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A Note on Australian Football Codes

Firstly, I find it incredibly ironic and just plain funny that I’m providing a guide to Australian football codes, because if you ask anyone in my life—my family, my friends, the boys I teach—they can all attest to the fact that I know nothing about any of the technical aspects of the games. Football, to me, whatever the code, means men chasing one another around a field in pursuit of a particular-shaped ball so it can be either kicked through goalposts or pounded down over a line as many times as possible in order to score as many points as possible.

So the technical aspects of the games mean not a lot to me but, from observing the different men and boys in my world, I am fascinated by how the supporting and/or playing of particular codes of football in Australia often defines what type of male you are: your class, your level of testosterone, your ethnicity, your level of education, your intelligence, your sexuality, what part of the country you live in and even what suburb.

In Will’s mind, Mark can’t be gay because he plays rugby union. Mark also comes from Victoria, which means he should be playing Australian rules football, but because he went to private school, he plays union. In his friend’s mind, Will shouldn’t be playing soccer because he isn’t Australian European or a “wog,” and soccer is thought to be “soft” in comparison to the other codes. And Jock should be playing league because, well, quite frankly, he is not very bright.

So what on earth is the difference between AFL, rugby union, rugby league and soccer? If I was to ask a league supporter to define “league,” or a union player to define “union” or an Australian rules supporter to define “AFL,” the rivalry between the codes would emerge. It seems that somehow each of the codes is defined in opposition to or with some reference to the other codes.

As you may know, the European colonization of Australia was carried out by the British, and along with them came their particular way of doing things, including their schooling system. They have a two-tiered system—private and state. Private schools are often considered elite schools, and state schools are primarily government-funded schools for everyone else. Rugby union was always played in the elite schools and, therefore, was always considered the “gentleman’s game.” It did not turn professional until the 1990s. Rugby league has always been played in the state schools and has always had a strong connection to the working class.

Rugby was born at the Rugby School in England. There was only “rugby” at this stage. The sport’s popularity grew and spread to the general public. Competitions were organized and clubs were created initially by men of the “ruling classes.” In the north of England, club membership was open to all classes, and the northern clubs became the strongest in England. However, matches were held on Saturdays, which was problematic for working-class men, who had to work that day. This was especially true for many northern English men who were miners. Players from the upper classes did not have to worry about this restriction.

Many of the clubs lost good men to this restriction, so it was decided that the players could be paid for their time. It was this decision that brought about a split in the code. The Rugby Football Union tried to enforce the nonpayment of players, which meant that working-class men would be excluded from participation, thus keeping rugby the “gentleman’s game.” This affected the northern rugby clubs more than those in the south, so they broke away, forming their own Northern Rugby Union, which later became known as rugby league.

Australian rules football originated in Victoria, where they wanted to devise a game to help cricketers keep fit during the winter. Even though there is huge support for the Sydney Swans, New South Wales, where Will lives, is still pretty much a league state. Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria are known as Aussie rules states.

I have been told, in no uncertain terms, by many football fanatics that most readers who are interested would simply want to know the mechanics of the game. So for all you lovers of games played with the leather ball, here they are:

Rugby Union

Aim is to score as many tries as possible.
5 points for a try.
2 points for a conversion.
3 points for a penalty goal.
Tackles allowed—unlimited. The ball changes only if there has been a mistake/offense or if the ball goes out of play.
When a tackle occurs, rucks and mauls occur as well. Continuous play with constant competition for the ball.
Unlimited rucks (when everyone jumps on one another).
When the ball goes over the sideline into touch, there is a lineout.

Rugby League

Aim is to score more tries than the opposition.
4 points for a try.
2 points for a conversion.
Sets of six tackles, then the other team is given the ball, unless a try has been scored.
The tackled player “plays the ball” (rolls it under their legs, thus play stops).
When the ball goes over the sideline into touch, there is no lineout.

AFL

Field is a circle, not a rectangle.
Four goalposts rather than two.
There are no tries, only goals and behinds.
A “goal” is when a player kicks the ball between the two center posts—6 points.
A “behind” is when the ball does not go through the goalposts but goes through the smaller posts on either side of the main goalposts—1 point.
You are not allowed to throw the ball, you have to “hand the ball,” which means resting the ball in one hand and punching it with the other.

Soccer

You guys know the deal here.

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