Australian rules football

Lore & Background

Wills had played a nascent form of rugby football at Rugby School in England. Smith at the Parade Hotel, aiming to create a simple code suited to hard playing surfaces and to eliminate rough aspects like hacking. The rules omitted any offside law.

Reader's Guide

Australian rules football has the highest spectator attendance of all sports in Australia, and the Australian Football League (AFL) is the nation's wealthiest sporting body. The sport is played at amateur level in many countries and in several variations. Its rules are governed by the AFL Commission with advice from the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee. The game features frequent physical contests, spectacular marking, fast movement, and high scoring. Players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball, with primary methods being kicking, handballing, and running with the ball. Throwing is not allowed, and players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground. A distinctive feature is the mark, where players who catch the ball from a kick under specific conditions are awarded unimpeded possession.

Did You Know?

• Players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground; throwing is not allowed.