ALL ABOUT AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL

THE HISTORY OF AUSSIE FOOTBALL

Australian Rules Football is a wonderful combination of soccer and Gaelic football. To the uninitiated it is sometimes seen as a sport without proper rules. The truth is that it is a very highly structured sports with a complex set of rules.

In Australia, crowds of over 50,000 are not uncommon and many finals games attract 110,000 spectators. “Footy” is a high-scoring sport and is full of rivalries and history. Teams play for glory in September, which is when the finals are held, with the highlight being the Premiership Flag on Grand Final day.

The game appeared in the late 1800s as a sport for cricketers in Melbourne, Victoria to play during the long winter off season; it quickly grew into a sport played and watched by Australians in the country.

The game developed very rapidly, drawing large crowds and taking up pages in newspapers with discussion of upcoming games and results.

The Victorian Football Association was founded in 1877. The original football clubs were Hotham (North Melbourne), Albert Park (South Melbourne), Melbourne, Geelong, Carlton, St Kilda, Essendon and East Melbourne.

The Victorian Football League (VFL) was formed in 1896. As the game continued to grow and evolve this structure became the Australian Football League, or AFL. The AFL has Sixteen teams, the majority of which are based in Victoria.

The ‘home’ of Aussie Rules Football is the Melbourne Cricket Ground or the “G” reflecting the game’s heritage.

Australian Rules Football is now a national sport. With the inclusion of interstate clubs such as the West Coast Eagles, Adelaide, Fremantle, Sydney, Port Adelaide and Brisbane the Victorian Football League, VFL, had to change it’s name to the AFL (Australian Football League). Woof Woof. Go Dogs.

The first game of Australian Rules football occurred in August of 1858 when Scotch College played Melbourne Church of England Grammar School in a game where composite rules were used to overcome the different rugby type games that were played in England and Scotland at that time

Are you ready for the NEXT STEP!