The AFL Grand Final Explained (or AFL for Dummies)

Sitting in the Gallery today, the weather is atrocious but there is another reason the streets are currently empty. That game of games, the culmination of a long hard season of "footy",that began way back in March, is on the television as I write this.

Australian Rules Football is an utterly unique game. There are some similarities with Gaelic Football and occasionally, an import from Ireland (think the great Jim Stynes) will master the code. Closer to home, there are many talented indigenous players in the league. Then there are others either born or having the heritage of Fiji, Scotland, England, New Zealand, Sudan, South Sudan, Ireland, Brazil, Kenya, Belarus and South Africa. Quite a mixed bunch.

Footy is a game for spectators and the action is usually fast paced and very physical. The players wear no body protection, are very muscled and often tall and spend the better half of two hours on the field, which is divided into four quarters with a half-hour break in the middle of the game. Athleticism and accuracy are the hallmarks. One of the more spectacular aspects of a game is watching a mark, where one player may ride up the back and shoulders of another in order to snatch the ball mid-air. Another nickname for AFL is actually "aerial ping-pong".

These guys are professional footballers and depend on their fitness and skills to play each game. Injuries are frequent and can be catastrophic for the player concerned. Legs have been broken, shoulders dislocated, jaws shattered, knees and ankles crushed along with an endless list of soft tissue injuries that may put the player out for weeks, months and even years.

In spite of this, there is no shortage of boys (and now girls) lining up to play AFL. A long time ago, I was one of a legion of parents who have stood shivering on winter mornings, watching our boys train or play. Fortunately, neither of my sons showed much aptitude, which spared me from years of further travelling and having to show sustained interest.

Today's Grand Final has just finished. This has been a rather sentimental affair with the underdog Western Bulldogs from Melbourne up against the favourites, the Swans from Sydney. Whilst the "Dogs" have been dogged (sorry!) in their determination to get into their first Grand Final in fifty-five years, the efficient Swans who blasted their last opponents out of the competition a week ago were expected to run the show.

One truly outstanding commentator made the banal remark that none of the current Western Bulldog players had any Grand Final experience. Since the team hadn't played a Grand Final for half a century, that was hardly surprising. In spite of idiotic mutterings such as this, I think most of the AFL watching public were enthralled and hoping for a close game with a miraculous win by the Bulldogs.

And dreams do come true. That is precisely what has happened. A fairytale win for the Bulldogs. Their shocked and stunned opponents wiping away their tears of disappointment. It's all over for another year. Now we move into the six-month hiatus until the footy resumes in 2017.

And in the meantime, the cricket season has officially begun...

For those who wish to further their knowledge (I am thinking of you, Victoria Cartwright!), please go to this link. I found it most informative -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Australian_rules_football 

Fans streaming into the Melbourne Cricket Ground

One of the teams' mascots

Swan vs Bulldog

Illustration of a mark

and that winning feeling!