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Australian Rules Football for Beginners
Australian Rules Football is unlike any sport in North America. It’s not football, it’s not basketball, it’s not soccer, but it does have aspects of all three. The league will start again on June 11th with more details on how the season will resume in the coming days. Here is “Australian Rules Football for Beginners”
Australian Rules Football for Beginners: The Basics
Aussie Rules is played on a large oval field (measuring 185 meters by 155 meters) with goals at either end. The object of the game is to move the rugby style ball, either by running and dribbling, hand ball, or kicking. Running and dribbling isn’t like Basketball. You only need to dribble once every 16 yards. A hand ball is a pass forward in the same motion as an underhand volleyball serve. Kicking is a like a punt in football that you direct to one of your own players. The goal is a series of four posts and the main objective is to kick the ball through the centre two posts. Kicking the ball through the centre posts is called a goal and like a touch down, is worth six points. Hitting the posts or getting the ball through the outer posts is called a behind and is only worth one point. A behind will also happen if an opponent tries to block the ball, makes contact with the ball but the ball still goes through the posts. Of course the objective is to score more points through goals and behinds, than your opponent.
Length of the game and positions
The game consists of four quarters which are 20 minutes in length. Like soccer, additional time is added onto the end of each quarter for injuries and other infractions. Similar to soccer, the positions are comprised of defense, midfield and forwards however there are eighteen players on the field per team with four players on the bench. Throughout the game you may substitute in, or interchange, three players only with an additional interchange allowed only in case of injury. Formation wise, the standard set up is six defenders, three in midfield and nine forward players. The breakdown looks as follows;
– Defense or Backs consist of two back pocket players and a full back which are the last line of defense. In front of them are two half-back flank players and a centre half-back.
– Midfield or centre line players are a left and right wing as well as a centre position
– Forwards from furthest back to forward configure as follows;
– Half-forward flank, centre half-flank, half-forward flank
– Forward pocket, full forward, forward pocket
– Ruckman, ruck rover, ruckman
The flow of positions and more information can be found here if you wish: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football_positions
Penalties
All penalties result in a kick at your opponents 50 metre circle for a chance at a goal. The penalties are as follows;
• Arguing or abuse of an umpire
• Tacking or impending a player who has received a mark
• If a player that has received a mark and decides to run instead of kicking the ball
• If a player has been tackled or needs to turn the ball over to the other team and does not do so in a timely fashion
• Any type of deliberate delay of game action.
• Any unnecessary roughness to an opponent
• Entering the protected zone (a five metre rectangular shape in front of goal. Forwards can enter, defenders cannot.
• If the attacking team commits an infraction against the defensive team during a mark, a penalty is called and the defensive team receives a penalty kick
• Any infringement that occurs when not flowing the rules regarding an interchange.
Flow of the game
The game stars off with a ball down, where the umpire (referee) bounces the ball on the ground and two opponents try to gain control of the ball, like a tip off in basketball. The Ball down will also occur after every goal or behind. Like football, players can be tackled below the shoulders. If a player with the ball is tackled, the one who tackled gets the ball for a free kick. The opponent can also intercept the ball as well. If a ball is kicked over fifteen metres and is caught by either team this is called a mark. If a mark happens in the middle of the field, you have ten seconds to make an uncontested kick before defenders can come and attempt to tackle you. If a mark happens within the fifty meter mark of your opponent’s goal, you are allowed thirty seconds for the kick. You are allowed to jump on an opponent back to assist you in catching a mark. If a mark happens in your opponents 50 metre circle and time expires, the kick will still take place. Another way of defending is to push your opponent out of bounds. If this happens, the umpire will throw the ball back in play, with his back to the field, like a reverse throw in in soccer. The team that catches the throw in has possession and the game continues. Unlike football the stoppages are fast and the game flows very quickly. Big hits and tackles happen regularly as do spectacular catches and marks. There is not the same slow build up as soccer as everything seems to happen at full pace. I definitely suggest finding a match and checking it out.
The AFL league and Teams
Now that we know the rules, let’s get to the part that can make us the money. The AFL consists of eighteen teams. Normal season the teams play twenty two games, however with the Corona virus, this season has been shortened to seventeen games. Because of the fast pace and rapid scoring, the spreads are much larger then North American spreads but don’t be overly worried about that. They rank the teams on a ladder where you are ranked by points. You receive four points for a win and zero for a loss. Here are the teams in ascending order in terms of predicted strength for the 2020 season according to fox sports Nick Dal Santo:
18-Gold Coast Suns
17- Adelaide Crows
16- Freemantle Dockers
15-Sydney Swans
14- Carlton Blues
13- Melbourne Demons
12- North Malbourne
11- Hawthorne Hawks
10- St. Kilda Saints
9-Essidon Bombers
8- Port Adelaide
7- Geelong Cats
6- Collingwood Magpies
5- Greater Western Sydney Giants
4- Western Bulldogs
3- Brisbane Lions
2- West Cost Eagles
1-Richmond Tigres
The finals are comprised of the top eight teams. The Grand final is between the late two remaining teams of the finals and is played at a ninety thousand capacity stadium at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The trophy is referred to as the AFL Premiership Cup. In The Current title holders are the Richmond Tigers. The Carlton Blues have won the most with 16.
Hope you enjoyed the rundown on the AFL. Picks will be coming the day before games. Let’s have some fun and kick some betting line balls?
Here is a video during some game play, that further explains the game.
References:
General rules:
https://www.rulesofsport.com/sports/aussie-rules-football.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadspin.com/the-complete-guide-to-understanding-australian-rules-fo-1795130938/amp
Positions:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football_positions
Penalties:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sydneymovingguide.com/quick-guide-australian-rules-football/amp/
We hope this Australian Rules Football for Beginners helps you place better bets and create better lineups! For further information please feel free to contact me on Twitter @PRBpuckpicks, or on the WinDaily Discord chat @ZakPRB. Thank you.
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