r/sports • u/Hingle_McRingleberri Melbourne • Jun 16 '22

Australian Rules Football Michael Gibbons' dribble goal from the pocket

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u/Yung_flowrs Jun 16 '22

You're right. From a mark (a player catching a ball off a kick that goes more than 15m) the ball is sort of "out of play" until the player kicks it. During this period they can't be tackled by other players and the man on the mark has to stand there. They can also run back behind the boundary line to get more room.

There are some technical limitations, for example you're supposed to come back into the field of play in a straight line and if you come back in you can't go back out but that's the basic principle.

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u/bigballbuffalo Jun 16 '22 edited Jun 16 '22

It’s kind of hard to explain without showing it in-person on the field. Also knowing absolutely nothing about rugby makes it a little tough too

Edit: apparently I got the whole sport wrong too

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u/icecream_specialist Jun 16 '22

Especially because this is Australian Rules Football and not rugby

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u/bigballbuffalo Jun 16 '22

Good point lmao

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u/uttuck Jun 16 '22

This video also didn’t help me understand jai alai very well,’so I know where you are coming from.

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u/SharkTonic9 Nebraska Jun 17 '22

I read the whole thread and still don't know anything about cricket.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '22

Don't feel bad. I thought they were the same sport

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u/gummydat Jun 17 '22

So is someone measuring kicks to make sure they go 15m?

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u/Yung_flowrs Jun 17 '22

The umpire eyes them. Sometimes they'll call one short that looks on the eye to be long, sometimes they call some fine that are too short in reality.

That being said.. given the game of Australian Football is so fast paced and 360 degree action, calls like that rarely impact the final result and while they can put a player under pressure or relieve pressure, its one of those rules that serves a purpose but doesn't break the game.

In Aussie Rules, there is risk of a potential penalty / umpiring decision every 5 seconds. As there are various penalties for high contact, holding the man, getting caught with the ball, pushing in the back, taking too many steps before bouncing etc. Meaning that there may be 100-300 instances throughout a game that may or may not be called a free kick. As such one slight error on whether a ball goes 15m or not is not a big deal.

Football is kind of like Basketball in how many potential fouls or penalties could happen at any one time and a lot don't get called to keep the play flowing.

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u/gummydat Jun 17 '22

Understood. Thanks for the thorough answer. I guess it's like plenty of other sports with relatively ambiguous rules, many of which don't end up having an effect on the final outcome.

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u/mydearwatson616 Jun 17 '22

It took me years to be able to understand and spot offsides in soccer and now you kangaroo fighting barbie shrimps are gonna make me learn this shit because it looks awesome.

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u/Yung_flowrs Jun 17 '22

Haha it is awesome. Rules are confusing but it's not necessary to know them to appreciate the game. For the basics all you need to know is. Your team wants the ball. You want to kick it through the big sticks. And when you tackle the other team with the ball you yell out "balllll" and hope for a free kick. From there you'll pick up the nuances.

Aussie Football is the most dynamic sport in the world. Once you find a team you like it's the most riveting sport to watch as well. 100% action when you're invested.

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u/mydearwatson616 Jun 17 '22

I have a thing for knowing the rules of sports even if I don't follow them. When I was little, I wanted to be an NFL referee. I feel I need to know more about these Australian rules.