Welcome to the best sport on the planet. Footy predates all the games you mention, so no copycatting. BTW, congrats, you are one of the very few who have worked out the scoring system. Cheers from AU.

I'm 52 and sitting on my couch watching this. When I get up I'll be reminded of the 15 years I played Aussie rules. Crunching joints, a buckling knee, a shoulder that screams if I try to raise it above head height and ankles that constantly send needles to my pain receptors at the speed of light. Do I regret it? Never ever. Every Saturday afternoon running over that white line with my brothers I'll cherish to the day I die. It's a warrior sport and it's played hard, rough and occasionally dirty, but after the final siren we would drink beers with blokes that earlier we were smashing or being smashed by. Acknowledge the good, the bad and the ugly. and with a laugh. Until the next time we meet and do battle one more. Every time I wince with pain, I'm reminded how much I love the greatest sport in the world and how blessed I was to have played it.

American here. I have been a footy fan since the 90's.

Australia rules football is older than all your American sports.

You're the 1st ones who figured out the score board. Well done. 1st one is number of goals which are 6 points each. Then there's the behinds which are 1 point. Last one is the total points all up.

Not anybody can do anything...everybody has to do everything. You have to be able to kick with both feet, handpass with both hands, tackle, run, mark (catch), defend, attack, kick goals - often from beyond 50m or from acute angles, while being pursued, jump, dodge, weave, bounce the ball on the run...players can run up to 18km (11+ -miles) in a game. There are only 4 substitutes that are rotated so you also have to have a lot of strength/stamina.

Glorious Reaction..and you correctly calc'd the scoring also (very rare with US reactions)......Love how you get the awesomeness of this game & our players so quickly. AFL by far the best sport in the world. The skills, bravery, resilience & fitness required outdoes any other sport.

I still can't get over something so ordinary we've grown up watching and playing blows everyone else's mind. Love it!

By the way we do have an ex American basketball player playing AFL here in Aus his name is Mason Cox and he plays for Collingwood (the Magpies) there are videos about him on youtube.

As a Minnesotan, I love the AFL! I first saw it nearly 40 years ago (when I was in high school) on ESPN late at night (ESPN used to show stuff like this before they had the big American sports contracts). I have a good friend in Geelong (Cats) who sent me a Cats sweatshirt, so that's my team. I fell in love with it for the same reasons you mentioned; it has a bit of everything in it! It's a lot of fun to watch. Maybe someday I'll catch a game live? Other Australian things (bands) to check out: THE CHURCH "Under the Milky Way" and MIDNIGHT OIL "Beds Are Burning".

To answer a couple of your questions. Players have specific positions and will start in those positions but can move anywhere around the field. The general concept is for be for a defender in the backline to defend and get the ball to a player in the center, who would then in turn gets the ball to a player in the forward line to score. This however is a fast moving game and players move with the play, defenders will often end up in the forward line and forwards in the back line. Basically any player that is in a position to potentially score will take a shot at the goals. Unlike American football there are not any players who are assigned just one specific task. The ruckmen in the team, the guys that jump and tap the ball like at the start of the game are normally the tallest players. Teams will normally have several tall players in the forward line and backline, other than that there is a mixture of height players. There are no time outs, coaching staff can interchange a player from the bench but one of the 18 players on the field must come off the field before a player on the bench can go on. There are only minimal time stoppages in play, these are mainly when the ball goes out of bounds, there is then a brief stop while it is thrown back in. There can also be a brief stop when the ball is held by a number of players by both teams and is unlikely to go anywhere fast, the umpire with stop play, throw the ball up to restart play. The other main stoppage is when a goal is kicked, play is stopped and the ball is taken back to the center of the ground where it is bounced and the ruckmen jump and tap the ball in the same manner as at the start of the game.

Greatest pure athletes in team sports in the world

You leave an AFL match exhausted. It's such a high energy high scoring game and the fans have the same energy. No other sport like it in the world. Go the Swansssssss!!!!

You guys need to watch AFL's biggest hits.

Nice! Pls do Eddie Betts highlights. It boggles the mind, what he could do. 😄

Beginners guide to Aussie Rules is pretty good too

Now you know why the nfl is recruiting kickers from Australia, also there is an extensive league in the USA and Canada. So you may be able to attend a local game.

Already representing with the Gold & Brown. Welcome to the Hawks nest Mike & Jess!

There are still positions in AFL. Full forwards and full backs, half forwards and half backs, wingers, inside midfielders, etc but they all do everything. Kick, handball, tackle etc. Players 'specialize' in a certain role according to their skills and size. For example, a half back could be a running defender or an intercepting defender. Key forwards are the tall, big bodied aerial targets in offence who are usually also the main goalkickers, but there are also small forwards who are quick, agile and can often score goals from gathering the loose balls that come to ground. There are plenty of other roles and there are some players who can do more than one. We have a player on my team who is good as both a winger and a running defender and he gets switched around depending on our opponents strengths. Regardless of the role, all players have to be able to kick, handball and tackle - the basic footy fundamentals.

Your the first American I've seen to work to score line out straight away haha

Yeah, we're proud of our game🙂👍

The field is a cricket field. Australian football was created as a winter sport in the 1850s and naturally used cricket fields in the cricket offseason.

Oh, I'm so glad this channel was recommended to me. This is going to be a fun watch. Hi, I'm 42, I'm an Australian from Melbourne, now living in Sydney, who loves AFL. And I hope you will come to like it as well.

Thank you for finally understanding the scoring system!! 😂❤

I’m British born and became Australian citizen when l turned 10yrs . I have followed AFL RULES since 1953

Thanks. As an Aussie I loved the way you reacted to our national game. The speed and skill required for this game is unbelievable. I am a Bomber fan (Essendon) fan for life and off to the MCG (The big ground in the video) on Sunday for a sold out game of around 90,000 for an ordinary game.

AFL is a great game..I love it.

To break down the lines of players: Forward Line - Full Forward(stands in Goal Square, Right Forward Pocket and Left Forward Pocket. Half-Forward Line - Centre Half Forward, Right Forward Flank and Left Forward Flank. These players stand inside the 50 metre line. Next is the Centre Line - Centre(starts in the Centre Square), Right Wing and Left Wing(wings start outside the Centre Square). The Ruck Area - Ruck(takes the Centre Bounce/Toss Ups), Ruck Rover and Rover(all these players start in the Centre Square. The Half-Back Line - Centre Half Back, Right Back Flank and Left Back Flank. The Back Line - Full Back(stands in the Goal Square), Right Back Pocket and Left Back Pocket. The Interchange Bench - 4 Interchange Players and a Medical Substitute(introduced 2021 used especially for injured and unable to continue playing e.g: concussion, etc.).

Before they made alterations to the MCG the highest attendance at a grand final was 120,000, now the max is just over 100,000. This same stadium was used for the 1956 Olympics. The field is the size and shape it is because it is a cricket pitch. AFL is played on cricket pitches, from March til September AFL is played, and in the summer months cricket.

You summed it up perfectly - AFL is essentially every sport combined into 1.

I was a rugby player but i LOVE watching AFL live. Theres something going on all the time. It's exhausting!

Wow,this was GREAT! I had never heard of this sport and I am intrigued,too,Jess! What strength and stamina this must take! Very interesting. I just love learning new things! Thanks for your great reactions,Mike and Jess!❤❤

How neat!!!

Welcome to AFL! First played in 1858. Codified in 1859 so before many of the sports you said.

That’s the first time I’ve seen a reaction video where someone worked out the score card - nice work!

Search - Why AFL Is the Best Sport in the World - great video

Congratulations you are about the only ones to ever work out the scoring calculations from this video. This game pre dates all the others you mentioned going back to 1859. There are amature teams all over the world now , even 150 in the US . The women also play professionally in Australia. The game is continuous , so no stops and starts , a bit like soccer . Its fast , tough and highly skilled . Players can be any size as there are positions for everyone . Everyone has to be able to perform the basic skills of handball , kicking , tackling and marking / catching the ball, but there are specialist positions .Like the ruckmen are all really tall and can jump like basketballers , while the small players are fast and elusive . Great reaction , you should check out Best marks in the AFL , Best goals, Eddie Betts best goals or Mason Cox's story , Don't believe in never , he's a player from Texas who made it in the AFL.

Hi Mike and Jess. I've recently discovered your reactions, and you're one of the few reactors who seem to get British humour, which is very similar to Aussie humour. I'm very impressed that Mike was able to work out the scores that were shown as an example. No other Americans that I have watched have even come close to understanding it. As to your question about who can score..............the answer is anyone who can manage to get into a position to attempt a shot at goal is allowed to. Although, the coach of the team might not be impressed if you miss and then your opponent gets the ball and scores up the other end of the ground.

hello from Outback Australia. Love watching all the reaction videos on here.

From a non biased Australian, Australian rules is the best sport to play and the best sport to watch.

You are exactly correct in that any player on the ground can do anything at any time of the game.

Love that you guys did this. This sport is off the charts, what we don’t see off camera is the amount of running they do off the ball. The first 3 games of the seasons the players are throwing up by the 3rd quarter because no matter how much training you do. Match fitness is just another level you need to build to. Great reaction guys

I grew up in Alabama and I’m a big College football fan! But moved to Australia in 1999, and I fell in love with AFL (“Ozzy” rules football). IMHO It’s the BEST all around sport in the world!

Mason Cox is a Texan who plays AFL. He was the first American to play at the highest level. There's a video about his road to the AFL, search 'Mason Cox, Don't Believe In Never'

I had an online argument with an American who refused to believe an average AFL player could excel at your NFL without much effort. You guys realise in 30 seconds the skill involved in playing AFL.

To clafify, yep, you're correct. At every centre bounce, the players have to start in their position (midfielder/defender/forward) but otherwise, anyone can run anywhere. Sometimes players will even play multiple positions over the course of a game. If they're not having a good game in the midfield, maybe they're just not winning the ball very often, the coach might make them play in defence, or up forward instead. Currently we're about halfway through the 2024 season. This week is Round 12, and there are 24 regular-season rounds, then the finals. The Grand Final is usually played on the final weekend of September or the first weekend of October. It's a winter-sport (for us Australians anyway) that was originally created to keep Cricket players fit during their off-season. This video is actually a few years old now, there's a newer version called "A Beginner's Guide to Australian Football." Another thing you might find interesting is there's actually an American playing AFL at the professional level. Mason Cox, nicknamed 'American Pie' used to play college Basketball for Oklahoma State, then he was scouted, recruited and now he plays in the AFL for the Collingwood Magpies. He played in the team that won the Grand-Final last year, so now he has a Premiership medal (the equivalent of a Superbowl ring).

Favourite player? A rookie named Harley Reid, plays for the West Coast Eagles. #1 draft pick last year. Similar hype to LeBron back in the day. You are welcome!

Lyle is a great guy. Love his reactions.

AFL season has already started, starts end of March. The Grand Final is the last Saturday in September

The Grand Final is actually played in front of 100,000 people. This years finals are going to go off its head with 3 of the biggest clubs bound to play against each other.

I enjoy watching americans and o/s countries react to this video.

Welcome guys ,to the best sport in the world. It really is an epic game. :) Glad to have you join up.

You want to watch an amazing game. Look up the 2023 Grand Final between Collingwood and Brisbane.

It's a great game with so many different skillful plays. One of my favourite moments is players handballing the ball out of a scrum, so unbelievably quick as the punch the ball to each other, especially around the goals in a close game and the pressure is on to score. There is another very good video that's presented by a Pommy bloke. He explains some detail on the basic strategies behind player positions, perhaps any fellow Aussies can help out on the name of I can't remember. Great reaction enjoyable. Go the Dockers !!

Yesterday when my team Carlton was playing, Harry McKay played at full forward kicking the second goal. Later on he was deep in defence helping out there and at various stages he took the centre ruck hit-outs and middle field wing positions.

Well done, Mike and Jess. An enlightening intro to the game. I'm a long time fan of the game. You can watch weekly highlights of the games on KZfaq. Round 10 of a 22 game round (ie before the finals) just took place last weekend (19,18,17 16 May) Most of the goals are shown although the tension of a full game is missing. Having said that a full game is VERY long. The highest crowd attendance was 121,696 when Collingwood played Carlton at the MCG: in the 1970 Grand Final. Nowadays the Grand Final crowd is always 90,000+. I follow the Sydney Swans and they are in the lead at the moment. Go Swannies! PS The single point score is called a behind - thus, goals and behinds.

Great job figuring out the scoring, you're the first overseas reactors to work that out in the reaction. The games are always around 2ish hours, it's 20 minute quarters with time on for stoppages of play, which is always at least 10 minutes a quarter, but sometimes it can be 8 minutes, or in other quarters it might be 15 minutes extra. The Grand Final gets 100,000+ every year now, the game's bigger than it's ever been, and i'm pretty sure that in the past year or two, it's had the 3rd highest average crowd attendance ahead of the English Premier League Soccer, so AFL is just getting bigger and bigger every year. There's a more updated "What is AFL?" vid that was made a few years ago which might explain things a little more to you, it's also worth checking out "Top 50 Goals" and "Top 50 Marks" of all-time, just to get an idea of the skills in the game, then there's lots of "Biggest Hits" type vids if you wanna check out the hard side of the game. There's a heap of really good AFL content to react to.

Watch "Mason Cox Don't Believe In Never" - an American who plays AFL. You'll love it!

Loved your reaction to our beloved game here in Oz - Footy (AFL). Despite being relatively unknown on the world stage, it’s actually the 4th most watched live league in the world per game, behind only the English Premier League and German Budesliga (Soccer) and the NFL, with our Grand Final often ranking as the highest attended game in the word each year, 2nd last year with over 100,000 people there. You got quite a few things right in this video - I applaud you for it, as most don’t. The score card is written in goals + points = total score. Eg 20 12 - 132. This is done to show how accurate a team has been at kicking for goal. A team could also kick 22 goals and 0 points (we call them “behinds”) or 21 goals and 6 behinds, and still equal the same score, 132. You have to bounce the ball every 15 meters you run (16 yards), and dispose of it (kick it or hand pass it) before you’re tackled or it’s a free kick to the team who tackled them, provided they had the ball for more than one second before being tackled (which gives them opportunity to make a disposal). It does seem like a combination of many sports out here like you said too - NFL, basketball, volleyball, soccer etc - but amazingly, it was actually invented well before all of these other sports except soccer. The first proper game of AFL was in 1858, and was originally used as a sport to help keep cricket players fit during winter - their off season, and so therefor is played on the same ground as a cricket ground (oval). It’s also without doubt the loudest game here in Australia, and supporters often describe it as their religion. The next highest attended sport here in Australia is Rugby League, although their support base is only approximately half of the AFL. Because it’s not an “International” sport, many are unaware of it, but it’s quickly becoming more and more known around the world, so welcome - and now the next big question is , who’s your team? 🖤🤍🖤 Mine is Collingwood, the 2023 Premiers (Champions) . They’re the equal 1st in premierships in the entire league (16), and last year was the 4th in my lifetime. We also have the only American in our team, Mason Cox - who grew up playing basketball in the states, and now is one of the biggest known names in Australia. 🖤🤍🖤 They call him the American Pie as our mascot are the magpies. Go the Pies!! 🖤🤍🖤

The record attendance is from the 1970 Grand Final: 121,696 people.

Glad you are getting a kick out of our game, which is an obsession over here. Although it looks like a combination of lots of other games, it predates most of them, having been invented in Melbourne in 1858. There are set positions, with players being restricted to certain parts of the ground at the time of the centre bounce, but after that, it is a bit of a free-for-all. Different players definitely specialise in different roles. You could see that the tall guys do the tap outs at the bounces (the "jump balls"). There are key players in the back line (defence) and forward line (offence) who tend to be pretty tall so that they can take those big marks. And there are smaller, fast guys who get the ball out of packs or run past to receive the ball. But every player needs every skill - kicking, marking, hand ball, tackling.

We’re mid season now (June 2024) ~ season runs March to August with finals in September. I follow Collingwood, the Mighty Magpies 🖤🤍🖤 and we have a Texan playing for us. He’s our ruckman and a forward. There are named positions on the ground, but all players can play anywhere and can be moved around to any other position. It’s the best game in the world, uniquely Australian and I love it. Been following it all my life. I’m so glad you’ve discovered our brilliant game. 🥰

Thanks Mike and Jess for showcasing Australia's great game to your on-line community. Two things you highlighted were the required versatility of the players to be able to run, mark, kick, handball and bounce the ball (certainly at the elite level) on a large field where the action can come from any direction. This leads to great enjoyment of the players for the game; schools and football clubs the length and breadth of this wonderful country that help foster the interest and participation in the game.The second is the enthusiasm of the fans for the game both from a parochial point of view (i.e the team/s they support in the competition they are in), but also simply for the skill of the players and having favourite players (which I imagine is across all sports). What needs to be acknowledged is the role of sports that originated in England in the development of this game. From my understanding one of the founders of the game was Thomas Wills who was educated in England and brought his knowledge of rugby union, together with the oval-shaped ball, to the green expanses of Victoria. Additionally cricket played a large part as that was the most popular in the relatively new Australian colonies, and the dual use of a cricket oval during summer and then football during winter was substantially why the grounds were quite large (together with the wide expanses of land available for sporting purposes. It is one of speculative questions of history why was not Australian Rules more widely played internationally. For a short time, I think prior to and just after World War One New Zealand had many teams and played probably State (or individually sponsored teams) against a team or teams from Victoria and/or New South Wales. At some point in time Rugby Union took over there. Cricket-T20 World Cup currently playing There are many good things the USA and Canada learned and kept after Independence (1783? USA, 1867? Canada) their English colonisers including language, freedom, system of Government [House of Representatives and a House of Review (i.e Senate], judicial system of representation and development of laws, embrace of the Industrial revolution that lead to the railway and shipping networks that helped with expansion and linking of the various states and territories. It is a pity that both England and the USA did not embrace some of the ideas that have been developed particularly from the Scandinavian countries when it comes to welfare systems and general fairness when people go 'off track'. Then again the individual realisation, and sense of pride for family, community and country, have been drivers in what has, and continues to reflect, a country that encourages innovation, patrotism and hard work. One thing they failed to keep was the game of cricket. An 1844 match between USA and Canada I think is the first recognised international match and is still played (I assumed annually) to this day. In fact last week (Saturday 1 June 2024 the opening match of the cricket World Cup T20 Competition was played between USA and Canada in Dallas TX-what a match USA winning by 7 wickets with 14 balls remaining 3/197 defeating Canada 5/194). If you equate a six (6) in cricket with home runs in baseball there were 21 sixes hit in the match. Boring sports-Baseball, American Football and Ice-hockey This is subjective but unfortunately the USA and Canada have given the world the most boring sports: Baseball (pitchers stand at the mound for seemingly a minute scanning look around-in cricket a bowler comes in and just bowls the ball, the batsman has a greater chance of hitting the ball and scoring runs); American Football (rarely is the ball kicked) and whole teams are swapped over (defensive goes off and the offensive players comes on depending on whose got possession of the ball)- compare that with this video Mike and Jess have just reviewed and I am sure you will agree with me; and Ice-hockey-granted the players are very skillful to skate, pass the ball, but it is just so violent. What I call hockey is probably known as field hockey in North America. Though I will agree scoring is difficult in both games due in part to the size of the goal, off-side rule in field hockey, playing area and number of players. Also the Australian sports involve more running and actual participation from the players than the bench-warming that seems prevalent in these American sports. Australian Rules in USA Colleges- a possible solution to developing the game If Australian Rules was made a College sport, given the strength of the American College sporting system (I am amazed of the number of collegiate athletes-runners, jumpers, swimmers, who have developed and are developing through the American Collegiate system-literally an Olympic standard field in most swimming and running events) and the feeder system of athletes from high schools, then I think Australian Roles football could be established in North America. Certainly it embraces more skills and intuitive play, and therefore more appealing for a wider section of the community (running, skillful types, not simply blockers) than does the highly disciplined nature of American Football (I know as Gridiron) with all its various plays. Coaches have too much say in how games are played, and dictates to their players, than do Australia/English sports. [I think of all the ridiculous and strategic Timeouts in basketball, unfortunately something I now have seen in the Indian Premier League (Cricket). maybe it is just time to allow for more adverising, though in cricket you have that opportunity after the end of every over). Club versus College system We (in Australia) favour the local Club system of sports participation and development over the College (University) style system of the USA which I think is best and has served us well both domestically and internationally. [I acknowledge many of our track and field athletes have been significantly improved by being part of a USA College for four years (I think of Jessica Hull once of the Oregon Ducks who now is ranked 6th in the world in the 1500m). What do you think are the best sports, and best sporting system? PS USA President has watched a cricket test match Apparently in 1959 USA President Eisenhower watched a 1959 Test Match between Australia and Pakistan, in Pakistan. My God, even for me it would have been a hard game to watch as the pitches were so slow (I think they played on something called matting). I don't know if an American (or for that matter Canadian Prime Minister) has ever watched a Test match since.

Wow you figured it out yourself!!!! First time ever I’ve seen someone figure out the scoring on their own! Well done!!!

Chaos resolved into order to the scoring end. A game can last 2 hours excluding the breaks between quarters. And you're right. We call it footy. BTW, great reaction.

Love our Aussie rules footy. We go every week in winter. I go for one team and husband for another so we have 2 different memberships. Love it 🥰

9:25 You're right. Even a full-back, who normally guards the enemy goal can run forward and kick a goal, if he's able, but players generally stay in their half of the field ... except the midfielders. The Forwards are the specialized goal kickers, while the backs are the specialized tacklers, but the midfielders are both attackers AND defenders, and cover the WHOLE field. And when the field is 150m (164yd, 492 ft) long, it means they can run up to 8-10km during a game (5 - 6.5 mi). BTW, because of how the game is played is why a lot of NFL punters come from Australian AFL teams.

The MCG is the world's largest cricket ground, (that's what was shown) 105,00 capacity. It houses cricket in the summer, footy in the winter and concerts and other sports in between. It also fills to capacity during The Ashes Boxing Day Test series ( this is the famous tussle between the English cricket team and the Australians). On Thursday, it was filled for the State of Origin Queensland v New South Wales Rugby League game. It is quintessentially part of the Melbourne skyline.

I don’t know if this has been answered yet, but to your question: Positions: the midfield is kind of like a basketball centre, called a ruckman, with midfielders that are like basketball guards. Forwards and defenders are basically mirrored, with 2 basketball forwards with 4small forwards like soccer strikers. There is nothing like a quarterback or anything like that. Over simplified but I hope it helps. Your midfielder ‘taking it all the way and kicking a goal’ question. They can and do, but the defence will do their best to stop it so it can be easier, faster or just better to use the other players to avoid turning the ball over. And the season is currently running and I believe it is on one of the espn channels, maybe espn 2? Nice video! And I hope that helped

Finals are played from august into september but depending on drawn games can go into October

The "Full forward" stands in front of the goals, "forward pockets" stand either side of him, so picture a line of three across the front of the golf face. Between them and the middle of the ground there is another row of three, called "centre half forward" and "forward flanks." In the middle there is the "centre" and either side are called "wings." Halfway from the centre to the other end goal, we have "centre half back" and "half back flanks" either side. In front of the other goal is the "fullback" and "back pockets." Also contesting the ball in the middle when the umpire bounces/throws the ball up, it is a tall Ruckman and two midfielders. Now just reverse all these positions for the other team. The game moves as a frantic pace so players can end up out of position. That doesn't matter because even a backline player can kick a goal if he finds himself close enough. There are strategies that involve a backline player minding his opposition forward player, trying to prevent him from getting the ball. Last week a half backline player from my team, the red-and-white Sydney Swans ran through the middle of the ground and kicked a goal. It was only his seventh goal having played for years. The last couple of grand finals have seen just over 100,000 people in attendance. Glad you love our game. Cheers. 🇦🇺🦘🦢🦢🦢

its the greatest and most exiting game in the world

I’ve watched heaps and heaps of reaction vids to this video and you are the very first one I’ve seen nut out the score line correctly (a fault of the original video that they don’t explain it properly), very well done.

The United States Australian Football League or USAFL is the governing body for Australian rules football in the United States. It was conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997. It is based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. As of 2011, there were over 1,000 registered USAFL players.

The positions are basically just where you start on the field. You then go wherever the game takes you. You kind of buddy up with the opponent for the same position, when the other team has the ball, you try and keep on the other person and prevent them from getting the ball. When your team has the ball, you are trying to get away from the other person so you can take unimpeded marks.

Soccer started as a “sport” 3 years after the first Aussie rules club was founded (1860) soccer (1863) But Aussie rules matches started in the winter of 1858 when students from scotch college and Melbourne grammar competed against eachother in several matches, these have been credited as the first ever organized matches ever played however it’s hard to know if the game was played even earlier then this.

Bro you’re the first reactor to this afl explanation I’ve seen instinctively guess right on a couple of things and get everything the first time you’re good.

Check out a video called Don’t Believe in Never, the story of Mason Cox the first American to make it in the AFL. You have an Australian Rules Football league in the US called USAFL. It’s growing around the world finally after 170 odd years!

Yes the scoreboard can be confusing to someone first watching. The numbers represent the number of Goals scored, the number of Behinds scored and the Total number of the Points scored. The Goal are worth six points(e.g: 20x6=120) while the Behinds are worth one point(e.g: 10x1=10), this gives Total Points as 130(e.g: 120+10=130). A ball touched by any player before passing through the posts is also worth one point and called a Behind. A ball hitting either outer posts is determined to be out of bounds.

The current 2024 season started on 7th March, we are currently upto Round 9 of 24 Rounds; Round 24 is from 23rd to 25th August with a week break before the Finals Series start. The Finals start 5th to 8th September - Elimination( 5 v 8, 6 v 7) and Qualifying Finals( 1 v 4, 2 v 3). 13th and 14th September - Semi-Finals. 20th and 21st September - Preliminary Finals. 28th September - GRAND FINAL. Check your local television networks or streaming services for viewing times/replays.

Was at an AFL game on the weekend. Footy season is the absolute best - we're a big AFL family. It was such a thrilling game, beautiful to watch.

1. You worked out the scoring perfectly! As an Aussie kid it even confused me. 2. Volkanovski played Rugby League - which the Australian NRL took 2 games to Las Vegas in March 2024

When the scores are tight at the end the pressure and entertainment this sport gives is like no other. Edge of your seat stuff

you're the first people I've seen figure out the scoreboard first go lol, love your energy, great reaction!!

Love your enthusiasm. Yes, the players have positions they more or less stick to but they can do anything. It's a great spectator sport. Fast paced and high scoring. Taking the kids to a game in a few weeks.

Good onya guys!👍 Anuzzer Aussie (pronounced Ozzie!) here. Have been following you for over a year now. Luvya work!. Will hafta send you some Aussie Rock and comedy in the near future!. Gr8 channel. Zebedee from Oz. 👍👌

I am not sure of an exact video that breaks down the positions of AFL but I can give you a basic explanation. The game starts with a 6-6-6 formation which also happens after every goal. This means you must have 6 players in each arc of the ground, defense, midfield and forward. Each team have what is called a ruck man who is the person that jumps against the opposition ruck when the umpire throws or bounces the ball up. Any player can be a ruck but it is usually the teams taller players who rotate in that role throughout the game. With the ruck you have 3 players who are the inside midfielders. These guys battle to get the ball out of the midfield to their forward line. These players also rotate positions on the field with other players. Then you have the two outer midfielders who are called wing men who are usually some of the fastest players on the field. they will usually run into the middle to act as a player to hand ball the ball to, to help get the ball forward. They also help with defense when the ball goes the other way. Defense has their 6 players. Usually you have 2 - 3 players who are called your key defenders who are there to defend against the oppositions key forwards and try to nullify their influence on the game. The remaining smaller defenders have more of a mixed role in stopping opposition small forwards from getting the ball to kick a goal but also are the ones usually to get the ball out of defense and can run the ball forward with the help of the midfield. You then have your forwards which are basically your defenders in reverse. You have the big key forwards who are the main targets to kick the ball to as they have height and strength to grab the ball for a mark. Smaller forwards usually stay low in a marking contest as if the mark is not completed and the ball falls to the ground, they are the ones to get the ball and try to kick a goal. You then have 5 players on the bench. 4 are main rotation players who will usually rotate into any necessary position on the field as any players can potentially play and position on the field so those on the field can swap positions if the player coming on needs to take that position due to the player coming off needing to be covered and the on field player is a better replacement then the one coming on. Yes I know that sounds confusing. The 5th player is called the sub or substitute. This player can only come on if another player is subbed out of the game. There is only two reasons to sub out a player, an injury that forces the player not to be able to play on (concussions, soft tissue injuries or broken bones). The other way is a tactical reason, basically the coach pulls out a player who may not be playing at their best or is getting tired and the coach wants to inject a fresh player onto the field who should be able to provide a boost that the other players may not be able to do. Hopefully this helps

Teams are now 23 players. The positions are, full back, two back pockets, centre half back, two half back flankers, centre, two wingers, centre half forward, two half forward flankers, full forward, two forward pockets, ruck (jumps to punch the ball at the bounce/ throw up which begins each of the four quarters, takes place after each goal and in general play when the ball is held up in a scrimmage), two midfielders, four interchange players (players are rotated on and off the ground during the game, with 75 such changes allowed) and now a concussion/injury substitute. The tallest players play in the ruck. full forward, centre half forward, centre half back and full back spots.

Props on actually picking up on the score showing goals, behinds and total score. It's the one part of the original video I've always thought was a bit sloppy in the explanation of what it was showing. With the size and shape of the ground too it's because a lot of footy fields are also cricket grounds. There's a lot of crossover historically between the two in cricket is played in the summer and footy in winter so growing up a lot of people would play predominately one and then the other to stay fit in the off season.

You two are very sweet. Thanks for appreciating our game. We now have womens afl league.

Aussie Rules was founded in 1858 It is older than most of the other sports that you mentioned. Melbourne Football Club is the oldest football club in the world You were right with the score 20 x 6 = 120 + 10 = 130 Each team has 23 players on match days. 6 Backman (defenders) 6 Midfielders (centre of the ground) 6 Forwards (scorers) 4 Interchange (bench) & 1 Substitute ( who can be exchanged for an injured player or to exchange a player as a tactical option. Once the sub is used they are out for the rest of the game) Position Set Up Fullback line Right back pocket, Fullback, left back pocket Halfback line Right halfback, Centre halfback, Left halfback Center line Right wing, Centre, Left wing Half forward line Right half forward, Centre half forward, Left half forward Full forward line Right forward pocket, Full forward, Left forward pocket Rucks (Start in the centre for the bounce and follow the ball on the field in general play) Ruckman, Ruck Rover, Rover Interchange 4 players on the bench that can come on and off when interchanging with an other teammate so they can have a rest Substitute 1 player. This player can only come on after being substituted for another player This maybe due to an injury player or tactical move by the coach

We have an American from Texas playing and he has become a pretty good player Mason Cox. Also, this game produces quite a few kickers for the NFL, you can see why

In the original game format, it was rare for a defence(back line) players to score a goal; back then, it was positional play, you would kick the ball to a player in a specific position, and they would rarely move very far from the position. The Ruck, Ruck Rover and Rover generally were the players that moved around the most.

Geelong is your favourite team !!! :) Hehe Love your reaction.

Bro you are the first reactor to work out the scores....well done mate lol

Great reaction, looking forward to more afl videos 😆

The guy in red & black (31) at the start that kicks a massive goal actually has 2 sons that play college football in the states. Mason Fletcher (Cincinnati Bearcats) & Max Fletcher (Arkansas Razorbacks). I also noticed no one has mentioned Aussie Rules is possibly the oldest sport in the world & has connections to Marngrook which is a game that was played by Indigenous Australians, who are the longest continuous civilisation on the planet (65,000 to 75,000 thousand years).

lol... watched so many Americans react to What is AFL. You guys are the first to actually do the math when they show the scores. Everyone else just looked at the score and went "Huh?". You guys actually made some pretty insightful comments. As for your question about specific positions. They do exist, but are more like "suggestions". Players are usually more suited to one or two positions. Your comment about different player heights partially answers your question for you. Smaller players tend to be much faster and more agile, and are often more precise with their ball skills; so they play in roles where fast movement across the field and hand/foot passing skills are critical. Taller players usually play in "key positions" down the centre spine of the field. Their size and strength gives them an advantage when competing for the ball, especially when it is in the air. The tallest players generally fit the ruckman role. They contest those "basketball tip-off" style ball ups, trying to tap the ball to the advantage of their small, faster teammates. All that said, the game has evolved in the 21st century to where top players are skilled in multiple roles. Also, top players tend to be bigger on average than they were 20+ years ago. So they're suited to more roles on the field.

I'm just commenting on picking up the scoring so well. Congatulations on being able to do basic maths in a world where many can't. Nicely done!

Simply the greatest, most skilful game on Earth. Love our footy and nothing beats being at the game.