only two players to contest the bounce. Both Gaelic football and Australian Football are openly contested and free flowing games. The main difference is the awarding of a mark for any clean catch of over 15 metres off a kick in Australian rules, which results in a free kick or possession of the ball. This rule only exists in Gaelic in specific circumstances and is a fundamental difference between the two games. High marking or 'speckies' are one of the most important spectator attributes of Australian rules. In Gaelic football, regardless of a clean catch, a player must play on most of the time. In Australian rules, when a ball is kicked out of bounds on the full, it is a free kick to the opposite team to the player who kicked the ball. Australian rules allows picking the ball up directly off the ground whereas Gaelic football does not (the ball must only be picked up by foot). Another key difference is that in Australian rules, tackling is allowed to either dispossess a player or cause the player to be caught holding the ball which results in a free kick. Gaelic football does not have such a rule. Possession may change in different ways in both games:- When an umpire/referee awards a free kick to an opposition player Following an unsuccessful kick at goal. When an opposing player intercepts a pass. When the player in possession drops the ball and it is recovered by an opposition player. When the ball is wrestled from a player's possession In both codes, tactical kicking is an important aspect of play. Penalties In Australian rules, penalties available (in increasing order of severity) are: free kicks (loss of possession) distance penalties (often in multiples of 15, 25 or 50 metres) ordering off (similar to a yellow card in association football [soccer], not used in the Australian Football League) reporting (to be sent to a tribunal post-match for suspension from future matches and/or paying a fine) In Gaelic football, the penalties available (in increasing order of severity) are: free kicks (loss of possession) distance penalties (often in multiples of 13 metres) penalty kicks Yellow Card (cautioning a player, similar to association football (soccer)) Black Card (player 'sin-binned' for a duration of 10 minutes before being able to come back on, similar to a yellow card in rugby union) Red Card (player ejected from the game