| History of the Laws |
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he 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.
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 explicitly mentioned in the rules, each captain was to umpire the game.
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
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. |
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