
Sydney
Sydney and
became known as the
Sydney
Sydney Swans. In the late 1980s, due to the poor
financial standing of many of the Victorian clubs, the VFL pursued a
more national competition. Two more non-Victorian clubs, West Coast
and Brisbane, joined the league in 1987.[55] In their early years, the
Sydney
Sydney and Brisbane clubs struggled both on and off-field because the
substantial TV revenues they generated by playing on a Sunday went to
the VFL. To protect these revenues the VFL granted significant draft
concessions and financial aid to keep the expansion clubs competitive.
Each club was required to pay a licence fee which allowed the
Victorian-based clubs to survive.
The VFL changed its name to the
Australian Football League
Australian Football League (AFL) for
the 1990 season, and over the next decade, three non-Victorian clubs
gained entry: Adelaide (1991), Fremantle (1995) and the SANFL's Port
Adelaide (1997), the only pre-existing club outside Victoria to join
the league.[55] In 2011 and 2012 respectively, two new non-Victorian
clubs were added to the competition: Gold Coast and Greater Western
Sydney.[56] The AFL, currently with 18 member clubs, is the sport's
elite competition and most powerful body. Following the emergence of
the AFL, state leagues were quickly relegated to a second-tier status.
The VFA merged with the former VFL reserves competition in 1998,
adopting the VFL name. State of Origin also declined in importance,
especially after an increasing number of player withdrawals. The AFL
turned its focus to the annual
International Rules Series
International Rules Series against
Ireland in 1998 before abolishing State of Origin the following year.
State and territorial leagues still contest interstate matches, as do
AFL Women players.[57]
Although a
Tasmanian AFL bid
Tasmanian AFL bid is ongoing,[58] the AFL's focus has been
on expanding into markets outside Australian football's traditional
heartlands.[59] The AFL regularly schedules pre-season exhibition
matches in all Australian states and territories as part of the
Regional Challenge. The AFL signalled further attempts at expansion in
the 2010s by hosting home-and-away matches in New Zealand,[60]
followed by China.[61]
Laws of the game[edit]
Main article: Laws of Australian rules football
For terminology, see Glossary of Australian rules football.
See also:
Australian rules football
Australian rules football tactics and skills
Field[edit]
Main article:
Australian rules football
Australian rules football playing field
Typical
Australian rules football
Australian rules football playing field
Australian rules football
Australian rules football playing fields have no fixed dimensions but
at senior level are typically between 135 and 185 metres long and 110
and 155 metres wide wing-to-wing. The field, like the ball, is
oval-shaped, and in Australia, cricket grounds are often used. No more
than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any
time.
Up to four interchange (reserve) players may be swapped for those on
the field at any time during the game. In Australian rules
terminology, these players wait for substitution "on the bench"—an
area with a row of seats on the sideline. Players must interchange
through a designated interchange "gate" with strict penalties for too
many players from one team on the field. In addition, some leagues
like the AFL have each team designate one player as a substitute who
can be used to make a single permanent exchange of players during a
game.
There is no offside rule nor are there set positions in the rules;
unlike many other forms of football, players from both teams may
disperse across the whole field before the start of play. However, a
typical on-field structure consists of six forwards, six defenders or
"backmen" and six midfielders, usually two wingmen, one centre and
three followers, including a ruckman, ruck-rover and rover. Only four
players from each team are allowed within the centre square (50 metres
(55 yd)) at every centre bounce, which occurs at the commencement
of each quarter, and to restart the game after a goal is scored. There
are also other rules pertaining to allowed player positions during set
plays (that is, after a mark or free kick) and during kick-ins
following the scoring of a behind.
Match duration[edit]
A game consists of four quarters and a timekeeper officiates their
duration. At the professional level, each quarter consists of 20
minutes of play, with the clock being stopped for instances such as
scores, the ball going out of bounds or at the umpire's discretion,
e.g. for serious injury. Lower grades of competition might employ
shorter quarters of play. The umpire signals time-off to stop the
clock for various reasons, such as the player in possession being
tackled into stagnant play. Time resumes when the umpire signals
time-on or when the ball is brought into play. Stoppages cause
quarters to extend approximately 5–10 minutes beyond the 20 minutes
of play. 6 minutes of rest is allowed before the second and fourth
quarters, and 20 minutes of rest is allowed at half-time.
The official game clock is available only to the timekeeper(s), and is
not displayed to the players, umpires or spectators. The only public
knowledge of game time is when the timekeeper sounds a siren at the
start and end of each quarter. Coaching staff may monitor the game
time themselves and convey information to players via on-field
trainers or substitute players. Broadcasters usually display an
approximation of the official game time for television audiences,
although some will now show the exact time remaining in a quarter.
General play[edit]
Some of the important skills of Australian football. Clockwise from
upper left:
Shaun Burgoyne
Shaun Burgoyne prepares to handball, John Coleman takes a
spectacular mark,
Bachar Houli
Bachar Houli tackles Jarryd Blair, Nick Malceski
executes a drop punt.
Games are officiated by umpires. Before the game, the winner of a coin
toss determines which directions the teams will play to begin.
Australian football begins after the first siren, when the umpire
bounces the ball on the ground (or throws it into the air if the
condition of the ground is poor), and the two ruckmen (typically the
tallest players from each team) battle for the ball in the air on its
way back down. This is known as the ball-up. Certain disputes during
play may also be settled with a ball-up from the point of contention.
If the ball is kicked or hit from a ball-up or boundary throw-in over
the boundary line or into a behind post without the ball bouncing, a
free kick is paid for out of bounds on the full. A free kick is also
paid if the ball is deemed by the umpire to have been deliberately
carried or directed out of bounds. If the ball travels out of bounds
in any other circumstances (for example, contested play results in the
ball being knocked out of bounds) a boundary umpire will stand with
his back to the infield and return the ball into play with a throw-in,
a high backwards toss back into the field of play.[62]
The ball can be propelled in any direction by way of a foot, clenched
fist (called a handball or handpass) or open-hand tap but it cannot be
thrown under any circumstances. Once a player takes possession of the
ball he must dispose of it by either kicking or handballing it. Any
other method of disposal is illegal and will result in a free kick to
the opposing team. This is usually called "incorrect disposal",
"dropping the ball" or "throwing". If the ball is not in the
possession of one player it can be moved on with any part of the body.
A player may run with the ball, but it must be bounced or touched on
the ground at least once every 15 metres. Opposition players may
bump or tackle the player to obtain the ball and, when tackled, the
player must dispose of the ball cleanly or risk being penalised for
holding the ball. The ball carrier may only be tackled between the
shoulders and knees. If the opposition player forcefully contacts a
player in the back while performing a tackle, the opposition player
will be penalised for a push in the back. If the opposition tackles
the player with possession below the knees (a low tackle or a trip) or
above the shoulders (a high tackle), the team with possession of the
football gets a free kick.
If a player takes possession of the ball that has travelled more than
15 metres (16 yd) from another player's kick, by way of a catch,
it is claimed as a mark (meaning that the game stops while he prepares
to kick from the point at which he marked). Alternatively, he may
choose to "play on" forfeiting the set shot in the hope of pressing an
advantage for his team (rather than allowing the opposition to
reposition while he prepares for the free kick). Once a player has
chosen to play on, normal play resumes and the player who took the
mark is again able to be tackled.
There are different styles of kicking depending on how the ball is
held in the hand. The most common style of kicking seen in today's
game, principally because of its superior accuracy, is the drop punt,
where the ball is dropped from the hands down, almost to the ground,
to be kicked so that the ball rotates in a reverse end over end motion
as it travels through the air. Other commonly used kicks are the
torpedo punt (also known as the spiral, barrel, or screw punt), where
the ball is held flatter at an angle across the body, which makes the
ball spin around its long axis in the air, resulting in extra distance
(similar to the traditional motion of an
American football
American football punt), and
the checkside punt or "banana", kicked across the ball with the
outside of the foot used to curve the ball (towards the right if
kicked off the right foot) towards targets that are on an angle. There
is also the "snap", which is almost the same as a checkside punt
except that it is kicked off the inside of the foot and curves in the
opposite direction. It is also possible to kick the ball so that it
bounces along the ground. This is known as a "grubber". Grubbers can
bounce in a straight line, or curve to the left or right.
Apart from free kicks, marks or when the ball is in the possession of
an umpire for a ball up or throw in, the ball is always in dispute and
any player from either side can take possession of the ball.
Scoring[edit]
A
Sherrin
Sherrin Kangaroo Brand football.
Sherrin
Sherrin is the official game ball
of the Australian
Football
Football League.
The two tall central posts are the goal posts, and the two shorter
outer posts are the behind posts.
A goal, worth 6 points, is scored when the football is propelled
through the goal posts at any height (including above the height of
the posts) by way of a kick from the attacking team. It may fly
through "on the full" (without touching the ground) or bounce through,
but must not have been touched, on the way, by any player from either
team. A goal cannot be scored from the foot of an opposition
(defending) player.
A behind, worth 1 point, is scored when the ball passes between a goal
post and a behind post at any height, or if the ball hits a goal post,
or if any player sends the ball between the goal posts by touching it
with any part of the body other than a foot. A behind is also awarded
to the attacking team if the ball touches any part of an opposition
player, including his foot, before passing between the goal posts.
When an opposition player deliberately scores a behind for the
attacking team (generally as a last resort to ensure that a goal is
not scored) this is termed a rushed behind. As of the 2009 AFL season,
a free kick is awarded against any player who deliberately rushes a
behind.[63][64]
The goal umpire signals a goal with two hands pointed forward at elbow
height, or a behind with one hand. The goal umpire then waves flags
above their heads to confirm the goal or behind to the goal umpire at
the opposite end of the ground.
The team that has scored the most points at the end of play wins the
game. If the scores are level on points at the end of play, then the
game is a draw; extra time applies only during finals matches in some
competitions.
As an example of a score report, consider a match between Essendon and
Melbourne
Melbourne with the former as the home team. Essendon's score of 11
goals and 14 behinds equates to 80 points. Melbourne's score of 10
goals and 7 behinds equates to a 67-point tally. Essendon wins the
match by a margin of 13 points. Such a result would be written as:
"Essendon 11.14 (80) defeated
Melbourne
Melbourne 10.7 (67)."[65]
And spoken as:
"Essendon, eleven-fourteen, eighty, defeated
Melbourne
Melbourne ten-seven,
sixty-seven".
Additionally, it can be said that:
"Essendon defeated
Melbourne
Melbourne by thirteen points".
The home team is typically listed first and the visiting side is
listed second. The scoreline is written with respect to the home side.
For example, Port Adelaide won in successive weeks, once as the home
side and once as the visiting side. These would be written out thus:
"Port Adelaide 23.20 (158) defeated Essendon 8.14 (62)."[66]
"West Coast 17.13 (115) defeated by Port Adelaide 18.10 (118)."[67]
A draw would be written as:
"Greater Western
Sydney
Sydney 10.8 (68) drew with Geelong 10.8 (68)".[68]
Structure and competitions[edit]
The football season proper is from March to August (early autumn to
late winter in Australia) with finals being held in September and
October.[69] In the tropics, the game is sometimes played in the wet
season (October to March).[70] Pre-season competitions in southern
Australia usually begin in late February.
The AFL is recognised by the
Australian Sports Commission
Australian Sports Commission as being the
National Sporting Organisation for Australian Football.[71] There are
also seven state/territory-based organisations in Australia, most of
which are now either owned by or affiliated to the AFL. Most of these
hold annual semi-professional club competitions while the others
oversee more than one league. Local semi-professional or amateur
organisations and competitions are often affiliated to their state
organisations.
The AFL is the de facto world governing body for Australian football.
There are also a number of affiliated organisations governing amateur
clubs and competitions around the world.[72]
For almost all Australian football club competitions the aim is to win
the Premiership. The premiership is always decided by a finals series.
The teams that occupy the highest positions on the ladder after the
home-and-away season play off in a "semi-knockout" finals series,
culminating in a single
Grand Final
Grand Final match to determine the premiers.
Typically between four and eight teams contest the finals series. The
team which finishes first on the ladder after the home-and-away season
is referred to as a "minor premier", but this usually holds little
stand-alone significance, other than receiving a better draw in the
finals.
Many suburban and amateur leagues have a sufficient number of teams to
be played across several tiered divisions, with promotion of the lower
division premiers and relegation of the upper division's last placed
team at the end of each year. At present, none of the top level
national or state level leagues in Australia are large enough to
warrant this structure.
Women's Australian football[edit]
Main article: Women's Australian rules football
Action from a women's match on the Gold Coast between Bond University
and Burleigh Heads
The level of interest shown by women in Australian football is
considered unique among the world's football codes.[73] It was the
case in the 19th-century, as it is in modern times, that women made up
approximately half of crowds at Australian football matches—a far
greater proportion than soccer and the two rugby codes.[74] This has
been attributed in part to the egalitarian character of Australian
football's origins in public parks where women could mingle freely and
support the game in various ways.[75]
In 2016, over 380,000 women played in organised games across
Australia.[1] The
AFL Women's National Championships is women's
football's state of origin competition. On the back of the inaugural
AFL Women's
AFL Women's Draft in 2013 and a series of exhibition matches at the
MCG, the AFL stated that, by 2020, it would like to establish AFL
Women's, a semi-professional, nationally televised women's league.[76]
A surge in viewing interest and participation in women's football
prompted the AFL to push the founding date of the competition to 2017.
Variations and related sports[edit]
Further information: Variations of Australian rules football
Many related games have emerged from Australian football, mainly with
variations of contact to encourage greater participation. These
include
Auskick
Auskick (played by children aged between 5 and 12),
kick-to-kick (and its variants end-to-end footy and marks up), rec
footy, 9-a-side footy, masters Australian football, handball and
longest-kick competitions. Players outside of Australia sometimes
engage in related games adapted to available fields, like metro footy
(played on gridiron fields) and
Samoa rules (played on rugby fields).
One such prominent example in use since 2018 is AFLX, a shortened
variation of the game with seven players a side, played on a
soccer-sized pitch.[77]
International rules football[edit]
Main article: International rules football
See also: Relationship between
Australian rules football
Australian rules football and Gaelic
football
The similarities between Australian football and the Irish sport of
Gaelic football
_2014.jpg/440px-Docklands_Stadium_(Etihad_Stadium)_2014.jpg)
Gaelic football have allowed for the creation of a hybrid code known
as international rules football. The first international rules matches
were contested in Ireland during the 1967 Australian
Football
Football World
Tour. Since then, various sets of compromise rules have been trialed,
and in 1984 the
International Rules Series
International Rules Series commenced with national
representative sides selected by Australia's state leagues (later by
the AFL) and the
Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The competition
became an annual event in 1998, but was postponed indefinitely in 2007
when the GAA pulled out due to Australia's severe and aggressive style
of play.[78] It resumed in Australia in 2008 under new rules to
protect the player with the ball.
Global reach[edit]
Main article:
Australian rules football
Australian rules football around the world
Australian football match at
Linkbelt Oval
Linkbelt Oval in Nauru, where Australian
football is the national sport
Australian rules football
Australian rules football was played abroad in England and Scotland as
early as the 1880s. Today, the sport is played at an amateur level in
various countries throughout the world. Twenty countries participated
in the Euro Cup and 23 countries have participated in the
International Cup with both competitions prohibiting Australian
players. Over 20 countries have either affiliation or working
agreements with the AFL.[79] There have been many VFL/AFL players who
were born outside Australia, an increasing number of which have been
recruited through initiatives and, more recently, international
scholarship programs.
Many of the overseas-born AFL players have been Irish, as interest in
recruiting talented
Gaelic football
Gaelic football players dates back to the start of
the
Irish experiment
Irish experiment in the 1960s. Irishmen in the AFL have since
become not just starters for their clubs but also Brownlow Medalists
(Jim Stynes) and Premiership players (Tadhg Kennelly). The AFL also
selects a team to represent Australia against an Irish team chosen by
the
Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association in the International Rules Series,
utilizing rules from both codes with the two countries taking turns
hosting the series.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the game spread with the
Australian diaspora
Australian diaspora to areas such as New Zealand and South Africa;
however this growth went into rapid decline following World War I.
After World War II, the sport experienced a small amount of growth in
the Pacific region, particularly in Nauru (where Australian football
is the national sport) as well as Papua New Guinea and New
Zealand.[80]
Most of the current amateur clubs and leagues in existence have
developed since the 1980s, when leagues began to be established in
North America, Europe and Asia. The sport developed a cult following
in the United States when matches were broadcast on the then-fledgling
ESPN
ESPN network in the 1980s.[81] As the size of the Australian diaspora
has increased, so has the number of clubs outside Australia. This
expansion has been further aided by multiculturalism and assisted by
exhibition matches as well as exposure generated through players who
have converted to and from other football codes. In Papua New Guinea,
New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and the United States there are
many thousands of players.
A fan of the sport since attending school in Geelong, Prince Charles
is the Patron of AFL Europe. In 2013, participation across AFL
Europe's 21 member nations was more than 5,000 players, the majority
of which are European nationals rather than Australian expats.[82] The
sport also has a growing presence in India.[83]
The AFL became the de facto governing body when it pushed for the
closure of the
International Australian Football Council in 2002. The
Australian Football International Cup, held triennially in Melbourne
since 2002, is the highest level of international competition.
Although
Australian rules football
Australian rules football has not yet been a full sport at
the
Olympic Games
Olympic Games or Commonwealth Games, when
Melbourne
Melbourne hosted the
1956 Summer Olympics, which included the MCG being the main stadium,
Australian rules football
Australian rules football was chosen as the native sport to be
demonstrated as per
International Olympic Committee
.svg/45px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png)
International Olympic Committee rules. On December
7, the sport was demonstrated as an exhibition match at the MCG
between a team of VFL and VFA amateurs and a team of VAFA amateurs
(professionals were excluded due to the Olympics' strict amateurism
policy at the time). The Duke of Edinburgh was among the spectators
for the match, which the VAFA won by 12.9 (81) to 8.7 (55).
Cultural impact and popularity[edit]
Main article:
Australian rules football
Australian rules football culture
See also:
Australian rules football
Australian rules football in popular culture
South Melbourne's renowned ruck combination of the 1920s, left to
right: Mark Tandy,
Fred Fleiter and Roy Cazaly. Fleiter coined the
phrase "Up there, Cazaly!" as a signal that he had cleared the way for
Cazaly to leap for the ball. It was used as a battle cry by Australian
soldiers during World War II, and inspired Mike Brady's 1979
Australian football anthem of the same name.
Australian football is a sport rich in tradition and Australian
cultural references, especially surrounding the rituals of gameday for
players, officials and supporters.
Australian football has been an inspiration for writers and poets
including Manning Clarke,
Bruce Dawe and Philip Hodgins.[84] Paintings
by
Arthur Streeton
Arthur Streeton (The National Game, 1889) and Sidney Nolan
(Footballer, 1946) helped to establish Australian football as a
serious subject for artists.[85] Many Aboriginal artists have explored
the game, often fusing it with the mythology of their region.[86][87]
Statues of Australian football identities can be found throughout the
country. In cartooning, WEG's VFL/AFL premiership
posters—inaugurated in 1954—have achieved iconic status among
Australian football fans.[88] Dance sequences based on Australian
football feature heavily in Robert Helpmann's 1964 ballet The Display,
his first and most famous work for the Australian Ballet.[89] The game
has also inspired well-known plays such as
And the Big Men Fly
And the Big Men Fly (1963)
by
Alan Hopgood and David Williamson's The Club (1977), which was
adapted into a 1980 film, directed by Bruce Beresford. Mike Brady's
1979 hit "Up There Cazaly" is considered an Australian football
anthem, and references to the sport can be found in works by popular
musicians, from singer-songwriter Paul Kelly to the alternative rock
band TISM.[90] Many Australian football video games have been
released, most notably the AFL series.
Australian football is popular among indigenous communities.
Australian football has attracted more overall interest among
Australians (as measured by the Sweeney Sports report) than any other
football code, and, when compared with all sports throughout the
nation, has consistently ranked first in the winter reports, and most
recently third behind cricket and swimming in summer.[91][92] Over
875,000 fans were paying members of AFL clubs in 2016, which is equal
to one in every 28 Australians.[93] The 2016
AFL Grand Final
AFL Grand Final was the
year's most-watched television broadcast in Australia, with an in-home
audience of up to 6.5 million watching the match.[94][95]
In 2006, 615,549 registered participants played Australian football in
Australia.[96] Participation increased 7.84% between 2005 and
2006.[96] The
Australian Sports Commission
Australian Sports Commission statistics show a 64%
increase in the total number of participants over the 10-year period
between 2001 and 2010.[97] In 2008 there were 35,000 people in 32
countries playing in structured competitions of Australian football
outside of Australia.[98]
Australian
Football
Football Hall of Fame[edit]
Main article: Australian
Football
Football Hall of Fame
For the centenary of the VFL/AFL in 1996, the Australian
Football
Football Hall
of Fame was established. In that year 136 identities were inducted,
including 100 players, 10 coaches, 10 umpires, 10 administrators and
six media representatives.[99]
The elite Legend status was bestowed on 12 members of the Hall of Fame
in 1996: Ron Barassi, Haydn Bunton Sr., Roy Cazaly, John Coleman, Jack
Dyer, Polly Farmer, Leigh Matthews, John Nicholls, Bob Pratt, Dick
Reynolds,
Bob Skilton and Ted Whitten. The Legend status is the
highest honour which can be bestowed on an Australian footballer.
The following fourteen members have been promoted to the status of
"Legend" since 1996: Ian Stewart (1997),
Gordon Coventry
Gordon Coventry (1998), Peter
Hudson (1999), Kevin Bartlett (2000),
Barrie Robran
Barrie Robran (2001), Bill
Hutchison (2003),
Jock McHale
Jock McHale (2005),
Darrel Baldock (2006), Norm
Smith (2007),
Alex Jesaulenko (2008), Kevin Murray (2010), Barry Cable
(2012),
Tony Lockett
Tony Lockett (2015) and
Malcolm Blight (2017).
See also[edit]
Australian rules football
Australian rules football portal
Australian football at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Australian rules football
Australian rules football attendance records
Australian rules football
Australian rules football positions
List of
Australian rules football
Australian rules football clubs
List of
Australian rules football
Australian rules football terms
List of
Australian rules football
Australian rules football rivalries
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Bibliography[edit]
Books
Blainey, Geoffrey (2010). A Game of Our Own: The Origins of Australian
Football.
Black Inc. ISBN 9781863954853.
Coventry, James (2015). Time and Space: The Tactics That Shaped
Australian Rules and the Players and Coaches Who Mastered Them.
HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-7333-3369-9.
de Moore, Greg (2011). Tom Wills: First Wild Man of Australian Sport.
Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74237-598-4.
Hess, Rob (2008). A National Game: The History of Australian Rules
Football. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-07089-3.
Hibbins, Gillian; Mancini, Anne (1987). Running with the Ball:
Football's Foster Father. Lynedoch Publications.
ISBN 978-0-7316-0481-4.
Hibbins, Gillian (2008). "Men of Purpose". In Weston, James. The
Australian Game of Football: Since 1858. Geoff Slattery Publishing.
pp. 31–45. ISBN 978-0-9803466-6-4.
Hibbins, Gillian (2013). "The Cambridge Connection: The English
Origins of Australian Football". In Mangan, J. A. The Cultural Bond:
Sport, Empire, Society. Routledge. pp. 108–127.
ISBN 9781135024376.
Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World:
History, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO.
ISBN 9781598843002.
Pennings, Mark (2012). Origins of Australian Football: Victoria's
Early History: Volume 1: Amateur Heroes and the Rise of Clubs, 1858 to
1876. Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 9781921421471.
Journals
Hibbins, Gillian; Ruddell, Trevor (2009). ""A Code of Our Own":
Celebrating 150 Years of the Rules of Australian Football" (PDF). The
Yorker (39).
Pennings, Mark (2013). "Fuschias, Pivots, Same Olds and Gorillas: The
Early Years of
Football
Football in Victoria" (PDF). Tablet to Scoreboard. 1
(1).
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Australian rules football.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Australian Rules Football.
Australian Football League
Australian Football League (AFL) official website
Australian Football: Celebrating The History of the Great Australian
Game
Laws of Australian Football
Australian
Football
Football explained in 17 languages – a publication from
AFL.com.au
Reading the Game - An Annotated Bibliography of Australian Rules
Football
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v
t
e
Team sports
Sport
Governing bodies
Sportspeople
National sport
Basket sports
Basketball
beach
deaf
3x3
water
wheelchair
Cestoball
Korfball
Netball
Fast5
indoor
wheelchair
Rezball
Ringball
Slamball
Football
Football codes
Association football
amputee
beach
freestyle
Futsal
indoor
Jorkyball
paralympic
powerchair
roller
street
walking
Australian rules football
AFLX
Lightning football
Metro footy
Nine-a-side
Rec footy
Gaelic football
Ladies'
Circle rules football
Gridiron codes
American football
eight-man
flag
nine-man
six-man
sprint
touch
wheelchair
Canadian football
Indoor American football
Arena football
Hybrid codes
Austus
Eton wall game
International rules football
Samoa rules
Speedball
Swedish football
Universal football
Volata
Medieval football
Medieval football codes
Ba game
Caid
Calcio fiorentino
Camping
Cnapan
Cornish hurling
Cuju
Harpastum
Kemari
Ki-o-rahi
Jegichagi
La soule
Lelo burti
Marn grook
Pasuckuakohowog
Royal Shrovetide
Uppies and downies
Yubi lakpi
Rugby codes
Beach
Rugby league
masters
mod
nines
sevens
tag
wheelchair
Rugby union
American flag
mini
sevens
snow
tag
touch
tens
Touch
Wheelchair
Bat-and-ball games
Baseball
Brännboll
British baseball
Corkball
Cricket
One Day
Test
Twenty20
Danish longball
Indoor cricket
Kickball
Lapta
Matball
Oină
Over-the-line
Pesäpallo
Rounders
Softball
Fastpitch
Stickball
Stoolball
Town ball
Vigoro
Vitilla
Wiffle ball
Wireball
Stick and ball sports
Bando
Cammag
Hurling
Camogie
Super11s
Shinty–Hurling
Indigenous North American stickball
Iomain
Knattleikr
Knotty
Lacrosse
box/indoor
field
intercrosse
women's
Ritinis
Shinty
Shinty–Hurling
Hockey
Hockey sports
Ball hockey
Bandy
rink
Broomball
Moscow
Field hockey
indoor
Floor hockey
Floorball
Ice hockey
pond
power
ice sledge
underwater
Ringette
Rinkball
Roller hockey
in-line
quad
Rossall hockey
Shinny
Street hockey
Underwater hockey
Unicycle hockey
Polo
Polo sports
Auto polo
Cowboy polo
Cycle polo
Elephant polo
Horseball
Motoball
Pato
Polo
Arena polo
chovgan
snow polo
Polocrosse
Segway polo
Yak polo
Net sports
Ball badminton
Beach
Beach tennis
Biribol
Bossaball
Fistball
Footbag net
Football
Football tennis
Footvolley
Jianzi
Jokgu
Newcomb ball
Peteca
Sepak takraw
Throwball
Volleyball
beach
paralympic
Other sports
Airsoft
Angleball
Balle à la main
Ballon au poing
Basque pelota
frontenis
jai alai
xare
Bo-taoshi
Boules
Bocce
Bocce
Bocce volo
Boccia
Bowls
Jeu provençal
Pétanque
Raffa
Buzkashi
Combat (juggling)
Curling
wheelchair
Cycle ball
Digor
Dodgeball
Flickerball
Gateball
Goalball
Guts
Handball
beach
Czech
field
Hornussen
Ice stock sport
Jereed
Kabaddi
indoor
beach
Kho kho
Kin-Ball
Lagori
Longue paume
Makura-Nage
Mesoamerican ballgame
Paintball
Pelota mixteca
Prisonball
Pushball
Quidditch
Rollball
Roller derby
Slahal
Snow snake
Synchronized skating
Synchronized swimming
Tamburello
Tchoukball
beach
Tejo
Tug of war
Ulama
Ultimate
Underwater football
Underwater rugby
Valencian pilota
Llargues
Water polo
canoe
inner tube
beach
Waboba
Whirlyball
Woodball
Yukigassen
v
t
e
Hybrid sports
Austus
Bossaball
Chess boxing
Composite rules shinty–hurling
Disc golf
Football
Football tennis
Footgolf
Footvolley
International rules football
Iomain
Korfball
Padbol
Parahawking
Polocrosse
Samoa rules
Sepak takraw
Slamball
Tennis polo
Universal foo
