Aussie Rules Explained - AFL Beginners Guide

The Australian version of football often referred to as Aussie Rules, is a contact sport played between two teams on an oval shaped field. The main goal of the sport is to score more points than the other team by placing the ball between the goalposts by foot. It is the most popular sport in Australia, with a professional league called Australian Football League (AFL). The AFL attracts more than 7,5 million spectators per AFL season, placing it in first place just above rugby league.

Stay tuned and learn everything you didn't know about this Australian game!

Aussie Rules Football History

It all started in 1858 when students from Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar competed against each other in a different variation of the football game. The game is still known, to this day, as the first-ever organized game of Australian football. It was different, a mixture of English football, Gaelic football, and the Aboriginal game marngrook.

A year after that game, Australian cricketer Tom Wills established a set of new rules and created the Australian Football League (AFL) with the sole purpose of keeping cricketers active during the winter.

The league was given to the Victorian Football Association in 1990, giving it national prominence. Today, Australian Football League draws the most spectators, with an average of about 33,460 people every game. The game is so well-liked in Victoria that the day before the grand finale is observed as a public holiday.

Laws of Australian Rules Football

The Melbourne Football Club developed the laws of Australian rules football in 1859, and they have been revised throughout the years as the sport grew into its contemporary form. The statutes existed long before the sport's governing bodies were established.

The Australasian Football Council (AFC) was established in 1905. It was the first national and international organization that assumed responsibility for the statutes, while local leagues continued to have a great deal of latitude to alter them.

The Australian Football League (AFL) Commission, through the AFL Competition Committee, has maintained the game's regulations since the inception of a national AFL in 1994.

The Basic Concepts of Aussie Rules

Knowing a few basics is the key to comprehending what is going on in the game. Only experienced fans and participants are aware of the technical details of the sport, but understanding a few fundamentals will help you interact with the locals successfully.

Each of the two 18-player teams competes against the other. Their primary purpose is to place a ball between a quartet of goalposts. In addition to that, there is a total of 7 field umpires for each AFL game, three central umpires, four boundary umpires, and 2 goal umpires.

Unlike regular football, where each goal stands for one point, Australian football has goals and behinds. Every goal is worth six points, while a behind is worth one point. A goal can be scored only by kicking the ball through goal posts. If it goes through the outside goal post, behind post, or comes off hands, it is behind, which is worth 1 point.

So, if you see a result 15.9.99, it is not a mistake; it stands for 15 goals and 9 behinds, which is 99 total points.

Players are not permitted to throw the ball; instead, they may kick it or punch it off their palm to transfer it to a teammate. Unless a tie-break or a declared draw is used, the side with the most points after the game wins.

Aussie Rules Positions

The positions in football are less technically defined than in sports like Rugby Union or American Football because of the fluid character of the current game. However, because each position demands a distinct set of talents, most players will only play in a small variety of positions during their careers. Utility players are footballers who can play comfortably in a variety of roles.

There are 13 main player positions in total: Full-Back, Back Pockets, Half-Backs, Centre Half-Back, Wings, The Ruck, Ruck Rover, Rover, Centre, Full Forward, Forward Pockets, Half-Forwards, and Centre Half-Forward. Check out our AFL position guide for more information about each position.

Aussie Rules Football Teams

Now that you are aware of the game's fundamental guidelines, it is time to learn about the teams. The AFL league consists of 18 teams divided spread into five of Australia's states; Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory. The football season consists of 23 rounds (home and away season) which are played during the Australian winter. The best team during the home and away season is awarded the minor premiership, while the top eight teams play the AFL grand final.

Currently, there are 18 teams competing in AFL:

• Melbourne Demons
• Brisbane Lions
• Fremantle
• ST Kilda
• Sydney Swans
• Carlton
• Geelong
• Collingwood
• Richmond Tigers
• Bulldogs
• Hawthorn
• Adelaide
• Port Adelaide
• Gold Coast Suns
• GWS Giants
• Essendon
• North Melbourne
• West Coast Eagles

Women's Australian Football League

Women's Australian rules football sometimes referred to as women's football, women's footy, or women's AFL, is the version of the sport that women only play, usually with certain changes to the game rules.

Between the 1980s and the 2000s, state-based leagues began to form. The first was the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL), founded in Melbourne in 1981. Subsequent leagues included the West Australian Women's Football League (WAWFL), founded in Perth in 1988, and the South Australian Women's Football League (SAWFL), founded in Adelaide in 1991. In 1992, the first AFL Women's National Championships took place.

Australian football for women has more than 500,000 registered players. It has exceeded all other football forms in player count, including soccer, which was formerly far more famous. 

Betting on Aussie Rules

It's relatively easy to place a bet on Aussie Rules. If you know the league well enough and understand the rules, you shouldn't have any problems. The most popular way to bet on this sport is 2-way betting. Considering the fact that the odds include overtime, there is no tie. So, in the eyes of the bookmaker, your team can either win or lose. In other words, you have a higher chance of winning your bet. Check out our AFL betting tips and strategies to maximize your potential winnings.

FAQs

What are Aussie Rules?

Australian football, often known as Aussie rules or Australian rules football, or simply football or footy, is a contact sport contested by two teams of 18 players on an oval field, frequently a cricket pitch adapted for the purpose.

Who invented Aussie Rules?

Thomas Wentworth Wills, a well-known cricketer, and the game's strongest advocate, was one of the seven Melbourne Cricket Club members who created a set of regulations in May 1859. Many of the group had gone to Cambridge for school, so they probably had some experience with playing a hybrid of football.

How did Aussie Rules start?

Australians have a natural passionate pride in the sport they founded and have been playing for more than 150 years, known as "footy," whose beginnings never suggested it would eventually become the top spectator sport in that nation.

Is Aussie Rules the same as AFL?

Aussie Rules is the spot, and AFL is the professional league, so there is no point in comparing the two. It's like basketball and NBA.