Kevin Sheedy recently infamously said the immigration department was responsible for stunting the growth of AFL in Western Sydney, with arriving migrants sticking to the one sport they know, football/soccer.
However, one huge factor keeping pushing away locals, let alone foreigners, from the sport is the confusion of all the new and old rules and their interpretations.
Here was a conversation I had with a family member from overseas during a game.
A: How does the scoring work?
M: Kick between the big sticks, six points; hit the big sticks, one point; in between big and small sticks, one point; hit the small sticks, no points; if a player touches the ball before it crosses the line, one point.
A: Why was that a free kick?
M: Because he held the ball too long while being tackled.
A: But not that time?
M: Yeah, he sort of made it look like he was trying to get rid of the ball, so that’s okay.
A: That was a free kick but he got rid of the ball?
M: Well generally that’s also a rule, it’s called dropping the ball. You can’t do that.
A: He did the same there but no free kick?
M: Look, most of the time now they call play on just to keep the game flowing.
A: How come they didn’t throw that ball back in?
M: Huh? Oh someone kicked the ball over the boundary line without it bouncing.
A: It bounced!
M: Oh, then it must have been deliberate.
A: What is a ‘deliberate’?
M: Where you deliberately direct the ball towards the boundary line so it goes out.
A: But he did it there and no free kick this time?
M: Yeah, but he was under pressure and was trying to clear it.
A: So? They were still deliberately kicking it there.
M: True, but that’s just Mick Malthouse’s tactics to go wide 100% of the time.
A: These goal reviews are pointless, the camera angle is no good and the vision is blurred.
M: Yep, the reviews come back inconclusive 100% of the time.
A: How come that was a free kick?
M: He pushed him in the back
A: And that? He pushed him but not in the back!
M: Yeah, but he pushed him out of the marking contest regardless.
A: But not that?
M: Well the rule is you can extend your arms halfway or three quarters way, just not fully extended.
A: This is so confusing!
M: Dude, you’ll be fine. It’s too easy! But here are just some other things to know. No high tackle; illegal shepherd; no holding the man without the ball; don’t slide in first going for the ball; no throwing; bounce the ball after every 15 metres; kicks must go 15m to be paid a mark, don’t spoil a mark by chopping the arms, don’t trip anyone, don’t kick the ball while someone is trying to pick it up.
Also beware of giving away a 50m penalty if you kick the ball away or don’t give the ball back properly after a free kick is called.
A: Screw this!
M: But I explained everything so clearly!
JAZZY
Guest
I love Rugby Union and the rules are complex especially scrum ruck maul and I love watching AFL but like american football have no idea whats going on ......currently watching geelong v richmond ....confused of UK yep
Scott hoare
Guest
Well gentlemen, I'm a Pom I've visited Oz a lot I love your country and the people. But as hard as I've tried by watching matches and reading beginners guides I can't get my head around the rules, I asked a long term Ozzy mate what was going on his reply was "I don't really know". It looks a great sport to watch- but exporting it I doubt very much.
vocans
Guest
Dropping the ball was never a rule - it was always incorrect disposal, ie, a throw. But, point of article, fair, and fairly humorous, enough.
vocans
Guest
Try the same with Union!!! Rugby is also having problems with their rules/interpretations.
ItsCalledFootball
Roar Guru
Most migrants these days are coming from China. And China's favourite sport is table tennis, not football.
fishes
Guest
The one I don't understand is when they often make a good tackle, and they don't get a free kick. They bounce the ball for another 5 minutes of scrappy play. Why don't they just give people more free licks when they make tackles? The other part of the game I don't get is how often they miss, especially from like 35 metres out. These days rugby league players are kicking conversions off the ground and landing them from the sideline all of the time. All they have to do is kick the thing out of their hands from like 35 out and they miss so often. Don't get me wrong, the accuracy kicking to teammates is impressive, but then they kick so many behinds every game, I don't get it.
Exocet
Guest
Thats because league refs ignore most problems to keep the game going - before the AFL got popular in Sydney RL games used to have 25 penalties a game and many penalty shots for goal...
micka
Guest
I say get rid of "anything in the back" that isn't an actual push. If you tackle a bloke and land on his back, you still had him regardless of how you land. Any pushing or hands in the back at a marking contest should be allowed. If you aren't strong enough or smart enough to get into the best position, tough t***ies. This alone might bring back a few massive power forwards and backs who I seem to remember were some of the most spectacular players i nthe game. Deliberate is out the door. Most of the ball going out is deliberate anyway. Out on the full off the boot is a free to the opposition. Anything else is piffed in by the maggot. Dropping the ball is dropping the ball. I don't know why this is so hard. Caught with the ball should be if the player has taken a step with the ball. If you have time to take 2 steps, you have time to get rid of it. If a player stands there with the ball or takes less than 2 steps and gets barrelled it is a ball up. Two big strides or two small weight shifts don't bear a hell of a lot of difference. Thoughts?
Allan
Guest
No Mark no, it's not the rules keeping us Westies away from the game, is there a 'jump to conclusions mat' on special across Victoria at the moment ?
Gr8rWeStr
Guest
Spot on! I do think Aussie Rules could do with rule simplification, take out as much gray as possible, the problem is whenever any changes are made there is such an uproar, particularly from ex-player commentators, that any rule changes fairly quickly all but disappear.
Xavier
Guest
I played AFL when I lived in Chicago for a year. A friend of a friend I got talking to at a party said he would like to come down and have a crack - was the sort of league that anyone turning up could get a game. 15 min before the game, he asked me about the rules. I told him: - if you get the ball, kick it as hard and as far as you can in the right direction. - if the man you are playing on gets the ball, tackle him to the ground. Still makes me laugh when I think back to 30 seconds into the game, his opponent took a mark, turned to take his free kick, only to get drilled into the ground unexpectedly. Perhaps I should have gone into a little more detail.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
I don't know I actually find that rule pretty clear. If the tackler has his hands all over the ball its a strip. If the attacking player loses the ball from the sheer force of the tackle its a loose-carry. There is some discretion used by refs but I generally think this is one they usually get right.
TW
Guest
There are basically few rules but lotsa interpretations needed often in split seconds. The game started with 10 rules originally but they were immediately commented on and the fun and games started. By 1906 a standard set of laws were established Australia wide which became known as the modern game. The tinkering around the edges has continued since. Go and check out the Rugby Union laws - The Rugby Union( poms) have had a field day for years with that code. Soccer Football has the most basic set of all - Our best hope in NSW and QLD is to target the kids long term - You can forget the rest up there. Just about all of them are not getting it after a lifetime of rectangular grounds and teams lined up in rows and grinding away at each other. They cannot handle the free flowing and 360 degree nature of the sport.
langou
Roar Guru
Coming from a non-rugby background I find the rules of League really easy to follow and Union mostly baffling – both are good sports but with Union, the rules seem way more complex.
Nomenclature
Guest
And a bad penalty decision changes the game irrevocably
Nomenclature
Guest
I am bemused by what is a loose carry and what is a strip - its ridiculous as the commentators always used to blow up about it till they were told to cool it - so does the offending player - there's always doubt when there are these decisions as a player sneaks a hand in -its a joke that can change the game. The 40/20 is try to make the game more interesting instead of the monotonous 5 tackles kick and hand over possession to opposition and if near the line a bomb...
Nomenclature
Guest
Trouble is the forwards are in the backs these days at the scrum so some pachyderm runs at the opposing 5/8 for the first tackle...
Jimbo
Guest
Plenty of grey areas that are open to interpretation to get the fans and players going !, but most sports are like that. Great game to play, great game to watch .... unless Ross Lyon is coaching :) Explaining the game to people O/S can be fun, my advice is don't bother, eventually they will work it out, not the game for people who only see black and white, because the game has plenty of shades of grey.
Richard
Guest
Whilst I think the article cleverly makes its point I also think it is the grey areas in the rules that drive a lot of the atmosphere at the footy. As a fan I yell and scream because I think that I can (with the help of fellow supporters) influence the umpires' decisions and so happily spend the game yelling "Ball". Makes me feel like I'm part of the game. But I feel sorry for the umpires ... they have a tough job with all the grey.
The Pivotonian
Guest
The rules of most sports are confusing like the Laws of Australian Football (not "AFL") in one way or another. I've watched rugby league off and on for 15 years and still don't know the rules about when it's ok to kick it out. Don't even get me started on rugby union or American Football. Association Football is clearly the simplest of the lot, but the interpretations of fouls and 'hand balls' still confuse me.