|
Australian
Rules Football
aka The Footy
 By
Richard Moore
A
visit to Victoria would not be complete without going to see an
awesome game of Australian Rules Football.
Fast,
tough and extremely skilful, Aussie Rules - or The Footy - has to
be seen to be believed.
It
is played on a giant oval at least 150 metres long by 135 metres
wide and at each end there are four goalposts.
If
the ball is kicked between the two centre posts it is called a goal
and is worth six points. If it hits either of those posts it is
known as a behind, or a point, and is worth one point. If the ball
goes between an outside post and its nearby centre post then it
is a behind, if it hits the outside post on the full it is a free
kick to the opposition.
Each
side has 18 men with an exchange bench of four extra men to bring
on when the coach decides a change is needed.
The
Australian Football League, or AFL, is played between clubs - some
of which can attract 50,000 fans or more to their games.
The
Victorian teams are Geelong
(nicknamed the Cats), Melbourne (Demons), St Kilda (Saints), North
Melbourne (Kangaroos), Western Bulldogs (Dogs), Essendon (Bombers),
Carlton (Blues), Hawthorn (Hawks) and Collingwood (Magpies).
Teams
from other states are Sydney (Swans), Greater Western Sydney (Giants),
Adelaide (Crows), Port Adelaide (Port Power), West Coast (Eagles),
Fremantle (Dockers), Brisbane (Lions), and Gold Coast (Suns).
As
an exceptionally biased Cats supporter the team in the blue-and-white
hoops is the only one to follow having strung together one of the
greatest football eras in history with three premiership titles
(or flags) in five years.
Football,
particularly in Melbourne, is very tribal and the supporters very
one-eyed. However, the games are very safe to attend as the rivalries
very rarely end in problems or fights. Attending a game is a family
event attended by people from all walks of life.
In
Melbourne the two major stadiums are close to the inner city area.
They are the smaller Etihad Stadium in the Docklands area and the
mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground at the east end of the Central Business
District. The MCG, or the Gee, can seat 100,000 people and is filled
for the AFL Grand Final.
Public
transport makes it easy to get to both grounds.
Go
along and enjoy a game of footy - you will be glad you did.
|
