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Understanding Australian Rules Football

Sebastian Langer 0

Australia has a lot of different sports to its name, and you would be hard-pressed to find a sport that does not take place within the country. Of all the sports, however, few are quite as popular as contact sports, and among these, rugby and football reign supreme.

Australian rules football is the second most popular contact sport after rugby, and while this type of football is most often associated with the United States, its presence in Australia is growing by the day into a fully national sport.

The game is similar in a lot of ways to the American version, except for a few changes in how the game is played, namely the rules, which is where the sport derives its name from. Like with the American form of the game, football in Australia has a large audience, and fans from around the country watch games during the football season.

This has also given the game the chance to create its own events around Australia, meaning that fans can attend, socialise, and watch their favourite teams play. Another big scene in Australia is football betting, which has become a major part of the sport, and there are now dozens of betting sites that cover the action every day.

The History of The Game

The origins of football in Australia can be recorded back as early as 1858, first coming to prominence in Victoria, Melbourne, main inspired by the English version of the game.

After gaining some popularity in Melbourne, some decided to try and make the game more professional and appealing to players, and the first club was established in 1859, called the Melbourne Football club.

This is the club that also first created the rules that govern the game, and these are the rules that are still in place today.Melbourne FC

The Rules of The Game

Australian rules football is extremely similar to its American counterpart, and the main difference is how the game is played, and the types of rules and regulations that govern the game. Each team of football has eighteen players, and games take place on an oval field, which is often a modified cricket field.

The players used a specialised overall ball, and the main goal is to get the ball between the goal posts, which will then net the team points. The team that has the most points wins the game, unless the game ends in a draw.

Players are able to position themselves anywhere on the field during a game, and are allowed to use any part of their bodies to move the ball. For the most part, players tend to either carry the ball, while kicking is used to gain distance.

Rules govern how the ball is handled while players are carrying it, but the most important is that the ball is in constant motion, and that a player needs to touch or bounce the ball to the ground intermittently to keep it in play.

Australian Rules Football Today

Australian rules football rules the roost as the most watched sport in the country, and can also boast the largest fan base among all the Australian sports.

The Australian Football League governs most of the football events that take place, and organise the extremely popular AFL seasons that take place every year, drawing in millions of fans.

Australian football continues to grow in popularity every year, and shows no signs of slowing down.

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