Mark (Australian rules football)
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A mark in Australian rules football is the catch of a kicked ball which earns the catching player a free kick. The catch must be cleanly taken, or deemed by the umpire to have involved control of the ball for sufficient time. A tipped ball, or one that has touched the ground cannot be marked. Since 2002, in most Australian competitions, the minimum distance for a mark is 15 metres.
Jeff Garlett of the Melbourne FC marking the ball
Mike Finn of Ireland attempts an contested pack mark overhead in the 2008 AFL International Cup
Robert Eddy of St Kilda FC positions himself for the difficult "out in front" mark
Alastair Lynch of Fitzroy FC attempts a one handed chest mark
Australian rules football
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Australian rules football, also called Australian football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the central goal posts, or between a central and outer post.
A ruckman leaps above his opponent to win the hit-out during a ball-up
Statue next to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the approximate site of the 1858 football match between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College. Tom Wills is depicted umpiring behind two young players contesting the ball. The plaque reads that Wills "did more than any other person – as a footballer and umpire, co-writer of the rules and promoter of the game – to develop Australian football during its first decade."
Engraving of a football match at the Richmond Paddock, 1866. The MCG and its first pavilion are visible in the background, as are kick-off posts, the forerunner of today's behind posts.
Engraving of the first intercolonial football match between Victoria and South Australia, East Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1879