American Reacts to Every Mark of the Year Winner: 2001 - 2019 

As an Australian it makes me happy when I see an American taking notice to the AFL Edit: that’s a lot of likes

HERE’S THE RULES FOR MARKS. Officially a mark is when you catch the ball after it travels through the air at least 15 m. (without being touched on the way) Even if you’re standing by yourself with feet on the ground it’s still called a mark. They call it a speccy when they jump high like you saw in the video. When you take any kind of mark, you have two options. 1. You can play on, in other words keep going. 2. You can stop on the spot and take a free kick and an opposition player stands in front of you, but must not move until you’ve taken your kick. (If the opposing player does move, a 50 m penalty is paid against him, which brings the kicking player 50 m closer to goal.) For “every” mark the umpire will blow his whistle indicating that a mark is paid. If you decide to play on the umpire will call, “play on.” Some outsiders are confused when a mark is paid but the ball spills out of the players hands as he falls to the ground. The umpire decides if the player had, “CONTROL” of the ball before it spilled out. Aside from marks, when a free kick is given for an indiscretion but a teammate has picked up the ball and ran on, the umpire will call, “advantage,” and let him keep going. This keeps the game flowing rather than to bring the ball back for the free kick which becomes a disadvantage. Neither of the two explanatory videos explain about the boundary line. A free kick is given against the player who kicks the ball on the full over the boundary line, or purposely kicks it towards the line. If the ball tumbles over during play, a Boundary umpire tosses the ball back over his head for two tall Ruckman to compete, similar to the centre bounce to start the game. (Except this happens near the boundary line where the ball went over?) This makes for a neutral contest. About kicking a goal. Whether it’s from playing on or a free kick, it’s only called a goal if the ball has not been touched by any part of the body by players of either team from the time it leaves the boot until it crosses the goal line. If it has been touched it becomes only one point. Hope this info is helpful.cheers

Absolutely on the Commentary Team - they KNOW that there are folks out there who for whatever reason can only experience the game over the radio, and they are going to do their darnedest to make sure that you enjoy the experience as much as watching the game with some mates.

My mum and dad were so obsessed with the team “Essendon” when they were younger and named my brother Matthew Lloyd… my brother is now a hell bent Geelong supporter😅

What makes the last mark even crazier is that Liam Ryan (the player who took the mark) is only 5'11", while Max Gawn (the guy he knocks over) is 6'10" and probably twice as heavy. Most players might only take a couple of speccies in their whole career, if they ever manage it at all. But some make an art form out of it - Jeremy Howe and Isaac Heeney are probably the modern masters. They pull this off almost weekly.

🦘 Aussie here... I played in 5 decades... Primary School 60's -- Club Football in 00's it's a GREAT GAME fir all sizes..... you need to watch whole games. The commentary is some of the BEST in the World. Especially the knowledge they share.... Cheers

I’ve broken my arm twice playing this sport and 100% would do it again. Beautiful sport

Much love from Australia bro and glad you enjoy our game 🇦🇺 Loved the reactions!

I’m a Brit that loves a bit of footy, glad to see you getting into this Joel

Some of these guys like Nik Natanui, Brad Ottens, Joe Daniher are 6’9 ish in height and 250lb in weight and they are aerobic beasts. The guy you mentioned was jacked is Majak Daw. Google him. He is a physical marvel and has a very powerful personal story.

These type of high flying marks you might get 2 or 3 a game, sometimes there are no high marks....depends on the players in the teams playing and then they need the right setup to take a mark like that. Generally they would prefer to pass it to someone on a lead, this is a much safer play rather than putting to a pack, or group, of players causing a constested ball situation, hope this helps...

And that right there, Joel, is why you would include Melbourne on your Australian travel itinerary! 🏉 🏉 🏉

Love how much you're in to our game! Happily take you to a match if you get yourself to Melbourne :)

4 years ago I was in your exact position. This past fall, I played USAFL alongside rugby and kicked 24 goals in 5 matches. It's really great to have a chance to play, because it's been on my bucket list since I first watched a match

You've become a complete Aussie convert, particularly our Footy. Good onya mate! The Australian Aboriginal footballers are some of the best and most exciting AFL players to watch!

The commentators throw me back into memories of being at my grandparents place and them having the game on in the background. The roar of the crowd, the cheering when their team won. I don’t watch the games now but it only feels like yesterday

marks are extremely common. There is usually about 400 a game but for most of them the player that marks the ball is standing still, uncontested. These marks where players get on eachothers shoulders are called speckies and are quite rare

Some people who are unfamiliar think the players only jump that high by climbing up the other players until they see some replays and close ups and can appreciate that the other players usually have nothing or very little to do with it.

Not sure if anyone has shared it with you - but there was a mark in 1995 by Shaun Smith of the Demons against Brisbane in the last round of the year that has been considered one of the best marks of all time. Amazingly if you watch it in slow mo you can see a member of the crowd take a flash photograph right when he does it.

Wow, always exciting, they really are athletes! 😂 You should come during the AFL season and watch a match, Mid March - End September 2023! (Just after the Sydney/NSW World Pride Festival, Feb to March). These commentators are obviously ex players, they are fully invested and know all the players! 😄👍

Glad you like the game mate. The high mark ("screamer/speccy") is definitely a feature of the game. And yes, the commentators do add to the spectacle/theatrics. So many Aussies in these comments, so any questions you have re rules, fire away, any Aussie will be able to answer them. Most of the rules are designed to add to the flow of the game. Can't wait for the new season to start. 🙂

You started off with what is widely considered the greatest mark of all time. I will never forget that grab! Moorcroft played the game of his life that night. Even as a Hawthorn supporter it's one of the stand out moments of all time.

Important things to know about AFL: - Collywobbles - “Jesaulenko you beauty!” - “Leo Barry you star!” - Games between Hawthorn and Geelong between 2009 and 2013 are top shelf footy - Best Grand Finals from a fan’s perspective in recent memory: ‘05, ‘06, ‘10, ‘12, ‘18 - Brownlow Medal: Best player of the regular season voted by the umpires - Norm Smith medal: Best player on ground in the Grand Final - Not every tackle is holding the ball (the crowd loves to call for this free, but it should only be given when the player has a prior opportunity to get rid of the ball). Bonus: - Deliberate out of bounds (deliberately hitting or kicking the ball out of play to gain ground or prevent the opponent getting the ball) is the most contentious free at the moment given that umpires love to pay this free even when the kicked ball lands 100 metres down the ground, bounces awkwardly and goes out of play. You can tell this free is being paid by (a) the underarm bowling action of the umpire and (b) loud boos from the crowd.

You should definitely react to an AFL goal of the year compilation because some of them are crazy!!!

What makes Liam Ryans so special is that he had just sprinted the length of the field to get to that contest. Also look up his marks in the WAFL for Subiaco

As kids we would practice in the long jump pits for a softer landing. 1 friend would throw the ball up and another would stand so you could jump up his back for more hight. Every day at school llunch. Great bonding time also 👍

I was at the match when Gary Moorcroft took the Mark of the Century (first clip), I was a teenager and was absolutely blown away. So glad to see it being embraced overseas! We have an American player Mason Cox from Texas who plays for Collingwood and recently became an Aussie citizen! USA! USA!

Aussie here. I've been following the progress of Damar Hamlin (very relieved to read that he's awake, aware and is likely to fully recover). No doubt because of my google history, the algorithm gods presented me with your video. AFL players are super athletes, and at the elite level incorporate ballet training to give them the height for their marks. These guys have no protective gear, and Damar Hamlin's accident is a reminder of how dangerous sport can be, especially contact sports.

AFL footy is such an entertaining sport, always something spectacular happening. And yep the commentators do a great job of building the excitement. Oh and you should definitely check out the video on Mason Cox, an American that plays for Collingwood (my team 😜). I think it is called Never say never!

2015 Nic Natinui, that guy is 120kg 265lbs! To get that frame up in the air like that is extraordinary. And the 2016 winner, Majak Daw, is Sudanese, the first African born to play in the AFL.. The great story is he spent most of his childhood in refugee camps, and he only started playing AFL when he arrived as a teenager in Melbourne. From the moment he started playing, his physique was a draw card. Search for 'Big Footy Majak Daw' and you'll see a picture of him coming out of the surf at age 18 before he even played a single game. Just an amazing physical specimen.

I love it when a rover or a short player takes a huge grab. I think besides Gary Morecroft's grab. The grab by the Melbourne player number 38 is my fave. I think because of the camera angle, reminds me of Jesaulenko.

Just knowing that you Americans love our sport is a great thanks for content bro and watching nfl is crazy

As a hardcore eagles supporter, being at the stadium when Liam Ryan made that mark it was the loaders experience of my life.

Joel, take a look at State of Origin Rugby League, there are a number of posts on RU-vid. Also Bathurst car race- the race around the mountain. Maybe also Melbourne Cup, horse race that stops the nation.

The more you watch the more you become desensitized to just how farking fantastic a classic speccy is. My dad who is over 80 now, played for Port Augusta ... West I think ... but he also played for the state country side, still has the picture of his best speccy (and I have to admit it was pretty good.) I grew up with every Saturday being a trip to the Postal Institute Football Club on West Terrace - I spent most of my time exploring the cemetery, rubbish dump and homeless camps that were nearby.

Loved this video. You gotta do this year's Grand Final Highlights with my Team Collingwood. One of the best games in AFL History. No American has done a reaction yet!

The funniest thing about Liam Ryan’s mark at the end there was that there were three contenders for Mark of the year and he had taken two of them 😂 I don’t call him Flyin’ Ryan for nothing!

The GWS Giants were training at my gym a couple of years ago. I had to squeeze past them to get some water. They are huuuge. I’m 152cm (5 ft) and I was not much higher than their elbows

I don't know if you are into motor sport but Oz has an awesome race at Mount Panorama Bathurst, there is a good video by Mark Larkham (race driver) that goes through the entire circuit corner to corner, it's called, This Is Bathurst. Cheers.

Yoooooo back with the AFL vids. Love ya stuff mate🔥 hopefully you can get around the 2023 season. Gonna be a big year mate

Thanks JPS loved it 🇦🇺

Cool video Australia rules is so good

The last one was my favourite, not only because I'm a West Coast supporter but because Liam Ryan outmarked a guy who is a foot taller than himself after having sprinted from midfield to be in position. Also, there is an updated video on the basics of the game. It's called A Beginner's Guide to Australian Football, which goes into a little more detail than the original video you reacted to before.

Just a note on Mark and Goal of the year. They're generally popularity contests voted on by the public, and thus votes tend to lean towards clubs with bigger memberships (in some cases). So often the runner ups are even better. Definitely worth seeing if you can find all nominated marks/goals, because theyre a great watch.

Number 38 with the jacked rig is Majak Daw, Sudanese... he actually tried to kill himself jumping off a super high bridge a couple years ago.. survived the fall and is now back playing.. it's a great return from the end story

That first one is the best mark you will ever see. The bloke (Gary Moorcroft) actually injured himself fairly badly when he landed (broke some stuff), struggled to have the same impact again for some time after that

Got to love a good specky - short for a spectacular mark. It shows how great our Aussie footy players are.. they amount of training they go... going from the juniors (u 6's - they learn the basics) - all the way up. Now you need to listen to the song Up their Cazaly...

Bathurst Australia’s famous car race is a must do. Crazy weekend on the mountain.

Would love to see you react to an AFL Best Commentary Moments video if you can source it. We have some really good commentators who can get really hype and even the bad ones are still tolerable. My favourite is Anthony Hudson, no matter what the moment calls for, he can sum up the moment perfectly. My least favourite would be Dwayne Russell cause he's a little too mono-tone, but he's ok. It used to be Basil Zempilas but he know longer commentates cause he's the Mayor of Perth (and that's not a lie)

If you’re looking for motorsport video suggestions, there’s a very appetising bit of tv hyperbole for the pinnacle race of the Aussie V8 Supercar series called “This is Bathurst”. It’s a 1000 kilometre race around a mountain circuit that takes about 6 hours to complete the 161 laps. Can recommend.

I was at the game from 2001 (the first mark you showed) where Gary Moorecroft took that incredible mark.....I saw it live and we erupted in the crowd......I'll most likely never see a mark as good as that again!

The mark by Brad Ottens, he's 6'7 but the guy he outmarked was Kurt Tippett & he's 6'8. Tippett was also the player that got outmarked by Burton or birdman. The last mark, the craziest as you called it was a 6ft guy over a 6'10er. Wingart, the one who bounced back after a crazy mark has a lot of videos as a trickshot kicker, kicking the football at distance into bins etc. He was a genius.

The best part about our sport is that basically anything is allowed as long as you mark the ball, kicks to the head in the act of a mark is allowed, dumping someone while jumping on their shoulders is allowed as long as the ball is marked, we love the speccys

AFL has some tremendous athletes who are amazing to watch, NRL players (National Rugby League which is different to Rugby) have a very different skill set played in two 40 min halves as opposed to AFL's four 20 min quarters, well worth a watch of the 'big hits' and best 'Try's' (touchdowns)

the Otten's mark was impressive for a guy who is 2.04m tall and has a mass of 106kg!

My teacher David Saywell played in Aussie Rules for Central Districts- in South Australia- & he was chiseled. He came to the class with a black eye a few times & we never asked how he got it- he’d have this look on his face like- don’t ask. One day we had Russell Ebert & Malcom Blight come to our class to give autographs 🇦🇺

I still think the best mark I ever saw was in the grand final (so can’t be mark of the year) and that was leaping Leo Barry. Saved the game for the bloods and honestly with all the people that jumped for the ball he still pulled it down clean

For more context the 2005 mark happened between two teams from the same state so there is extra competition between the teams and it happened at the same time as the siren sounded so he was able to get an extra kick at goals in over time.

If you ever get the chance to come to Australia. You need to watch an ANZAC day game against collingwood and Essendon. Or a western derby Freo and west coast. Insane rivalry’s and vibes at the game

Buton is "The Birdman" and a distant relative of mine. When asked whether that was his best he smiled and said' " Nah. I've done better in my time".

For a great recent AFL match would recommend the 2022 preliminary final between the Geelong Cats (who went on to be Premiers - Go Cats) and the Collingwood Magpies. Also one of the most iconic events in Australia as far as car racing goes would probably the Bathurst 1000.

Most astute comment on how living vicariously through commentators! Absolutely! 😄

Random sport that is fairly Aussie, is outback “boat races”- on dried up river beds lol- always a good laugh!a Australia being so dry, you have to get fun where you can I guess!?🤷‍♀️😅😂🤣

The “mark” - essentially meaning the spot on the ground where the catch was controlled. Called a mark because the umpire used to mark the spot on the ground where the resulting free kick could be taken from. A mark is only paid off a kick that’s travelled more than 15 metres. A mark is paid when the umpire seems that the player has sufficiently controlled the catch (in other words, they earned it). The marked ball cannot have touched another player after the kick was made. When watching live you might see players diving on a kick to try and touch the ball as it’s kicked. If they do get a slight touch on the ball you will often hear the umpire or even players yell out “touched!” - meaning that even if that kick is caught, it cannot be paid as a mark, and therefore there’s no free kick awarded, so play continues.

It only takes a second to miss something spectacular doesn't it mate 😉😄 👍 ✌️

You should do Summernats as it starts tomorrow and will get heaps of hype. It’s the best burnout competition in the world by far. A few Americans have brought cars over to skid in it. Cletus MacFarlane and farm truck.

A mark is when you catch the ball after a kick that has cleared air for about 15 metres or more. For it to be a mark you can't drop it, bounce it or let it touch the ground. If you take a mark then no one can tackle you and you can do what you like with the ball- within the rules and in a reasonable timeframe. It is a very good thing to take a mark on front of the goalposts that you are scoring at because it means you can take.your time to have a kick at goal without someone harrassing you

Hello Joel. Top marks!

New sub here brother, love that you’re new to our game, you gotta check out the best of season 2022, it was incredible, especially from Collingwood who broke all records with come from behind wins and wins by less than a goal and after the siren and last second finishes you’ll love it

These are actually a type of mark called a "Speckie", short for "Spectacular mark" I suppose you could say. A regular mark is simply a player catching the ball after it has been kicked toward them. Speckies also normally involve the player using other players, either an opponent or a teammate, to vault themselves into the air to make the catch, they are very rare as you need to plan the catch in a very short space of time and you need to have the right conditions.

The point about a mark, and why it is so important, is that if you catch the ball off a kick by any player on the field, provided the ball travels 15m, you have an unimpeded kick. They don't call it a free kick, that is the reward for a foul, but it is essentially the same thing. If you take a mark, you can take a kick for goal or pass it to someone else on your team. Speckies, high flying marks, don't occur in every game but when they do, they are worth seeing - and supporters of both teams will applaud a good specky.

That second one is extremely dangerous. These guys are committed! Btw, if you're interested in playing, or joining a club, good news! There's probably a club in your nearest major city. Check out the USAFL.

Many Aussie Rules commentators are ex players or fellas who just love the game. That Crows player who took the screamer, the 'Birdman" he was on the shoulders of the opposition ruckman who is probably at least 6 1/2 foot tall and he ran and jumped unassisted onto his shoulders

It's a such a unique game. The blend of athleticism; endurance; durability; strength and courage is what's required to be considered an A-Grade player. Very few possess all those traits at such a high level to be considered a 'superstar'. Highly entertaining once you wrap your head around the vast amount of rules

Joel one sport that would be enjoyed by you is the target rally that is in Tasmania its run every year it was also one of the late Peter Brocks races that he really enjoyed doing as it was around tasmania sights.

I think you need to watch a full game of AFL. When you see what these guys do in a game, it'll show you why this guys need to be so fit!

You should try and do a watch along live stream to a game when the season starts

The Moorcroft Mark of the Century broke his hip IIRC. He recovered but was never the same player and had to retire a couple of years later. This mark is basically his career defining legacy in Footy.

What’s more impressive is a lot of these players are well over 6 foot tall, so they’re jumping very high to make it to their shoulders.

You’re right about the height- most (I’m guessing) are at least 6”1-6”2 ie some of these players, who are often smaller are really elevating themselves… along with the aid of their “stepladder’s” height. Awesome to see live OR on tv.

Footy is insane!

There’s an episode of Conan OBrien with him getting training with Syd Swans 🤣🤣🤣 Still makes me laugh.

Just on the fitness of these guys; Many midfielders/rovers will clock up around 15km in a game and play on surfaces bigger than virtually every other sport. These guys are seriously fit athletes. The game is always flowing without stop/start situations and despite quarter lengths being 20mins each, there’s usually around 10mins added per quarter for stoppages in play (goals etc) Games go for around 120mins with quarter and half time breaks.

Joel, I still think you'd probably enjoy Qld, for a bit of nightlife, wildlife, great weather & great beaches maybe even visit Australia zoo in Qld..but if you were to come to Australia, March/April (our fall season) you'd be able to see Qld, get a cheap flight to Syd then make your way to melbn for the AFL Anzac day clash. It's as big as the grand final.... I prefer it cause it's always a closer game than the grand final.... And it celebrates the Anzacs before the game. The game itself is huge. There would definitely be heaps of Aussies that would offer to take you. Tickets are rare to get. But the game is amazing and Melbn is pumping after the game. There's only one catch. If you were to come with me, on my spare ticket, you'd have to wear the red and black scarf (not the black and white) lol. I'll find the video on the Anzac day game, for you to react to. (In rewatching the highlights of ANZAC day .. hands down, best match of the year! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i4Y6BPEuBW4.html

if you want to go any game next year the biggest game is always carlton vs collingwood. they are the biggest rivals in the afl and it is always fun to watch them go at each other

The crazy thing about that last one is that the guy who took the mark ran over half the field to take it! He was actually the guy who passed the ball to the guy who then kicked it to him to mark 😂

As a mad afl fan you can watch it on tv and it is spectacular but to beat that you have to go to the afl live and once the player has taken the mark listen to the crowd reaction IF you fver get to australia make this as a definitely must do

that last mark is even crazier because he sprinted about 120 meters before the jump 🤯

Jonathan Brown's was incredible, could have been cleaned up by the defender at any moment and never took his eyes off the ball

Rugby Union. AFL is my favourite ball sport but the hits in Rugby Union are insane.

AFL players are the peak of human performance. they're strong, they're fast, they can leap, strong shoulders and can move all day pretty much. cant find a more balanced athlete physique in my opinion

And it's usually the tall, gangly blokes that get selected by the AFL (better for kicking, contesting, and running all over the manicured paddock that is an AFL ground), making the height they get relative to each other more impressive. From a US perspective, you probably won't see height like that outside the Cheer Squads (who I understand work just as hard as the players they work the fans up for) Oh, and the Field and Boundary Umpires (Referees) have to be suer fit as they rack up more distance per game than the players - the Field Umpire can easily pass 15Km/10Mi keeping up with play, while the Boundary Umpires tend to go 3-6Km/2-4Mi further again just so they can accurately indicate where the ball left play.

The Brown mark, opposition player knocked out cold and no one even mentions it, such was the courage shown by both players

AFL is the most slept on sport in the world. The combination of skill, speed of play and athleticism is just amazing

That Sampi mark was epic .

You gotta see a game live Joel ! There may be a _mark of the year_ in there, somewhere, I think !? 😉

Marks of the Year from the 1990s and 1980s as well as the 1970s are worth looking at.

If you haven’t already you should react to the top 50 afl goals

The last mark by Liam Ryan is an example of why he's known as 'Flyin' Ryan'. Our commentators love the game as much as the fans do. ☮️

player: Makes mosk increadable speckie Jps: damn