Ninh explains the RULES of Australian Rules Football
Australian Rules Football, more commonly known as Aussie Rules, is a game played with two
teams of 22, with 18 players from each team taking to the field at any one time.
The game is played on an oval field that’s generally a maximum of 185m x 155m. This is by
far is one of the largest fields of any team sports, and players have to be fit in order
to cover this much ground. These are the goal squares, the centre square
and centre circle, and there are two 50 metre lines, arched around the goal posts at each
end of the field. Pay attention now, as these lines are important.
The game starts with a ball-up in the centre square.
The object of the game is for your team to score more overall points than the opposing
team. The game is played in 4 x 20 minute quarters
for a combined playing time of 80 minutes at the senior level.
To score, a player must try and kick the ball through the middle two posts.
The ball is an oval football made of leather. If you successfully kick the ball through
the middle two posts, this is a goal and is worth 6 points.
If you hit one of the goal posts, if the ball is deflected by another player through the
goal posts, or if you kick it between a long goal post and a short behind post, this is
known as a ‘behind’ and only scores 1 point.
There are no other ways of scoring in Aussie Rules Football, so the team with the highest
amount of points from goals and behinds at the end of time, wins.
Kicking a ball through a couple of goalposts for 80 minutes? That sounds dead easy!
Well, not so much. Standing in your way are 18 members of the opposing team who are trying
to take the ball away from you so that they can score themselves. They are allowed to
block kicks, intercept the ball, push you off the field or tackle you by grabbing you
below the shoulders and pulling you to the floor. If they do tackle you, they are awarded
a ‘free kick’ from the spot of the tackle. To move the ball up the field, you have to
be quick AND you have to dispose of the ball before an opponent tackles you.
You can move the ball by kicking it in any direction, running with it so long as you
bounce it on the floor every 15 metres. Or handballing the ball, where you strike the
ball with a clenched fist to a teammate. Throwing the ball is absolutely not allowed
in Aussie Rules Football, and your opponent will be awarded a free kick if you do.
That doesn’t sound so easy anymore, is there any other way of moving the ball up the field?
Yes there is. The saving grace for your team is called ‘the mark’. If you kick the
ball in the air 15 metres or more, and a teammate catches it without the ball bouncing on the
ground, this is known as ‘marking the ball’. The player is then awarded a free kick from
that spot and cannot be touched by any opponent for 10 seconds. If a mark is made within your
teams forward 50m arc, you are awarded 30 seconds to take your free kick. If 10 or 30
seconds has expired without you making the kick, the umpire will call ‘play-on’ and
the opponents are free to try and take the ball off you.
The game is a back and forth affair, full of marks, handballs, runs, goals, behinds
and free kicks. But there’s a few other things you’ll need to understand before
playing or going to a game. For example: Speckie.
This is Australian slang for ‘spectacular mark’. You’re not allowed to push anyone
in the back, but if there’s a marking contest and an opponent is standing in your way, you
are allowed to use his back for leverage to try and catch the ball for a mark. This can
result if gravity defying plays for the ball. Interchange.
A team is allowed to interchange up to 3 players per game. Very similar to football, the players
must wait in the interchange area and players must enter or exit at the designated area.
The maximum number of interchages is 120.
50 metre penalty. If you’re stupid enough to commit any of
these infractions, the umpire will award a 50 metre penalty against you and the other
team will gain possession from the spot where the umpire has marked 50 metres. This is a
huge disadvantage and games can be lost from kicks resulting from penalties.
the man standing the mark and the man taking the kick, unless following his direct opponent.
infringement or a line-up has an additional 50-metre penalty applied to it; these are
kick without further infringement.
Kicks after the Siren. If a player marks the ball and the siren goes
to signify end of time, the game doesn’t end there. You are allowed to take it. Any
points scored from this kick counts. Games have been won (or in St Kilda’s case) lost
from a kick after the final siren.
To the uninitiated, Aussie Rules Football seems complicated. But once you understand
the rules, it becomes a great sport to watch. If you have found this video at all helpful,
please like, share with your friends, comment and subscribe. It takes me ages to make one
of these videos and good karma is always appreciated.
Aussie Rules Football is Fast, high scoring and hard hitting. What’s there not to love?!
Ninh Ly, www.ninh.co.uk, @NinhLyUK