I am delighted to read in Child magazine (Times of Malta, September 10) that Malta seems to be embracing Auskick.

This activity should expose Malta to the dynamic game of Australian Rules football. This is one game where scores are high and a lead towards the conclusion of the match may not necessarily translate to a win.

Any player catching a ball travelling off the boot can take a free kick, and when near goal can score.

The history of the game is extra­ordinary. A cricketer of note, Tom Wills, invented it in the mid-19th century. He had spent some time with the local Aborigines and noticed a game they called Marngrook played with bunched possum skins carried back and forth competitively in a pre-determined arena between two teams.

Mr Wills combined aspects of rugby and Gaelic football with Marngrook, and Australian Rules football was born.

The game immediately caught on with the Melbourne people and literally went viral over the rest of the country.

Aboriginal players enjoy strong representation in all the teams and their natural grace and élan have contributed much to culture of the game. Aussie Rules is played in many countries and is turning up in some interesting places.

As a young man I had the privilege to play the game in a London competition with four quite good teams made up of Australian ex-pats and including a few Britons as well.

Australians would love Malta to share in their home-grown phenomenon in the knowledge that names like Agius, Grima, Buhagiar and Mifsud have had important careers in and contributed to this wonderful game.

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