Australian football
Australian Football , also known as Australian Rules Football , Aussie Rules or simply "Football" or "Footy" , is a variant of football that is played with an ellipsoidal ball on a large, elliptical playing field with four (goal) posts at each end. The object of the game is to score points by shooting between the posts.
There are several ways to play the ball, including the most important shot kick, ( English : kick ) and hand pass (hand pass) . In a hand pass, one hand holds the ball while the other fist hits the ball. Throwing is not allowed. The player in possession of the ball must bounce the ball every 15 m. Australian football is a full contact sport. Possession of the ball is vacant or controversial at all times except when a free kick has been awarded. Players in possession of the ball will be penalized if they are caught ( tackled ) by an opponent and have had time to play the ball. If a player catches a ball from a kick longer than 15 m (this is called a mark), he also receives a free kick as a reward.
Lots of fast fights (contests) for possession including spectacular marks (high / aerial marks / austr .: "speckie") , powerful tackles and the fast movement of both teams and the ball are the game-defining attributes that make Australian football a spectator -Do sports.
The dominant umbrella organization and the most prestigious competition is the Australian Football League (AFL), which climaxes annually with the AFL Grand Final, the world's best-attended club championship event.
Rules of the game
Field and ball
Both the ball and the playing field are elliptical in shape. The cue ball is red for day games and light yellow at night.
Teams and positions
18 players per team are allowed on the field. Up to four other substitutes sit on the reserve bench, and they can come on the pitch on the fly . There is neither an offside rule nor any positions stipulated in the rules, especially no goalkeeper .
Playing time and referee
A game consists of four quarters. The length of the quarter varies from league to league between 15 and 25 minutes. In the AFL, 20 net minutes are played per quarter. This means that the clock stops when the ball is out or until the game is restarted after a goal. As a result, the average time per quarter is between 27 and 31 minutes. This means that the total playing time is longer than in any other type of football. At the end of the game, neither the players nor the spectators know the exact remaining time, they only know that they are x minutes in stoppage time and can guess when the final siren will be triggered by the timekeeper. Games are directed by referees . The referees (due to the large field and fast game at professional level 3 main referees, 2 goal referees and 4 linesmen) also ensure that the game is fast and fluid. B. ensure the quick execution of free kicks.
Start of the game with ball-up and continuation of the game after goal and behind
At the beginning of the game, the players are allowed to spread out over the entire field, but only four players on a team are allowed to be within the 50 × 50 m large center square. After the start siren, the game begins similar to basketball . When the ball is kicked off, the referee bounces the ball on the ground so that it flies up a few meters. The players in the kick-off square, usually the tallest players on the teams, then try to direct the ball from the air towards a teammate. This game situation is also known as jerk, which is why the players are also called jerkmen. Every quarter and after every goal, the game starts with a central kick-off.
After a Behind has been scored, the defending team must play the ball from the goal area (goal square) out kick, and it is the player in the Goal Square also allowed to connect to play themselves.
Further rules relating to the position and number of players apply to set pieces (mark and free kick) and to kick in after a point has been scored (behind), primarily the minimum distance from the player taking the action.
game
Passports
The ball can be played by foot (shot), fist (hand pass) or punch with the open hand (tap) in any direction. Under no circumstances may it be thrown. Throwing is very broad in the rules. Essentially, however, this means any type of ball contact with the open hand that does not hit the ball, but guides it. You can throw the opponent on the ground (tackle) if he tries to pass.
Fouls
It is permissible for a player with the ball to run as long as the ball every 15 m touches the ground or bruised (bouncing) is. Opponents can push (bump) or grab (tackle) the player in possession of the ball . The player with the ball must clean the ball, i. H. compliant, play, otherwise he risks being punished for holding the ball . You may only tackle between your shoulder and knee and only the player who is in possession of the ball. If the opponent kicks the player from behind while tackling, the tackling player is penalized for pushing in the back . If the ball carrier getacklet below the knee, it is called the leg points (trip) or lower Tackle (low tackle) . Tackle is the above or on the shoulder, this is called high Tackle (high tackle) . In both cases, the tackled player gets a free kick.
Marks and free kicks
If a player gains possession of the ball by catching a ball that has been shot at least 15 meters, this is called “marks” and the player is given a free kick. When taking a free kick, the ball may initially be held in the hand. There are several variations of shooting, depending on how the ball is held and how it is hit. The most common shot used today for its excellent accuracy is the drop punt . The ball is guided with the hand towards the foot until it almost touches the ground. The kick causes the ball to rotate backwards over its ends or tips while it flies through the air. Other more commonly used shots are the torpedo punt , where the ball is kicked at an angle at an angle to the foot so that the ball rotates around its longitudinal axis, resulting in greater distances, and the checkside punt , where the ball is similar to the drop punt shot, but in such a way that it flies a bow to the target. Shot variants that have disappeared from today's game are the drop kick (similar to the drop punt, only that the ball hits the ground just before it is shot) and the place kick (in which the ball is placed on the ground when is shot on goal; comparable to the place kick in rugby union).
Sideways
If the ball crosses the boundary line, there are two options. If he has touched the ground or left the hand beforehand and was not intentionally pushed out of bounds, a referee will throw him as far into the field of play as possible (boundary throw-in) . However, if he was kicked out of bounds without another player touching him, or if he hit the ground, or if the ball was intentionally kicked out of bounds, the opposing team gets a free kick at the point where the ball hits the line crossed.
Possession
Except for free kicks or when the referee has the ball to take a throw-in or ball up, the ball is always controversial or vacant and players on both sides can get possession of the ball.
Points
There are four vertical poles at each end of the playing field. The two middle ones are the goal posts and the smaller ones on each side are the side posts (also called point posts).
A goal is scored when the ball is kicked by the attacking team at any height (i.e. higher than the goalposts) between the goalposts. He may touch the ground, but neither teammate nor opponent.
A behind is scored when the ball crosses the line between the goal and side posts, the ball hits a goal post, or the ball has been touched by any part of the body other than the foot before it crossed the goal line. If a player shoots into his own goal (whether intentionally or not), this also only counts as a rushed behind.
A goal counts six points, a behind one. The goal referee signals a goal with both hands stretched out at elbow height, a behind with only one hand, in order to then coordinate the signal with the other goal referee by waving flags over his head (for a goal with two flags and for a behind only with a).
The team that has the most points at the end of the game wins. A score of ten goals and ten behinds corresponds to a total score of 70. A score of nine goals and 18 behinds corresponds to 72 points. The last score would win the game even though the team scored one less goal.
- The game result is recorded as:
- Team A 9.18 (72) defeats Team B 10.10 (70)
Punish
In the highest league, the AFL, there are only free kicks during the game and nothing comparable to yellow or red cards. However, the referees indicate particularly serious violations in the match report, which means that the league sometimes bans players for a very long time or even for life. This system works amazingly well.
In lower leagues, there are almost always time penalties as an additional means of sanction for the referee (s), because on the one hand the players are often not as disciplined as the professionals, on the other hand they do not hit the subsequent suspensions (with the professionals associated with lost wages) as hard.
history
Development of the game
In 1858 in Melbourne, Thomas Wills began to think up or develop Australian Rules Football. On July 10, 1858, a letter from Wills was published in Bell's Life in the Victoria & Sporting Chronicle , in which he promoted a football club with which he wanted to get cricketers fit through the winter. Wills and others played an experimental game at Richmond Park (later known as Yarra Park next to Melbourne Cricket Ground - MCG) on July 31, 1858 , which was likely the first ever. Only a few details of this lot have survived.
On August 7, 1858, two important events occurred in the development of Australian football. Melbourne Football Club was founded; one of the first football clubs regardless of the variant. And a famous game between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College was kicked off, with Wills as the referee. A second game day took place on August 21st and a third and final on September 4th. Since then there has been an annual game between these two teams. However, the rules used in the game in 1858 may not have much in common with today's form of Australian football, as Wills never wrote the rules.
The Melbourne Football Club rules of 1859 are the oldest set of rules for Australian football. Written May 17th by Wills, William Josiah Hammersley , JB Thompson, and Thomas Smith ( Henry Colden Antill Harrison can be found in some sources ). The rules of 1859 lacked some of the rules that soon became important elements of the game, such as the ball bouncing during a race. In addition, the Melbourne FC rules were not immediately adopted by other teams, which meant that the rules had to be agreed before the game started. In 1866, however, some clubs agreed to play according to a revised version of Melbourne FC.
Although it is no longer possible to determine exactly what exactly inspired Thomas Wills' game, the influence of English school and university football variations is indefinite, but clearly convincing. Wills went to rugby school in England (where rugby first got a set of rules in 1845). Wills attended Cambridge University , as did W. J. Hammersley and J. B. Thompson . In the Cambridge Football Regulations there are some elements that play an important role in Australian football, such as the mark.
It is also often said that Wills in part from the ball games of the indigenous Aborigines in Western Victoria was inspired. Marn Grook , a sport that involves playing with a ball made from possum fur , is characterized by catching the ball while jumping to get something like a free kick. This seems to correspond to high marking in Australian football. According to tradition, the size of the playing field in Aboriginal sports fluctuates, with the most likely length being a mile, or 1.6 km, that teams played until there was a winner.
Although it is also clear to casual or casual observers that Australian football has similarities with Gaelic football , the exact relationship is unclear, as the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) only laid down the rules for Gaelic football in 1887 . Long before both regulations existed, traditional Irish football, commonly known as caid , was played. The historian BW O'Dwyer shows that Australian football was always different from rugby because, for example, there were no regulations for player and ball movements (the lack of an offside rule). Bouncing, shooting in the barrel and fisting or hitting the ball instead of throwing it are all elements of modern Gaelic football. O'Dwyer attributes some of these elements to the general influence of ancient Irish games.
Structure and competitions
The football season runs from March to August (from early autumn in Australia to late winter) and the finals in September. In the tropics , it is played during the rainy season (from October to March). Preseason competitions in South Australia usually start in late February.
The most powerful organization and league within Australian football is the AFL, recognized by the Australian Sports Commission as the national sports organization for Australian football. There are also seven country / territory level organizations in Australia, almost all of which are owned or affiliated with the AFL. Most have an annual, semi-professional club championship, while others host more than one championship. Local, semi-professional or amateur organizations and competitions are mostly affiliated with their national organizations.
The AFL is also the de facto world association for Australian football. There are also some associations that support amateur leagues around the world.
Unlike most soccer competitions, the AFL has a league cup and a championship cup. This is how the small winner is spoken of when the first in the table is meant. However, the title itself has little or no significance. The McClelland Cup in the AFL is seen as a consolation prize. In all Australian Rules Football competitions, winning the championship is always the focus. The bottom of the table at the end of the season receives the wooden spoon.
The championship is always decided in a final series. Teams at the top of the table play in a double knockout system . (The AFL final system gives some teams a second chance, similar to many rugby league and softball competitions .) The two most successful teams meet in the grand final , when the championship is decided. The winner receives the championship cup.
Professional exercise
The game is only played professionally in Australia and is the most popular spectator sport there. Australian Football League (AFL) is both the name of the organizer of the national championship competition and the name of the league.
The league is one of the sports leagues with the highest average attendance worldwide. As one of only four sports leagues, it has an average audience of more than 30,000 per game (2010: 38,423). The other leagues are the US football league NFL and the top football divisions in England and Germany. The annual Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground usually attracts over 90,000 spectators (1970: 121,500, 2006: 97,500).
There is no relegation from the AFL. Financially weaker associations are occasionally delegated to more commercially profitable benefices. So South Melbourne was sent to Sydney in 1982 and Fitzroy to Brisbane in 1996.
Until 1982 only clubs from Victoria took part in the competition. Ten of the 18 clubs are still from Victoria, nine of them from Melbourne and the suburbs of that city. The then Victorian Football League (VFL) has since developed into a national organizer and has been called the Australian Football League since 1990 . In addition, there are - independent - organizations in the states, such as the West Australian Football League (WAFL), which often offer semi-professional sport.
Essendon became the first master, or premier, of Victoria in 1897 . Record premiers are Carlton and Essendon with 16 titles each. Since the league was renamed in 1990, Hawthorn has won four, Brisbane, West Coast and Geelong three each, and Adelaide, Sydney and Essendon two titles each.
The AFL teams are:
| society | city | AFL title | VFL title | Total title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | ||||
| Sydney Swans | Sydney | 2 | 2 | |
| Greater Western Sydney Giants | Sydney | |||
| Queensland | ||||
| Brisbane Lions | Brisbane | 3 | 3 | |
| Gold Coast Suns | Gold coast | |||
| South Australia | ||||
| Adelaide Crows | Adelaide | 2 | 2 | |
| Port Adelaide Power | Adelaide | 1 | 1 | |
| Victoria | ||||
| Carlton Blues | Melbourne | 1 | 15th | 16 |
| Collingwood Magpies | Melbourne | 2 | 13 | 15th |
| Essendon Bombers | Melbourne | 2 | 14th | 16 |
| Fitzroy Lions | Melbourne | 8th | 8th | |
| Geelong cats | Geelong | 3 | 6th | 9 |
| Hawthorn Hawks | Melbourne | 5 | 8th | 13 |
| North Melbourne Kangaroos | Melbourne | 2 | 2 | 4th |
| Melbourne Demons | Melbourne | 12 | 12 | |
| Richmond Tigers | Melbourne | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| St Kilda Saints | Melbourne | 1 | 1 | |
| South Melbourne | Melbourne | 3 | 3 | |
| Western Bulldogs | Melbourne | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Western Australia | ||||
| Fremantle Dockers | Perth | |||
| West Coast Eagles | Perth | 3 | 3 | |
The clubs are usually given here by their highly publicized nicknames. Usually the official name is Xyz Football Club . A seventeenth team, the Gold Coast Suns, joined the team in 2011 and an eighteenth team, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, joined in 2012.
- See also: Australian Football in Nauru
distribution
Australian football is almost exclusively (up to 90% of all players) native to Australia . Besides cricket and the two rugby codes (Union and League) Australian Football is the national sport there, although in the states of New South Wales and Queensland , the Rugby variants are much more popular than the Australian football.
Australian Football International
Australian football is operated in some countries around the world outside of Australia, but only on an amateur basis. Leagues already exist in some European countries, North America, South Africa, Asia and Oceania.
The Australian Football International Cup , which took place in Melbourne in 2011, represents the quasi World Cup for the non-Australian countries. The first IC took place in Melbourne in 2002, with teams from 11 countries. Ireland beat Papua New Guinea in the final. The second IC was won by New Zealand in 2005 - again against Papua New Guinea. At the third IC in 2008, Papua New Guinea emerged victorious, while New Zealand came second. In 2011, Ireland beat Papua New Guinea again.
Euro Cup
A tournament has been taking place at European level since 2005.
| year | venue | European champion
(Men's) |
German National Team - Men (Germany Eagles) |
Austrian National Team (Austrian Avalanche) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | London | Belgium | 4th | 9. |
| 2007 | Hamburg | Sweden | 2. | 11. |
| 2008 | Prague | England | 3. | 12. |
| 2009 | Zagreb | England | 8th. | 14th |
| 2010 | Milan | Croatia | 7th | 12. |
| 2011 | Belfast | Ireland | 12. | 16. |
| 2012 | Edinburgh | Ireland | 5. | 15th |
| 2013 | Bordeaux | England | not started | 9. |
| 2014 | London | Denmark | 4th | 10. |
| 2015 | Umag (Cro) | Denmark | 5. | 7th |
| 2016 | Lisbon | Croatia | 4th | 10. |
| 2017 | Bordeaux | England | 3. | 8th. |
| 2018 | Cork (IRE) | Denmark | 7th | n / A |
| 2019 | Norrtalje (SWE) | England | 3. | n / A |
Germany
Australian Football is operated in Germany by the Australian Football League Germany (AFL Germany).
Austria
In Austria there is currently an Australian Football Club, the Styrian DownUnderDogs in Graz. You play with Croatian clubs in the Central European Australian Football League (CEAFL). The Vienna Kangaroos (previously: Wiener Dingos) stopped playing in 2011.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, Australian football was only played by the Lugano Capricorns at club level. They took part in the operation of the Italian league. In 2017 a team from Winterthur took part in the Eurocup in Bordeaux for Switzerland.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ WF Mandle: Wills, Thomas Wentworth (1835-1880). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Center of Biography, Australian National University, accessed October 28, 2011 .
- ↑ a b South Melbourne moved to Sydney in 1982 and was renamed Sydney Swans. Fitzroy was merged with Brisbane Bears in 1996 to form Brisbane Lions.
- ↑ Welcome to AFL Germany! Retrieved on July 6, 2020 (German).