Name	Australian footballAustralian rules football
Caption	The Essendon Football Club (black), playing against the St Kilda Football Club (white) in an AFL game in 2008..
Union	AFL Commission
Nickname	Football, footy, Aussie rules
First	1859 in Melbourne, Australia
Registered	693,052 (total) (2008)130,000 (adult) (2007)
Clubs	2,659
Contact	Full contact
Team	22
Mgender	Single
Category	Outdoor
Ball	Football
Olympic	No

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also informally known as football, Aussie rules or (colloquially) as footy (and in some regions called—erroneously—AFL, after the Australian Football League, the only fully professional Australian rules football league) is a sport played between two teams of 22 players (18 on the field, and four interchanges) on either an Australian rules football ground, a modified cricket field or another modified sports venue.

The objective of the game is to score points by passing the ball through the opponent's goal. The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the two major goal posts. The team with the higher total score at the end of the match wins unless either a draw is declared or a tie-break is used.

During play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their body to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled: for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground. Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick is paid. A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick (with specific conditions), are awarded a free kick. Australian rules is a contact sport, in which players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents. Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in the back), interference when marking and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties or suspension, depending on the seriousness of the infringement. Frequent physical contests, spectacular marking, fast movement of both players and the ball and high scoring are the game's main attributes.

Details of the game's origins in Australia are obscure and still the subject of much debate. Australian rules football became organised in Melbourne in May 1859, when the first laws of the game were published by the Melbourne Football Club.

Australian football is a major participation and spectator sport in Australia. The sport is also played at amateur level in several countries and in several variations.

The most prestigious competition is the Australian Football League (AFL), which culminates in the annual AFL Grand Final - currently the highest attended club championship event in the world. Australian football is governed by the AFL Commission, which also runs the AFL competition, and the rules of the game are decided by the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee.

Rules of the game

.]]

Both the ball and the field of play are elliptical in shape. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time.

Up to four interchange (reserve) players may be swapped for those on the field at any time during the game. In Australian rules terminology, these players wait for substitution "on the bench" — an area with a row of seats on the sideline. Players must interchange through a designated interchange "gate" with strict penalties for too many players from one side on the field.

There is no offside rule nor are there set positions in the rules; unlike many other forms of football, players from both teams may disperse across the whole field before the start of play. However, a typical on-field structure consists of six forwards, six defenders or "backmen" and six midfielders, usually comprised of two wingmen, one centre and three followers, including a ruckman, ruck-rover and rover. Only four players from each team are allowed within of the centre square before every centre bounce, which occurs at the commencement of each quarter, and to restart the game after a goal is scored. There are also other rules pertaining to allowed player positions during set plays (that is after a mark or free kick) and during kick-ins following the scoring of a behind.

A game consists of four quarters and a timekeeper officiates their duration. In professional Australian football, quarters are 20 minutes plus time on. Time on refers to clock being stopped when the ball is out of play, meaning that an average quarter could last for 27 to 31 minutes. At the end of each quarter, teams change their scoring end.

Games are officiated by umpires. Australian football begins after the first siren, the umpire bounces the ball on the ground (or throws it into the air if the condition of the ground is poor), and the two ruckmen (typically the tallest players from each team), battle for the ball in the air on its way back down. This is known as the ball-up. Certain disputes during play may also be settled with a ball-up from the point of contention. If the ball ever goes out of bounds (beyond the oval boundary line around the edge of the field), a boundary umpire will stand with his back to the infield and return the ball into play with a throw-in, a high backwards toss.

The ball can be propelled in any direction by way of a foot, clenched fist (called a handball or handpass) or open-hand tap but it cannot be thrown under any circumstances. Once a player takes possession of the ball he must dispose of it by either kicking or handballing it. Any other method of disposal is illegal and will result in a free kick to the opposing team. This is usually called "incorrect disposal", "dropping the ball" or "throwing". If the ball is not in the possession of one player it can be moved on with any part of the body.

A player may run with the ball but it must be bounced or touched on the ground at least once every 15 metres. Opposition players may bump or tackle the player to obtain the ball and, when tackled, the player must dispose of the ball cleanly or risk being penalised for holding the ball. The ball carrier may only be tackled between the shoulders and knees. If the opposition player forcefully contacts a player in the back whilst performing a tackle, the opposition player will be penalised for a push in the back. If the opposition tackles the player with possession below the knees (a low tackle or a trip) or above the shoulders (a high tackle), the team with possession of the football gets a free kick.

If a player takes possession of the ball that has travelled more than from another player's kick, by way of a catch, it is claimed as a mark and that player is then awarded a free kick (meaning that the game stops while he prepares to kick from the point at which he marked). Alternatively, he may choose to "play on": forfeiting the set shot in the hope of pressing an advantage for his team (rather than allowing the opposition to reposition while he prepares for the free kick). Once a player has chosen to play on, normal play resumes and the player who took the mark is again able to be tackled.

There are different styles of kicking depending on how the ball is held in the hand. The most common style of kicking seen in today's game, principally because of its superior accuracy, is the drop punt (the ball is dropped from the hands down, almost to the ground, to be kicked so that the ball rotates in a reverse end over end motion as it travels through the air). Other commonly used kicks are the torpedo punt (also known as the spiral, barrel, or screw punt; the ball is held at an angle and kicked, which makes the ball spiral in the air, like a rugby throw, resulting in extra distance) and the checkside punt or "banana", kicked across the ball on the outside of the foot is used to curve the ball (towards the right if kicked off the right foot) towards targets that are on an angle. There is also the "snap," which is almost the same as a checkside punt, except that it is kicked off the inside of the foot and curves in the opposite direction. It is also possible to kick the ball so that it bounces along the ground. This is known as a "grubber". Grubbers can bounce in a straight line, or curve to the left or right.

Apart from free kicks or when the ball is in the possession of an umpire for a ball up or throw in, the ball is always in dispute and any player from either side can take possession of the ball.

A goal, worth 6 points, is scored when the football is propelled through the goal posts at any height (including above the height of the posts) by way of a kick from the attacking team. It may fly through "on the full" (without touching the ground) or bounce through, but must not have been touched, on the way, by any player from either team. A goal cannot be scored from the foot of an opposition (defending) player.

A behind, worth 1 point, is scored when the ball passes between a goal post and a behind post at any height, or if the ball hits a goal post, or if an any player sends the ball between the goal posts by touching it with any part of the body other than a foot. A behind is also awarded to the attacking team if the ball touches any part of an opposition player, including his foot, before passing between the goal posts. When an opposition player deliberately scores a behind for the attacking team (generally as a last resort, because of the risk of their scoring a goal) this is termed a rushed behind. Before the start of the 2009 season, there was no additional penalty imposed for rushing a behind, compared to any other behind. However, for the start of the 2009 season a new rule was announced awarding a free kick against any player who deliberately rushes a behind.

The goal umpire signals a goal with two hands raised at elbow height, a behind with one hand, and then confirms the signal with the other goal umpire by waving flags above his head.

The team that has scored the most points at the end of play wins the game. If the scores are level on points at the end of play, then the game is a draw; extra time applies only during finals matches in some competitions.

As an example of a score report, Team 1 and Team 2. Team 1's score of 15 goals and 10 behinds equates to 100 points. Team 2's score of 13 goals and 12 behinds equates to a 90 point tally. Team 1 wins the match by a margin of 10 points. Such a result would be written as "Team 1 15.10 (100) defeated Team 2 13.12 (90)" and is said "Team 1: fifteen, ten, one hundred, defeated Team 2: thirteen, twelve, ninety".

Structure and competitions

The football season, proper, is from March to August (early autumn to late winter in Australia) with finals being held in September and October. In the tropics, the game is sometimes played in the wet season (October to March). Pre-season competitions in southern Australia usually begin in late February.

The AFL is recognised by the Australian Sports Commission as being the National Sporting Organisation for Australian rules football. There are also seven state/territory-based organisations in Australia, most of which are now either owned by or affiliated to the AFL.

Most of these hold annual semi-professional club competitions while the others oversee more than one league. Local semi-professional or amateur organisations and competitions are often affiliated to their state organisations.

The AFL is the de facto world governing body for Australian rules football. There are also a number of affiliated organisations governing amateur clubs and competitions around the world.

For almost all Australian rules club competitions the aim is to win the Premiership. The premiership is always decided by a finals series. The teams that occupy the highest positions on the ladder play off in a "semi-knockout" finals series. From the 1930s the finals series was usually contested by the top four teams (3rd versus 4th (First semifinal); 1st versus 2nd (Second semifinal); winner of First versus loser of Second (Preliminary final); the winner of Second versus winner of Preliminary playing in the Grand Final for the premiership). Many leagues have adopted a final series involving 5, 6 or 8 teams with a variety of methods used to determine the winner. The AFL finals system is contested by the top 8 teams.

Unlike many association football competitions there are usually no separate "league" and "cup" trophies. The team finishing first on the ladder is often referred to as a 'minor premier', although this bears little or no significance. In the AFL, this is the McClelland Trophy and is considered a consolation prize. The team that finishes at the bottom of the ladder at the end of the season receives 'the wooden spoon'.

It is uncommon for promotion and relegation to occur in Australian football state level competitions although it is common among suburban leagues (such as the Eastern Football League and Victorian Amateur Football Association in Melbourne).

History

Origins

and Scotch College. Tom Wills is depicted umpiring behind two young players contesting the ball. The plaque reads: "Wills did more than any other person – as footballer and umpire, co-writer of the rules and promoter of the game – to develop Australian Football during its first decade."]] As early as 1841, there is documented evidence of "foot-ball" being played in metropolitan and country Victoria as well as mention of early matches in Adelaide (1843) and southern Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). While the exact rules being played in these matches are unknown they may have shared similarities and influences.

In 1858 English public school football games began to be played in Melbourne and surrounding districts. The earliest known such match was played on 15 June 1858 between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar School on the St Kilda foreshore.

A letter by Tom Wills was published in Bell's Life in Victoria & Sporting Chronicle on 10 July 1858, calling for a "foot-ball club," or some other "athletic game," with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter. This letter is regarded by many historians as being a catalyst for the development of a new code of football in 1859 today known as Australian football.

On 31 July, a knock-a-bout match at Yarra Park was played between a "St Kilda scratch team" and "Melbourne scratch team". Trees were used for goal posts and there were no boundaries and the match lasted from 1pm until dark. There were no rules and fights frequently broke out. Melbourne being a relatively young city, the majority of the early players were migrants and the media of the time noted that participants of each nationality played the game their own distinctive way: the English played in a fashion that resembled rugby football, the Scottish played recklessly, and the Irish played in a fashion that resembled the Irish sport of Gaelic football.

Another significant milestone in the sport's development was a match between Melbourne Grammar School and Scotch College, which began on 7 August 1858 at Richmond Park, was umpired by Wills and Macadam, and which also involved Scotch College headmaster Thomas H. Smith. A second day of play took place on 21 August and a third, and final, day on 4 September. While the full rules that were used is unknown, some details of the match survived. It was played with a round ball, the distance between the goals was approximately half a mile (approximately four times longer than the modern Melbourne Cricket Ground playing surface), there were 40 players per side and one goal each side was scored with the game being declared a draw. The two schools have competed annually ever since for the Cordner-Eggleston Cup.

First rules

The Melbourne Football Club rules of 1859 are the oldest surviving set of laws for Australian football. The ten simple rules were drawn up on 17 May in a meeting was chaired by Wills and in attendance were journalists W. J. Hammersley and J. B. Thompson. Alex Bruce were also present. The meeting was held at the Parade Hotel, East Melbourne hosted by owner and Melbourne Cricket Club member Jerry Bryant. The publican was a friend of Tom Wills with a personal interest in introducing football to Melbourne's schools. Bryant had played a role in organising early football matches at the nearby Richmond Park and his son was one of the first players. The rules were signed by Tom Wills, William Hammersley, J. Sewell, J. B. Thompson, Alex Bruce, T. Butterworth and Thomas H. Smith. Importantly, the rules were widely publicised and distributed.

Early competition in Victoria

in the 1860s. A pavilion at the MCG is on the left in the background. (A wood engraving made by Robert Bruce on 27 July 1866.)]]

In 1859 several new football clubs formed including the Castlemaine Football Club, Geelong Football Club (which Wills directly helped to form) and the Melbourne University Football Club. While many one-off matches are recorded to have taken place between several early teams from Melbourne's suburbs and country Victoria (such as the Ballarat and Geelong competitions), in the early days many had not yet formed clubs for regular competition.

The first ever trophy for Australian Football, the 1861 Challenge Cup, was won in 1862 under Melbourne's rules by University over Melbourne. The competition continued into the 1860s with the addition of other teams from Melbourne's suburbs. Two further competitions, the South Yarra Challenge Cup (which had evolved from the Caledonian Games) and "Second Twenties" were held in the 1860s and 1870s.

Some rival rules eventually gave way to an acceptance of the Melbourne rules. In 1860, the Melbourne Football Club redrafted its rules following the input of several other clubs. The requirement to bounce the ball while running was introduced in a significant redraft of the Melbourne rules in 1866 by H.C.A. Harrison and his rules committee to satisfy the Geelong Football Club's own set of very different rules. Behind posts were introduced at this time are also believed to have come directly from the Geelong rules. The new rules became known as the Victorian rules, which became more widely adopted. In 1869, a 100-minute time limit was introduced to the game for the first time. Previous to this, winners were decided in a number of ways, but most commonly the first side to kick two goals.

The relationship with cricket primarily came out of co-existence and many of football's founders were cricketers. As a result, the sport shares some terminology (i.e. "umpires" and "boundary"). However cricket authorities did not initially allow football to be played on their grounds and in the early years football was played primarily in parks. The first football match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was not until 1876. Cricket authorities soon saw the opportunity to capitalise on the rapid growth of Australian Football, however, and soon most grounds in Victoria were expanded to accommodate the dual purpose, a situation that continues to this day.

Football matches between 1859 and 1899 were played in a 20-per-side format.

Spread to other colonies

Gradually the game – known at first as "Melbourne rules" became "Victorian rules" and then "Australian rules" or "Australasian rules" following its spread from Victoria into other Australasian colonies, beginning with South Australia (Although there is conjecture that the game co-developed in South Australia, with games recorded as far back as 1843), Tasmania (1864), Queensland (1866), and New Zealand (1871). In 1877, the sport's first governing bodies, the South Australian Football Association and the Victorian Football Association were formed on 30 April and 17 May respectively. The game began to be played in New South Wales in 1877, in Western Australia in 1881 (During the 1880s, young men sent to school in Adelaide brought the game home when they had finished their education - more came from the eastern states later in the WA gold rush) and the Australian Capital Territory in 1911. By 1916, the game was first played in the Northern Territory, establishing a permanent presence in all Australian states and mainland territories.

The South Australian National Football League (SANFL), formerly named the South Australian Football Association, and the West Australian Football League (WAFL), formerly named the Western Australian Football Association, were strong, separate competitions by the 1890s. However, late in the century the code began to decline in New South Wales and Queensland largely due to interstate rivalries and the lack of strong local governing bodies. In the case of Sydney, denial of access to grounds and the loss of professional players to other football codes directly inhibited to the game's growth.

The first intercolonial match had been played between Victoria and South Australia on 2 August 1879.

Emergence of the VFL

In 1896, delegates from the stronger and wealthier VFA clubs — Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne — met to form a breakaway competition and in 1897, the Victorian Football League (VFL), was born as an eight-team competition. Popularity of the VFL grew rapidly and by 1925 with 12 teams, had become the most prominent league in the game and would dominate so many aspects of the sport from that point on.

Effects of the two world wars

in 1944.]] at the Sydney Cricket Ground.]]

Both World War I and World War II had a devastating effect on the sport of Australian football and on Australian sport in general. While scratch matches were played by Australian "diggers" in remote locations around the world, the game lost many of its great players to wartime service. Some competitions never fully recovered. Between 1914 and 1915 talks were held for a proposed amalgamation with rugby league, the predominant code of football in New South Wales and Queensland was considered and trialled. World War I saw the game in New Zealand go into recess for three quarters of a century. In Queensland, the state league went into recess for the duration of the war. VFL club University left the league and went into recess due to severe casualties. The WAFL lost two clubs and the SANFL was suspended for one year in 1916 due to heavy club losses. The ANZAC Day clash is one example of how the war continues to be remembered in the football community.

Interstate football and the Australian National Football Council

The Australian National Football Council's primary role was to govern the game at national level to facilitate interstate representative and club competition.

The ANFC ran the Championship of Australia, the first national club competition, which first ran in 1888 and saw clubs from different states compete on an even playing field. During this time, the Port Adelaide won a record four national club championships. Although clubs from other states were at times invited, the final was almost always between the premiers from the two strongest state competitions of the time, – South Australia and Victoria – and the majority of matches were played in Adelaide at the request of the SAFA/SAFL. By the 1960s, as VFL clubs increasingly recruited the best players from other states, they began to dominate the competition and the last match was played in 1976, with North Adelaide being the last non-Victorian winner in 1972. Between 1977 and 1987, the Australian Football Council (AFC) in conjunction with the VFL ran a night series, which invited clubs and representative sides from around the country to participate in the "National Football League" for the Wills Cup, however Victorian sides still dominated.

With the lack of international competition, representative matches between state teams were regarded with great importance. Originating from the early intercolonial matches, these tests continued well after Federation of Australia in 1901 and the Australian Football Council co-ordinated regular interstate carnivals. In 1908, a Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival was held to celebrate 50 years of Australian rules football. The carnival included teams representing Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and New Zealand. Again, due primarily to the VFL recruiting the best players, Victoria dominated interstate matches for three quarters of a century. Representative football was kept alive longer than the national club competition with the introduction of State of origin rules in 1977. The new rules mean that rather than representing the state of their adopted club, players would return to play for the state they were first recruited in. This instantly broke Victoria's stranglehold over state titles and Western Australia and South Australia began to win many of their games against Victoria. Both New South Wales and Tasmania scored surprise victories at home against Victoria in 1990.

Towards a national club competition

on the Gold Coast between Adelaide and Melbourne. The AFL is the most attended national competition in Australia and the only fully professional league for Australian football in the world.]] In 1978, the term Barassi Line was used to describe the football dichotomy that had emerged in Australia over three quarters of a century and also the first suggestion of regular interstate club competition or national league.

By 1980, the way the game was played had changed dramatically, with the phasing out of many of the game's kicking styles, changing rules and the influence of the handballing game and television.

In 1982, in a move that heralded big changes within the sport, one of the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne, relocated to the rugby league stronghold of Sydney and became known as the Sydney Swans as it was on verge of going out of business. In the late 1980s, due to the poor financial standing of many of the Victorian clubs, the VFL led to a more national competition; two more non-Victorian clubs, the West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears began playing in 1987. In their early years, the Sydney and Brisbane clubs continued to struggle both on and off-field before an eventual bailout by the league, which granted significant draft concessions and financial aid to keep them competitive. Each club was required to pay a licence fee which allowed the Victorian based clubs to survive.

The league changed its name to the Australian Football League (AFL) following the 1989 season. In 1991, it gained its first South Australian team, Adelaide, which paid five million dollars to enter the AFL. During the next five years, two more non-Victorian teams, Fremantle and Port Adelaide, joined the league. From 2011 - 2012 two new teams will be added to the competition. The Gold Coast Suns and the Greater Western Sydney Giants, with the former joining the competition in 2011 and the latter to compete in the 2012 fixture. The AFL, currently with 18 member clubs, 17 of which will compete in the 2011 season, is the sport's elite competition and the most powerful body and continues to seek further opportunities to expand into new markets.

Following the emergence of the Australian Football League, the SANFL, WAFL and other state leagues rapidly declined to a secondary status. Apart from these there are many semi-professional and amateur leagues around Australia, where they play a very important role in the community, and particularly so in rural areas. The VFA, still in existence a century after the original schism, merged with the former VFL reserves competition in 1998. The new entity adopted the VFL name and remained a primarily state based competition.

State of origin games also declined in importance, especially after an increasing number of withdrawals by AFL players. The AFL turned its focus for representation to an annual International Rules Series against Ireland in 1998 before abolishing State of Origin in 1999. The second-tier state and territorial leagues still contest interstate representative matches.

Although Tasmanian AFL Bid has been ongoing, rather than pursue a national competition, the AFL's focus has become gaining marketshare in lucrative and broadcasting rights in the more populous Australian states and has advanced plans to create football franchises on the Gold Coast, Queensland (Gold Coast Football Club) and in Greater Western Sydney (Greater Western Sydney Football Club). The AFL regularly schedules pre-season exhibition matches in all Australian states and territories as part of the Regional Challenge.

Australian football internationally

at the Linkbelt Oval]]

Australian rules football is played at an amateur level in various countries around the world. Over 30 countries are home to clubs or leagues who play regularly, with around 20 that have either affiliation or working agreements with the AFL. There have been several players in the VFL/AFL who were born outside Australia and since 1982, an increasing number of players have been recruited from outside Australia through initiatives such as the Irish experiment and more recently, international scholarship programs.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the game spread with the Australian Diaspora to areas such as New Zealand and South Africa; however this growth went into rapid decline following World War I. After World War II, the sport experienced a small amount of growth in the Pacific region, particularly in Nauru, Papua New Guinea and later New Zealand.

Most of the current amateur clubs and leagues in existence have developed since the 1980s, when leagues began to be established in North America, Europe and Asia. As the size of the Australian diaspora has increased, so has the number of clubs outside Australia. This expansion has been further aided by multiculturalism and assisted by exhibition matches as well as exposure generated through players who have converted to and from other football codes. In Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States there are many thousands of players.

The AFL became the de facto governing body when it pushed for the closure of the International Australian Football Council in 2002. The Australian Football International Cup is currently the highest level of senior international competition.

International Rules Football

Since 1967 there have been many matches between Australian rules football teams (mainly from Australia) and Gaelic football teams (mainly from Ireland), under various sets of hybrid, compromise rules known as International rules football. In 1984, the first official representative matches of International Rules were played, and these were played annually each October between the AFL and the Gaelic Athletic Association, also known as the GAA, between 1998 and 2006. These were part of the official International Rules Series, which attracted large crowds and media interest in Ireland and Australia. In 2007 the international rules series was abandoned because of the aggression and the severity of the Australian team in the previous year, but in 2008, under new rules to protect the player with the ball, it resumed in Australia.

Australian rules football culture

Australian football is a sport rich in tradition and Australian cultural references, especially surrounding the rituals of gameday for players, officials and supporters.

Australian football has attracted more overall interest among Australians (as measured by the Sweeney Sports report) than any other football code, and, when compared with all sports throughout the nation, has consistently ranked first in the winter reports, and most recently third behind cricket and swimming in summer.

In 2006, a total of 615,549 registered participants played Australian football in Australia. Participation increased 7.84% between 2005–06.

Australian football is played in more than 30 countries around the world. This has grown to about 35,000 people in 32 countries playing in structured competitions outside of Australia Australian rules is the national sport of Nauru.

Many related games have emerged from football, mainly with variations of contact to encourage greater participation. These include Kick-to-kick (and its variants such as 'End to End Footy' and 'Markers Up'), Auskick, Rec Footy, Women's Australian rules football, 9-a-side Footy, Masters Australian Football, handball and longest-kick competitions. Players outside of Australia sometimes engage in related games on the available fields, like Metro Footy (played on gridiron fields) and Samoa Rules (played on rugby fields).

Australian Football Hall of Fame

For the centenary of the VFL/AFL in 1996, the Australian Football Hall of Fame was established. In that year 136 identities were inducted, including 100 players, 10 coaches, 10 umpires, 10 administrators and six media representatives.

The selections have caused some controversy, mainly because of the predominance of VFL players at the expense of those who played in other leagues in the years before there was a national competition.

The elite Legend status was bestowed on 12 members of the Hall of Fame in 1996: Ron Barassi, Haydn Bunton Senior, Roy Cazaly, John Coleman, Jack Dyer, Polly Farmer, Leigh Matthews, John Nicholls, Bob Pratt, Dick Reynolds, Bob Skilton and Ted Whitten (see above list for further details).

The following ten members have been promoted to the status of "Legend" since 1996: Ian Stewart (1997), Gordon Coventry (1998), Peter Hudson (1999), Kevin Bartlett (2000), Barrie Robran (2001), Bill Hutchison (2003), Jock McHale (2005), Darrel Baldock (2006), Norm Smith (2007), Alex Jesaulenko (2008) and Kevin Murray (2010).

See also

Australian rules football attendance records

Australian rules football positions

List of Australian rules football clubs

List of Australian rules football terms

References

External links

Laws of Australian Football 2008

Australian Football explained in 17 languages – a publication from AFL.com.au

Culture Victoria – Football Stories from Country Victoria

Australian Football League (AFL) official site

Aussie Rules International

Masters – Australian Football for the over 30s

Australian Institute of Sport AFL website

Australian Sports Commission website

Full Points Footy – comprehensive history site

Category:Australian culture Category:Ball games Category:Team sports Category:Sports originating in Australia Category:Football codes

Name	Australian Crawl
Img alt	Four males holding guitars, a fifth male at centre holds microphone stand.
Background	group_or_band
Alias	Clutch Cargo
Origin	Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
Genre	PopRock
Years active	1978–1986
Label	EMI, Geffen, Virgin
Associated acts	The Party BoysThe AngelsKevin Borich ExpressGANGgajangChantoozies
Past members	Simon BinksDavid ReyneJames ReyneBrad Robinson (d. 1996)Paul WilliamsBill McDonoughGuy McDonough (d. 1984)Graham "Buzz" BidstrupJohn WatsonMark GreigHarry Brus

Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams (bass guitar), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David Reyne (drums) in 1978. David Reyne soon left and was replaced by Bill McDonough (drums, percussion). They were later joined by his brother Guy McDonough (vocals, rhythm guitar). and sponsored a surfing competition in 1984. However, they also handled broader social issues such as shallow materialism, car accidents, and cautionary tales of romance. Founding guitarist Brad Robinson was unable to attend the Hall of Fame induction in person, as he was hospitalised with lymphoma and died two weeks later.

Biography

1975–1979

The band Spiff Rouch

By early 1978 Spiff Rouch had separated into two groups: The Flatheads (including the McDonough brothers and Walker, along with Sean Higgins and Nigel Spencer) and Australian Crawl. The original lineup for the latter was Reyne as vocalist, Binks on lead guitar, Williams on bass guitar, along with Reyne's younger brother David Reyne on drums and schoolmate Brad Robinson on rhythm guitar.

David Reyne left the group in 1979 to finish his acting course, later becoming an actor and TV presenter as well as drumming for Cats Under Pressure and the Chantoozies (1986–1990). Reyne had co-written the song with guitarist Mark Hudson in 1975. The track included references to the shallow materialism of residents of Toorak Australian Crawl made one of the most memorable debuts on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV series Countdown performing "Beautiful People" as Reyne still had both arms encased in plaster. "Beautiful People" remains one of their most popular songs according to listeners of Triple M in 2007.

1980

Australian Crawl's debut album The Boys Light Up (1980), also produced by Briggs for EMI, It also reached #22 on the National charts}}

1981–1982

In 1981, Australian Crawl recorded their second album, Sirocco with producer Peter Dawkins in Sydney. Named for Errol Flynn's yacht, the album peaked at No. 1 on the Australian album chart on 3 August and remained there for six weeks. who co-wrote a track "Easy On Your Own" Of these, "Errol" about womanising Tasmanian-born actor Flynn is the band's third most popular song of all. On the wave of this popularity the band toured extensively playing to huge crowds at Melbourne's Myer Music Bowl (100,000), Sydney's Domain (90,000), the Narara Rock festival (70,000), smashing attendance records at indoor venues in Brisbane and Perth.

Sons of Beaches (1982) was recorded in Hawaii with expatriate Australian Mike Chapman producing. For Reyne's role of playboy tennis professional Greg Marsden, he was given the 1984 "Most Popular New Talent Award" at the TV Week Logie Awards. Reyne later declared he was not very good in the part, declining many acting offers since. The resultant album, Live at Several 21sts, peaked at No. 9 on the national chart.

1983–1984

Soon after Reyne finished acting for Return to Eden, Bill McDonough left due to tensions within the band.

In June 1984 the band was forced off the road when Guy McDonough was admitted to hospital in Melbourne; he died soon after of viral pneumonia. Bill McDonough assembled the tapes and produced Guy McDonough's posthumous album My Place on Wheatley Records in April 1985. Singles "My Place" / "Things Don't Seem" and "What's in it For Me" / "Hook, Line and Sinker" were also released. "Things Don't Seem" written by Guy McDonough, Tracks from these sessions were re-mastered and released on Lost & Found in 1996.

1985–1986

By 1985 the group recorded their last studio album, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, with English producer Adam Kidron. It was released in Australia on Australian Crawl's own label Freestyle Records. The album, which allegedly cost $400,000 to record,

When the album virtually failed to chart, the band was ready to split but had to go out on tour to pay off its debts.

In seven years, Australian Crawl had sold over a million records in Australia, with five of its albums and an EP reaching the Australian Top 5 Album Charts, two of which had been No. 1 hits.

Post 1986

In 1985, Lin Buckfield (Electric Pandas) and Reyne released a duet single "R.O.C.K." / "Under My Thumb". After Australian Crawl disbanded, Reyne went on to a solo career. His first few singles failed to chart but 1987's "Fall of Rome" and the self titled album that followed were the beginning of a string of hits that lasted until the early 1990s. In 1992 he and James Blundell had a hit with a cover of The Dingoes' "Way Out West" (#2, May 1992). Reyne also formed Company of Strangers that year with former Sherbet lead singer Daryl Braithwaite, Simon Hussey and Jef Scott. Company of Strangers only released one self-titled album, Company of Strangers in 1992, which produced the hits "Motor City (I Get Lost)" (#26, September 1992), "Sweet Love" (#21, January 1993) and "Daddy's Gonna Make You a Star" (#35, March 1993).

In 1993 Reyne appeared as Tina Turner's manager Roger Davies in What's Love Got to do With It?. He has released his eighth solo studio album, Every Man a King (2007) and still performs occasionally. Robinson then moved into a career in television (with Network Ten's Page One) and as a co-producer of documentaries. In the 1990s he became the manager for the Reyne brothers and worked as an agent for the Advantage Sports Management Group. This included managing Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis. He was injured in a 1995 car crash at a council roadworks that left him slightly brain-damaged. A court in 2006 awarded him $330,253 in damages, down from an estimated $750,000 because he was said to be over the legal limit. A 2007 appeal by the council, saw amount awarded further reduced to $304,750.

Australian Crawl compilation Lost & Found was released in 1996 and contained seven of the tracks from Guy McDonough's solo album My Place which were remastered. Compilers and producers of Lost & Found were Bill McDonough and Peter Blyton. Some My Place tracks used on Lost & Found have Reyne singing backing vocals.

On 14 October 2002, EMI released a two-CD Greatest Hits package called Australian Crawl & James Reyne: The Definitive Collection, which contained songs from the band and from James Reyne's solo career.

In October 2007, eleven Australian Crawl tracks were featured in the Triple M Essential 2007 Countdown of songs (positions are voted by listeners out of the best 2007 songs of all time). They were "Hoochie Gucci Fioruci Mama" #1673; "Lakeside" #1354; "Indisposed" #956; "Downhearted" #728; "Oh No Not You Again" #587; "Shut Down" #415; "Things Don't Seem" #371; "Boys Light Up" #305; "Errol" #227; "Beautiful People" #153; and "Reckless" #39.

Members

Chronological list:

Simon Binks — guitars (1978–1984, 1985–1986)

David Reyne — drums (1978)

James Reyne — vocals, guitars, keyboards (1978–1986)

Brad Robinson (d. 1996) — guitars, keyboards (1978–1986)

Paul Williams — bass guitar (1978–1985)

Bill McDonough — drums (replaced David Reyne) (1978–1983)

Guy McDonough (d. 1984) — vocals, guitar (1980–1984)

Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup — drums (replaced Bill McDonough) (1983)

John Watson — drums (replaced Bidstrup) (1983–1986)

Mark Greig — guitars (replaced Guy McDonough) (1984–1986)

Simon Hussey — guitars, keyboards (replaced Binks on Between a Rock and a Hard Place) (1984)

Harry Brus — bass guitar (replaced Williams) (1985–1986)

Discography

Studio albums and EP

The Boys Light Up (1980)

Sirocco (1981)

Sons of Beaches (1982)

Semantics (EP) (1983)

Semantics (US LP) (1984)

Between a Rock and a Hard Place (1985)

Live recordings

Phalanx (1983)

The Final Wave (1986)

Compilations

Crawl File (1984)

Lost & Found (1996)

More Wharf: Greatest Hits (1998)

credited to Australian Crawl and James Reyne (2000)

Australian Crawl and James Reyne: The Definitive Collection (2002)

References

External links

Australian Rock Database

Official website of James Reyne

Category:Victoria (Australia) musical groups Category:Australian rock music groups Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Musical groups established in 1978 Category:Australian Crawl

Name	Adam Hills
Birth date	July 10, 1970
Birth place	Sydney
Medium	Television, radio
Nationality	Australian
Active	1989–present
Genre	Stand-up
Influences	Chris Addison, Greg Fleet, Rich Hall, Daniel Kitson, Ross Noble, David O'Doherty
Influenced	Sammy J
Spouse	Ali McGregor
Notable work	Host Spicks and Specks
Website	http://www.adamhills.com/

Adam Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian and television presenter. He has appeared on Australian and British television and is best known for his role hosting the Australian ABC music trivia show Spicks and Specks. He has been nominated for a Perrier Comedy Award and Gold Logie Award.

He began performing as a stand-up comedian in 1989 at the age of 19, and since 1997 has produced ten solo shows which have toured internationally. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just for Laughs festival, earning three consecutive Perrier Award nominations for his Edinburgh shows in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

In 2002, he scored a minor hit with his single "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem to the tune of "Working Class Man", a famous song by iconic Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes.

Personal life

Originally from the Sydney suburb of Loftus, Hills developed an interest in comedy after discovering an inflight comedy channel on a plane at the age of eight. Hills was born without a right foot and wears a prosthesis, which has become a frequent source of comedy in his act. He studied a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) at Macquarie University, graduating in 1991.

He is married to opera soprano Ali McGregor. Their wedding took place in late December 2009 and their first child, a daughter named Beatrice Pearl, was born on 8 May 2010.

Career

Stand-up career

Hills entered the comedy scene in 1989 when he made his first appearance at the Sydney Comedy Store at the age of 19. He spent several years from 1991 splitting his time between stand-up gigs and breakfast radio, but by the mid-1990s Hills says the hours had become exhausting and he decided to focus on live comedy. In 1997 he premiered "Stand Up and Deliver", the first of 10 solo shows, all of which have toured internationally. He has travelled widely, performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just For Laughs festival. He has been nominated for three consecutive Perrier Comedy Awards for his 2001, 2002 and 2003 solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The title of his 2001 show, "Go You Big Red Fire Engine", was coined during a 1999 performance in Melbourne. Hills asked an audience member to yell his name to the audience and for the audience to yell it back, but instead the man yelled "Go you big red fire engine!" The phrase quickly became an audience chant, and Hills promised he would make it the name of his next show because, he says, "it was such an uplifting and genuinely silly moment." "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" later became the name of a second stand-up show and a comedy album; it also appeared in a Detroit newspaper, on a Swedish website and was yelled by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja in the Australian Parliament.

Hills regularly has a sign language interpreter at his festival shows, a move sparked by a performance he did in Adelaide at a disability art conference. An interpreter had been provided at the show, and Hills found that it not only allowed the deaf audience members to enjoy his material but was also an entertaining and fascinating experience for the hearing audience members. "Now I have hearing people who will only book [for signer shows]," he says. He has also made appearances on Australian shows Rove Live, The Glass House and The Fat, as well as the British Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Mock the Week. He conducted backstage interviews at Australia's 2005 and 2006 Logie Awards and was one of three presenters at the 2007 awards.

In June 2008, Hills co-hosted the ABC coverage of the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

In July 2009, Hills appeared in Thank God You're Here; he also appeared on Good News Week.

Hills will present his own weekly talk show on the ABC from early 2011, entitled Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight.

Other work

In 2002, Hills released a single titled Working Class Anthem, in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem, "Advance Australia Fair", to the tune of "Working Class Man", a famous song by iconic Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes, titling it "Working Class Anthem". Around 40 comedians contributed to the song, which made the independent top 10 in Australia. All proceeds went to the Australasian Fire Authority Council, an organisation supported by Barnes and Jon Bon Jovi that supports firefighters. Hills has performed the song several times on television, including a performance honouring Barnes' guest appearance on Spicks and Specks.

Between 2003 and 2005, Hills wrote as a columnist for the BBC's disability website Ouch!.

Solo shows

Stand Up and Deliver (1997)

Life Is Good (1998)

My Own Little World (1999)

Goody Two Shoes (2000)

Go You Big Red Fire Engine (2001) – Perrier nominee

Happy Feet (2002) – Perrier nominee

Cut Loose (2003) – Perrier nominee

Go You Big Red Fire Engine 2: Judgement Day (2004)

Characterful (2006)

Joymonger (2007)

Inflatable (2009)

Mess Around (2010)

Awards

For his television duties, Hills has been nominated at the Logie Awards on numerous occasions. Here are what he's been nominated for:

Gold Logie: 2008 - 2011

Most Popular Presenter: 2008 - 2011

Most Outstanding New Talent: 2006

Most Popular New Talent: 2006

References

External links

Columns written for the BBC Ouch! disability website

MOSH Profile

TGS Profile

Interview

Sydney Morning Herald article

Category:Australian comedians Category:Australian game show hosts Category:Australian stand-up comedians Category:Australian television personalities Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Australian people with disabilities