A quick explainer on how to play the all-action game of Aussie Rules Football

SYDNEY, Australia – A quick explainer of Aussie Rules Football:

— The average field is 165 metres long and 135 metres wide.

— Each team dresses 22 players for a game, with 18 on the field at any one time.

— There are four goalposts at each end. Kicking the ball between the two centre posts is a goal worth six points. Knocking it through the smaller “behind” posts flanking the two main posts is called a behind, worth one point.

— A team of nine umpires officiate a game.

— The contest is played in four 20-minute quarters, with time added to make up for when the ball is not in play. There is a six-minute break after the first and third quarters and a 20-minute halftime break, meaning games usually last about three hours.

— A player can run with the ball as long as he bounces it every 15 metres. He can kick it to a teammate or make a hand-pass, holding it in one hand and striking it with the other.

— A player who catches a kick makes a mark — he can then step back and kick the ball away unimpeded or play on.