Rules of the Game

The equipment needed to play the game is minimal. As in other kinds of football, players wear boots with stops (known as studs in some regions) in the soles, shorts, and a thick, strong shirt or jumper known as a guernsey.

The game is played with a bouncy ellipsoid ball which may be caught, kicked or passed to another player by punching, but may not be thrown or handed between players. There is no offside rule at all and a player may run as far as he likes with the ball, provided he either bounces or touches the ball to the ground every 15 metres. A player who cleanly catches a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without anyone else touching it — called a mark — is entitled to an unimpeded kick of the ball, to advance his team towards their goalposts.

Four posts are erected at either end of the oval and markings are placed on the ground as shown in the diagram below. The aim for each team is to kick the ball between the two inner posts of one set, for a goal, worth six points. If the ball travels between one outer and one inner post (which includes striking an inner post), it scores a behind, worth just one point. If the ball travels outside the posts, or strikes the outer-most post, it is deemed out of bounds and is either thrown in or awarded to the opposing side as a free kick, depending on whether it bounced before going out of bounds.

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 were comprised 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) 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.

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. Below is a diagram illustrating the tradition positions of Australian rules football.

The markings on an Australian Rules Football ground. Note that the actual dimensions of the playfield are not fixed, but can vary between 135 and 185 metres in length and 110 and 155 metres in width.

The traditional playing positions.

The game is controlled by a number of field umpires (at elite level, three), two boundary umpires whose main job is to conduct throw-ins when the ball leaves the field of play and two goal umpires who judge whether the ball is kicked between the goal posts without being touched by another (thus scoring a goal), between a goal and point post (thus a point) or outside the goals entirely (thus becoming the boundary umpire's responsibility). The goal umpires wear distinctive uniforms (such as white, and recently brightly coloured, coats) and are equipped with two flags. After a goal is scored and indicated to the players, the goal umpire waves the two flags such that the other goal umpire sees and records the goal. One flag is waved for a point.

Australian rules football at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Alastair Lynch, (Brisbane Lions, seen here in maroon and blue guernseys), is attempting to take a mark, with his Collingwood (black and white guernsey) opponent trying to stop him. (Note: This photograph was taken during a match played as part of the AFL's annual "Heritage Round", a week in which teams wear guernseys used by their club in previous generations.)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 and kicking — 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 high marks (or "speccies"), 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.

Holding the ball

One of the things that causes 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 cleanly. A disposal is either a kick or a handpass. Failure to do so results in a penalty to the opposing team, which is awarded a free kick. This is usually called either dropping or throwing.

A handpass, also called a handball, is performed by punching the ball from one hand with the other fist.

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 to the opposing team, who is awarded a free kick. This is usually called holding the ball and occasionally travelling (signalled by the umpire in the same way as travelling is signalled in basketball).

When a player is in possession of the ball, and is tackled correctly, they must immediately dispose of the ball by kicking or handpassing. Failure to do so results in a penalty to the tackling team, who is awarded a free kick. This is also called holding the ball. Exceptions to this rule include:

• Being bumped, that is, hit side-on by another player, and dropping the ball.
• Being swung off balance and making an attempt to dispose of the ball, but not making contact.
• The tackling player pinning the ball to the player being tackled or to the ground.

These exceptions do not apply if the player had an opportunity to correctly dispose of the ball before being tackled.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Rules_Football

Click here to download the AAFL rules