Aussie Rules Football 101
Background
- Aussie Rules Fooball has been played in Australia since the mid 1800s
- The Australian Football League (AFL) is Australia's equivalent to the NFL
- Currently two Americans play in the AFL or AFLW, Mason Cox TX & Dani Marshall AZ
- USA have National teams that play against other countries, The Revolution and the Freedom
- America has it's own governing body, the USAFL
- The game is basically called just "Footy"
- Typically two teams of 14, 16 or 18 players take the field at once
- The ball is bigger than an American Football but smaller than a Rugby ball and have been made by Sherrin in Australia for 140 years
- A goal is to score by kicking the ball through 4 main posts at each end of a large field
- Between the middle posts you score 6 points, a goal
- Between the other posts and middle posts you score one point, a behind
- The team with the most points at the end of 4 quarters wins
- Opposing players try and tackle the player with the ball to dispossess them
- Players can only kick the ball or handball the ball with a clenched fist, called a handpass
- You can kick and handball the ball in any direction and there are no offside rules
- If you run with the ball you must bounce to the ground every 15 yards
- If you catch the ball that has been kicked 15 yards it is called a "Mark"
- When a player takes a mark he can stop and go back from the spot and take a unopposed kick or he can play on immediately
- The Rome Redbacks were officially established in 2018 by local resident and expat Australian Wayne Kraska. Kraska now organizes the team as well as being the head coach
- Our purpose is to introduce Aussie Rules Football games and practices to local Rome and Floyd County residents
- The Redbacks organize local family friendly games as well as travel games and play other teams in the Sth East of the USA
- The club is named after the infamous Redback Spider, one of Australia's most venomous spiders. The Redback is identified by it's distinctive red mark on it's back
- Join us for a kick at anytime, we are inclusive with activites for fun, fitness and families.