Uniquely Australian Rules Football

[Clint Bizkit]

With all this talk about the current state of the game, in particular the number of stoppages and low scoring games, I got thinking about what make Australian Rules football unique.

For me, above all else it is the fact that there is not an offside rule or more specifically, there is no restriction on players forward of the ball.

Most other football codes have strong restrictions in some form or another, but Australian Rules football is played in big grounds and the rules allow you to use this space.

Sadly, with all players following the ball around the ground these days in a giant swarm we rarely see teams utilise this unique attribute of our great game. Contrary to what Alastair Clarkson said last Monday, I have no doubt the game is more congested because there are simply more players following the ball around and in particular less players forward of the ball providing targets.

Therefore, if you had to pick just one attribute about Australian Rules football that makes it unique (therefore why you love it above other sports), what would it be?

 

[Suntory Boss Coffee]

The mark is unique

 

[Engimal]

I've always felt like free kicks are more a part of our game than any other.

 

[quotemokc]

Players not starting play on opposite sides of the field

 

[Play by Numbers]

That the game can be both lateral, or multi directional and a heavy contact sport.

Sports like soccer, which also use a ball are multi directional and contact to a degree, but not with the same free for all abandon.

 

[Borderline]

I've always felt like free kicks are more a part of our game than any other.

I think it's the opposite actually. I don't follow the rugby codes much, but I see on the news and stuff a lot about how penalties influence the match. And in soccer any free kick within 30m of goal presents a serious chance of scoring, not to mention penalties.

 

[blue harvest]

The fact that players can go anywhere on the field and do pretty much anything they want. Means games can pan out in a million different ways, unlike most sports where it's just the same stuff repeated for hours on end every game every week.

 

[Fletched]

I've always felt like free kicks are more a part of our game than any other.

I feel that through a match they do even out though. Just sometimes one bad call at the end of a game can decide it but that can't really be avoided

 

[Sultan]

The mark is unique

Netball has a similar premise.

 

[Engimal]

I feel that through a match they do even out though. Just sometimes one bad call at the end of a game can decide it but that can't really be avoided

I think it's the opposite actually. I don't follow the rugby codes much, but I see on the news and stuff a lot about how penalties influence the match. And in soccer any free kick within 30m of goal presents a serious chance of scoring, not to mention penalties.

Not so much their importance, but rather their frequency. Free kicks are expected.

 

[Admiral Byng]

The mark is unique

The earliest version of the rules of the Football Association in England, players were allowed use their hands to attempt a fair catch of the ball. It was called a mark. Other codes still use some variety of the fair catch rule.

 

[Supercoach Bargain]

No position restrictions, role restrictions and you can get hit from any direction.

 

[master bate]

The behind. Or the point as it's often called these days. Many sports (thinking NFL, Rugby) have conversions, penalties etc. But footy is pretty unique for a football code and most other games in giving an extra score for missing the intended target.

In trying to think of why we have goals and behinds I think it gets back to the game being intended to score quickly more than accurately. Soccer is a game that required patience when attacking to create good chances. Rugby is a territorial battle as much as anything. In footy you don't have to hold territory and you don't have to build up well (or at least you didn't) to score. Moving the ball quickly is often more important than moving the ball precisely. Or it was until the last decade or so.

At the same time I think about when the game was invented and the first ever game being so low scoring that behinds were likely a part of separating teams in low scoring matches. So sometimes things come full circle.

 

[nameless]

A game of 20min quarters that actually last 30min.
Missing the goals is still rewarded.
The footy jumpers are pretty unique - sleeveless vests.
Having 1 state so heavily dominant with teams
Playing the final at the same venue (could be similar to Wembley stadium for a few soccer/rugby comps)
Playing on an oval ground (I suppose cricket is too, although generally it's more a circle)
Having runners deliver messages

 

[juss]

AFL is a free for all, they throw a ball up in the middle of the ground and basically anything goes.

 

[calaisking]

I've taken family members from overseas too games, they say that the amount of players on the field is unique and also the pace of the game.

 

[Aeon05]

AFL is the only sport where after a goal is scored the ball goes back to the center and possession is neutral, in soccer and basketball after a goal the opposite team gets possession.

 

[SJ]

A game of 20min quarters that actually last 30min.
Missing the goals is still rewarded.
The footy jumpers are pretty unique - sleeveless vests.
Having 1 state so heavily dominant with teams
Playing the final at the same venue (could be similar to Wembley stadium for a few soccer/rugby comps)
Playing on an oval ground (I suppose cricket is too, although generally it's more a circle)
Having runners deliver messages

They are all uniquely AFL rather than uniquely Australian football.

 

[The_Reaper]

The behind. Or the point as it's often called these days. Many sports (thinking NFL, Rugby) have conversions, penalties etc. But footy is pretty unique for a football code and most other games in giving an extra score for missing the intended target.

In trying to think of why we have goals and behinds I think it gets back to the game being intended to score quickly more than accurately. Soccer is a game that required patience when attacking to create good chances. Rugby is a territorial battle as much as anything. In footy you don't have to hold territory and you don't have to build up well (or at least you didn't) to score. Moving the ball quickly is often more important than moving the ball precisely. Or it was until the last decade or so.

At the same time I think about when the game was invented and the first ever game being so low scoring that behinds were likely a part of separating teams in low scoring matches. So sometimes things come full circle.

This is it.

From memory very early on (maybe even in the pre VFL days), behinds were recorded but were not counted when calculating the score.

Draws were more common and I guess someone decided that behinds would be a good tiebreaker

 

[Scotland]

AFL is the only sport where after a goal is scored the ball goes back to the center and possession is neutral, in soccer and basketball after a goal the opposite team gets possession.

This. Basketball is about the only other sport I can think of which starts with neutral possession, but after every score the ball goes to the other team.

Another unique aspect of Australian rules is the rushed behind. The behind is strange enough, but Gaelic has different points for kicking the ball over the bar or into the net so it's not unheard of. The fact that the ball can pass through the goals and only be worth one point if is touched by the opposition (or off hands/bodies of the attacking team) is unique, and it's certainly a quirk that teams will deliberately concede scores in order to get the ball back.

Unlimited interchange during play is pretty unique also. Imagine how strange a game of basketball would look if players were running on and off the court when they felt like it. That's how footy is these days.

 

[milhouse1]

As other have said the somewhat random nature of the game is what makes it unique (ie players can run anywhere they want, kick in any direction, dispose of the ball in different ways). But I think this also leads to its downfall- more than any other game the way AFL is played can be impacted by tactics of coaches and players.

 

[Supercoach Bargain]

In

This is it.

From memory very early on (maybe even in the pre VFL days), behinds were recorded but were not counted when calculating the score.

Draws were more common and I guess someone decided that behinds would be a good tiebreaker

in the very first games, the field was roughly rectangular. There were scores of 2-1 etc as goals were rare. The concept of scoring when the ball went "behind" the goal was sort of a tie breaker to ensue games were over in one day. As some games played until dark and resumed next week.

 

[tjpeg_44]

AFL is the only sport where after a goal is scored the ball goes back to the center and possession is neutral, in soccer and basketball after a goal the opposite team gets possession.

This. Basketball is about the only other sport I can think of which starts with neutral possession, but after every score the ball goes to the other team.

Ice Hockey too. Faceoff to start every period, after every stoppage and after every goal.

 

[SJ]

In

in the very first games, the field was roughly rectangular. There were scores of 2-1 etc as goals were rare. The concept of scoring when the ball went "behind" the goal was sort of a tie breaker to ensue games were over in one day. As some games played until dark and resumed next week.

That's not correct - at least not at the top level in Victoria.

Behinds were not counted until 1897 (the first year of the VFL) however games had not spread over a day for decades before this.

 

[DoubleBlue2]

The mark is unique

No it isn't, same rule applies in rugby union, or it used to.

The handball with an oval ball is.