Football is recognized around the world as a competitive, team-based sport with players looking to score as many points as possible.
But the exact kind of football you’re talking about may be open to more interpretation.
Is the ball round or more egg-shaped? Is it played more with the feet, or with the hands? Can you tackle another player, or is agility and speed preferred?
One sport that’s been described as a little of “all of the above” has been gaining attention in the U.S. for years, including in California’s capital city — Australian rules football, also known as “Aussie rules” or “footy.”
And since 2009, the Sacramento Suns have been bringing some down-under flair every time they step on the field.
Welcome to the team
For veteran Suns player Lauré Kwoka, Aussie rules has been a part of her life for 14 years. It’s seen her take multiple leadership positions within the Suns organization, as well as spend four years with the U.S. Women’s National Team.
“I liked the freedom of it; I did play rugby at Sac State and I loved it, but I feel like I would get singled out to get tackled a lot,” Kwoka told Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez.
“In footy if you’re fast enough, you won’t get tackled… I just got addicted to it,” she added.
Lauré "Lozza" Kwoka is a veteran Sacramento Suns player, and has played Australian Rules Football for more than a decade.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
Sean MacEachern, the team’s “resident Australian,” spoke about the popularity of the sport. “Aussie rules football, in Australia it’s the number one sport,” he said. “It’s boisterous; there’s 100,000 people at the stadium, it can be a really fun game — especially on some of the big holidays.”
MacEachern played a little footy while at university, but fell into the sport more after coming to California and feeling homesick.
“[I] found out there were teams playing in San Francisco and here in Sacramento,” he explained. “There was a little local Australian community, so it was nice as an expat to have that camaraderie.”
Sean "Macca" MacEachern played some Aussie rules in university, but says he picked up the sport after moving from Australia to Sacramento.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
MacEachern is glad to see the Capital City embrace the game. “It gives you a little bit of pride as an Australian, that we invented something that is suitable for a lot of other people to come and play,” he said.
And the Sacramento Suns are certainly drawing in a diverse range of players.
“I’m an archaeologist,” Kwoka said. “We have some doctors, nurses… people who just come from different backgrounds, somehow hear about us, and they come out and give it a go.”
Footy rules
While the Suns are an amateur organization, they offer a variety of options for playing Aussie rules. The team fields both men’s and women’s sides across different competition levels — tag, tackle and travel — as well as a youth clinic program to introduce footy to young competitors.
Footy is played on an oval-shaped field roughly twice the size of the American gridiron, about 180 yards long and 50 yards wide. Two teams of 18 players try to kick the ball, described by Kwoka as “the child of an American football and a rugby ball,” through four tall uprights at each end to score.
Matt “Freddy” Frederickson (left), Julian “Peacock” David (right) and other Sacramento Suns players practice their handballs on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Airfield Park in Natomas.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
Players move the ball down the field using the handball, a form of punch, to pass between each other. There is no offside rule or throwing the ball, and players commit to tackles — without pads.
The sport isn’t just fast, it’s also vocal. Suns player Andrew Loewen said players are constantly talking to one another to cut through the on-field chaos.
“We always try to have our voice up at practice because if we’re not talking in the game, we’re not communicating, and then the other team can get the advantage and get up on you,” he explained.
Andrew Loewen prepares a handball during a Sacramento Suns practice on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Airfield Park in Natomas.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
Kwoka put it more simply. “LED — when you’re talking it’s loud, early and direct.”
The constant chatter can also provide a psychological edge. “You gotta be rowdier and louder than them; it’s a bit of an intimidation factor,” Loewen explained. “If the other team is more up for it than you, it could be a long day on the pitch.”
Honing the fundamentals
Under the afternoon sun at Airport Field in Natomas, Suns players gathered for a practice. The events are co-ed, with women’s team members joining in drills and scrimmages alongside their male counterparts.
Players lined up to pass the ball back and forth, ran down the field to catch kicks, and wrapped one another up in tackling drills. The match ended with a few group scrimmages, as the Suns spread out and competed against each other.
“The biggest thing we need to work on as a team is our fundamentals,” said men’s coach Ramish Bahramand. He started playing footy in his mid-20s, and said the Suns have been known to play with more heart than skill — which can make tournaments more challenging.
Men's team coach Ramish Bahramand leads a Sacramento Suns practice on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Airfield Park in Natomas.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
“It’s difficult to kick the ball as well as make those hand passes; getting that down it really helps our games,” he added. “We’re not Australian, obviously, so we’re all learning this.”
Vanessa Goh is a new member of the Suns, having recently made the switch from American flag football. “I saw this ad on Instagram [and] was like, ‘I should come and try it, and see how it goes,” she said.
Goh said there is a lot of similarity between the two sports, from the catching style to the need for good hand-eye coordination. But other parts of Aussie rules have come with more of a learning curve.
“The tackle portion is a lot more fluid… kicking on the run is super weird,” she said. “It’s not as intuitive as you think, but it’s really fun.”
Vanessa Goh (left) passes the ball to Jess Leahy (right) during a Sacramento Suns practice on on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Airfield Park in Natomas.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
Goh credited the team with welcoming her into the fold. “Everyone’s super nice, super supportive,” she explained. “Everyone’s like, ‘don’t be afraid to make a mistake; everyone will help you out and try to make you better.’”
Maintaining the team
For the Suns’ veteran players, bringing in new players like Goh is critical — especially to keep the women’s team going. “We need the numbers… getting women who are not used to contact sports to play is hard,” Kwoka explained.
She said some women players sometimes choose not to return to footy as they get older, or after having a child, as the physical recovery can be more difficult. “That’s OK; there’s nothing wrong with that, we respect that, and some still come out and support [us],” Kwoka added.
Others do come back, like women’s coach/captain Christine Muthusamy-Flok. She joined the Suns after moving to Sacramento from the Bay.
“I was looking for people because I was new to a city, I came out, and they’ve become my second family,” she explained.
Christine "Flok" Muthusamy-Flok is the women's team coach/captain, and described the Sacramento Suns as her second family.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
Muthusamy-Flok said the team has seen her and her wife raise multiple children. “Those times away, the times back, seeing me through all of that… we’re a social club” she said.
When it comes to keeping the team around long-term, Muthusamy-Flok said she thinks Sacramento has a leg up because of its proximity to other teams.
“We have teams that are close to each other so we can grow more locally… a lot of other teams around the country have themselves to play against,” she said. “I do think Sacramento has its own nice little niche for women to grow.”
Kwoka passed along some advice to prospective players – don’t be intimidated.
“I’ll tackle one of my friends, we’ll both get up, give each other a hug — it’s not as intense and scary as you think it is,” she explained. “You’ll learn that just tackling someone can kind of be freeing sometimes!”
Culture and community
That camaraderie between the Suns was unmistakable.
Cheers and good-natured ribbing as teammates passed the ball or worked on tackling. Between sets the Suns gathered in a circle, raising fists and chanting along to Kwoka’s enthusiastic call, “Suns on me, Suns on three! One, two, three, SUNS!”
Stan Rucker (left) tangles with Cody McElligott (right) during a tackling drill on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Airfield Park in Natomas.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
The team culture is also highlighted in more unusual ways. “The one thing about footy is everyone gets their own kind of nickname,” Loewen explained, with the back of his shirt bearing the self-explanatory moniker, “Drew.”
“I think that’s part of Australian culture; we’re just lazy by default,” MacEachern joked. “If you’ve got a name that’s just a couple syllables, we’ll try and shorten it down to one.”
Nicknames flew at the Suns practice — Rhino looking for a pass from Rabbit; Peacock clearing the way for Socks.
MacEachern is “Macca,” a traditional Australian name. Kwoka becomes “Lozza,” which she explained is a common riff off names like Lauren or Laura. Another player, Marcus Jones, is “Yo-Yo,” his catchphrase when getting open, while Mutusamy-Flok is simply “Flok.”
The Sacramento Suns play a scrimmage match at the end of their practice on on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Airfield Park in Natomas.Sarit Laschinsky/CapRadio
Whatever their backgrounds, every player has found their place among the Suns — a bond that is on full display in the team’s song, sung to celebrate every victory.
“At the professional level in Australia every team has their own song,” Loewen explained. “There’s lots of tradition that’s built into it.”
We are the Suns of the Sactown sky!
One in gold and red that’s who!
We are the mighty Sactown Suns!
And we play to win the flag for you!
Fight, fight, fight, ‘til we hold up the cup!
Run, run, run all the way… HEY!
We are the Suns of the Sactown sky!
The team that never says die!
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