As far as Australian Football is concerned, foreigners have lot of misconceptions about the game. Here in this article we are going to address some of their queries. Let’s have a look below:
Is it similar to soccer?
Yes. People often think it is similar to soccer. Some assume it is similar to rugby or American Football. Well, Australian Football has connection whatsoever with soccer or rugby. And it has nothing much to do with American Football either. Of course, you will find common elements between these games. But that’s about it. You can say that Australian Football is similar to Irish Football than the above mentioned games. Australian Football is also referred to as Aussie rules.
Are there rules to this game?
As we all know, this is a very silly question. To answer this, we would say, YES, there are rules to this game. In fact, there are plenty of rules attached to this beautiful game. But you should keep in mind that there is nothing complicated about the basic rules of the game. You will not find it hard to understand the basic rules. One thing that you will quickly notice is that the game has a good flow. Unlike other games, there are far less interruptions. We can compare ice hockey with Australian Football in this regard for sure. Also, comparing it to American Football is not at all recommended. You will be left with lot of confusion when you do that.
There are plenty of things to notice here. For instance, unlike soccer, there are no goal keepers in Australian Football. Offside rules are not at all applicable in the case of Australian Football. There are no restrictions on the players as far as the position on the field is concerned they can be anywhere they wish to be. There are no rules restricting the players to stick to a certain role during the course of the game.
You don’t need to be bothered about timeouts either. Only a serious injury can put a halt to the game, otherwise the game can go on without any interruption. In case of the goal or something similar, there will be a small pause before umpire restart the game. Since there are fewer interruptions during the game, little chance for TV channels to play spoilsport with numerous ads. They show ads between quarters. Or they can show ads pre or post game. However, you will be quick to notice that there is lot of ads on the players as well as on the field.
Coming to the Sharks NRL players, they are not required to wear pads during the game. Thanks to this it is easier for you to see the faces of the players. Players wear a mouth-guard for obvious reasons.
Well, you will be quick to notice that cheerleaders are not part of the game. Well, in place of cheerleaders teams have opted for cheer squads. You will find the fans to be extremely enthusiastic! In short, Australian Football is nothing like Soccer or American Football.