Laws of Australian football
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The laws of Australian football describe the rules of the game of Australian rules football.
The rules were first formed by Tom Wills and the Melbourne Football Club in 1859. The laws significantly pre-date the advent of a governing body for the sport. The first national and international body, the Australasian Football Council, was formed in 1890 to govern Australasian Rules. Since 1990, the rules for the game known as Australian football have been governed by the Australian Football League and the organisation's Laws of the Game committee.
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[edit] Players, ground and equipment
Eighteen players are permitted to take the field for each team, with an additional four players on an interchange bench (although this number often varies in exhibition and practice matches). The equipment needed to play the game is minimal. As in other kinds of football, players wear boots with stops (known as studs in some regions) in the soles, shorts, and a thick, strong shirt or jumper known as a guernsey.
The game is played with an ellipsoid ball, on a grassed oval. A red ball is used for day matches and a yellow ball is used for night matches.
Four posts are erected at either end of the oval and markings are placed on the ground as shown in the diagram below. They are aligned in a straight line 6.4 metres apart from each other. The size of the ground is not fixed, but must be 135-185m long and 110-155m wide. Lines are drawn on the field to mark
- the boundary,
- a 50m wide centre square,
- two circles in the centre with diameters 3m and 10m and a line dividing the circles in half,
- a 9×6.4m "goal square" at each end of the ground,
- a 15m wide interchange on one flank of the oval.
- a distance of 50 metres from the goal line (the "Fifty Metre Line")
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[edit] Play
The game is a fast-paced combination of speed, athleticism, skill and physical toughness. Players are allowed to tackle the player with the ball and impede opposition players from tackling their teammates (known as shepherding), but not to deliberately strike an opponent (though pushing the margins of these rules is often a substantial part of the game). Like most team sports, tactics are based around trying to get the ball, then — through a combination of running with the ball, hand-passing (punching the ball from the other hand) and kicking — deliver it to a player who is within range of goal. Because taking a mark entitles the player to a free kick, a common tactic is to attempt to kick the ball on the full (without bouncing) to a teammate who is within kicking range of goal. In this situation, packs of players often form around the goal square, and the opportunity arises for spectacular high marks (or "speccies"), in which players launch themselves off opponents' backs to mark the ball, high in the air. This particular skill is highly regarded as a spectacle, and an annual "Mark of the Year" is awarded at the end of a season.
There are no set positions in the rules of the game, but traditionally the field was divided into three major sections: the forward line, back line, and midfield. The forward and back lines were comprised of six players, arranged into two lines of three players each. The midfield generally consists of the designated ruckman (i.e. player who contests the ruck) and players who either stay in the centre area of the ground (between the two 50 metre arcs) or follow the ball and are not confined to a particular area.
The modern game, however, has largely discarded positional play in favour of a free flowing running game and attempting to have loose men in various positions on the ground. The rise in popularity of the hand-pass since the 1970s has greatly influenced this style of play, with players more willing to follow the ball and move it quickly amongst themselves rather than kicking long to a one-on-one marking contest. In the late 1990s a tactic known as flooding was devised and also shifted focus away from set positions. When a team "plays a flood", they direct two or more of their midfield or forward line players into their defence, thus out-numbering their opponent and making it difficult for any opposing forward to take an uncontested mark. Most football sides are named (and demonstrated) in the traditional set positions, but it is in fact uncommon for players to stay within the traditional areas of their position. The players are shuffled on and off the field using the interchange bench, the blood rule means that if any player, for any reason, should begin to bleed, no matter how minor or severe, they must remove themselves from the ground to receive treatment. They may return when the flow of blood has stopped and has been treated by the team medic.
[edit] Holding the ball
One of the things that causes the most confusion for people that are not familiar with the game are the Holding the Ball, Dropping the Ball, and Throwing rules. Confusion arises because a player being tackled is not allowed to hold onto the ball, but is not allowed to throw it either.
These rules are easily summarised:
- Players must always dispose of the ball cleanly. A disposal is either a kick or a handpass. Failure to do so results in a penalty to the opposing team, which is awarded a free kick. This is usually called either dropping or throwing.
- A handpass, also called a handball, is performed by punching the ball from one hand with the other fist.
- When a player is in possession of the ball, and moving, the ball must be bounced, or touched to the ground, at least once every 15 metres. Failure to do so results in a penalty to the opposing team, who is awarded a free kick. This is sometimes called holding the ball or travelling, or more informally as "running too far", and is signalled by the umpire in the same way as travelling is signalled in basketball.
If the ball carrying player decides to run with the ball or to evade a tackling opponent, he would be deemed to have a prior opportunity of being able to dispose of the ball legally.
- When a player is in possession of the ball, and is tackled correctly (ie., above the knees and below the shoulders), they must immediately dispose of the ball by kicking or handpassing. Failure to do so, when a prior opportunity to dispose of it existed, results in a penalty to the tackling team, which is awarded a free kick. This is also called holding the ball. Exceptions to this rule include:
- Being bumped, that is, hit side-on by another player or tackled in such a manner that causes the ball to be knocked free or come loose from a player's possession.
- Being tackled with the ball despite gaining possession of it but had no chance of disposing it (no prior opportunity). A ball-up would result to restart play.
If the ball carrier, who had prior opportunity for properly disposing the ball, was swung off balance while attempting to dispose the ball but not making contact, a holding the ball decision would be awarded against the ball carrier on the basis of the ball not being legally disposed of.
In a recent effort to reduce the amount of unnecessary stoppages, the interpretation of the prior opportunity have widened to include players who:
- Grabs hold of the ball during a ball-up or throw-in situation instead of knocking it away.
- Dives onto the ball in dispute.
- While in a prostrated position, pulls the disputed ball in underneath him.
In these instances if the player is then tackled and could not dispose of the ball legally, a holding the ball penalty would be paid against him.
[edit] Scoring
Like many other codes of football, the way to score points is to score goals. In Australian Football, there are two types of scores: a goal, and a behind. There are four posts at each end of the ground; the two middle (and taller) posts are the goal posts, and the two outer (and shorter) posts are the behind posts. The area between the goal posts is the goal: kicking the ball between these posts scores a goal which is worth six points. Kicking the ball between a goal and a behind post scores a behind, which constitutes a single point. A behind is also scored if the ball passes between the goal posts, but is not kicked by the attacking team (eg, it comes off the hands of either team, or is kicked by the defending team), or if the ball hits the goal post. (If the ball hits the behind post, the ball is considered to have gone out of bounds.) A rushed behind (also worth one point) is scored when the defending team deliberately forces the ball between any of the posts. This may occur in pressure situations where a defender decides that it is safer to concede one point to the opposing team rather than risk a goal being scored.
A goal umpire judges whether a goal or behind is scored. The goal umpire shows that a goal has been scored by pointing both index fingers in front of him and then waving two flags above his or her head to indicate the score to the other goal umpire. A behind is signalled by pointing one finger, and waving one flag.
An AFL or any other Australian Football result will usually appear like this:
Brisbane Lions 17.10 (112) def. Sydney Swans 13.17 (95)
The first number is the number of goals (six points) scored, the second number is the number of behinds (one point) scored, and the third number in the brackets is the total score. The final result is decided on the total score only, there is no 'countback rule' in which the team with the most goals wins.
Some rule changes in the preseason competition relate to scoring - see new rule trials for further details.
[edit] Umpires
The game is controlled by a number of field umpires (at elite level, three), two boundary umpires whose main job is to conduct throw-ins when the ball leaves the field of play and two goal umpires who judge which scores are recorded, and are the official score-keepers of the game. In addition, there is an emergency umpire, who can replace any field umpire who becomes injured. Each of the eight umpires may report players, but only field umpires may pay free kicks.
Historically, all umpires have worn white, but most competitions have changed this now to ensure that umpire uniforms do not clash with team uniforms. Historically, the field umpires and boundary umpires have worn white short-sleeved shirts and white shorts, while goal umpires wore a white coat, white broad-brimmed hat and black trousers. Today, goal umpires wear the same short-sleeved shirts as the other umpires and a peaked cap, but retain the black trousers. Goal umpires also have two (or sometimes three) white flags which are waved to signal scores.
[edit] Length of the Game
The length of a game of Australian Football can vary from league to league, but is generally around 15 to 25 minutes per quarter. In the AFL, each quarter runs for 20 minutes excluding stoppage time (also known as time on). The clock is stopped on occasions such as the ball going out of bounds, injuries, goals (or behinds) being kicked, or when the umpire is setting the angle of a free kick on goal. Time is kept by two off-field officials, known as timekeepers, who sound the siren at the start and end of each quarter. The average AFL quarter will thus run from between 27 to 33 minutes, depending on the amount of stoppage time, but can run to 35 minutes if a stretcher injury delays the game.
[edit] History of the Laws
The Laws of Australian football was first codified in 1859 as the Melbourne Football Club rules or the Melbourne Rules and expanded to become Victorian Rules in 1866. The game's first true governing body in 1877 was the South Australian Football Association, spawning an era in which local state bodies governed their own rules, and the VFA became an unofficial governing body. Australasian Rules fell under the governance of the Australasian Football Council, the first world governing body for the sport from 1890 to facilitate a growing number of interstate matches which at one point also included leagues and teams from New Zealand. The same body was renamed the Australian National Football Council from 1927 as Australian National Football and had juridiction over several state leagues. Since 1990, governance has been under the jurisdiction of the AFL's Laws of the Game committee. In response to growing amateur competitions around the world, the International Australian Football Council formed in 1995 to govern the game internationally, but its status was officially challenged by the AFL and it was forced to dissolve around 2002. In 2004, the AFL began an International Policy to officially become the world governing body for the sport, with many state and international leagues affiliating with the AFL.
[edit] Melbourne Rules of 1859
These ten rules, instituted by Tom Wills and the Melbourne Football Club were originally known as "The laws of the Melbourne Football Club- As played in Richmond Paddock, 1859."
- The distance between the Goals and the Goal Posts shall be decided upon by the Captains of the sides playing
- The Captains on each side shall toss for choice of goal, the side losing the toss has the kick off from the centre point between the goals
- A goal must be kicked fairly between the posts, without touching either of them, or a portion of the person of any player on either side
- The game shall be played within a space of not more than 200 yards wide, the same to be measured equally on each side of a line drawn through the centres of the two goals, and two posts to be called the "kick off posts" shall be erected at a distance of 20 yards on each side of the Goal posts at both ends, and in a straight line with them
- In case the ball is kicked "behind" Goal, any one of the side behind whose Goal it is kicked may bring it 20 yards in front of any portion of the space" between" the" kick off posts", and shall kick it as nearly as possible in line with the opposite Goal
- Any player catching the ball "directly" from the foot may call "MARK" .He then has a free kick no player from the opposite side being allowed to come "inside" the spot marked
- Tripping and pushing are both allowed -but no hacking-when any player is in rapid motion or in possession of the ball, except in the case provided for in Rule No 6
- The ball may be taken in hand "only" when caught from the foot, or on the hop (bounce). In "no case" shall it be "lifted" from the ground
- When a ball goes out of bounds (The same being indicated by a row of posts) it shall be brought back to the point where it crossed the boundary line, and thrown in at right angles with that line
- The ball, while in play, may under "no circumstances be THROWN"
Although not explicity mentioned in the rules, each captain was to umpire the game.
[edit] Victorian Rules of 1866
Henry C. Harrison's committee redrafted the laws of the game in 1866, which was subsequently agreed upon by the major clubs playing the sport.
The major changes at this time were:
- Players must bounce the ball every 10 metres when running
- Games must be officiated by umpires. Not one but two umpires (independent of the players) must control the match. The closest umpire to the play adjudicated all aspects of the game, including scoring and free kicks.
- Time limit established for matches
- Behind posts used for first time
[edit] Significant rule changes - timeline
Since the sport was first codified in 1859 and the updated 1866 rules agreed upon by clubs, many rule changes have been instituted by various state leagues, the Australian National Football Council and later the Australian Football League, firstly in efforts to clarify scoring and officiating games, then later in an effort to clean up the game and more recently to speed up its pace. This timeline mainly follows the history of the rules in the VFL/AFL - some changes occurred at different times in different states or leagues.
- 1874 - Reverted back to a single umpire.
- 1877 - VFA rules introduced.
- 1884 - Tasmanian goal umpires wave white flags to communicate with each other.
- 1887 - Umpire required to bounce ball instead of throwing it up in the air; Flags waved to signify goals .
- 1891 - Centre bounce at start of quarters and after every goal; Players required to take up set field positions at start of play.
- 1897 - 6 points for a goal, 1 for a behind - previously, only goals counted.
- 1903 - Boundary umpires appointed at VFL level - 2 each game. (First appeared in Ballarat and charity games in 1891.)
- 1922 - Free kick for forcing ball out of bounds introduced.
- 1930 - One interchange player introduced.
- 1939 - Boundary throw-ins re-introduced. Dropping the ball included in holding the ball.
- 1946 - Number of interchange players increased to two.
- 1969 - Free kick for kicking ball out of bounds on the full.
- 1973 - Establishment of centre square and restrictions on positions at centre bounces.
- 1976 - Second field umpire introduced.
- 1986 - 50 metre arc introduced.
- 1988 - 15 metre penalty becomes 50 metre penalty in the AFL. Emergency umpires empowered to report players.
- 1993 - 3 field umpires introduced; Blood rule (players must be removed from ground when bleeding, also when having blood on their body/playing uniforms); Number of interchange players for AFL matches was increased from 2 to 3.
- 1994 - Number of boundary umpires increased to 3.
- 1998 - Number of interchange players for AFL matches was increased from 3 to 4.
- 2003 - Centre circle for ruck contests.
- 2006 - Timed set shots. Kick-in before flag waved after a behind. High penalties for scragging after marks.
In recent years, the pre-season cup (as of 2006, the NAB Cup) has been used as a test-bed for experimental new rules - see new rule trials for further details.
