How to Play Australian Football
Australians have their own brand of football. Some call "Australian Rules" a unique combination of rugby, soccer, basketball and volleyball. It's also known as Australian Football or Footy, in Australia. Few games, certainly no other football games, can see scores change so quickly and dramatically. The field of play is up to 165m long and 130m wide, and it's usually an oval cricket ground in the summer. There are rules but the casual observer might not think so. Instead they see what appears to be "brutal anarchy", according to the Australian Football Association of North America (AFANA) website.
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Things You'll Need
- Australian football - very similar size to rugby ball
- Boots
- Socks
- Shorts
- Jersey
- Mouth guard
Instructions
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Basics
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1
Learn the general principles and rules. The game actually has a few. Rules keep the ball moving and give players every chance of possessing and disposing of the ball when tackled. The aim is for 18 players (and four interchange) aside to kick the ball through their opponent's two goal posts, at any height. That earns six points. A narrow miss, between posts on either side of the main posts, scores one point, this is called a behind.
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2
Practice tackling between the knees and shoulder and in such a way as to let the tackled player immediately get rid of the ball by kicking or passing it.
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3
Pass in the unique Australian Rules method. Hold the ball in one hand and punch it with the other, closed-fisted, towards the intended recipient. This is called a "handball".
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4
Run no more than 15m without bouncing the ball. This will take some practice as it is difficult to do with an oval ball.
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5
Kick long distances. In the game a ball can relay from one end to other with three or four solid kicks. Practice catching and jumping high for catches. Don't worry about leaning on your own players, or even the opponent's, as you go for the ball.
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6
Get fit to last the four 20-minute quarters of almost non-stop action. Three players on each side ("followers") will chase the ball. Top followers can run as much as half a marathon during a game. The rest have designated positions but are not confined to them. Followers will sometimes rest in defensive positions.
The Game
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7
Begin the game with the center field umpire bouncing the ball from the 3m center circle. This is the "ball-up" or "bouncedown". At the start only four players from either side are allowed in the center square (45m square) and none in the center circle. Seven umpires officiate, three field umpires who control a third of the oval each, two boundary umpires and two goal umpires who judge if it's a goal or a behind.
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8
Carry on playing for minutes at a time. Play will briefly pause when a player catches a ball that has been kicked more than 15m and claims a "mark". Often he has come down from a great height and is no position to play on. Instead he steadies for a long punt downfield, from where he caught the ball, and players from both teams prepare to catch the next high ball.
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9
Stop playing only when the clock stops, for goals, behinds and out-of-bounds. For a goal, play restarts with the center "bouncedown"; for a one-point behind, the defending side kicks out from near its goal; for out-of-bounds the boundary umpire throws the ball in with his back to the players.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Call your shirt a "Guernsey". To differentiate it from the rugby jersey, the Australians call their sleeveless shirt after another Channel Island, Guernsey.
Don't worry if you drop the ball -- pick it up and carry on.
You can block an opposing player's movement to the ball, but not when you are within 5m of the ball.
You must allow the player you tackled to release the ball.
