Mark (Australian football)
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A mark is a skill in Australian rules football where a player cleanly catches (is deemed to have controlled the ball for sufficient time) a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without anyone else touching it or the ball hitting the ground.
It is a distinctive part of the game. Although catching the ball is also found in other codes of football, along with kicking the ball, it is one of the most prevalent skills in Australian Football. Marking can also be one of the most spectacular and distinctive aspects of the game, and the best mark of the AFL season is awarded with the Mark of the Year, with similar competitions running across smaller leagues.
The top players in the Australian Football League, like Matthew Pavlich and Nick Riewoldt take an average of over 9 marks per game. An AFL match between Richmond and Adelaide in 2006 set a record of 283 marks in a single game.
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[edit] Rules
Upon taking a mark, the umpire will blow their whistle to signify the mark and a player is entitled to an unimpeded kick of the ball, to advance his team towards their goalposts. The nearest opposition player stands on the spot where the player marked the ball, which is also known as the mark, and becomes the man on the mark. When taking the free kick the player must either play on or kick the ball over the mark.
The criterion for a mark is that it is caught cleanly, i.e. the player has complete control of the ball, for any length of time. As such, if the ball is caught in one grab, and then punched out from between the player's hands, a mark is paid, even if he has held it for only an instant. Similarly, if a ball is controlled, and then dislodged by another player or the ground, the mark will still be paid.
If two players mark the ball simultaneously, the umpire is obliged to award the mark to the man in front, i.e. the player who has the front position in the marking contest; if he cannot determine which player is in front, then a ball-up will result.
[edit] Types of marks
In Australian Football, marks are often described in combination of the following ways.
- Chest Mark - catching the ball and drawing it in to the chest. This is considered the easiest mark to take, and is often used in wet weather.
- Overhead Mark - catching the ball with hands extended above the head
- Contested Mark - catching the ball against one or more opponents who are attempting to also mark or spoil the player attempting the mark.
- Pack Mark - catching the ball against one or more opponents and/or teammates all in close proximity to the fall of the ball.
- High Mark - catching the ball whilst jumping up in the air
- Spectacular Mark - sometimes called a 'specky', this term is most often used when a mark taken (sometimes contested) whilst jumping in the air. Additional elevation is achieved by using the legs to spring off the back or shoulders of one or more opponents and/or teammates. The movement of other players beneath a marking can cause them to lose balance in mid air and land or fall awkwardly, enhancing the spectacular nature of the mark.
- One Handed Mark - catching the ball with only one hand
- Diving Mark - leaping horizontally to catch the ball before it hits the ground
- With the flight of the ball - a mark taken running in the direction that the ball is travelling. In order to do this, the player must take their eyes off opposition players sometimes running at fast pace in the opposite direction. This type of mark is often branded "courageous", because in attempting the mark, the player must ignore the danger of a high speed collision with oncoming players.
- Standing one's ground - a mark taken by a player who is standing still. These are particularly difficult, because the player must wait in a stationary position, making it much easier for moving opponents to make better position.
- Half Volley - technically not a mark. Sometimes players catch the ball so close to the ground that it is difficult to tell whether it hit or bounced off the ground. Sometimes a player is awarded a mark by an umpires benefit of the doubt.
- Juggled Mark - when a player takes two or more touches of the ball to claim the mark. The player must appear to have had control of the ball to be awarded the mark. Importantly, the mark must be completed within the field of play to be paid as a mark; it should not be paid if the first touch was inside the boundary line, but the last outside.
- Fingertip Mark - when the player is only barely able to hold the ball with his fingers at full stretch.
- Slips Catch - a fingertip mark taken low to the ground, with terminology borrowed directly from cricket.
[edit] Spoiling the mark
Spoiling is the technique typically employed by opposition defenders to legally stop a player from catching the ball. Spoiling is performed by hand or fist (as a punching action) either before or shortly after the player has caught the ball in their hands. In the past, spoiling the mark has been achieved by interfering with the arms or head of the player attempting to mark; since 2005, umpires have been required to penalise such a contest with a free kick for taking the arms (also known as "chopping").
The rules are quite strict on defensive spoiling methods. Players are not allowed to push other players out of marking contests, for which a push in the back is paid and they are not able to make forceful front on contact with an opponent in a marking contest if they are deemed to not be attempting to take the mark.
[edit] Origins of the mark
Various forms of football descended from English public school football games of the 19th century have featured a fair catch or mark. It was abolished early in the development of Association Football or soccer, though still exists in Rugby union and American football, although it is rarely used in a game.
The mark has been one of the most distinctive features of Australian Football since rules were drawn up in 1858.
Some people claim that the origin of the term 'mark' comes from the practice of a player who has just taken a mark physically marking the ground with his foot, or cap which formed part of the attire worn by players in the 19th century, to show where he took the fair catch. Others claim that the origin of the mark comes from the traditional Aboriginal game of Marn Grook, which is said to possibly have influenced Tom Wills writing of the laws of the game. It is claimed that in Marn Grook, jumping to catch the ball, called "mumarki", an Aboriginal word meaning "to catch" results in a free kick.
[edit] Famous marks
While the Mark of the Year competition has produced many famous marks, other marks include:
In the 1970 Grand Final before a record crowd, Carlton full forward, and giant of the game, Alex Jesaulenko, took one of the most inspirational marks in the history of 'the Australian game' leaping high for a specky over Collingwood's Graeme Jenkin just before half time, to help inspire a Carlton side that was behind by 44 points at the half.
Sydney's Leo Barry leapt into history with his match-saving mark in the final seconds of the 2005 grand final against the West Coast Eagles to seal the game. His contested overhead mark was taken in a congested pack of 3 teammates and 3 opposition players.
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Shaun Smith's and Gary Ablett's shared title of Mark of the Century.
St Kilda/South Melbourne player Roy Cazaly was renowned for his high marks, giving rise to the catchphrase and song "Up There Cazaly".
[edit] Taking the arms
Taking, hacking or chopping the arms is an infringement committed by defenders which will result in a free kick.
The taking the arms free kick was introduced in the AFL and its affiliates in 2005. The free kick was designed predominately to make it easier for forwards to take contested marks by not allowing defending player to punch or pull a marking player's outstretched arms in a marking contest; such a practice has long been a common tactic of defenders, who required only to feign the slightest attempt at the ball to avoid penalisation. Under the modern rule, any heavy contact with the marking player's arms will be penalised unless the defender actually gets his hands to the ball in the spoil.[1]
The rule was introduced by the AFL amidst on-going calls from fans and commentators to take action against the defensive tactic of flooding; the rule does directly limit the effectiveness of defenders, but the AFL has never stated whether or not flooding was the reason for the change.[2]
