Cate Blanchett has appeared on American TV days after the Super Bowl to school them in how we play REAL football in Australia.

You know, without all the pads and helmets and other protection.

And it’s even gnarlier in Tassie, where we also play on gravel.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel asked Blanchett if she’d watched the Super Bowl, and her reply highlighted the Queenstown Oval on the West Coast of Tasmania, which has a gravel surface. It’s even known locally as ‘The Gravel’ and was built in 1895.

Cate called football a “gladiatorial sport”, telling Kimmel: “Where I came from we have football… that’s Aussie rules, footy. They have a similar kind of ball except they don’t have the protection.”

Kimmel replied: “They don’t even have sleeves right?”

“They wear shorts and tank tops,” explained Blanchett. “And my uncle used to play professionally for Essendon. And my cousin played in Tasmania where it’s so hardcore they played on gravel.”

Kimmel was shocked, asking Cate if what she said was really true.

“Yeah. I mean the Super Bowl, they take a few hits, but you go to Tasmania and they play real football,” she replied.

“On gravel, that’s not kidding around,” said Kimmel.

To which Blanchett said: “They lose a lot of players but … it’s why the population’s really small.”

Watch the interview here:

AFL cate blanchett football Jimmy Kimmel Sport tasmania