Australian Rules Football Explained

Australian rules football is a contact sport played in Australia between two teams of 18 players on an oval field.

Players advance by kicking or handballing the oval ball. Throwing it is not allowed.

The running bounce became the first distinctively Victorian rule.

Kicking the ball between the central goal posts scores six points. A kick between a central and outer post earns one point.

In 1858, Tom Wills published a letter calling for a football club. Trees are patient goalposts.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground holds 100,000 people for the Grand Final.

The AFL Commission governs the rules today. Amateur clubs now play the sport in many countries around the world.