Running, jumping, tackling, not to mention handling the ball, means Aussie Rules players risk injuries to their hands and wrists serious enough to send them to the emergency department.
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and former Hawthorn captain Sam Mitchell were co-winners of the 2012 Brownlow Medal, after Essendon captain Jobe Watson was ruled ineligible.
Julian Smith/AAP
Team captains have a slight statistical advantage in being judged best on ground, says sports economist Liam Lenten.
The Lake Tyers football team in the late 1930s. The club was incredibly successful, winning the East Gippsland League in 1934, 1938 and 1939.
Colin and Paul Tatz, Black Pearls: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Hall of Fame
With the AFL’s indigenous round about to take place, it’s important to recognise the full history of Indigenous involvement in the sport, including the many obstacles players faced.
West Coast Eagles forward Liam Ryan copped racist abuse online after the opening round of the AFL season.
Darren England/AAP
Online trolling is a workplace health and safety issue. The AFL must expose and sanction those responsible – anything less would not only be morally debatable, but also legally questionable.
Drafting Alex Rance is just one of the spectacular draft choices Richmond has made in recent years.
AAP
Research shows that a few AFL teams have had much more success at drafting players than others. Richmond’s recent premiership was in part build on good draft choices.
Robbie ‘Bones’ McGhie after playing in the 1973 Grand Final, in which his team, Richmond, won.
Rennie Ellis Photographic Archive
Football has changed dramatically in the 35 years since Richmond last had a chance at the Grand Final. But while footy is now ‘an industry’, the arrival of the first women’s league is to be celebrated.
Adam Goodes training at the SCG in 2015.
David Gray/Reuters
For Indigenous people, refusal is a powerful act of sovereignty. In Grand Final week, it’s timely to reflect on Adam Goodes’ refusal to accept racism in football or an official send off when he retired - and the repercussions of his stance, a year on.
Lance Franklin has been ruled out of Saturday’s qualifying final due to a mental health condition.
AAP/David Moir