Despite football fans rarely agreeing upon anything, there is one belief that we all hold – Australian Rules Football is the greatest sport on earth.
With its laws forged from the Anglo-Celtic ethos of a fair go and its expansiveness born from the indigenous game of Marngrook, our game is more than simply entertainment – it is a true expression of identity.
It is quintessentially Australian, so why wouldn't we want to share it?
Due to this common agreement of sporting superiority and in an effort to spread the good word, we have seen our code exported to various far-flung locations around the globe.
Although these excursions may have ultimately proven futile, it is worth remembering the endeavors all the same.
As none of us will be able to jet off internationally any time in the foreseeable future, here is a list you can live vicariously through, comprised of the eleven countries Aussie Rules has officially been played in.
8. New Zealand
We are all aware of the Saints' inevitably flawed foray into the shaky isles, but what is less known is that the AFL made inroads across the ditch well before 2013.
Following their Elimination Final clash before a crowd of 63,000 at Waverley Park, St. Kilda and Geelong faced off in front of just 8,500 fans at Auckland's Western Springs – a motorway track.
It took another seven years before a Sherrin was kicked in anger in New Zealand. This time in a 1998 Ansett Cup game between Sydney and Melbourne at the world's most beautiful roundabout – Wellington's Basin Reserve.
Pre-season games were again scheduled in the nation's capital in 2000 and 2001, only this time at the newly built Westpac Stadium or as the locals call it, the Cake Tin.
The Saints returned to the same ground for three games from 2013 to 2015 – the first of which marked the inaugural occasion our game was played internationally for competition points.
However, after an 0-3 record, miniscule attendances and their worsening financial situation, St. Kilda pulled the life support cord on their plans for a Kiwi conquest.
