OT: Australian Rules Football on ESPN2 after midnight

Submitted by formerlyanonymous on

I have no idea what's going on. The announcers don't help, even if they are speaking some form of English. Anybody else watching?

Zone Left

July 10th, 2010 at 12:55 AM ^

Damn you for getting me to turn this on FA.  It's like soccer, but the opposite.  Not too much in the way of fouls, yellow cards, or any other semblance of "rules."

Edit: Whistles keep blowing, but the players don't seem to respond.  Thoughts?

shuttleman58

July 11th, 2010 at 1:57 PM ^

The field is oval because the games are played on cricket fields. This goes back to the origins of the game where it was rumored to have been invented to keep crickets players fit in winter. As for size think of baseball played both directions and you get twice the field size. No time limit on hand passes, just that the ball must touch the ground every 15 meters if you are running with it.

RSTJ

July 10th, 2010 at 1:13 AM ^

they do a bunch of weird things.

if you see a guy running down the field, he's forced to bounce the ball every 15 yards or so.

if you kick a ball to another teammate (again, beyond 15 yards) you get the option of taking a set play (which is why everyone seems to stop constantly) or just keep going.  It's up to the receiver to decide which to do.

you get 6 points for kickingn through the middle poles, 1 point for running across between any poles or kicking through one of the sides.

BlueAggie

July 10th, 2010 at 1:45 AM ^

Yeah, I get that that's what we're watching.  I just find something incredibly funny about this compromise rules football stuff.  Basically Australia and Ireland invented a rivalry by cooking up a hybrid game of two similar sports that they are the only countries in the world that play.

MGoDC

July 10th, 2010 at 1:49 AM ^

Maybe the USA and England can compromise and we can play a hybrid of soccer and American football. All the rules of soccer are the same, except we get to have Brandon Graham in full pads run around tackling people. In fairness to the brits they can suit up that soccer hooligan from Eurotrip just to keep things interesting.

shuttleman58

July 11th, 2010 at 1:53 PM ^

It's a fast growing sport. Check out usafl.com for info if you want to play and afana.com if you are interested in watching more. The sport is physical but without pads and with more fit, athletic players, there are probably fewer injuries than in American football. In fact, it was cited as an example in a congressional debate over concussions in American football. It's not the helmets its the head on, deliberate collisions. You get far fewer of those in the Australian sport because there is no incentive to do so. (In fact, you'll probably get suspended...)

shuttleman58

July 11th, 2010 at 1:47 PM ^

Yes, in the closing minutes the particular network in Australia that produced the game doesn't believe in count down clocks, so at 5 mins to go they switch to the count up clock which is useless but supposedly increases suspense since you don't know how much time is left.

Sandler For 3

July 10th, 2010 at 11:21 AM ^

It's Australian Rules Football. It's the same league that produced a punter for the Jets (I forget his name). It's actually a lot more exciting than Rugby, at least in my opinion, and when I was in Australia it's all we played. Unfortunately I was playing with a few members of the Pitt football team, including a Tight End (try tackling him) and a punter (could make a kick from anywhere). 

Basically the way it works is you run around trying to kick it through the posts. The middle posts are worth six, the outer posts are worth one. The goofy guys that stand behind the posts give a little pistol shooting motion with their fingers when you score. The only ways you can pass are via a punch of the ball or via a kick. If you pass it via a punch you're fair game and anyone can tackle you, but if you catch it cleanly off of a kick pass (without it hitting the ground) you get a free kick and can back away from that position and step up and kick it without being attacked (much like a free kick in soccer). Now, just because you do catch it off of a kick doesn't mean that you have to take the free kick, for example if you're on a break you can keep running like it was a regular pass. If you do run at any time after getting the ball you're allowed five steps without dribbling (its more of a time thing not a steps thing0 before you have to take a dribble which is extremely hard standing still, and even harder while running full speed. After every one point score, the team that was scored on takes the ball in from their end, however for every six pointer there is a "face off" from the middle of the field which is the ref bouncing the ball nice and high into the air. 

It's actually a shit ton of fun to watch if you're there and slightly drunk, and to play if you're down to wake up sore the next morning. 

Placentasaurus

July 10th, 2010 at 1:01 PM ^

I've been watching the whole season on ESPN3. a great combination of rugby, soccer, and ultimate frisbee really. I really wish people played this here in the US, it looks like a lot of fun. the Geelong Cats are the best team out there right now,  but don't sleep on St. Kilda, they have a great fight song.

Sommy

July 11th, 2010 at 1:57 PM ^

Most of the Aussies I know think this sport is embarrassing and point out that the best athletes from Autralia suited for this type of sport are more likely to end up playing Rugby League or Rugby Union than this sport.