page_title: Australian rules football
section_title: Scoring
hierarchical_section_title: Australian rules football / Laws of the game / Scoring
context_page_description: Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, or simply called Aussie rules, football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of eighteen players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the middle goal posts or between a goal and behind post.
  During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled, for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground. Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball. A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch the ball from a kick are awarded possession. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick or mark is paid. Players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents.
context_section_description: A goal, worth 6 points, is scored when the football is propelled through the goal posts at any height (including above the height of the posts) by way of a kick from the attacking team. It may fly through "on the full" (without touching the ground) or bounce through, but must not have been touched, on the way, by any player from either team or a goalpost. A goal cannot be scored from the foot of an opposition (defending) player.
  A behind, worth 1 point, is scored when the ball passes between a goal post and a behind post at any height, or if the ball hits a goal post, or if any player sends the ball between the goal posts by touching it with any part of the body other than a foot. A behind is also awarded to the attacking team if the ball touches any part of an opposition player, including a foot, before passing between the goal posts. When an opposition player deliberately scores a behind for the attacking team (generally as a last resort to ensure that a goal is not scored) this is termed a rushed behind. As of the 2009 AFL season, a free kick is awarded against any player who deliberately rushes a behind.
  The goal umpire signals a goal with two hands pointed forward at elbow height, or a behind with one hand. The goal umpire then waves flags above their heads to communicate this information to the goal umpire at the opposite end of the ground.
  The team that has scored the most points at the end of play wins the game. If the scores are level on points at the end of play, then the game is a draw; extra time applies only during finals matches in some competitions.
  As an example of a score report, consider a match between Essendon and Melbourne with the former as the home team. Essendon's score of 11 goals and 14 behinds equates to 80 points. Melbourne's score of 10 goals and 7 behinds equates to a 67-point tally. Essendon wins the match by a margin of 13 points. Such a result would be written as:
  "Essendon 11.14 (80) defeated Melbourne 10.7 (67)."
  And spoken as:
  "Essendon, eleven-fourteen, eighty, defeated Melbourne ten-seven, sixty-seven".
  Additionally, it can be said that:
  "Essendon defeated Melbourne by thirteen points".
  The home team is typically listed first and the visiting side is listed second. The scoreline is written with respect to the home side.
  For example, Port Adelaide won in successive weeks, once as the home side and once as the visiting side. These would be written out thus:
  "Port Adelaide 23.20 (158) defeated Essendon 8.14 (62)."
  "West Coast 17.13 (115) defeated by Port Adelaide 18.10 (118)."
  A draw would be written as:
  "Greater Western Sydney 10.8 (68) drew with Geelong 10.8 (68)".
caption: The two tall central posts are the goal posts, and the two shorter outer posts are the behind posts
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