aussie rules football

[allstar88]

i have noticed there  are a few fans of australian rules football here ,and with the world cup now over i have taken a shine to it. but being a pom i know sod all about it my chosen team is port adelaide power,are they any good?the rules look a little like rugby and soccer ,except the pitch is oval,there are 4 posts in the goal and you can kick the shit out of your opponent can you fans out there in oz give me some info on the rules,how long the season is, etc..?i was also supprised that there is an aussie rules football league in england!              

[donnnnnny]

season starts in april ends in october. sydney swans are the flag holders or winners. 6 points kick between the centre posts 1 point for a behind(through the outer posts) adelaide area good side. 4 quaters of footy last around 30 mins a quarter. no real rules other than run and kick the shit out of each other for 2 hours. based onirish footy?? i forget the nakme od f it
except its played witha rugy shaped h ball. 18 men per side

[dommy6]

Nice one donnny. Close but no cigar.

Ok Allstar firstly here are some sites.

http://afl.com.au/

Official Web site of the Australian Football league (AFL). The AFL is Like the FIFA of Australian rules and the biggest sporting organization in Australia. Lots of information here and links to all the clubs. All your questions will be answered here.

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=umpires&spg=laws

Explains the spirit and laws of the game.

Each team starts with 22 men. 18 players per side take the field at any one time. There are no substitutions but rather and interchange system. If a player comes off he may go back on. The teams take advantage of this by using a rotation system during the game so all players get game time. However the better players get more game time. Or sometimes team balance comes into play. E.g. one team may have more tall players and therefore some of the taller players may have more bench time than the other. Same goes for defensive players or attacking and midfield players. Though usually they will try to sought that out when selecting the team before the game.

To sum up the positions rather than go into great details it id divided into forwards midfield and defense. There are also distinctive roles in each of the 3 groups. Such as the runners and key position players.

Name of the game is to score more than your opponent. There are 4 posts at each end. 2 big ones in the middle (goal area) and 2 smaller ones on the side. A clean lick of the football between the 2 middle ones i.e. with out been touched is a goal and worth 6 points. If the ball is touched before it go in it is only one point. If it hits one of the big posts whether or not it goes over the line between the 2 big posts it only one point. If the balls goes through between the smaller post and the big post (point area) and with out touching the smaller post it is a point. If the ball touches the smaller post whether it goes in between the post is it considered out of bounds and no score is recorded. The umpire will throw the ball back into play. Also and opposition player can all kick the ball into the opposition goal area or point area and will be recorded as a point. Like the old back pass in soccer.

In general play you can handle the ball with your hands and feet. You cannot throw the ball. You can pass with your hands only with a handball. That is punching or tapping the ball to a team mate. If you pass the ball with your feet any player who clean catches it (called a mark) gets a fee possession as long as it travels 15 meters. That means he can't be tackled. Other wise the ball is always in dispute. You may tackle a player above the waist but below the shoulder area. You can run with the ball but you must bounce it (similar to basket ball) I think its every 15-20 meters.

Also there is no offside rule. No sending rule or yellow cards. However you can be reported either by an umpire or be cited by video after the game.  It's not as violent as it is made out to be. But it is a very tough game. And in my opinion tougher than rugby.

Basic skills include good kicking. Able to wrest control of the ball. Slick hand passing and good tackling. You cannot deliberately kick or knock the ball out of bounds. A free kick or possession will be warded against you. Also if you kick the ball out of bounds i.e. the ball crosses the ball over cleanly over the boundary line (touch line) with touching the turf before the line, a free kick is awarded against you.

Things you can't do is tackle high above shoulders. Low like the legs. You can't trip. You can't push a player in the back. You cant illegally bump a player but there are legal bumps.

I could go on and on. It's a real easy game to understand. Read up on the site I gave you and it will give you a better idea as well as watching more games.

As for Port Adelaide. All I can is is why?????. The are middle table and have virtually no chance of making the finals. They did win the premiership 2 years ago.

The two favorites to play off in the Grand final are Adelaide (favorite to win) and Melbourne. Followed by West Coast, Collingwood (im praying) St Kilda and Sydney Swans.

This is pretty much a rough summary so ask if you want more info. Just ask.

Also per capita it is probably the most watched sport in the worlds Average crowds last year were over 35000 per match.

http://stats.afl.com.au/public....l.shtml

[katoeylover]

Go Cats!!!

I know they suck this year!!

[Guest]

Hey Dommy....been a while mate,,
Blueballz and I, are lifelong members of the Collingwood football club...
They might do ok in the finals if they only get rid of that fucking ,,,Rocca...Unfit useless,,,slow bag of shit he is..

Go THE PIES...

BK

[dommy6]

Hey

How u going mate?

Im hoping West Coast fuck up. Adelaide is certainity to finsih tops. I am hoping we may finish second or third.  If we finish 3rd i hope melbourne finish 2nd that way we get a out first final in melbourne.

2 melnourne sides is anyones game.

But its a quality 8 this year so with a bit of luck anything can happen. But Adelaide look real good.

Go Pies.

[allstar88]

thanks gentlemen i picked power because i was talking to an aussie rules fan who was a fan of power and adelaide crows and so they are the only teams i know   should i have picked the crows?            

[dommy6]

Allstar.

Stick with Port. Both teams will be will do well in the future. A bit like celtic and rangers.

which leads me to ask how can an footaball fan support both port and the crows?

but they are weird in adelaide.

[Guest]

One or the other,,,there the rules..
West coast gave the Crows a flogging,,,that will hurt them,,
Guess who we play at there home ground next week.
Ouch !!!

BK