Australian Rules Football
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Australian rules football is a sport created in Australia. The main league of Australian rules football is the Australian Football League.
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[edit] History
In 1857, Tom Wills created Australian Football, for cricketers to keep in shape during the off-season. The game was soon made more clearly (Rules for example). Wills had help from other people like his cousin H.C.A. Harrison , W.J. Hammersly and J.B. Thompson . The Melbourne Football Club was put together on August 7, 1858. The first game was played with Scotch College playing Melbourne Grammar School.
The Victorian Football League ( VFL ) was created in 1896. The next year, the first official games were played. The first clubs were Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda, and South Melbourne . In 1908, Richmond and University joined. University left after the 1914 season. In 1925, Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs ), Hawthorn and North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos ) joined the VFL .
Years later other teams joined in:
- West Coast Eagles (joined in 1987),
- Brisbane Bears [(1987) after 1996 Fitzroy joined the Brisbane Bears and the are now know as the Brisbane Lions )
- Adelaide Crows (1991)
- Fremantle Dockers (1995)
- Port Adelaide (1997).
In 1989 the Victorian Football League was changed to the Australian Football League ( AFL ).
[edit] What is Football?
Football is the most popular sport in Australia . There are 16 teams in the AFL . Each team has 22 players. Each team has 18 players on the field and 4 on the bench. The idea of the game is to kick more goals than the other team. At each end of the field are 4 poles. Players score points by kicking the ball between the poles. A goal is a kick between the centermost posts. It is worth 6 points. A Behind (worth 1 point) is a kick that goes between the outer posts. Players can bounce the ball and hit it with their hand (handball it) to other players .
[edit] Present Teams
Club | City, State | Home Ground |
Adelaide Crows | Adelaide , South Australia | AAMI Stadium |
Brisbane Lions | Brisbane , Queensland | Brisbane Cricket Ground (The 'Gabbaâ' ) |
Carlton Blues | Carlton , Victoria | Telstra Dome/ Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ) |
Collingwood Magpies | Collingwood , Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ) |
Essendon Bombers | Essendon , Victoria | Telstra Dome |
Fremantle Dockers | Fremantle , Western Australia | Subiaco Oval |
Geelong Cats | Geelong , Victoria | Skilled Stadium |
Hawthorn Hawks | Hawthorn , Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ) |
Kangaroos | North Melbourne , Victoria | Telstra Dome |
Melbourne Demons | Melbourne , Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ) |
Port Adelaide Power | Port Adelaide , South Australia | AAMI Stadium |
Richmond Tigers | Richmond , Victoria | Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ) |
St Kilda Saints | St Kilda , Victoria | Telstra Dome |
Sydney Swans | Sydney , New South Wales | Sydney Cricket Ground ( SCG)/ Telstra Stadium |
West Coast Eagles | Perth , Western Australia | Subiaco Oval |
Western Bulldogs | Footscray , Victoria | Telstra Dome |
[edit] Individual Major Awards
- Brownlow Medal (best and fairest )
- Coleman Medal (most goals )
- AFL Rising Star (best young player)
- Leigh Matthews Trophy (most valuable player voted by the players )
- Norm Smith Medal (best player in Grand Final)
- Michael Tuck (best player in pre -season Grand Final)
- AFL Mark of the Year (award for best mark in season)
- AFL Goal of the Year (award for best goal in season)
- All Australian Team (team made up of the best players from all clubs )
- Club Best and Fairest Awards (best player in a club)