Australian Football League, or Aussie Rules as it's known to some, or just plain 'footy' as it's apparently known to every Australian in the country. They are absolutely mad for it here, the newspapers sports pages have a page or two dedicated to cricket when the season is going but have about sixteen pages for the footy when it starts and the TV stations are constantly on about it. Most of the teams playing are from suburbs of Melbourne and it was only played in the state of Victoria up until 1990 when teams from Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth joined in. Games are regularly held at the MCG with crowds in excess of 80,000 the norm. I'm going to my first league game on Sunday between the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast. The 'dogs are from Footscray in west Melbourne and it's the nearest team to where I now live so they have been nominated as my local side. It's all a bit mental really.
The rules are quite simple really. You get six points if you boot the ball into the middle goals, one point if it goes either side. It's 80 minutes long and is played over four quarters of 20 minutes each. Players can be replaced while the game carries on but they can then come back on. From what I've seen so far it seems legal to knock ten kinds of shite out of the opposition and not get penalised
I got right into this around the turn of the Millennium when my mate went to Australia and brought back AFL 99 on the Playstation. Essendon Bombers became my team because I liked their black tops with red sash and I played the game to death. Not followed it for a good 15 years or so now, but when I do stumble across it (on Eurosport or Freesports) I can't drag myself away from it.
I like AFL but don't follow it religiously. My cousin took me to a West Coast Eagles game against some team from Melbourne. Eagles destroyed them and afterwards he then apologised that it was so one-sided. Aussies seem to love close games which confused me. I would be perfectly happy to see my teams win 4-0 every week
I made the mistake this afternoon of going to the shopping centre next door to Southern Cross railway station, which just happens to be a stone’s throw from the Marvel stadium. Thousands of Carlton and Sydney swans fans leaving the ground and hundreds of Collingwood fans getting connecting trains to Flinders street and then the MCG for their game later on. The place was mobbed but I looked on in a kind of awe that there was not one police officer around, teams from three different clubs all either making their way home or going to the game. That just would not happen in the UK
I used to watch this years ago seem to remember a team called the hawthorns...……...loads of fighting was ace.
Watched my first game on Sunday. The Bulldogs lost by five points to what looked like (through my untrained eye) a very ordinary Gold Coast side. Lost it in the first quarter when the dogs came out of the traps too slow and were down 40-16 at the break. Great atmosphere though so I will return. They’ve got Collingwood on Friday at the MCG which should be busy
Just watched game number four and easily the best one so far, even though the dogs lost by 25. Down by 32 points during the third quarter, we scored 36 unanswered points to lead by four but ran out of steam to lose 115-90. It's a pretty cool game to be honest..
You must be perfectly happy at the moment then. Can’t believe we’ve got yous first game. That’ll be 4-0
The Western Bulldogs, who have been flirting outside the top eight all season, blew out the Bombers and Great Western Sydney in consecutive weeks to go into play off contention with one game left to play. And that game is at home against Adelaide next week. Unfortunately the game is being played in Ballarat so I doubt that I’ll go which is a shame as I’ve enjoyed going. Still, s win will mean our season gets extended, even if it is by one game..
Hawthorn have been shocking this season. The Bulkdogs always has the making of a good team this year as they have a great group of young players, but their kicking in front of goal was woeful up until a few weeks ago. Now, anything can happen..
Well they won it 3 years ago after finishing 8th in the league which is almost pretty unheard of. Dockers sacked Ross Lyon earlier this week. Shame that as he seems a nice guy but Freo have been shit for a few years now. I hope the Eagles can now make it back to back Premierships. Lots to be decided over the weekend though in regard to who finishes where and gets home finals
@Delilah first time I recall seeing you around (despite you being a mod ) Where abouts in Perth do you live? I used to live with family in Tapping and then rented a room in Westminster (near Sterling) abit later on. I do miss Perth although I found it boring as hell when I was younger
I tend to stick to the forum depending on what league we are in but started getting adventurous and roaming all the forums!! I live South of the River in the Rockingham area. How long did you live here for? Any plans to return?
I only went Rockingham once to do a Whale watching trip. I did two 10 month stints there, but worked FIFO so spent most of my time in other parts of the country. I can't see myself returning to work again any time soon but might try and visit my family there at some point in the future.
Doggies won the third game in a row by scoring over 110 points and finish 7th in the ladder after winning 8 of the last 11. GWS up next in the elimination round, they just happen to be one of the teams we scored over 110 points against.. Heedy day’s..
New season starts on Thursday with the traditional opener between Richmond (the reigning champions) and Carlton (who are shit). The really big news though is that there will be 50,000 fans allowed into the MCG and there's talk of upping that to 75,000.
