Lexi Webster
Australia has a rich history of sports, with many sports being introduced during the colonial period. Cricket, horse racing, sailing, professional foot races, and rowing were among the first sports played in the country during the early 1800s. Australia has since developed its own variations of football, including Australian rules football, rugby league, and rugby union. Cricket is widely considered Australia's national summer sport, with the Boxing Day Test match being the most popular summer sporting event. Basketball, netball, and soccer are also popular participation sports in the country, with soccer facing challenges in attracting youth players during the 1990s due to its ethnic nature at the highest levels of competition.
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What You'll Learn
Australian rules football
Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the central goal posts, worth six points, or between a central and outer post, worth one point, known as a "behind". Players can use any part of their body to move the ball, but the primary methods are kicking, handballing, and running with the ball. There are rules governing how the ball can be handled, such as requiring players running with the ball to intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground. Throwing the ball is not allowed, and players must not be caught holding the ball.
A unique feature of the game is the "mark," where players who catch the ball from a kick are awarded unimpeded possession. Additionally, players may impede the movement of an opposing player towards the ball within 5 meters, a tactic known as shepherding. Free kicks may be awarded for various infringements, such as failing to dispose of the ball correctly or holding the ball.
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Cricket
The earliest reports of cricket in Australia appeared in the Sydney Gazette, the country's first newspaper, in 1804. The paper suggested that cricket was already well-established in the colony, with the first recorded match taking place in Sydney in December 1803. By 1826, several clubs had been formed in Sydney, including the Currency Cricket Club, the Military Cricket Club, and the Australian Cricket Club. Matches were organised at Hyde Park and the Racecourse, attracting large crowds.
The formation of clubs in other colonies soon followed. In 1832, clubs began forming in Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land), with Hobart and Launceston leading the way. In the same year, the Melbourne Cricket Club was established in what would later become Victoria. The club would go on to become one of the most exclusive and influential cricket clubs in Australia.
Intercolonial cricket in Australia commenced in 1851 with a visit by cricketers from Victoria to Tasmania. The match, played in Launceston, was won by Tasmania by 3 wickets. In 1857, the first Board of Control was formed in New South Wales, followed by Victoria in 1864 and South Australia in 1871.
International cricket began in Australia in 1861 with the first tour by an English team. Reciprocal tours by Australian teams to England soon followed, with a team of Indigenous Australians making the trip in 1868, and an Australian side including players from New South Wales and Victoria playing the first Test match against England in 1877. The Australians won this historic match, with Charles Bannerman scoring the first-ever individual three-figure score in Test history.
The sport continued to grow in popularity, with the Melbourne Cricket Ground hosting the first international cricket match in Melbourne in 1862. The 1920s saw the emergence of batting greats like Bill Ponsford and Don Bradman, who dominated bowling attacks. Australia's women's team also made their international debut in 1934 against England in the first-ever women's Test match.
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Rugby league
The first Kangaroos (League) and Wallabies (Union) toured Great Britain at the end of the 1908 season. The Wallabies were accused of being professionals by many in Britain, and this attitude was taken up by the IRB, who announced that the already poor allowances to rugby union players would be further reduced. As a result, more than half the Wallabies accepted contract offers to join rugby league upon their return to Australia in 1909.
The National Rugby League (NRL) was formed in 1998 as a joint partnership between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the News Corporation-controlled Super League. The NRL features teams from four states/territories: ten teams from New South Wales, four teams from Queensland, and one team each from Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.
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Netball
The sport is governed by Netball Australia, which consists of a Board of Directors who oversee governance and operations. The Board includes a President, a Finance Director, six Ordinary Directors, and a Chief Executive Officer. The organisation also includes the Netball Australia Council, which is made up of representatives from every state and territory and is responsible for electing the Board of Directors.
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Soccer
In Australia, soccer, also known as football, is the most played outdoor team sport, with over a million adult players. It is also one of the most popular team activities for children. The sport was introduced to Australia in the late 19th century by mostly British immigrants. The first club formed in the country, the Wanderers, was founded on 3 August 1880 in Sydney. The Wanderers were also the first recorded team to play under the Laws of the Game. The oldest Australian soccer club currently in existence is Balgownie Rangers, formed in Wollongong in 1883.
In 1884, Victoria and Queensland formed their own soccer associations, the Anglo-Australian Football Association and the Anglo-Queensland Football Association, respectively. In 1896, the Western Australian Soccer Football Association was formed, followed by a Tasmanian association in 1900, and the South Australian British Football Association in 1902. In 1911, the Commonwealth Football Association was established as the first governing body to oversee soccer activities in all of Australia.
In 1922, the first Australian national representative soccer team was constituted by the Australian Soccer Association, and in 1923, Australia played its first international match on home soil, defeating New Zealand 2-1. Australia became a FIFA member in 1956 through the Australian Soccer Association, but its membership was suspended in 1960 after disobeying a FIFA mandate on recruiting foreign players without a transfer fee. The Australian Soccer Federation was then formed and admitted to FIFA in 1963. In 1967, Sydney journalist Tony Horstead coined the nickname "Socceroos" for the Australian men's national soccer team.
In 1977, the first national soccer competition, the National Soccer League (NSL), was founded. The NSL was replaced by the professional A-League Men in 2004, contributing to a rise in the sport's popularity. Australia was a founding member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and moved to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006. The main professional leagues in Australia are the A-League Men, A-League Women, and the Australia Cup. The men's and women's national teams, the Socceroos and the Matildas, compete globally.
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Frequently asked questions
Several sports were invented in Australia, including:
- Australian rules football (also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or footy)
- Ironman (surf lifesaving)
- Trugo
- Touch football
Australian rules football is played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Players can catch or "mark" a ball cleanly in the air and are allowed a free kick. Players can also retain possession of the ball while running, but they must bounce it off the turf at least every 10 metres. There is no offside rule. Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the central goal posts (worth six points) or between a central and outer post (worth one point, otherwise known as a "behind").
Ironman, also known as Oceanman, was developed in 1964 in Australia by Valentine Trainor. It combines the four main disciplines of surf lifesaving into a single race: swimming, board paddling, ski paddling, and running.
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