Handball (Australian rules football)
Encyclopedia
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
of Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
which describes a method of disposing of possession of the football
Football (ball)
A football is an inflated ball used to play one of the various sports known as football.The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, sometimes inside a leather cover...
by hand. It is the most frequently used alternative to kick
Kick (football)
Kicking is a method used by many types of football, including:* Association football* Australian rules football* International rules football* American football* Canadian football* Gaelic football* Rugby league* Rugby union...
ing the ball. It is primarily used as a means of passing the ball to a teammate, which is known as a handpass.
Unlike the kick (which in Australian rules can be marked
Mark (Australian football)
A mark is a skill in Australian rules football where a player cleanly catches a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without anyone else touching it or the ball hitting the ground....
), once a player receives a handball they must play-on.
In order to be a legal method to dispose of the ball, the player must hold the ball stationary in front of them with one hand and punch the ball with the clenched fist of the other hand. Failure to do so is deemed as a throw and results in a free kick to the nearest opposition player. Moving the hand that holds the ball excessively in the direction of the handpass will also sometimes be deemed by an umpire
Umpire (Australian rules football)
An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football.-Origins:Unlike many other codes of football, where the official is called a referee, in Australian Football, the officials borrow their title from the game of cricket, which is played on the same types of fields and was an...
to be a throw.
Use of the handball has evolved over the years, including several controversial techniques, and it has become an increasingly strategic tactic since the 1950s.
The modern handpass technique, known as the rocket handball, was pioneered by Kevin Sheedy. It is executed so that the ball rotates backwards in an end-to-end fashion, similar to the drop punt
Drop punt
A drop punt is a type of kick in various codes of football.It is the primary method of disposing the ball by foot in Australian rules football and the name describes its technique. The ball is held vertically, and dropped and kicked before it hits the ground, resulting in the ball spinning...
kick. The ball is held on a slight angle with the fist ending up in or close to the other open hand. This enables a handpass to achieve distance and speed comparable to a short kick and is easier for teammates to catch. Professional Australian footballers are typically competent at handballing using either punching arm.
History of use
The rule defines it similarly to the open hand tap in Gaelic footballGaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
, but differentiates the hand skills from codes of football derived from rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
. Unlike gaelic football, punching the oval ball was more frequently used as it was the most effective technique to move the heavier ball larger distances.
Although the rules allowed for the handball most Australian rules leagues handball was largely a secondary skill to the kick (i.e. only used as a last resort). Strategically Australian football was viewed as a territorial sport - where the prime aim was not so much possession, but to cover as much distance through the air as possible. As the holding hand could not move, this was best achieved by means of kicking the ball as far as possible.
The principally-used handpass was top-spin in nature. This was used with the belief that the ball could be contained more locally and executed more quickly off the hands when the ball was held in preparation for kicking, as smaller handpasses were originally used mainly when 'in trouble'. The other thought was that, as in tennis, a top-spun ball was more easily directed, dipped faster and possessed more stability in the air.
Len Smith (footballer)
Like his younger brother, the legendary Norm Smith, it is as a coach that Len is best remembered. During his first stint as a coach, of the Fitzroy Under 19s , he guided the side to the 1955 Premiership. His first senior coaching role was with Fitzroy, taking them to the finals in 1958 and 1960...
introduced the Flick Pass, a legal open handed handball technique, in the late 1950s. By the early 1960s it had become a common technique to achieve centre square clearances from scrimmages. Owen Abrahams
Owen Abrahams
Owen Abrahams was a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL.Abrahams' football career did not start well after he was rejected by Fitzroy's thirds team, but he moved to the amateurs where he played with the Commonwealth Bank team, from which he was selected with the Fitzroy senior team.He...
, Wally Clark
Wally Clark (footballer)
Wally Clark was an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League .Clark, who was at Fitzroy from underage level, played as a rover...
and Kevin Wright
Kevin Wright (Australian rules footballer)
Kevin Wright was an Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League ....
were notable exponents at Melbourne. Of the 88 handballs executed during the 1961 grand final, 18 were flick passes. By 1966, the flick pass was penalised with a free kick in the VFL, requiring players to use a clenched fist for disposal.
A running handball game emerged in the SANFL with Sturt
Sturt Football Club
Sturt Football Club is an Australian rules football club in the South Australian National Football League. The club is best known for its period of dominance from 1966–76 under legendary coach Jack Oatey, during which it revolutionised the style of play by emphasising teamwork and accurate ball...
coach Jack Oatey
Jack Oatey
Jack Oatey, AM was a former Australian rules football player and coach.-Playing career:Oatey played 181 games for the Norwood Football Club between 1940 and 1952 and acted as playing-coach from 1945 to 1952....
credited with encouraging the skill through the late 1960s, leading to Sturt winning five premierships from 1966 to 1970. In Western Australia, Graham 'Polly' Farmer and Barry Cable
Barry Cable
Barry Cable is an Australian former Australian rules footballer who played in the West Australian National Football League and Victorian Football League . Cable played as a rover. He won the Sandover Medal three times while playing with the Perth Football Club.-Club career:Cable played 225 games...
brought a new dimension to the game using handball. Farmer often looking for a runner after each mark to handpass to. This is primarily because time is lost moving away from the man on the mark to take a kick, and the runner is often in a better position to see a player leading downfield and deliver the ball to them more quickly.
The kick and catch style of play in the VFL changed almost 'overnight' during the Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
's 1970 Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
victory under Ron Barassi
Ron Barassi
Ronald Dale Barassi, Jr AM is a former Australian rules football player and coach. During a long and decorated career, Barassi has been one of the most important figures in the history of Australian football. His father, Ron Barassi, Sr., was the first Australian footballer killed at Tobruk during...
. This premiership win was particularly famous as the team came from a seemingly hopeless position at half-time. Barassi's strategy was to use a radically new style of play (for the VFL) based on keeping possession and the use of the handpass as much as possible - even out of the backline, which had previously been considered, an 'irresponsible tactic', as previously the aim was to clear as much distance as possible from the opponents' 'danger zone' as quickly as possible. (It is probably rather iconic that this pivotal and complete transition in the style and nature of the game occurred before the largest crowd attendance ever assembled in the history of the game of football: 121,696 people at the MCG that day witnessed this historic moment.)
Kevin Sheedy pioneered the rocket handball technique in the late 1970s which greatly improved the accuracy and penetration of handball and is widely used in the modern game.
With the wide adoption of the handball in the 1980s, midfielders such as Greg Williams and Dale Weightman
Dale Weightman
Dale "Flea" Weightman is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond in the Australian Football League between 1978 and 1993....
became handball specialists, renowned their playmaking ability by preferring to handball in the midfield.
In the 1980s, Richmond Football Club
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
wingman Kevin Bartlett became famous for a style of play which involved use of the handball to dispose of the ball before an opponent was about to tackle. By handballing to space in front of himself and use his pace to redeem the ball, he was frequently able to avoid being penalised for holding the ball
Holding the ball
Holding the ball is a law in Australian Rules Football. It is necessary to prevent players from slowing down play. Instead of the umpire having to bounce the ball , it allows the defence a way to take possession directly from the attacking team.-Main Interpretation:The most basic description of...
. This non-handpassing technique was highly influential in the game and later employed successfully by pacy wingmen like West Coast Eagles
West Coast Eagles
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
' Peter Matera. Matera added a new element to the technique, timing the release and throwing out his hands at the first sign of a tackle such that he would frequently draw free kick from his opponents for holding the man
Holding the man
Holding the man is an infringement in the game of Australian rules football. This occurs when a player is tackling his opponent without the ball. If the team whose player committed the infringement plays on, then a free kick will be awarded. However, if the team whose player was tackled without the...
.
During the late 1980s, the holding the ball rule was interpreted such that as long as a player made a legitimate effort to dispose of the ball, he would not be penalised. As the intensity of tackles increased, tackled players would often be seen wildly swinging their handballing arm in vain to indicate to the umpire their desperation to release the ball. More often than not however, their intention was to force a bounce. Players under pressure due to the increasing pace of the game also began to handpass over their head. This technique has later sometimes resulted in a free kick to the opposition through interpretation of the umpire.
South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n (particularly SANFL) players became known for a very localised style of play in which players excelled in quickly releasing the ball. The style, termed Crow throw (derived from croweaters a popular term for South Australians) by spectators from other states became damaging to opposition sides in State of Origin
Interstate matches in Australian rules football
Australian rules football matches between teams representing Australian colonies/states and territories have been held since 1879. For most of the 20th century, the absence of a national club competition and international matches meant that football games between state representative teams were...
encounters as well as a potent weapon for the Adelaide Crows
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
. Andrew Jarman
Andrew Jarman
Andrew Newton Jarman is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Adelaide in the Australian Football League...
was the most notable exponent, although it resulted in many free kicks against him. The legality of the technique was frequently brought into question in the AFL. Execution involves a significantly shorter distance between the punching arm and holding arm and unlike the traditional handball it is able to be executed in almost any stance. This also made it more difficult for a tackler to attack the swinging arm. To achieve the same result, a much higher amount of speed, power and upper body strength is required to execute it. However it has also been difficult for spectators and umpires to deem as to whether the correct punching method is being used.
In the 1990s, a chain of multiple handballs was often used in combination with the Mark
Mark (Australian football)
A mark is a skill in Australian rules football where a player cleanly catches a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without anyone else touching it or the ball hitting the ground....
, with marking players frequently look for a runner and handpass. This is primarily because time is lost moving away from the man on the mark to take a kick, and the runner is often in a better position to see a player leading downfield and deliver the ball to them more quickly. It also allowed key forwards to line up shepherds
Shepherding (Australian rules football)
Shepherding is a tactic and skill in Australian rules football, a team sport.Shepherding is the act of legally obstructing or preventing an opposing player from gaining possession of the ball or reaching the contest....
on chasing midfielders to set up goals, something which Dermott Brereton
Dermott Brereton
Dermott Hugh Brereton is a former Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League, regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Of Irish descent , he is known for his aggressive style of play. Brereton kicked 464 goals and played in five Premierships for during...
became especially skilled at.
Since 2000, the number of handpasses used in AFL matches has grown substantially such that it has begun to outnumber kicks. The focus of the modern game has been on using handball to break defensive zones, and to avoid kicking to contests. It is also used particularly by midfielders to set up play before a well placed kick into the forward line. Handball helped players like Michael Voss
Michael Voss
Michael Voss is the senior coach of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football League team and a former professional Australian rules footballer....
, Simon Black
Simon Black
Simon Black is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League.Black is a midfielder with a reputation for hard work and skill...
and Daniel Kerr
Daniel Kerr
Daniel Matthew Kerr is an Australian rules footballer.Kerr was recruited from East Fremantle Football Club and made his AFL debut in 2001 with the West Coast Eagles. He is a hard-running midfielder who is a vital part of the midfield at the Eagles.-Background:Kerr is of Anglo-Indian descent...
to steer their teams to premierships.
With the advent of the supergoal (nine pointer) in the NAB Cup, the handball has been used to set up a supergoal, with a designated goalkicker (typically the longest and most accurate goalkicking midfielder) sweeping to receive from a marking player before having a long range shot at goal, sometimes a torpedo punt. This technique has been refined and gradually began to creep into the premiership season.
In 2008 and 2009 in the AFL, Hawthorn and Geelong began to dominate games with what the media defined as "handball happy" play. A technique for quick but messy release of the ball known as the shovel handball emerged.
Handball competitions
Handball competitions are often used to test the accuracy of handpasses. A handball competition typically uses a board or vertically hung material with a target consisting of multiple coloured concentric bands worth different points. The centre is usually cut out to let the ball through and is worth maximum points (typically ten).Handball competitions often occur at local clubs, Auskick
Auskick
Auskick is a national program in Australia to develop and promote participation in Australian rules football by children. It has proven to be popular with both boys and girls....
clinics and on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, most notably on the shows World of Sport and The Sunday Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
(both hosted by Lou Richards
Lou Richards
Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards is a retired Australian rules footballer, who played 250 games with the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League between 1941 and 1955...
). Such competitions take place between Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
players known for their handpassing skills, and often utilise moving targets.