WHAT IS AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL?

AFL games last for four quarters of 20 minutes plus “time on” - extra minutes based on how much time was wasted, like in soccer.

Two teams of 18 players, with another four on the bench, compete on an oval-shaped field that’s twice as big as a soccer field. We use an egg-shaped ball - similar to an rugby ball. In Europe, we mostly play 9 a side footy on soccer or rugby grounds, due to the lack of adequete sized ovals.

To win, you have to outscore your opponent. To do that, you’ve got to move the ball down the field and kick the ball through the posts.

But they’re not uprights, like in the NFL; there are four of them, placed in a line on either end of the oval. The two in the middle are the tallest, and kicking between those two is worth six points. Kicking between a big one and an outer smaller one is worth one point, or a ‘behind’.

That’s how you end up with a final score that might end up like this: 13.8 (86). That means 13 goals (worth six points each) and 8 behinds, equating to 86 total points.

The ball moves around the ground by kicking and by ‘handballing’ - holding the ball and then punching it to a teammate. Throwing is absolutely not allowed in footy

You can run with the ball, but you have to bounce it (!) every 15 metres (16 yards). Of course, the odd-shaped ball doesn’t always bounce the way you want it.

If you catch the ball - or ‘mark’ it, as we call it - you can stop and take a few seconds before deciding where to kick it. Otherwise, the opposition are free to tackle whoever’s holding the ball.

DO THE PLAYERS HAVE POSITIONS?

They do, but it's a very free-flowing sport. There are defenders and forwards (attackers), who range in size much like NFL wide receivers - and need to be able to catch like them. They usually stay closer to their specific end of the ground.

Then there are midfielders, who move all across the ground. Plus there are ruckmen - usually the tallest player on the team, as they’re involved in our equivalent of tip-offs.

That would be centre bounces - when the umpire bounces the ball in the middle of the ground after a goal or at the start of quarters, or at throw-ins, when the ball goes out of bounds and the umpire throws it back in, or at ball-ups, when a player is tackled and didn’t get a chance to get rid of it and the umpire just throws the ball up.

That's the basics you need to know about playing footy! If you still don't completely understand, watch the AFL's video of "What is AFL", by pressing the button below.