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  • Written by NewsServices.com

The footy is back to its fullest extent: the crowds are big and there is an excitement in the air that has eluded the game during the pandemic period. With this in mind, there has never been a better reason to get amongst playing the great Aussie game! 

Whether you join a local club or pick up some top quality AFL merchandise and play in the park with mates, footy is one of the world’s great team sports on top of being one of the best things you can do for your fitness. 

Let’s take a look at a few reasons why 2022 is your year to get around the awesome game that is AFL:

It’s a great team sport 

As we’ve said, it doesn’t matter if you join your local club or simply go for the occasional kick with friends: AFL is a great team sport that encourages active, healthy socialising. 

AFL is one of the world’s great team sports, with a pace and intensity that ensures there can be no one-man-team, so playing this fantastic sport for a team or with mates is a great way to bolster up your teamwork skills.

It’s one of the best exercises 

Aussie rules footy incorporates a range of different fitness aspects that will definitely improve your overall fitness. The game requires you to work on a range of fitness attributes to raise your level, with attributes including: 

  • Aerobic capacity: Footy isn’t a short game: it’s played over four quarters varying from 15 - 20 minutes in length. There are very few opportunities to rest throughout the quarters, as footy is a fast-moving, free-flowing game that only really has stoppages when points are scored there is a free kick. Therefore, a player needs solid aerobic capacity to ensure they can keep moving throughout the game without succumbing to tiredness.

  • Agility: Footy requires its players to be able to turn and move again sharply, with explosive pace being one of the key attributes of a good player;

  • Reflexes: Footy, over the years, has become a much faster moving game, with the ball being quickly moved around to avoid being tackled and - consequently - a holding the ball penalty. Therefore, a player requires top reflexes to ensure they can both receive the ball and move it off without being tackled by the opposition;

  • Strength: Strength has always been imperative to the footy player, and for many reasons: holding off opponents in a marking contest, tackling opponents when they have ball possession, bumping opponents out of the contest, fending off tackles (the “don’t argue”) and more. The combination of strength and agility is truly what amplifies the health side of playing footy - it’s a holistic exercise that is great for improving your general fitness. 

It’s a great way to beat the winter blues

Playing for a local club is always a good time, as you meet heaps of like minded footy fans who also want to see their team take the flag. It’s also a great way to blues, especially in southern states like Victoria and South Australia where things can get pretty grim in the colder months. 

Instead of sitting around, thinking about how miserable it is outside, you will be pumped up, training with your team and taking part in weekend matches that totally take away from the average weather outside - this is probably one of the ultimate things that’s so good about playingfooty!