Tim Blair

"played Down Under since 1896".

That was the foundation year of the VFL, but the VFA, WAFL and SANFL had been around before. The game was first played on July 10 1958.

And also the factfile at the end: "Players: 18 per side with three interchangeable players" instead of four interchange.

"Points are scored by forcing, carrying or kicking the ball through a set of four parallel goal posts situated at the end of each field. "

Unless they have changed the rules a lot since I last saw an Aussie rules game you can't score by carrying the ball between the posts.

Doesn't say that though, does it Russ. Says "points are scored".

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1958? An unexpected fumble from Gareth in the goal square!

You need to fix the link to the story. An extraneous HTML tag appears in the middle.

Erp!

1958 minus 100 years!

As a player at the tournament the article describes, I can assure Gareth that we were allowed four interchange, not three.

If the link isn't working, try here. And bonus points for Gareth on the interchange issue!

Here's the error:

"In Australia, you drive on the opposite side of the road," he said. "My first job in Canada was working for a company that sold high-end luxury cars. So right away, I had to get used to driving Ferraris on the wrong side of the road."

The right side of the road is the correct side to drive on, not the wrong side.

Tim:

Glad to help! Thanks for the link

For his readers...if his link to my blog doesn't seem to be working, try:

http://www.ricksmiscellany.blogspot.com/

Tim:

Glad to help! Thanks for the link

For his readers...if his link to my blog doesn't seem to be working, try:

http://www.ricksmiscellany.blogspot.com/

Pristine beaches in Geelong? You said the story was accurate Tim!

There's no mention of how much beer must be consumed. I believe the answer to that question is: a lot.

I've discovered a modified rule Andrew. Drinking NO beer at the footy. Gives the game a whole new complexion. Sport's boring without beer.

My school invented the game. Ra! Ra! Ra!

My team was the first ever team. Go Dees!

Re the article...

1) St Kilda's more like the LA CLIPPERS.
2) Plenty of water in Geelong but NONE of it drinkable.
3) We don't dribble it. We BOUNCE it. It being the AGATE.
4) We drive on the RIGHT side of the road. The LEFT side.
5) 20 Minute quarters in name only. Up to 10 minutes stoppage time (Time On) on average.
6) You don't place the ball on your foot. You DROP it.
7) 1958 - BAD year

The BC footy club's been fairly successful at bringing the game into local elementary schools. Between our games, they had a match between teams of Canadian kids.

another problem in the news story: the rules quoted at the end, particularly the handball rule, is lifted directly from the official AFL rulebook (cf. http://www.usfooty.com/docs/AFLLaws2001.pdf), and the source is not credited! Plagiarism!

Only fair we should give footy a try, since you lads have been playing lacrosse for years. But I suspect St. Kilda's are really more like:

http://www.mississaugaicedogs.com