Australian_rules

{{dablink|"Australian rules" and "Australian football" redirect here. For other meanings please see [[Australian Rules (film)]] and [[Football in Australia]].}}
{{Sport
| image = Contested mark2.jpg
| imagesize = 150px
| caption = High marking is a key skill in Australian rules football
| union = Australian Football League
| nickname = Australian Football (official name), Australian Rules, "Aussie" Rules, Football, Footy, AFL
| first = 1858, [[Melbourne]], {{flag|Australia}}
| registered = 650,394 (total)<br/>130,000 (adult) (2007)
| clubs = 2,650
| contact = Contact
| team = 22
| mgender = Single
| category = Outdoor
| ball = Football (ball)|Aussie Rules
| olympic =
}}

'''Australian rules football''', also known as '''Australian football''', '''Aussie rules''', or simply "'''football'''" or "'''footy'''" is a [[football|code of football]] played with a [[prolate spheroid]] [[football (ball)|ball]], on large ''[[Oval (geometry)|oval]]'' shaped fields ([[cricket]] fields), with four posts at each end. The inner pair of posts on each end are known as the goal posts, while the outer posts are known as the behind posts. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time, with four<ref>Rule 5.1 {{cite web | title=Official AFL PLayers Association Laws of the Game | url=http://www.aflpa.com.au/media/2007%20Laws%20of%20the%20game.pdf}} Under Rule 5.2 "a Controlling Body may reduce below 14 or increase above 22 the number of Players (including
Interchange Players) who may participate in a Match."</ref> interchange players on the bench, and the primary aim of the game is to score by [[Kick (football)|kick]]ing the ball between the posts. The winner is the team who has the higher total score by the end of the match.


There are several different ways to advance the ball, including kicking and [[handpass|hand passing]]. When hand passing one hand must be used to hold the ball and the other fist to hit it — throwing the ball is not allowed. Players running with the ball must bounce or touch it on the ground every 15 metres. There is no [[offside]] rule and players can roam the field freely. Australian rules is a [[contact sport]]. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a ''[[Free kick (Australian rules football)|free kick]]'' is paid. Players who hold on to the ball too long are penalised if they are [[Tackle (football move)|tackled]] by an opposition player who is then rewarded, whilst players who catch a ball from a kick exceeding 15 metres (known as a ''[[Mark (Australian football)|mark]]'') are awarded uncontested possession. The duration of play varies, but is longer than any other code of football.

Frequent contests for possession including aerial marking or "[[specky|speckies]]," and vigorous tackling with the hands, [[bump (football)|bumps]] and the fast movement of both players and the ball are the game's main attributes as a [[spectator sport]].

The game originated in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] during the [[Victorian gold rush]], and organised and codified in [[Melbourne]] in 1858 in a bid to keep [[cricket]]ers [[physical fitness|fit]] during the winter months. The first [[laws of Australian football]] were published in 1859 by the [[Melbourne Football Club]]. The most prestigious [[professional sport|professional]] competition is the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL), which culminates in the annual [[AFL Grand Final]], the highest attended club championship event in the world. The league has governed the sport through the [[AFL Commission]] and the AFL Rules Committee, since it disbanded the Australian National Football Council in 1993.

==Structure and competitions ==
{{mainarticle|Australian rules football in Australia}}
{{seealso|Australian rules football around the world}}
[[Image:aussie rules game.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An Australian Football League Premiership season match at [[Carrara Stadium]] on the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] between [[Adelaide Crows|Adelaide]] and [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]]. The AFL is the [[List of sports attendance figures#Table|most attended]] national competition in Australia and the only fully professional league for Australian Rules in the world.]]
The ''football season'', proper, is from March to August (early autumn to late winter in Australia) with finals being held in September. In the [[tropics]], the game is played in the [[wet season]] (October to March). Pre-season competitions in [[southern Australia]] usually begin in late February.

The AFL is recognized by the [[Australian Sports Commission]] as being the National Sporting Organisation for Australian rules football. There are also seven state/territory-based organisations in Australia, most of which are now either owned by or affiliated to the AFL.
Most of these hold annual semi-professional club competitions while the others oversee more than one league. Local semi-professional or amateur organizations and competitions are often affiliated to their state organisations.

The AFL is also the [[de facto]] world governing body for Australian rules football. There are also a number of organisations governing [[List of Australian rules football leagues outside Australia|amateur clubs and competitions around the world]].

Unlike most [[Football (soccer)|soccer]] competitions there are usually no separate "league" and "cup" trophies. The team finishing first on the ladder is often referred to as a 'minor premier', although this bears little or no significance. This is called the [[McClelland Trophy]] in the AFL and is considered a consolation prize. For almost all Australian rules competitions the focus is almost always on winning the premiership. The team which finishes at the bottom of the ladder at the end of the season is said to get 'the [[Wooden spoon (award)|wooden spoon]]'.

The premiership is always decided by a finals series. The teams that occupy the highest positions play off in a "semi-knockout" finals series (The [[AFL finals system]] differs from many amateur competitions in that it gives some teams a double chance). The two successful teams meet in the [[Grand Final]] to contest the ''Premiership''.

'''
==Rules of the game==
{{main|Laws of Australian football}}
[[Image:Aussie rules kicking.jpg|thumb|150px|Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Australian rules football]]
[[Image:Afl stadium.PNG|thumb|left|200px|The playing field, which may be {{nowrap|135-185 m}} long and {{nowrap|110-155 m}} wide. The centre square is 50x50. The curved fifty metre line is {{nowrap|50 m}} away from the goal line. Adjacent goal posts are 6.4 metres apart.]]
Both the ball and the field of play are [[ellipsoid|oval]] in shape. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time. Up to four ''interchange'' (reserve) players may be swapped for those on the field at any time during the game. There is no [[offside rule]] nor are there set positions in the rules; unlike many other forms of football, players from both teams disperse across the whole field before the start of play. However, only four players from each team are allowed within the {{nowrap|50 m}} centre square before every centre bounce, which occurs at the commencement of each quarter, and to restart the game after a goal is scored. There are also other rules pertaining to allowed player positions during set plays (i.e., after a mark or free kick) and during kick-ins following the scoring of a behind.

A game consists of four quarters. The length of the quarters can vary from 15 to 25 minutes in different leagues. In the AFL, quarters are 20 minutes, but the clock is stopped when the ball is out of play, meaning that an average quarter could last for 27 to 31 minutes. At the end of each quarter, teams change their scoring end.

Games are officiated by [[umpire (Australian rules football)|umpire]]s. Unlike other forms of football, Australian football begins similarly to [[basketball]]. After the first [[Siren (noisemaker)|siren]], the [[Umpire (Australian rules football)|umpire]] [[Ball-up|bounces the ball on the ground]] (or throws it into the air if the condition of the ground is poor), and the two [[Ruckman (Australian rules football position)|ruckmen]] (typically the tallest players from each team), battle for the ball in the air on its way back down.

The ball can be propelled in any direction by way of a foot, clenched fist (called a [[handball (Australian rules football)|handball]] or ''handpass'') or open-hand tap (unlike rugby football there is no knock-on rule) but it cannot be thrown under any circumstances. Throwing is defined in the rules quite broadly but is essentially any open hand disposal that causes the ball to move upward in the air.

[[Image:Sherrin.png|thumb|right|150px|An Australian [[football (ball)|football]]. The [[Sherrin]] brand is used for all official AFL matches. A red ball like this is used for day matches and a yellow ball is used for night matches.]]
A player may run with the ball but it must be [[Running bounce|bounced or touched on the ground]] at least once every 15 metres. Opposition players may [[bump (football)|bump]] or [[tackle (football move)|tackle]] the player to obtain the ball and, when tackled, the player must dispose of the ball cleanly or risk being penalised for [[holding the ball]]. The ball carrier may only be tackled between the shoulders and knees. If the opposition player forcefully contacts a player in the back whilst performing a tackle, the opposition player will be penalised for a [[push in the back]]. If the opposition tackles the player with possession below the knees, it is ruled as a ''low tackle'' or a ''trip'', and the team with possession of the football gets a free kick.

If a player takes possession of the ball that has traveled more than 15 metres from another player's kick, by way of a catch, it is claimed as a ''[[mark (Australian football)|mark]]'' and that player may then have a ''free kick'' (meaning that the game stops while he prepares to kick from the point at which he marked). Alternatively, he may choose to "play on:" forfeiting the set shot in the hope of pressing an advantage for his team (rather than allowing the opposition to reposition while he prepares for the free kick). Once a player has chosen to play on, normal play resumes and the player who took the mark is again able to be tackled.

There are different [[Kick (football)|styles of kicking]] depending on how the ball is held in the hand. The most common style of kicking seen in today's game, due principally to its superior accuracy, is the [[drop punt]] (the ball is dropped from the hands down, almost to the ground, to be kicked so that the ball rotates in a reverse end over end motion as it travels through the air). Other commonly used kicks are the [[torpedo punt]] (also known as the spiral or screw punt; the ball is held at an angle and kicked, which makes the ball spiral in the air, resulting in extra distance) and the [[checkside punt]] or "snap", used to curve the ball towards targets that are on an angle. Forms of kicking which have now disappeared from the game include the [[drop kick]] (similar to the [[drop punt]] except that the ball is allowed to make contact with the ground momentarily before being struck with the foot) and place kick (where the ball is first placed on the ground when shooting for goal, similar to the place kick used in [[rugby union]]).

Apart from free kicks or when the ball is in the possession of an umpire for a ''ball up'' or ''throw in'', the ball is always in dispute and any player from either side can take possession of the ball.

A ''goal'' is scored when the football is propelled through the goal posts at any height (including above the height of the posts) by way of a kick from the attacking team. It may fly through on the full or bounce through and must not be touched, on the way, by any player from either team. A goal cannot be scored from the foot of an opposition (defending) player.

A ''behind'' is scored when the ball passes between a goal post and a behind post at any height, or if the ball hits a goal post, or if an attacking player sends the ball between the goal posts by touching it with any part of the body other than a foot. A behind is also awarded to the attacking team if the ball touches any part of an opposition player, including his foot, before passing between the goal posts. When an opposition player deliberately scores a behind for the attacking team (generally as a last resort, due to the risk of their scoring a goal) this is termed a ''rushed behind''.

If the ball hits one of the behind posts, the ball is considered out of bounds and no score is awarded.

A goal is worth 6 points whereas a behind is worth 1 point. The [[Goal Umpire]] signals a goal with two hands raised at elbow height, a behind with one hand, and then confirms the signal with the other goal umpire by waving flags above his head.

The team that has scored the most points at the end of play wins the game. If the scores are level on points at the end of play, then the game is a draw; extra time applies only during finals matches in some competitions.

As an example of a score report, consider a match between [[St. Kilda Football Club|St. Kilda]] and the [[Sydney Swans]]. St. Kilda's score of 15 goals and 11 behinds equates to 101 points. Sydney's score of eight goals and ten behinds equates to a 58 point tally. St. Kilda wins the match by a margin of 43 points. Such a result would be written as:
:''[[St. Kilda Football Club|St. Kilda]]'' 15.11 (101) defeated ''[[Sydney Swans]]'' 8.10 (58);
and said,
:"St. Kilda fifteen eleven, one hundred and one defeated Sydney Swans eight ten, fifty-eight."

==History==
{{further|[[History of Australian rules football]]<br>[[Australian rules football - Early years in Victoria]].}}
===Origins of the Game===

While there is considerable evidence that a similar game featuring marking, handballing and bouncing of the ball had been [[Australian rules football - Early years in Victoria|played in western Victoria as early as 1853]], [[Tom Wills]] is widely credited with devising Australian rules in [[Melbourne]] in 1858. A letter by Wills was published in ''Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle'' on [[10 July]], [[1858]], calling for a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter.<ref>{{cite web | title=Letter from Tom Wills | work=MCG website | url=http://www.mcg.org.au/default.asp?pg=footballdisplay&articleid=37|accessdate=2006-07-14}}</ref> His letter attracted other football players, and an experimental match, played by Wills and others, at the Richmond Paddock (later known as [[Yarra Park, Melbourne|Yarra Park]] next to the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground|MCG]]) on [[31 July]] [[1858]], was probably the first game of Australian football. Unfortunately however, few details of the match have survived.

On [[7 August]], [[1858]], two significant events in the development of the game occurred. The [[Melbourne Football Club]], one of the world's [[first football club]]s in any code, was informally founded, and a famous match between [[Melbourne Grammar School]] and [[Scotch College, Melbourne|Scotch College]] began, umpired by Wills. A second day of play took place on 21 August and a third, and final, day on 4 September.<ref name="piesse">{{cite book | author=[[Ken Piesse]]| title=The Complete Guide to Australian Football | publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia | year=1995 | id=ISBN 0-330-35712-3 }} p303.</ref> The two schools have competed annually ever since.

[[Image:Australianfootball1866.jpg|thumb|290px|A game at the [[Yarra Park|Richmond Paddock]] in the 1860s. A pavilion at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground|MCG]] is on the left in the background. (A [[wood engraving]] made by Robert Bruce on [[July 27]], [[1866]].)]]
The Melbourne Football Club rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian football. They were drawn up at the Parade Hotel, [[East Melbourne]], on [[17 May]], by Wills, W. J. Hammersley, J. B. Thompson and Thomas Smith (some sources include H. C. A. Harrison).<ref name="piesse">{{cite book | author=[[Ken Piesse]]| title=The Complete Guide to Australian Football | publisher=Pan Macmillan Australia | year=1995 | id=ISBN 0-330-35712-3 }} p303.</ref> The influence of [[England|English]] [[public school]] and [[university]] football codes, while undetermined, was clearly substantial. All members of the committee had experience of English or Irish games. Tom Wills, it is claimed, wanted to introduce [[Rugby School]] rules but the other three men felt Rugby School’s rough play and offside rules would not suit players older than schoolboys or the drier Australian conditions.<ref>Sydney Mail 25 August 1883 p. 363 W.J. Hammersley, Reminiscences of Cricket and Other Sports</ref> They did look at the Rugby School Rules but also those of [[Eton College|Eton]], [[Winchester School|Winchester]] and [[Harrow School|Harrow]].

Finally eleven simple Melbourne Football Club Rules were laid out, printed and, most significantly, widely publicised. As other Clubs began, including the [[Geelong Football Club]], there were some rival rules which eventually gave way to an acceptance of the Melbourne Rules. The rules did not include the requirement to bounce the ball while running which was introduced in 1866.<ref>G.M. Hibbins Sport and Racing in Colonial Melbourne: The Cousisn and Me - Colden Harrison, Tom Wills and William Hammersley Lynedoch 2007 chs 8,9</ref>

It is also often said that Wills was partly inspired by the ball games of the local [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] people in western Victoria. ''[[Marn Grook]]'' (accounts of which date back to 1841) was a recreational activity that used a ball made out of [[possum]] hide, featured jumping to catch the ball for the equivalent of a free kick. This appears to have resembled the [[specky|high marking]] in Australian football. The original recorded size of the Aboriginal playing field varies with records, but most records state that the playing field was about {{nowrap|1.6 km}} ({{nowrap|1 mile}}) long.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} There were no goal posts, but teams played until there was a single winner, sometimes the side with the player who had the most possessions or the side that kicked the ball the most and the furthest. Wills was raised in Victoria's western districts and is said to have played with local Aboriginal children on his father's property, Lexington, near Ararat.<ref>[http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/MediaRelArc02.nsf/17ed9415cb17e3d34a25682500254734/67d1f54851b3304b4a256965007bb637!OpenDocument&Click= Minister opens show exhibition celebrating Aussie Rules' Koorie Heritage], Government Media Release accessed [[4 June]] [[2007]]</ref>

While it is clear even to casual observers that [[Comparison of Australian rules football and Gaelic football|Australian rules football is similar to Gaelic football]], the exact relationship is a [[Relationship between Gaelic football and Australian rules football|matter of controversy among historians]]. Although [[Gaelic football]] was not codified until 1887, traditional Irish games were being played in Australia as early as 1843.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Historian B. W. O'Dwyer points out that Australian football has always been differentiated from [[rugby football]] by having no limitation on ball or player movement (that is, no offside rule). The need to bounce or toe-kick the ball while running, and tapping the ball with one hand rather than throwing it, are also elements of modern Gaelic football. O'Dwyer suggests that some of these elements may be attributed to the common influence of older Irish games.<ref>B. W. O'Dwyer, March 1989, "The Shaping of Victorian Rules Football", ''Victorian Historical Journal'', v.60, no.1.</ref>

===Major clubs and competitions===
{{mainarticle|Australian rules football in Australia}}
In 1877, the game's first league, the [[Victorian Football Association]] (VFA) was formed. Gradually the game – known at first as "Melbourne Rules", "Victorian Rules" or sometimes as "Australasian Rules" – began to spread from Victoria into other Australian colonies in the 1860s, beginning with [[Australian rules football in Tasmania|Tasmania]] (1864), [[Australian rules football in Queensland|Queensland]] (1866) and [[Australian rules football in South Australia|South Australia]] (1873). The game began to be played in [[Australian rules football in New South Wales|New South Wales]] in 1877, in [[Australian rules football in Western Australia|Western Australia]] in 1881 and the [[Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory|Australian Capital Territory]] in 1911. By 1916, the game was first played in the [[Australian rules football in the Northern Territory|Northern Territory]], establishing a permanent presence in all [[Australian states and territories|Australian states and mainland territories]]. In [[Newcastle, New South Wales]] the Black Diamond league was founded by Victorian gold miners and the [[Black Diamond Australian Football League|Black Diamond Challenge Cup]] remains Australia's oldest sporting trophy.<ref>http://www.bdafl.com.au/about.php</ref>

The precursors of the [[South Australian National Football League]] (SANFL) and the [[West Australian Football League]] (WAFL) were strong, separate competitions by the 1890s. However, factors such as [[Australian regional rivalries|interstate rivalries]] and the denial of access to grounds in Sydney caused the code to struggle in New South Wales and Queensland. A rift in the VFA led to the formation of the [[VFL/AFL|Victorian Football League]] (VFL), which commenced play in 1897 as an eight-team breakaway of the stronger clubs in the VFA competition. By 1925, the VFL consisted of 12 teams, and had become the most prominent league in the game.

[[Image:1933 state carnival SCG football.jpg|thumb|225px|Players contest a mark at the 1933 [[interstate matches in Australian rules football|Australian Football Carnival]], at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]]. The teams are Victoria and Tasmania. (Photographer: [[Sam Hood]].)]]
The first [[interstate matches in Australian rules football|intercolonial match]] had been played between Victoria and South Australia in 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition — and the inability of players to compete internationally — meant that [[interstate matches in Australian rules football|matches between state representative teams]] were regarded with great importance. Because VFL clubs increasingly recruited the best players in other states, Victoria dominated these games. [[State of origin]] rules were introduced in 1977, and saw Western Australia and South Australia begin to win many of their games against Victoria.

In 1982, in a move which heralded big changes within the sport, one of the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne, relocated to the [[rugby league]] stronghold of [[Sydney]] and became known as the [[Sydney Swans]]. In the late 1980s, strong interstate interest in the VFL led to a more national competition; two more non-Victorian clubs, the [[West Coast Eagles]] and the [[Brisbane Bears Football Club|Brisbane Bears]] began playing in 1987. The league changed its name to the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) following the 1989 season. In 1991, it gained its first South Australian team, [[Adelaide Crows|Adelaide]]. During the next five years, two more non-Victorian teams, [[Fremantle Football Club|Fremantle]] and [[Port Adelaide Football Club|Port Adelaide]], joined the league. The AFL, currently with 16 member clubs, is the sport's elite competition and the most powerful body in the world of Australian rules football.

Following the emergence of the Australian Football League, the SANFL, WAFL and other state leagues rapidly declined to a secondary status. Apart from these there are many semi-professional and amateur leagues around Australia, where they play a very important role in the community, and particularly so in rural areas. The VFA, still in existence a century after the original schism, merged with the former VFL reserves competition in 1998. The new entity adopted the VFL name and remained a primarily state based competition. State of origin games declined in importance, especially after an increasing number of withdrawals by AFL players, and Australian football State of Origin matches ceased in 1999. The second-tier state and territorial leagues still contest interstate matches.

===Australian football internationally===
[[Image:Linkbelt1999-Finalspiel.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Action from a 1999 Aussie Rules match in [[Australian rules football in Nauru|Nauru]] at the [[Linkbelt Oval]]]]
[[Image:Japan vs vietnam 6.jpg|thumb|250px|Japan's national team, the [[Japanese national Australian rules football team|Samurai]] vs Melbourne Vietnam from 2006 tour of Australia.]]

{{main|Australian rules football around the world}}
Aussie Rules is played at amateur level in countries around the world. About 16,000 people play in structured competitions outside of Australia and at least 20 leagues that are recognised by the game's governing body, exist outside of Australia.<ref>[http://www.afl.com.au/GameDevelopment/International/tabid/285/Default.aspx AFL International Development]</ref> In contrast, there are over 600,000 players in Australia and overseas players make up less than 2% of the total players worldwide. Although semi-professional players have come from outside of Australia, and there have been several [[List of overseas-born AFL players|players in the VFL/AFL who have were born outside Australia]], no player to learn the game overseas has yet played a game in the Australian Football League.

The growth of Australian rules in the 19th century and early 20th century was rapid, but it went into rapid decline following [[World War I]]. After [[World War II]], the sport experienced a small amount of growth in the [[Pacific]] region, particularly in [[Australian rules football in Nauru|Nauru]], [[Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea|Papua New Guinea]] and [[Australian rules football in New Zealand|New Zealand]].

Australian rules football is emerging as an international sport much later than other forms of football such as soccer or rugby, but has grown substantially as an amateur sport in some countries since the 1980s. Initially the sport has grown with the [[Australian diaspora]], [[List of overseas-born AFL players|aided by multiculturalism]] and assisted by [[Australian rules football exhibition matches|exhibition matches]] and [[Players who have converted from one football code to another|players who have converted to and from other football codes]]. In Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States there are many thousands of players. Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Denmark and Sweden have also shown strong potential in the sport amongst local players in the lead up to the [[2008 Australian Football International Cup]].

The AFL became the defacto governing body when it pushed for the closure of the [[International Australian Football Council]] in 2002.

Australian rules football is played professionally only by men in Australia and is major [[spectator sport]] only in [[Australia]] and [[Nauru]] with the exception of occasional [[Australian rules football exhibition matches|exhibition games]] staged in other countries and carnival type events overseas.

====International Rules Football====
{{mainarticle|International Rules Football}}
Since 1967 there have been many matches between Australian and [[Ireland|Irish]] teams, under various sets of hybrid, compromise rules known as [[International rules football]]. In 1984, the first official representative matches of International Rules were played, and these were played annually each October between the AFL and the [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] between 1998 and 2006 as part of the official [[International Rules Series]] which have attracted large crowds and media interest in both [[Ireland]] and Australia.

==Traditions of the game==
[[Image:Fremantle dockers.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Before the start of each AFL games, players run through a banner constructed by supporters.]]
Australian Rules is a sport rich in tradition and [[Australian culture|Australian cultural]] references, especially surrounding the rituals of gameday for players, officials and supporters.

As part of their uniform, players wear shirts called [[Guernsey (clothing)|guernsey]]s, a word possibly derived from the Irish (Gaelic) word "geansaí" meaning "sweater", or alternatively from the rating uniform of the nineteenth century British Royal Navy, and (as with the Jersey) named after the [[Channel Island]] of [[Guernsey]]. Guernseys are similar to [[basketball]] shirts, but of a more robust design, often referred to in Australia as "jumpers". In the early period of the game's development players often wore sleeveless lace-up tops which gradually disappeared between the 1960s and early 1980s. A few players choose to wear a long sleeved variation of the modern guernsey design. Players wore full length pants, before adopting shorts in the 1920s. Tight-fitting shorts were a notable fashion trend in most leagues in the 1980s and some players began to wear [[hamstring]] warmers. A brief experiment with [[lycra]] by the AFL in the State of Origin series was quickly abandoned for more traditional wear. Padding is rare, but some ruckmen wear shin pads and thigh pads and players with head injuries sometimes wear soft helmets. Long socks (football socks) are compulsory, and mouthguards are worn by most players. Boots with moulded cleats or studs for gripping the ground are worn (screw-ins have been banned from most leagues since the 1990s).

Traditionally, umpires have worn white. However, in the AFL, umpires now wear bright colours chosen not to clash with the guernseys of the competing teams. AFL goal umpires now wear t-shirts and caps, rather than the traditional white coat and [[Trilby|broad brimmed hat]] which was similar to what was worn by many cricket umpires.

Australian rules is often referred to as the ''people's game'' due to its ability to transcend class and racial boundaries, unify supporters and attract crowds.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/26/1064083189800.html?from=storyrhs|publisher=The Age|date=September 27, 2003|title=A grand day for the people's game}}
</ref>

[[Image:Richmond Cheer Squad Rd 21 2006 copy.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Cheersquads at Australian rules football matches behind the goals wave giant Pom-pons or floggers to signify a goal]]Typical supporter wear includes the team [[scarf]] and sometimes [[beanie]] (particularly in cooler climates) in the colours of the team. Team guernseys are also worn by supporters. Team flags are sometimes flown by supporters, and official club cheersquads behind the goals will sometimes wave enormous coloured [[Pompon|pompom]]s known as ''floggers'' after the umpire has signalled a goal.

[[Australian meat pie|Meat pies]] and [[beer]] are popular consumables (sometimes noted as a tradition) for supporters at Australian rules matches. At AFL matches mobile vendors walk around the ground selling such pies, yelling out the well-known call of "hot pies, cold drinks!"

At the end of the match, it is traditional for a ''[[pitch invasion]]'' to occur. Supporters run onto the field to celebrate the game and play games of [[kick-to-kick]] with their families. In many suburban and country games, this also happens during quarter and half-time breaks. In the AFL in recent years, this tradition has been more strictly controlled with [[security guards]] to ensure that players and officials can safely leave the ground. At the largest AFL grounds, this tradition has been banned completely, to protect the surface, much to the discontent of fans. But smaller grounds ([[Skilled Stadium]], for example) still allow fans onto the field after the game. Sometimes a mid-game ''pitch invasion'' is expected for various highly anticipated landmark achievements (such as a player kicking a record number of goals).

==Popularity==
{{seealso|Australian rules football in Australia}}
[[Image:Aboriginal football.jpg|260px|thumb|right|Australian rules football is popular amongst indigenous communities.]]
Australian rules football has attracted more overall interest among Australians than any other football code, and taking the nation as a whole, in terms of general sports' interests, it is second only to [[cricket]].<ref>[http://www.sweeneyresearch.com.au/newsPDF/news_pdf_16.pdf Media Release], Sweeney Sport report for 2006-07</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/22/1053196670542.html |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=22 May, 2003|title=If you can kick it, Australia will watch it}}</ref>

In some of the southern states, it is the most popular sport of all sports.
As a football code, it is the most popular form of football in the [[Northern Territory]], [[South Australia]], [[Tasmania]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Western Australia]]. It is less popular in [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]], although there has traditionally been strong support for the code in regions within those states, such as parts of southern New South Wales including the [[Riverina]] and parts of Queensland such as [[Cairns]] and the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]]. The AFL teams from Brisbane and Sydney have attracted a strong increase in crowds, television audiences participation when they both recently won premierships. Demographic and migration trends have affected all football codes in recent years, but most significantly Australian football in Queensland.

It is particularly popular amongst [[indigenous Australian]] communities. Indigenous Australians are well represented in professional AFL players: while only 2.4% of the population is of indigenous origin, 10% of AFL players identify themselves this way.

Australian rules is the national sport of [[Nauru]] and is popular in [[Papua New Guinea]], which are both former Australian dependencies.

==Audience==
===Attendance===
{{seealso|Australian rules football attendance records}}
[[Image:As-east.jpg|200px|thumb|right|A capacity crowd at an AFL game at [[AAMI Stadium]] in Adelaide.]]
Australian rules football is the most highly attended spectator sport in Australia: government figures show that more than 2.5 million people attended games in 1999.<ref>[http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/e298cee24565c911ca256def007248ff?OpenDocument Sports Attendance], Australian Bureau of Statistics, April 1999.</ref> In 2007, a cumulative 6,475,251 people attended [[Australian Football League]] premiership matches, a record for the competition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22350174-5005401,00.html |publisher=News Limited|date=2 September, 2007|title=AFL sets all-time crowd record}}</ref> In 2005, a further 307,181 attended [[NAB Cup]] pre-season matches and 117,552 attended Regional Challenge pre-season practice matches around the country.<ref>http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:QSxF-7E66dcJ:afl.com.au/default.asp%3Fpg%3Dwizardcup%26spg%3Ddisplay%26articleid%3D190187</ref>

As of 2005 the AFL is one of only five professional sports leagues in the world with an average [[Sports attendance|attendance]] above thirty thousand (the others are the [[NFL]] in the United States and [[Major League Baseball]] in the U.S. and Canada, and the top division soccer leagues in [[Bundesliga (football)|Germany]] and [[Premier League|England]]). In 2007, the average of 36,791 was less than 1,000 behind the German Bundesliga and over 2,000 more per game than the average attendance of the English Premier League.

As well as attendances for the national AFL competition, some semi-professional local competitions also draw crowds. Although crowds for state leagues have suffered in recent years, they continue to draw support, particularly for finals matches. The South Australian [[South Australian National Football League|SANFL]] drew an attendance of 309,874 in 2006 and the Western Australian [[West Australian Football League|WAFL]] drew an official attendance of 207,154. Other leagues, such as the Victorian [[Victorian Football League|VFL]] (including a Tasmanian side, the [[Tasmanian Devils Football Club|Devils]]), [[Northern Territory Football League]] and the popular country league [[Ovens & Murray Football League|Ovens & Murray]] also charge admission and draw notable crowds (but with no available attendance figures).

Outside of Australia, the game has drawn notable attendances only for occasional carnival type events, such as International tests and [[Australian rules football exhibition matches|exhibition match]]es.

===Television===
{{seealso|Australian Football League on Television}}
{{seealso|Australian rules football on Television in Australia}}
[[Image:Afl grand final.jpg|thumb|300px|Part of the [[2006 AFL Grand Final]] pre-match entertainment. The AFL Grand Final is regularly the most watched sporting event on television in Australia and attracts a growing world-wide audience.]]

The national AFL is the main league which is shown on television in Australia and around the world.

The 2005 [[AFL Grand Final]] was watched by a record [[television]] audience of more than 3.3 million people across Australia's five most populous cities — the [[Australian capital cities|five mainland state capitals]] — including 1.2 million in [[Melbourne]] and 991,000 in [[Sydney]].<ref>[http://www.oztam.com.au/documents/2005/E_20050918.pdf Top 20 Programs - Ranking Report (E)] 18-24 September, OzTam.</ref> In 2006, the national audience was 3.145 million, including 1.182 million in Melbourne and 759,000 in Sydney.<ref> [http://www.oztam.com.au/documents%5C2006%5CE_20060924.pdf Top 20 Programs - Ranking Report (E) 24 September - 30 September 2006]</ref>

According to [[OzTAM]], in recent years, the AFL Grand Final has reached the top five programs across the five biggest cities in [[List of Australian television ratings for 2002|2002]], [[List of Australian television ratings for 2003|2003]], [[List of Australian television ratings for 2004|2004]], [[List of Australian television ratings for 2005|2005]] and [[List of Australian television ratings for 2006|2006]]. Australian rules football has achieved a #1 rating in the sports category in both [[List of Australian television ratings for 2004|2004]] and [[List of Australian television ratings for 2005|2005]].

Some of the more popular regional leagues in Australia have the "match of the week" televised locally and free-to-air on [[ABC Television (Australia)|ABC Television]]'s respective state networks. Some of these leagues also attract a national audience through free-to-air broadcasting on television networks such as [[ABC2]]. OzTAM began measuring these audiences in 2006. The SANFL measured a total of 1,415,000 television viewers in 2007.<ref>http://www.sanfl.com.au/news/sanfl_news/147/</ref>

Australian rules also has a nominal but growing international audience. Since 2005, some AFL matches have been shown in the pacific rim region for the first time through the [[Australia Network]]. The AFL Grand Final is broadcast to many countries and attracts many million viewers worldwide. This audience has grown to approximately 30 million viewers from 72 countries.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/22/1189881828861.html Grand final's free kick to economy a tough call]</ref>

According to [[Roy Morgan Research]], more Americans watch Australian Rules Football than Australians. A poll taken between April 2002 and March 2004 showed that 7,496,000 North Americans compared to 7,004,000 Australians watch Australian Rules Football at least occasionally on television.<ref>[http://www.roymorgan.com/resources/pdf/papers/20041201.pdf Globalisation of Sport Report 2005] from roymorgan.com (Roy Morgan Single Source USA March 2003-Feb2004)</ref>

===New Media===
{{seealso|List of Australian rules football computer games}}
The AFL website was the #1 most popular [[Hitwise]] Australian sports website in 2004, increasing in market share by 9.86% over that year.<ref>[http://www.hitwise.co.uk/press-center/hitwiseHS2004/asiapac-awards-022805.php Most Popular Australian websites for 2004 revealed] from Hitwise</ref> In 2006, other consistently high traffic websites in the Australian Top 20 included [[AFL Dream Team]], (Trading Post) AFL Footy Tipping, BigFooty.com and Bomberland.<ref>[http://www.hitwise.com/news/au200604.html Fast Mover - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Dream Team]</ref> In 2006, the search term 'afl' represented the highest number of search terms (2.48%) that delivered users to Hitwise sports category listed websites.<ref>[http://www.hitwise.com/news/au200607.html Search Terms - Industry Search Term Report for Sports]</ref> Statistics show that Victorians consist of 43% of all visits to the AFL football category.<ref>[http://weblogs.hitwise.com/sandra-hanchard/2006/09/victorians_still_afls_biggest.html Victorians Still AFL's Biggest Fans Online]</ref>

==Participation==
[[Image:Women's marking contest mark.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A [[Women's Australian rules football]] Match between the [[Melbourne University Mugars]] and the [[Darebin Falcons]].]]
{{mainarticle|Australian rules football in Australia}}
{{seealso|Australian rules football around the world}}
With more than 450,000 participants aged 15 years and over, football is the 4th most-played team sport in Australia, behind [[netball]], [[football (soccer)|soccer]] and [[cricket]].<ref>
[http://www.ausport.gov.au/scorsresearch/ERASS2004/ERASS2004.pdf Participation in exercise, recreation and sport], Australian Sports Commission Annual Report 2004.</ref>

A total of 615,549 registered participants played football in 2006. Participation rose 5.97% between 2006-07 and 7.84% between 2005-06. 6.7 per cent of all participants are from non-English speaking origin. The [[Australian Sports Commission]] statistics show a 42% increase in the total number of participants over the 4 year period between 2001-2005.<ref>http://www.ausport.gov.au/scorsresearch/ERASS2005/ERASS2005_findings.pdf Participation in Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey 2005 Annual Report</ref>

Australian rules football is fast growing as an amateur sport in more than 20 countries around the world. In 2004, there were a total of over 25,000 participants outside of Australia.<ref>http://www.worldfootynews.com/article.php?story=20050301074107992 World Footy Census</ref>

Many related games have emerged from football, mainly with variations of contact to encourage greater participation. These include [[Kick-to-kick]] (and its variants such as 'Marks Up'), [[Auskick]], [[Rec Footy]], [[Women's Australian rules football]], [[9-a-side Footy]], [[Masters Australian Football]], handball and longest-kick competitions. Players outside of Australia sometimes engage in related games on the fields available, like [[Metro Footy]] (played on gridiron fields) and [[Samoa Rules]] (played on rugby fields).

==Australian rules in popular culture==
{{mainarticle|Australian rules football in popular Australian culture}}
For many years, the game of Australian rules football captured the imagination of Australian film, music, television and literature.

Many songs inspired by the game have become anthems of the game, none more so than the 1979 hit ''[[Up There Cazaly]]'', by [[Mike Brady (musician)|Mike Brady]]. Brady followed the hit up with ''[[One Day in September (song)|One Day in September]]'' in 1987. Both are frequently used in Grand Final celebrations.

In a 1988 episode of the Canadian teenage [[soap opera]] [[Degrassi Junior High]], a character [[Derek Wheeler]] can be seen wearing a [[Footscray Bulldogs]] (VFL) Aussie Rules supporter jumper. The sport also makes a cameo appearance on the American sci-fi series '[[Dark Angel (TV series)|Dark Angel]]' titled 'Flushed' (Season One, Episode Four) first screened in 2000. Set in the year 2019 in a United States when the country is barely more than a [[Third World]] nation, the episode shows characters watching Australian rules on a television set (a suggestion by the program's creators that imported sports would eventually increase in popularity and American sports would have declined).

In the 1985 film ''[[The Hit]]'' the assassin, Braddock ([[John Hurt]]) enters a Madrid apartment expecting to find his target, the grass Willie Parker ([[Terrence Stamp]]) but instead finds Harry ([[Bill Hunter (actor)|Bill Hunter]]), an Australian minding Willie Parker's residence. Harry is intoxicated and watching Australian football on the television; the vision shown is from the [[1983 VFL season|1983 Grand Final]] at the MCG (Hawthorn vs Essendon); however the accompanying audio ([[Peter Landy]] and [[Lou Richards]] commentating) is from the Elimination Final three weeks earlier (Essendon vs Carlton) at VFL Park, Waverley.

==Australian Football Hall of Fame==
:''Main article: [[Australian Football Hall of Fame]].''

For the centenary of the VFL/AFL in 1996, the Australian Football Hall of Fame was established. That year 136 identities were inducted, including 100 players, 10 coaches, 10 umpires, 10 administrators and 6 media representatives.

The selections have caused some controversy, partly because of the predominance of VFL players at the expense of those who played in other leagues, in the years before there was a national competition.

The elite ''Legend'' status was bestowed on 12 members of the Hall of Fame in 1996: [[Ron Barassi]], [[Haydn Bunton Senior]], [[Roy Cazaly]], [[John Coleman (Australian footballer)|John Coleman]], [[Jack Dyer]], [[Polly Farmer]], [[Leigh Matthews]], [[John Nicholls (footballer)|John Nicholls]], [[Bob Pratt]], [[Dick Reynolds]], [[Bob Skilton]] and [[Ted Whitten]] (see above list for further details).

The following nine members have been promoted to the status of "Legend" since 1996: [[Ian Stewart (Australian rules footballer)|Ian Stewart]] (1997), [[Gordon Coventry]] (1998), [[Peter Hudson]] (1999), [[Kevin Bartlett (Aussie Rules footballer)|Kevin Bartlett]] (2000), [[Barrie Robran]] (2001), [[Bill Hutchison (footballer)|Bill Hutchison]] (2003), [[Jock McHale]] (2005), [[Darrel Baldock]] (2006) and [[Norm Smith]] (2007).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
{{portal|Australian rules football}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*[[Australian Football League]]
*[[Laws of Australian football]]
*[[Australian rules football in Australia]]
*[[Australian football around the world]]
*[[Australian rules football attendance records]]
*[[Australian rules football - Early years in Victoria]]
*[[Australian rules football positions]]
*[[Countries playing Australian rules football]]
*[[Australian Sports Commission]]
*[[Anti-Football League]]
*[[:Category:Australian rules footballers|Wikipedia listing of Australian rules football players]]
*[[:Category:Australian rules coaches|Wikipedia listing of Australian rules football coaches]]

{{col-2}}
* [[Australian Football International Cup]]
* [[Aussie Rules International]] (ARI)
* [[Best and Fairest|Best and Fairest Awards]]
* [[List of Australian rules football computer games]]
* [[Kick-to-kick]]
* [[Marn Grook]]
* [[Women's Footy]]
* [[Women's Australian rules football]]
* [[Rec Footy]]
* [[Metro Footy]]
* [[Masters Australian Football]]
* [[List of Australian rules football clubs]]
{{col-end}}

==External links==
* '''[http://afl.com.au/Portals/0/afl_docs/2007_LAWS_OF_THE_GAME.pdf Laws of Australian Football 2007]'''
* [http://mm.afl.com.au/afl_archive/cp2/c2/webi/article/278694ar.pdf Australian Football explained in 17 languages] - a publication from [http://www.afl.com.au AFL.com.au]
{{commons|Category:Australian rules football|Australian rules football}}

===Official sites===
* [http://www.afl.com.au/ Official AFL site]
* [http://www.aussierulesinternational.com/ Aussie Rules International]
* [http://www.ausport.gov.au/ Australian Sports Commission website]
* [http://www.ais.org.au/austrules/index.asp Australian Institute of Sport AFL website]
* [http://www.iafc.com.au/ Official International Australian Football Council site]
* [http://www.maf.asn.au/ Masters - Australian Football for the over 30s]

===Video===
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hqosNvv5E Promo]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA4gmMvye5M Footy explained]

===History-related sites===
* [http://www.footypedia.com/ Footypedia] - Covers local footy history
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/ Full Points Footy] - comprehensive history site

{{Australian rules football in Australia}}
{{Aussie Rules Playing Nations links}}
{{Team Sport}}

[[Category:Australian culture]]
[[Category:Australian rules football| ]]
[[Category:Ball games]]
[[Category:Team sports]]

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