History of Australian Rules Football in Victoria (1859–1900) - 1859 - Geelong Rules

Geelong Rules

Below are the rules for Australian Rules Football, alleged to have been used by the Geelong Football Club in 1859. They were originally written down by hand. Graeme Atkinson, writing in Everything You Wanted Know About Australian Rules Football ... considers it likely that these Geelong rules were drawn up prior to the first rules of the Melbourne Football Club which were drafted on 17 May 1859.:

1. Distance between goals and the goal posts to be decided by captains.

2. Teams of 25 in grand matches, but up to 30 against odds.

3. Matches to be played in 2 halves of 50 minutes. At the end of first 50 teams may leave ground for 20 minutes for refreshments but must be ready to resume on time otherwise rival captain can call game off or (if his side has scored) claim it as a win.

4. Game played with 200 yard space, same to be measured equally on each side of a line drawn through the centre of the two goals, and two posts to be called "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 between them.

5. When kicked behind goal, ball may be brought 20 yards in front of any portion of the space between the kick off and kicked as nearly as possibly in line with opposite goal.

6. Ball must be bounced every 10 or 20 yards if carried.

7. Tripping, holding, hacking prohibited. Pushing with hands or body is allowed when any player is in rapid motion or in possession of ball, except in the case of a mark.

8. Mark is when a player catches the ball before it hits the ground and has been clearly kicked by another player.

9. Handball only allowed if ball held clearly in one hand and punched or hit out with other. If caught, no mark. Throwing prohibited.

10. Before game captains toss for ends.

11. In case of infringements, captain may claim free from where breach occurred. Except where umpires appointed, opposing captain to adjudicate.

12. In all grand matches two umpires - one from each side - will take up position as near as possible between the goal posts and centre. When breach is made appeal to go to nearest umpire.

It is usually agreed that it was Rule 8, which covers marking, is the one that differentiated the Australian game from any other set of football rules. Rule 9, which covers handballing, also defines a major feature of the Australian game. The lack of any offside rule is also considered a vital differentiation from other forms of football.

Reference to "the 'kick off' posts" in Rule 4 is important. These are obviously what are now known as behind posts and which have always been an important feature of the game. Until 1878, kicks between the goal-post and kick off posts were not recorded. However, after that date, behinds were noted but did not count towards the score.

Despite the fact that Tom Wills had helped referee the Melbourne Grammar v Scotch College game in 1858, Field Umpires did not become a regular feature of the game until 1872. Under Rule 11 the captains were usually responsible for adjudicating on infringements and disputations. Even so, Rule 12 does make provision for the appointment of two Umpires. However, prior to 1872, there are only a few recorded instances of this being done.

Of course, rules continued (and still continue) to evolve. More information on the features that make Australian Rules distinctive, is found under the heading: "Features of the Game" (below).