It's Footy Time.

It's back!!!! Yes, it is that time of the year when normally cool, calm and collected people turn into screaming, one eyed maniacs, just by watching a bunch of men chasing an oval shaped ball around an oval shaped arena that has four white poles sticking up at each end. What is this mysterious phenomenon? It's Aussie Rules. You know, footy. All right then, for the uninitiated - Australian Rules Football. The first official game is not until Friday the 30th of March, but we have had a taste of what is to come with the pre-season fixtures.

The pre-season season was completed over the last six weeks, culminating in the grand final between Port Adelaide (Port Power) and the Brisbane Lions. It was the might of Port Adelaide who took out the pre-season Ansett Cup competition. They, to put it nicely, totally out classed the Brisbane Lions to show that they will be a team to watch out for during the official season. However it was only the pre-season so the form shown does not usually reflect what will happen in the Premiership season.

The pre-season is a time for the coaches to experiment with their teams. Coaches introduce the rookies and first season players to "blood" them into the AFL level. Players carrying injuries are either used sparingly, if at all, and players returning from surgery are gradually bought back to increase their fitness. This usually means that it is not the best and most experienced players playing all of the pre-season games.

The coaches also experiment with players in different roles. Some one who played in the forward line in previous years may be put in the back line during the pre-season to see if they are better suited for that position. Experiments are also completed on possible rule changes during the pre-season to see how well they work before they are introduced into the season proper. The games in the pre-season are usually shorter (mostly because footy is a winter sport and the pre-season starts while Australia is still in summer), and most are night matches. This makes comparisons between the two season difficult and the teams that perform well during the pre-season, may not during the Premiership rounds.

For those who are interested, the results of the Ansett Cup can be found at the following site:

http://www.afl.com.au/results/default_0....

And for all those fanatics who need to know the fixtures for round one of the Premiership season, here they are:

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