Aussie Rules: A crazy game built on passion

It was with interest that I was invited to an Aussie Rules game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, known to us as the MCG and to the locals simply as the G (said with an Aussie twang). What I knew about Aussie Rules was that it’s sort of a combination of netball, rugby and soccer, with that being pretty much it. After grabbing a beer (of which there are many different types) we went to the G with my curiosity piqued. A cricket field? Eh?

What met my eyes was, simply, awesome. The MCG is similar to the Calabash/Soccer City/FNB Stadium (henceforth referred to in my posts as the Calabash) in that it is rounded all the way with the stands being unison in design. And, it was packed — 95 000 people were inside, with the majority supporting the Collingwood team, known as the Magpies. I was supporting Geelong, aka the Cats, since the guy I knew the best was backing them. It turned out to be a very poor choice as they got hammered by 41 points which in “footy” terms is equivalent to a 50-point hiding in rugby or a 9-wicket victory in cricket.

Further information was accrued: the game is divided into four quarters of 30 minutes each. There are 16 teams in the league with each side playing 22 games, which might include play-offs. A goal is worth six points, which is when the ball is kicked through the set of uprights on one end of the field. The ball, shaped like a rugby ball, but a little bit smaller, can be passed or “handed off”, kicked or run up the field. When the ball is kicked, if a player catches it, it is almost equivalent to a mark in netball. If the ball is kicked into the 50-metre circle, which is around both sets of goal posts, the catching attacking player is allowed a run up and an opportunity to kick for goal. If he gets the ball through the uprights it is a goal, worth six points and if he misses but gets through the polls next to the taller set on either side, it is one point. Goals can also be scored in open play if the player chooses not to take a mark.

There are also 22 players a team (roughly divided into midfielders, attackers and defenders) so it is quite chaotic at times but highly entertaining. While I will never switch from union, which doesn’t get any mention in the news in Melbourne (go Sanzar for picking Melbourne for the Super 15!) it is a highly entertaining game and the passion that the fans bring to the affair is of an extremely high standard, and they love to drink … most of them anyway. They love their footy down here, and you can see why since the game has been played down under since the early 1900s. Cricket season is approaching and the Ashes and I might just back the Aussies on this one. The English are always better off not winning …