Flooding (Australian Football)

Flooding (Australian Football)

Flooding is a tactic used in the sport of Australian rules football. It involves the coach releasing players in the forward line from their set positions and directing them to the opposition forward area, congesting the area and making it more difficult for the opposition to score. It is commonly deployed to protect a lead, or prevent a rout. This is possible due to the lack of an offside rule or similar restrictions on players field movements.

This tactic is very similar to the Blanket Defence tactic in Gaelic football which has become prevalent since the late 1990s. Pioneered mainly by Ulster counties such as Tyrone and Armagh and is often combined with an exposed two main full-forward so that there are essentially two forwards deep in attack and all other players more deeply positioned in defence.

The extreme defensive tactic is often bemoaned by spectators and generally regarded as "ugly" football.