AFL Rules Explained for Beginners

The AFL (Australian Football League) plays Australian rules football, a fast, high-scoring game with 18 players a side on a large oval field. Teams kick or handball the ball toward goal, and score by putting it between the posts — a clean kick through the two central posts is a goal worth 6 points, while a ball through the outer posts or one that is touched is a behind worth 1 point.

If you are watching for the first time, the sheer pace and lack of stoppages can be baffling. But the core of the game is simple, and once you understand scoring, marks and how the ball moves, it clicks quickly. Here is AFL explained from scratch.

The field, the ball and the teams

AFL is played on an oval, typically a cricket-ground-shaped arena far larger than a rectangular football pitch. Each team fields 18 players at a time, with a bench of interchange players who rotate on and off throughout the match. There is no offside rule, so players can position themselves anywhere on the ground.

The ball is oval, similar to a rugby ball, and can be moved two legal ways: by kicking it, or by handballing — holding the ball in one hand and punching it off the palm with the other fist. You are not allowed to throw the ball. If you run while holding it, you must bounce it on the ground roughly every 15 metres.

How scoring works

Scoring is the first thing to learn because it is unlike most sports. At each end of the oval stand four posts: two tall central posts and two shorter posts outside them.

Result	How it happens	Points
Goal	Ball kicked cleanly between the two tall central posts	6
Behind	Ball goes between a tall and a short post, is touched on the way through, hits a post, or is carried through	1

Scores are written as goals.behinds followed by the total in brackets — so “12.8 (80)” means 12 goals and 8 behinds, which is 12 x 6 + 8 x 1 = 80 points. The team with the higher total after four quarters wins. Games are high-scoring by the standards of most football codes, and because it runs almost continuously, the match can be an exhausting watch as well as an exhausting game — our guide to how long an AFL game is breaks down the four quarters and time-on.

The mark: AFL’s signature skill

The most distinctive rule is the mark. If a player cleanly catches a kick that has travelled at least 15 metres without being touched or hitting the ground, they are awarded a mark. Play pauses, and the player gets a free kick from that spot, allowing them to kick without being tackled.

Marks reward accurate long kicking and brave catching. The “speccy” — a spectacular high mark where a player leaps onto opponents’ backs to pluck the ball out of the air — is one of the sport’s most celebrated highlights and a big part of its appeal.

Tackling and keeping the game moving

AFL is a full-contact sport. You can tackle an opponent who has the ball between the shoulders and knees, and if you pin the ball or force an error, your team may win a free kick. A player caught holding the ball too long while tackled can be penalised for “holding the ball,” which gives the tackling side a free kick.

Because there are no downs, set plays or offside, the ball is almost always live. Play restarts quickly after behinds (kicked out by the defending team) and after goals (with a centre bounce), which keeps the tempo relentless.

The 6-6-6 rule

To stop teams crowding one part of the ground, the AFL uses the 6-6-6 rule at every centre bounce, the restart after each goal. Each side must line up with six forwards in their attacking arc, six defenders in their defensive arc, and six midfielders in the middle. Introduced in 2019, it guarantees space and keeps the game open and high-scoring rather than congested.

AFL for fans of other codes

If you come from a rugby or gridiron background, the biggest adjustments are the continuous play, the oval field and the two-tier scoring. Both teams attack and defend at once — there are no separate offensive and defensive units as in American football. For a direct comparison with the running-and-tackling codes, our explainers on AFL vs rugby and rugby vs American football map the differences side by side.

The short version: AFL is Australian rules football — 18 a side on an oval, ball moved by kicking or handballing, goals worth 6 and behinds worth 1, marks earned by catching kicks over 15 metres, full tackling, no offside, and the 6-6-6 rule keeping the game open. Most points after four quarters wins.