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History of Aussie Rules
Australian Rules Football ('Aussie
Rules') is a game native to Australia that was first played
in 1858. In 1857, Tom Wills, one of the founders of Australian
Football, returned to Australia after schooling in England
where he was football captain of Rugby School and a brilliant
cricketer. Initially, he advocated the winter game of
football as a way of keeping cricketers fit during off-season.
The new game was devised by Wills, his cousin H.C.A. Harrison,
W.J. Hammersley and J.B. Thompson. The Melbourne Football
Club was formed on August 7, 1858 - the year of the code's
first recorded match between Scotch College and Melbourne
Grammar School. The game quickly blossomed. The Geelong
Football Club was formed in 1859 and in 1866 an updated
set of rules was put in place and competition started.
The Victorian Football League was established in 1896
and the following year the League's first games were played
among the foundation clubs - Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon,
Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne.
In 1908, Richmond and University joined the competition.
But after the 1914 season, University left the League.
In 1925, Footscray (now the Western Bulldogs), Hawthorn
and North Melbourne (now the Kangaroos) joined the VFL.
This line-up of 12 clubs would remain unchanged until
1987 when the competition expanded to include the West
Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears. By 1997, the competition
comprised 16 clubs after Adelaide (in 1991), Fremantle
(in 1995), and Port Adelaide (in 1997) joined the now
Australian Football League and foundation club Fitzroy
merged with the Brisbane Bears to form the Brisbane Lions
(after the 1996 season).
Aussie Rules is a fast, open game that requires considerable
aerobic fitness. It could be described as a combination
of Basketball, Rugby and Soccer as there are many aspects
of these games that can be found in Aussie Rules. It has
the one on one match ups like basketball, the tackling
and kicking of Rugby, and the ball can at times be kicked
off the ground like soccer.
Teams pass the leather, oval-shaped ball by handpassing
(punching the ball) or kicking. Players must kick the
ball to score a goal and what's more, you can still score
if you miss the goals. A goal is worth 6 points but if
you miss either side of the goal you can still score 1
point. Tackling and bumping opposition players is an important
part of the game, which is why it has a tough reputation
although the game doesn't revolve around tackling like
Rugby does.
Australia is the only country in the world where Aussie
Rules is played at professional level. |
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