Aussie Rules Football is like no other game in the world. If you weren’t born in Australia, where its frenetically followed, you’d probably have to watch an entire game, uninterrupted, to figure out the basics.
First off, for Americans that have had it drilled into their heads that every other country uses the word “football” to refer to “soccer”, this is not the case with Australia. Apparently, like Americans, the Australians refer to soccer as “soccer.” Despite these similarities between our cultures, our differences re-emerge when it comes to football. While Australian Rules Football uses a ball that resembles an American football the game is VERY different. The actual use of the ball by the players (who wear unpadded uniforms) is more like a combination of volleyball and basketball, with a smattering of American football punts thrown in for variety. The actual goal of the game is to get the ball near one of three poles at the opposing ends of the playing field. The specific post and the proximity of the ball determines the points scored, not unlike the American game of horseshoes.
While Royboys really isn’t about the game of Australian Rules Football, it is about an AFL (Australian Football League) club in the Fitzroy suburbs of Melbourne. The Fitzroy club was started in the late 1800’s, where it flourished for 80 years. In the ‘60’s, they were forced to stop playing at their local playing field. In the 1990’s, a hostile takeover forced them to unwillingly merge with a team from Brisbane. 12 years later (and coinciding with the 150th year anniversary of Aussie Rules Football), the Fitzroy team was re-established and brought back to their original stadium, The Brunswick Street Oval.
The main focus of this documentary follows the first game to be hosted in the re-dedicated Fitzroy stadium. Because the Aussie Rules Football is so tied in with the way that Australians view themselves and their national pride, the reopening of a venerable football club is a source of tremendous pride to the people of the Fitzroy community. (The pride Australians have with their special style of football is on par with the pride of folks from Kentucky with their UK basketball team or Scots have with their professional haggis hurlers.)
Michael Wannenmacher was alerted to the possibility of shooting the opening game of the newly reformed Fitzroy team at the Brunswick Street Oval just a day before the actual shoot by co-director Brett Swain. It was designed to be a bit of a lark that could be shown to the fellows on the Fitzroy team (the “Royboys”) as a great inspiration for going forward. However, it took on a life of its own as they shot it. They were able to interview quite a few of the coaches and team players, as well as getting good commentary from the crowds and even catching a photo-finish with the Royboys squeaking out a win against an ancient rival. As it’s been accepted to one of the large festivals on the other side of the world, St. Kilda’s, Michael Wannenmacher began to believe the documentary could have an interest to people who didn’t just live in Australia.
