Anyone from Australia care to explain this game to me? It's freakishly fascinating to watch on TV, but seems to make absolutely no sense... Also, doesn't yield anything useful, I mean Wiki just doesn't cut it for describing sports.
Heck - I live in Australia and I don't understand all the rules myself. Mind you it's a sport traditionally played in the southern states (and I live way up in sunny Queensland). For those that have never seen the sport the terms "Cross-country ballet" (my favourite) or "Aerial ping-pong" are used to describe the sport. The basics that I understand are these: The sport is actually played on an oval (not a rectangle) with 4 posts at each end (2xtall goal posts and 1 shorter post each side) Play is pretty much continuous until a goal is scored. The ball must touch the ground every 15 meters. (These guys throw an oblong ball at the ground and have it bounce back into their hands - it's some sort of black magic) A ball can only be either kicked or "handballed". Handballing is when you hold the ball the palm of one hand and then punch the ball out the the clenched fist of the other hand. When a player catches a kick on the full it's called a "mark". This essentially gives them a free kick (ie no one can tackle them) preferably to a team mate who can then "take the mark" and get another free kick. A goal is when the ball goes through the center posts cleanly and is worth 6 points A "behind" is scored when the ball goes though the side posts or hits the goal posts and is worth 1 point If a goal or behind is scored the ball is taken back to the center where the referee bounces the ball in the center circle and it's a free for all. Throw ins from the side (not sure when they happen) are done by a referee with his back to the field and the ball is thrown blindly up over his head onto the field - chaos ensues. Hopefully this helps somewhat. For a much better list of rules check out this link and for more info about the teams etc check out the Official AFL Website
I didnt understand a word you where saying! How can a round field have an end? Damn i dont get this game at all!
The first few points reminded me quite a lot of quiddich XD Sounds like quite an interesting game though.
Constructacon did a really good job of explaining it - just have some beer and you'll pick it up in no time. I live in Victoria - the home of AFL - and go figure, I go for the Brisbane Lions (Lest we Forget - Fitzroy) Another major difference is that the players aren't all padded like American footballers are. Just a bunch of guys kicking a ball around.. instead of running around.. mushing into each other.
does it also not use referees but instead of a player does something against the rules he gets to continue playing and a group of referee type people judge weather it was illegal and if he should be kept out of x amount of matches? thats what i was told when my mate was explaining it to me oh and you can run up someone else's back and kick the ball when hes about to grab it lol. spiked trainers = pain
It has Umpires that can award free kicks for doing something against the rules, or even a 50m penalty (player moves 50m forward toward their goals) in some situations. They can also report players for a tribunal to look at later on for suspension.
That's the description of a particularly spectacular mark. They don't actually step on each others backs with spikes - its more sort of putting your shin/knee onto the back of someone crouched waiting for a ball and then launching up. There's some examples of this in the video link A88 was kind enough to find.
it's fun but i dont think i could ever ever watch it also it's not really a black art to get the ball to bounce back up the black art part is when you do it on a field that only has clumps of grass the field is Huge btw there are also some nasty rules about how a goal is not a goal if someone else touches it A common name for it is aerial ping pong generally said by those unable to kick the ball well (like me) I personally prefer rugby or field hockey as a team sport to play (less running and being solidly built helps in rugby) very very popular game played in the NT
Sounds quite similar to Gaelic Football, Apart from the hole oval pitch and the throw ins. Think I will stick with my Gaelic football though...
Tibby, there's a variant called International Rules that is basically gaelic meets aussie rules. Think of it as a group brawl with points and a funny-shaped ball involved
