AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL IS FAST & SPECTACULAR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 87, 18 January 1950, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL IS FAST & SPECTACULAR

In the last football season Bay of Plenty rugby followers had the opportunity of seeing the visiting Australian rugby team in action. This team showed itself to be a proficient combination in the rugby game and beside defeating the Bay also won most of its other matches against some of the top flight teams in New Zealand. But rugby is only played in a small way in Australia, i the main game is Australian rules football, a game peculiar to that country. Australian football, the most important winter game in the of Victoria, South Australia, 'Western Australia and Tasmania, is a fast, exciting game which gives (nothing away in skill or toughness to any other sport in the world. Home of the sport is Melbourne, capital of Victoria, where, of a total population of 1} million, an average of 130,00,0 people attend the big games each Saturday. The first form of the game was introduced 90 years ago by an English Rugby player, H. C. A. Harrison. I

Spectacular Game It is a hard, fast game for men in excellent physical condition. The, most spectacular feature is the leaping for the ball, or high marking, which takes judgment and courage, as hard knocks are plentiful in the clash of players. Long, driving kicks,- either dropkicks or punts, open up the Australian game, which is kept fast by most of the 36 players holding position and not crowding the play. The playing field is oval-shaped and of no regular size. Length from goal to goal is from 150 yards to 200 yards, and width from 100 to 170 yards. The ball is an ellipsoid in shape, and is slightly heavier than the Rugby and American footballs, and more rounded at the ends.

~ Of the 18 players in a team, 15 are “placed” men, and have fixed bases from which they should not move far. The other three are the two “followers” and a “rover,” who follow play wherever it goes. A match has four quarters of 25 minutes .each teams changing ends at the end of each quarter. At halftime players retire to the dressing .rooms for a 15-minute break. Control. Umpires ,

Control of the game is in the hands of the field of' central umpire, who uses a shrill • metal whistle. There are two goal umpires, one for each goal, and two boundary umpires, one for each side of the field. Each boundary umpire returns thd" ball to play by standing on the boundary line with his 'back to the centre of the field and throwing'the ball over his head.

There are two timekeepers at the scoreboard to keep the time of each quarter, the end o£ which is in^ dicated by the ringing of a bell. When both teams first run in a line on to the field, the captains toss for choice of goal end. The direction of the wind is usually the decisive factor. -

As soon as the players are in position, the field umpire whistles and bounces the ball in a white-painted ring in the centre' of the ground. The followers, or “ruck”—big, heavy men—then spring into action. Each tries to knock the ball to his' waiting rover, whose job it is to - direct the ball towards the home goal.

It is unusual for the ball to remain in play more than ten minutes before a score : s, registered.

A goal (6 points) is scored when the ball passes between the two tall centre (goal) posts, and a behind (1 point) when it goes between either of the outside posts and the nearest goal post, or hits a goal post or is handled through the goal. The four posts are feach seven yards apart. 1 Method Of Scoring N

Scores are printed like this: Richmond 10, 17: 77. This means 10 goals at six points each plus 17 behinds, totalling 77 points. In the course of play, the ball can be kicked, knocked, or hand-balled in any direction, but if it is thrown the umpire’s wh.stle goes and the opposing player is given a free kick. A player must not charge, trip, strike or kick an opponent. If any of these offences should be committed deliberately, the offender’s name is taken by the umpire, , and he must appear before a tribunal the following week. If found guilty of the charge laid, he may suffer disqualifications for a number of games fixed by the tribunal.

In Australian football no elaborate body-protection is used, only a shin-guard inside each sock in some cases.