Umpires & Scoring

Four goals is 24 points. A behind is one. The maths of football is simple — the scoring itself, less so. Rushed behinds, touched on the line, bounced on the line, kicked off hand, poked through by a defender under pressure: every score needs adjudication.

Scoring values

• Goal — 6 points. Ball kicked by an attacking player and passing between the two tall goal posts without being touched, without hitting the post, and without being kicked by an opposition player.
• Behind — 1 point. Ball passing between a goal post and a behind post, or between the two behind posts, or touched in flight, or kicked by an opposition player through the goal.
• Rushed behind — 1 point. Deliberately conceded by a defender to prevent a goal.

How umpires signal scores

When a ball enters the scoring zone, the goal umpire is responsible for deciding whether a goal, behind, or no score has been scored. A goal is signalled with two hands pointed straight down the line, with two white flags waved. A behind is signalled with one hand, with one white flag.

Goal umpires have final authority on whether a score has been recorded, subject to review by the Score Review System (introduced in 2012 and upgraded multiple times since). A field umpire can request a review if unsure whether the ball was touched, crossed the line, or was scored from a legal kick.

Score Review System

The Score Review System — commonly called the ARC (All Reviews Centre) — uses multiple broadcast camera angles to confirm or overturn scoring decisions. Reviews are initiated by a field umpire, a goal umpire, or automatically on certain close calls. The ARC reviewer in the bunker communicates back to the on-field umpire, who makes the final decision on the ground.

The system has reduced obvious errors but remains controversial when the camera angles provided are inconclusive and the original call has to stand — a common frustration for fans when replays look one way but the official ruling goes the other.

Field umpires

Each AFL match is officiated by three field umpires — reduced from four in 2023 — along with two goal umpires (one at each end) and two boundary umpires. Field umpires rotate through zones and share responsibility for calling free kicks, marks, ball-ups, and stoppages. Boundary umpires call out-of-bounds and restart play with throw-ins.

Who wins the scoring

The highest score at the end of four quarters wins the match. If scores are level in a home-and-away match, the match ends in a draw and both clubs receive two premiership points. In finals, extra time applies (see the Season & Finals page).