THE Australian Game of Football, the official book created to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Australian football, has arrived in Melbourne ready for distribution in the first week of March.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou was on hand to greet the books as they arrived at the distributor’s warehouse in Tullamarine on Thursday. He was delighted with what he saw.

“This is the most ambitious publishing project the AFL has ever undertaken, and I am delighted with the quality of the book. It is everything we wanted it to be when the AFL Commission agreed to create an official history of our game as part of the 150th celebrations,” Demetriou said.

The Australian Game of Football, produced by the AFL’s publishing partner, Geoff Slattery Publishing, has been three years in the making. “It was important that the game had a definitive account of its beginnings, and I believe the work done in this book by Gillian Hibbins on the earliest period of our game has achieved just that,” Demetriou said.

“As a package, the book covers every aspect of our game, in all parts of Australia. It is not a game about the AFL competition per se, but an examination of the impact of our game on every part of the Australian community.

“Naturally, it covers the heroes of our game, and no doubt Mike Sheahan’s all-time top 50 will create controversy and discussion. Lists tend to cause debate, and Mike’s list is his opinion on who the best 50 players of all-time have been, in order.”

The Australian Game of Football includes chapters on the spread of the game from its Victorian beginnings, the influence of coaches, and the development of strategy, the role of women, the impact of indigenous players since the game's inception (written by dual Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes), the media, and a dedicated section on each of the 15 decades of the history of the game, including the news stories and the heroes of each decade.

The Australian Game of Football is available now at all good bookstores or online at slatterymedia.com/books.