Tripping a player while in possesion of the ball was allowed in 1858

1. The distance between the Goals and the Goal Posts shall be decided upon by the Captains of the sides playing.
2. The Captains on each side shall toss for choice of Goal; the side loosing the toss has the Kick off from the centre point between the Goals.
3. 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.
4. 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 call 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.
5. 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 a line with the opposite Goal.
6. 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.
7. 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 in rule 6.
8. The Ball may be taken in hand only when caught from the foot, or on the hop. In no case shall it be lifted from the ground.
9. 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.
10. The Ball, while in play, may under no circumstances be thrown.

Kick2Kick has and will continue to release articles on the history of the AFL that can be found via “The Australian Game of Football 1858″ book and other resources. If you have something you would like to see or even add yourself please contact us.

Related K2K Posts

• Origins of Australian Rules Football (4)
• AFL 150 year book review (2)

Visit to comment and leave your opinions
© 2008 Kick2Kick.net

1908 Interstate Football Carnival programe

History of Interstate Carnivals

The first ever interstate games was held in 1879 with the VFA beating SA twice by a margin of 7 and 3 goals. The first major interstate carnival with seven teams (Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales, South Australia, New Zealand and WA) was in 1908 with the VFL undefeated (see results).

From 1908 to 1993 the carnivals were played every 3 - 5 years all around the country. Thanks to Full Points Footy who has a list of the years including results. Between 1908 and 1975 Victoria won 18 times (WA twice and SA once).

History of VFL/ AFL State of Origin

The biggest problem of the Interstate carnivals was the unevenness of the competition. With most of the better players of the various states playing in the VFL it meant that they were automatically playing for the VFL instead of their home states. Examples were players like Malcom Blight, Graham Moss, Polly Farmer and the Daniher brothers who all played for their own state and also Victoria.

What followed was a campaign by the WA league for players to be selected according to the region of origin rather than the league they play in. What followed for 20 odd years was a more even competition until the demise of the state of origin games in 1999 which saw Victoria undefeated since 1991.

The downfall of State of Origin

The 1970s and the 1980s was the best era of state of origin especially the 1989 Victoria vs SA game with over 90, 000 fans seeing Victoria beat SA. However it did not last with the 1990s becoming a farce with one sided games and the introduction of the Allies (TAS, ACT, QLD, NSW, NT) so in 1999 the last ever State of Origin game was played (see results of the games).

Some argue that the demise of the State Of Origin was due to coaches like Michael Malthouse (then West Coast Eagles coach) who coached WA during the 90s and continually did not play his stars so they were not injured and missed games for the regular season.

Hall of Fame Tribute Match with Victoria vs the Dream Team

Others argue that seeing the games were just meaningless exhibition games that didn’t produce a national champion. It had no pride of winning the hard fought games as the regular season had a premiership cup.

Others argue that seeing the AFL is now a national competition with the players playing all around the country, the desire to beat the croweaters or the sandgropers or the Big V is gone.

AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match

This last ditch effort to revise the state of origin games has had mix reactions and it wont be until Saturday 10th May until we see if it has been successful or not.

Related K2K Posts

• Wrapup of the Hall of Fame May 10 Match (5)
• Why the Dream Team will win (4)
• Why will the Big V win the Hall of Fame Match? (0)

ANZAC medallist Paul Medhurst, paid tribute to the soldiers in his speech.

ANZAC Day, 25th of April is a commemorative day in which soldiers past and present, are remembered and honoured. It is also a day to remember the harsh realities of war and to be thankful for the relatively peaceful lifestyle we lead today.

The 25th of April is the day chosen to honour our soldiers, as it marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the first World War. A.N.Z.A.C stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

Both World Wars affected the football leagues at the time. It was compulsory for fit, young men to serve for their countries during these times. Many of the clubs’ players enlisted to serve in both wars. This greatly reduced the numbers in the playing squads of football teams around the nation.

A lot of people had the opinion that the football competition could not go on, when there were more important issues on hand and to respect the soldiers fighting abroad. The V.F.L decided to carry on with their football season and many people questioned the morality of their judgment. It became farcical in 1916 when only 4 clubs participated in a revised league competition during World War 1.

The same issue arose again in the 1940s with World War 2. The continuing of the football seasons did some serve some purpose though. It was a welcomed distraction and served as a morale boost for the public during these hard and trying times.

The A.F.L honours ANZAC Day with a match between Essendon and Collingwood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. A ceremony takes place before the match with a bugle playing the Last Post and a minute’s silence. To see 90,000 plus people so quiet you can hear a pin drop, is a very moving and special moment.

Even though AFL football on ANZAC Day has become a tradition, football wasn’t played on the 25th of April until 1960 due to a change of law. All matches in round 2 of the VFL season were postponed due to bad weather. The Victorian government granted special permission for two games to be played on ANZAC Day.

The VFL then agreed to donate part proceeds from the games to the R.S.L ( Returned and Services League) and to not play the games before 2pm. If ANZAC Day fell mid-week, an AFL match would not be scheduled to play on that day.

Then in 1995, Kevin Sheedy ( then Essendon Coach ) organised with Bruce Ruxton ( Victorian RSL President ) to play a match against Collingwood. The game took place on a Tuesday and a sell out crowd witnessed a thrilling draw. From then on the AFL made it a permanent fixture on ANZAC Day to recognise and honour an important national day on the Australian calender.

Related K2K Posts

• Round 6 AFL 2008 Wrap up (12)
• 2008 Round 6 Tips (6)

Thomas Wentworth Wills

The origins of Australian Rules Football can be traced back to the 1850s in Melbourne. A game was organised by Tom Wills who suggested playing some sort of winter sport to keep cricketers fit in the off season. The first game of an early hybrid of Aussie Rules, was played on July 31, 1858 on Richmond Paddock.

The early game was influenced by winter sports games played in Britain at the time, namely Rugby and Soccer. Round Soccer balls were used in earlier games but the oval shape of the Rugby ball prevailed in the end. Because of the vast amount of land in Australia, the early grounds were often big and there were no limit to the number of players on the ground at one time. The shape of the ground was influenced by the parks and ovals in and around Melbourne.

In the 1880’s the game was now played on the same ovals as cricket so the shape moved from a rectangular field to a round one. The game of Australian Rules Football gave an alternative winter sport to playing Rugby, which left a lot of workers too injured to work on a Monday after playing it on a Saturday. The grounds in Australia were unturfed and rough compared to the lush green grass found in England at the time. Rugby also was still in its developmental state in regards to rules and was very liberal in regards to physical contact and player safety.

Rules for Australian football were drawn up and initially there were only 10 of them. Today there is a whole book full of rules and they are constantly being revised on a yearly basis by the A.F.L. Clubs were later formed and met weekly to discuss rule changes in pubs. Because the game originated in Melbourne, it was easy to get everyone together and change the rules. Early games did not have set scoring of goals and behinds, a set time of four quarters, or even an umpire bouncing the ball to start the game.

A lot of people assume that Gaelic football or even a similar game played by Australian Aboriginals was the precursor to Australian Rules Football. But there is simply not enough proof to warrant these claims. Their games are similar, and could go along way to explaining why the Irish and Aboriginals are great exponents of Australian Rules Football.

Related K2K Posts

• 10 Original Rules of AFL (2)
• AFL 150 year book review (2)

History of the sponsors and the winners

• 1992 - Fosters - Hawthorn
• 1993 - Fosters - Essendon
• 1994 - Fosters - Essendon
• 1995 - Ansett - North Melbourne
• 1996 - Ansett - St Kilda
• 1997 - Ansett - Carlton
• 1998 - Ansett - North Melbourne
• 1999 - Ansett - Hawthorn
• 2000 - Ansett - Essendon
• 2001 - Wizard - Port Adelaide
• 2002 - Wizard - Port Adelaide
• 2003 - Wizard - Adelaide
• 2004 - Wizard - St Kilda
• 2005 - Wizard - Carlton
• 2006 - NAB - Geelong
• 2007 - NAB - Carlton
• 2008 - NAB -

Some of the rules that have been experimented with

• 9 points for a super goal which is kicked over the 50m arc.
• Play on when the ball hits the posts and goes back into play.
• 3 points when ball rushed through opposition goals.
• Ruckmen square extended.
• Play on when kicked backwards in the defensive area.

If you have any information, history, rules or if I have any history wrong, please comment below.

Related K2K Posts

• NAB Grand Final Wrap up (1)
• NAB Cup Grand Final tip (1)
• Round Wrap up: NAB Semi-finals (0)
• AFL NAB Semi-finals tips (0)
• Round Wrapup: NAB Round 2 (3)