Important details of the game

Kicking: Players mainly kick drop punts for accuracy.

Handball: Holding the ball in the palm of one hand and punching it with the other hand.

Marking: Catching the ball after it has been kicked by another player without being touched in flight.

Umpires: There are three field umpires, two boundary umpires and two goal umpires. The field umpires officiate according to the laws of the game. This means paying free kicks or marks. The crowd often disagrees with the umpires because of different interpretations of the laws. Fans’ interpretations often depend on which team they barrack for.

Goal: Scored when the ball is kicked through the two tallest white posts (goalposts) by a player on the team kicking to that end, without the ball being touched by anyone. It is worth six points.

Point: Scored when the ball goes between a goal post (the tall one) and a point post (the smaller post), or hits one of the goalposts or is ‘rushed’ (either comes off someone’s hands before crossing the goal line or is kicked through the other team’s goals to thwart a goal). It is worth one point.

Free kicks to watch for

Holding the man – holding your opponent when he hasn’t got the ball.

Around the neck – tackling an opponent over the shoulder.

Holding the ball – if a player is tackled with the ball and he doesn’t attempt to release it quickly. If he has had a prior opportunity to release it and is then tackled, he will have a free kick paid against him.

Push in the back

Throwing the ball

Out on the full – kicking the ball over the boundary line without it touching the ground.

Running too far – running more than 15 metres with the ball without bouncing or touching it on the ground.

That’s it, in essence. Now settle in for a good game. It’s a good game if: the scores are close (known as a tight game), some high marks are taken (catching the ball while standing on someone’s shoulders is a high mark) and you don’t notice the umpires.

It’s a great game when your team wins.