Australian Rules Football Guide

Are you looking for the quintessential Australian cultural experience? Have you ever noticed how sports obsessed Australians are? If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, you can treat yourself to a truly Australian experience, a trip to the Australian Rules Football! You need to be somewhere near Melbourne around winter time to see this awesome spectacle.

Footy in Australia

In Australia we play and follow almost every sport known to man, because we are fair dinkum sports fanatics. And the biggest sport in the land is footy. When it comes to footy we have 4 different codes to choose from:

• • Rugby Union, European game played all over the country

• • Rugby League, English game mainly played in NSW and Queensland

• • Soccer, world sport played all over the country

• Australian Rules Football, mostly played in the colder southern states WA, SA, Vic, Tas. Victoria is the home state of AFL, known to locals as Aussie Rules.

Aussie Rules is the game to see if you want to see a fair dinkum game of uniquely Australian Footy. It was invented in Australia about 200 years ago and attracts the biggest, most fanatical crowds in the land.

When to See the Footy

The Australian Football League (AFL) competition begins each year in late March and finishes in late September. September is dedicated to the finals series, and tickets are not only expensive but extremely elusive. Don’t even think about going to September finals games unless you know someone who is ‘in the know’. Be warned, this is a winter sport and you do need to be a little selective if you don’t want to freeze your butt off.

Where to See a Game

The biggest AFL games are played in Melbourne because that’s where the biggest stadiums are found. The most fanatical armies of supporters are also in Melbourne. There are teams in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth as well, and whilst these are terrific places to catch a game it is Melbourne where you will find the most memorable games.

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

The biggest arena is the MCG, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This ground is affectionately known by locals as the ‘G’. The G holds over 100,000 people and regularly attracts over 90,000. This is the best ground to see a big game with a big crowd, which is an experience to behold. However there is not much shelter from the rain at the G so you have to be rain-prepared on wet days, which is quite often during Melbourne winter season.

Etihad Stadium (Docklands)

Etihad Stadium on the other hand is the safest bet. This Stadium has the highest number of games and holds over 53,000 people. The beauty of this stadium, known as Docklands, is that it has a retractable roof. On a warm sunny day they open the roof, but if there is the slightest chance of rain they close it so you will never get wet. The roof also acts as a heat shield, so if it’s 7 degrees celsius and raining outside, it normally remains a cosy 18 degrees inside.

Both these stadiums are located near downtown Melbourne and are easy to get to by public transport. Etihad is the easier of the two due to its proximity to the Southern Cross train station. Virtually every suburban train line connects to Southern Cross station. Stick to Etihad Stadium and you can’t go wrong.

Where to Get Tickets

The usual place to get tickets is online through a ticketing agency called Ticketek. You can access this through the AFL website or directly through ticketek.com.au. The beauty of getting tickets online is that you can choose exactly which seat you want to sit in. You should purchase your tickets 2-3 weeks in advance if possible, because you can be assured of having plenty of great seats available. You can usually still buy online tickets the day before, however you may be in the ‘nosebleeds’. Nosebleeds refers to the high altitudes of the top-level, akin to getting a nosebleed on a tall mountain due to the thin air.

I recommend sitting as close as you can to the front fence of the oval just near the goals, closest to the action. These type of tickets sell for about $49 per adult, $15 per child each, or you can get general admission for about $10 (prices vary). You can also buy general admission at the ground but this is not recommended if you want to get a great seat.

Eating and Drinking

You can buy beer, wine and spirits inside the ground however you are not allowed to bring your own alcohol to the game. The iconic footy meal is a pie with sauce – that is a hot beef pie, encrusted in pastry and smothered in tomato sauce. You are permitted to bring your own food, however it’s not advisable to miss out on the authentic footy experience of a pie with sauce.

I suggest bringing some snacks and purchasing a pie with sauce at the game. Footy is promoted as a family friendly event and drunken behaviour is frowned upon by the ample security at the game. Consequently drunken people tend to get quietened down or thrown out of the game.

How to Choose a Game

There are two things that make a great game of Australian Rules Football – a big crowd and a close game. You should look for a crowd of at least 70,000 people at the MCG, or 45,000 at Etihad Stadium. Only the best games get these big crowds. Normally it’s when two popular teams in the upper half of the ladder clash. Certainly the closer the teams are on the ladder the better, this will give you a good chance of a close match.

The ultimate game would be two Victorian teams both in the top 4 on the ladder, because that would draw the biggest crowd and the best quality of football. A fast game is a good game in footy, and the top teams are the fastest in the land. The players are genuine athletes, the mid-fielders will run over 15 km in a single game.

Rules of the Game

Overall the game is quite hard to understand if you’re not familiar with the rules. Here is a brief summary of the rules for you.

The game is split into four quarters of roughly 30 minutes each, teams swap end after each quarter.

• The highest score at the end wins the game
• There are 4 goal posts at both ends of the ground. A goal, worth six points, is awarded if the ball is kicked between the centre two posts. Play then stops and the goal umpire waves two white flags in the air.
• If the ball is kicked between the outer two posts, or the ball is touched, the team scores a behind worth one point. Play stops and the umpire waves one white flag in the air.
• To read the score board, 2 – 7 – 19 translates as 2 goals (6 points each), 7 behinds, 19 points in total. It is the total score (19) that determines the winner.
• After every goal is scored the ball is returned to the centre of the ground to start the new passage of play.
• Marks (catching the ball) are a big part of the game, if a player catches the ball after a kick they get 30 seconds to go back and take a kick.

Free Kicks

There are many penalties where the umpire will stop the ball and award a free kick to the opposition. These include: Push in the back – players cannot touch the opposition player’s back during play.

• High tackle – players cannot touch the opposition player above the shoulders during play
• Tripping – players cannot trip the opposition player during play.
• Holding the ball – players cannot hold onto the ball more than 10 seconds without bouncing it on the ground.
• Incorrect disposal – the only way to dispose of the ball without being penalised is by a proper hand-pass or kick.
• Deliberate – players are not permitted to deliberately send the ball beyond the boundary line of the field.
• Disagreeing with the umpire – players are not allowed to argue/disagree with the umpire.
• General bad or unruly behaviour.

So there you have it, the full rule book of AFL footy. Well almost. You will often see fanatical supporters (fans) loudly abusing umpires (white maggots) for making the wrong decisions.

Take a Trip to the Footy

So do yourself a favour and take a trip to the footy. Games are usually on weekends and can be day or night. You now know where to go, when to go, where to get tickets, how to choose a good game, and the main rules of the game. All grounds have heaps of public transport options available, just check out Google Maps for your options or go to the AFL website. So what are you waiting for – get along to a true Australian cultural institution – Australian Rules Football. Let us know how you went and if your team got up.

Final Tip

It’s always much more enjoyable if you support one of the teams. Pick out a team and grab some footy gear, you’ll be one of the locals then. Just get along to one of the big department stores like Target to purchase gear for less than half the price you will pay at the ground.

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