This video is a brief explanation of the rules of Australian Rules Football or Aussie Rules as it is commonly called. Due to the time constraints of YouTube I have only covered the major rules, however this should be enough to help you follow the game. You may need to pause the video occasionally to read the text. I have also added numerous short videos to further illustrate aspects of the game that can be accessed in the video responses to this video. One aspect I overlooked is the punch. This is a defensive technique often used in a marking contest by a player who is out of position in relation to his direct opponent. For example if a player is caught behind his opponent as the ball is coming towards them and it is clear the player in front will mark the ball, the player caught behind will try and punch the ball away to prevent the mark. Care needs to be taken to avoid high contact. The game is played at a fast pace with players playing on at every available opportunity. This means that extremely high levels of fitness and strength are required with players regularly running 20km or more each game. Imagine running twenty 100 metre sprints over a two hour period while simultaneously trying to catch and control an oval ball while fending off attacks from 18 other players and you will begin to understand what is required of an Aussie Rules Footballer. History: Aussie Rules is the world's oldest football code being codified in Melbourne Australia in 1858 and was partly inspired by the aboriginal kicking/
catching game called Marn Grook. This means the games origins are potentially tens of thousands of years old. The Melbourne Football Club is the worlds oldest being formed in 1859. The first night game was played in 1879. Year first codified: AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL: 1858 ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL (SOCCER): 1863 RUGBY UNION: 1871 AMERICAN FOOTBALL: 1876 GAELIC FOOTBALL: 1885 RUGBY LEAGUE: 1895.. Just remember: 'Aussie Rules' is Not a religion; It is Far More Important than that!....UPDATE: Fraser Gehrig (the 'G-Train') received a one week suspension for punching an opponent based on the video evidence. Links: http://afl.com.au/ http://afl.com.au/Portals/0/afl_docs/2007_LAWS_OF_THE_GAME.p df http://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aussie_rules http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marn_grook http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_rgzBIQ8Eg