All things Aussie Rules...

Couldn't find a dedicated thread for AFL, so i thought i'd start one with this story today...

A celebration of a long-awaited and rather spectacular goal in the Northern Territory - ABC News


This is the AFLW obviously, who have to play before or after the men's season (there are just so many grounds to play on).
The blue and gold team are the Wanderers Football Club - My Second club side. The Eagles.


USAFL has the DC Eagles - (Taken from the West Coast Eagles)

DC Eagles


West Coast Eagles

 

I’ve heard some Americans ask what the black band on players arms in some games are…Some say it’s to look cool??
No a team will wear a black tape arm band if someone affiliated to the club dies.

 

Channel Four here used to show Aussie rules a lot of years ago. Could never get into it.

 

Surprising Gordon…it has its roots in Gaelic football & Marngrook (ancient Aboriginal football played with a wombat skin ball) - I watch ‘Americans watching AFL for the first time) - And quickly understand what people think and don’t understand) They then watch AFL explained and then they want to watch a game…and then, without exception, they get hooked and it becomes (usually takes a few weeks) their favourite game ‘Why have I not seen this before!’ Is a common response. Another common response is that the world should play this game…
About 32 days before the 2024 season starts this year, my team the Collingwood Magpies will start the year Premiers, having won last year’s Grand Final.

NFL and NHL fan tries to understand Aussie Rules…


This guy took a while to choose a team, wanting to know the fans and personality of each team first…His final decision was the Brisbane Lions - And chose Collingwood as his second team because American Mason Cox plays for the Pies.
So, in his first year watching AFL who made the Final? Brisbane and Collingwood. He was stoked!
The great game started in 1858 - predating most games that observers say AFL has borrowed from…Nope.

 

Gordon this bloke is Scottish…He got hooked by AFL watching AFL biggest hits…Being a Scot he was visibly excited by the violence, and within a couple of months it was his favourite game.

 

Conan travels to Australia and visits the Sydney Swans at training…Funny man.

 

Think it was the antics of the two linesmen (dressed all in white, like bakers) on the goal line every time someone scored that put a lot of people here off the game. Same channel used to show Kabaddi (?) games from India, and that died a death too.
Never mind, Six Nations rugby has just started, and the Superbowl is this Sunday.

 

I think the Scots would excel in Aussie Rules…We have a bunch of Irish players in the leagues

Interesting comment…Aussie Rules footy was invented to keep cricketers fit during the off season (winter)…That is why the Grand Final is played at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) Also known as ‘The G’.
This is a cricket umpire


so not surprising the goal umpires in Aussie Rules looked like this…Both wearing the ‘lab coat’.



This back in the day when the code was called VFL Victorian Football League…Every state and Territory had one but we all followed the VFL too. In the 90s it became a truly Australian competition and became the AFL.
This is a modern goal umpire…

And this

 

Another thing that confuses first time watchers is the goal umpires pulling out a flag or two and waving them about after a score…This is not only tradition going back when a field,could be a as long as a kilometre…
Both goal umpires must write down the score and then they are both compared after the game for accuracy. One umpire can’t see what the score was (a goal or point) way down the other end…So the goal umpire pulls out one flag for a point and two flags for a goal, then they both write it into a little book. The modern field is still easily big enough for the umpire down the other end to not see what happened so the flag waving remains.
A goal…even a bit of semaphore for the punters.

 

VFL goal umpire back in the day…Same as Cricket umpire…Not a coincidence

 

Goal umpire antics?
https://fb.watch/q0U59rQvRd/

 

Cricket umpire

 

That's close- except I remember two of them standing on the goal line and simultaneously pointing down the pitch to indicate a goal, like the Blues Brothers doing 'Stand by your man' lol.

 

And I bet you Scottish mob pulled the piss mercilessly…Bit of drama what’s wrong with that. I genuinely find it interesting that something like the goal umpires put an entire country off a blood sport like AFL…Especially back then.

 

I dare say it has its fans, but can honestly say I've never met any. Even in the local Aussie-owned Aussie theme bar it was never mentioned, never mind shown on the telly.
Didn't actually think about that before.

 

AFL is steeped in history…and protected fiercely by the fans who have big say about what happens to their teams. (Henry Ford wasn’t even born when Aussie rules began being played in leagues)

‘Here we actually play football’…I watched a Pom last night in an interview say in NFL only one person is allowed to kick the fucking thing…it should be called handball - ‘There’s already a sport called handball’ - Well they should call it throw ball then…Hard to argue with him.

And for the record, Throwing in AFL is a long standing ‘pillar’ No No…Will result in an immediate free kick to the opposition.