Misc Footy contact on other players. when and how?

[Covertackle]

im just starting to learn the basics of AFL my boy plays, so i must learn to help teach him.

i dont understand why some tackles are ok, and others that seem fair arent allowed. some pushing is allowed, some is not.

stuff in backplay seems ok, but not near the ball. how close? why?

can anyone give me a rundown on when contact is allowed. what kind of contact is allowed in each situation etc. its all a bit confusing.

 

[Engimal]

(This is from a 16 year old so take it with a grain of *ed. )

Basically, off play, pushing and shoving is allowed. As long as there is no closed fist, it should pass.

For tackling, if you tackle from behind and you push your opponent in the back, it is a free kick to the opposition player. That's why it's much preferable (and easier) to wrap your arms around the players torso and drag them to the ground by dropping to your knees, rather than pushing them down. A good technique is to pin the opponents arms to their torso so that they can not dispose of the ball, resulting in a free kick for them holding the ball.

 

[Covertackle]

(This is from a 16 year old so take it with a grain of *ed. )

Basically, off play, pushing and shoving is allowed. As long as there is no closed fist, it should pass.

For tackling, if you tackle from behind and you push your opponent in the back, it is a free kick to the opposition player. That's why it's much preferable (and easier) to wrap your arms around the players torso and drag them to the ground by dropping to your knees, rather than pushing them down. A good technique is to pin the opponents arms to their torso so that they can not dispose of the ball, resulting in a free kick for them holding the ball.

mate. sorry i havent caught your post earlier. but i dont mind getting sensible advise from anyone. cheers.

so if you find yourself in a position to tackle but not contest the mark, you could upset his attempt from behind as long as you dont 'hit' with a 'push', just grad his arms from behind? like a diving arm wrap tackle may bring a player strainght down without propelling them froward like a push?

off the ball, when you 'shepherd' a player can you grab his guernsey, tackle him, bump him etc?

when challenging for the ball on the ground and say a player is beside you, can you hold? can you use your arms to slow his progress without actually grabbing him? can you shoulder him out of the way?

 

[Engimal]

mate. sorry i havent caught your post earlier. but i dont mind getting sensible advise from anyone. cheers.

so if you find yourself in a position to tackle but not contest the mark, you could upset his attempt from behind as long as you dont 'hit' with a 'push', just grad his arms from behind? like a diving arm wrap tackle may bring a player strainght down without propelling them froward like a push?

off the ball, when you 'shepherd' a player can you grab his guernsey, tackle him, bump him etc?

when challenging for the ball on the ground and say a player is beside you, can you hold? can you use your arms to slow his progress without actually grabbing him? can you shoulder him out of the way?

Yeah, just as long as their back isn't pushed, it shouldn't be a free kick.

And as for your second point, shepherding may only take place when the person being shepherded is within 5 metres of the ball.
To be completely honest, I'm not exactly sure of the details of what's allowed when challenging for the ball. I know forearms and shoulders are allowed to hold ground but you aren't allowed to push someone out of the contest, though I do believe body on body pushing may be allowed.

 

[Ghossein]

mate. sorry i havent caught your post earlier. but i dont mind getting sensible advise from anyone. cheers.

so if you find yourself in a position to tackle but not contest the mark, you could upset his attempt from behind as long as you dont 'hit' with a 'push', just grad his arms from behind? like a diving arm wrap tackle may bring a player strainght down without propelling them froward like a push?

off the ball, when you 'shepherd' a player can you grab his guernsey, tackle him, bump him etc?

when challenging for the ball on the ground and say a player is beside you, can you hold? can you use your arms to slow his progress without actually grabbing him? can you shoulder him out of the way?

• If you are catching up to him and tackling him from behind, you must not land or fall into his back, as said before you should wrap your arms around and fall to ground, bringing him with you. You basically can't push or make hard contact with their back
• Good advice for first time tacklers is just to wrap your arms around them and fall to ground and bring them with you anyway. Try to wrap their arms up in the tackle too so they cant dispose of the ball.

• When shepherding, you shouldnt grab his gurnsey, or tackle him. Shepherding is basically the act of putting both arms out and blocking an opposition player from getting to a team mate of yours with the ball, thus stopping them from being tackled.
• The main strength behind a shepherd shouldn't come from your arms, you should be using your legs and core to block him out of the way

• When the ball is on the ground, you can only try and push him in a way to position him out (or move him away from the ball), and thus giving you an advantage of getting to the ball first.
• You cannot hold. Instant free kick. You should avoid using your arms in most aspects of contested football. umpires often give free kicks away when any player makes a pushing motion. like shepherding, you should be using your core and leg muscles to out position him. shouldering is fine as long as its not a bump

grabbing in any aspect of football besides tackling is a free kick. i suggest you watch as much AFL on tv as you possibly can, watch your team play every weekend and if another match is on and you've got nothing better to do watch it. after a while it will all seem natural and you'll be able to pick up the bad player contacts before you even hear the umpires whistle

 

[Engimal]

• If you are catching up to him and tackling him from behind, you must not land or fall into his back, as said before you should wrap your arms around and fall to ground, bringing him with you. You basically can't push or make hard contact with their back
• Good advice for first time tacklers is just to wrap your arms around them and fall to ground and bring them with you anyway. Try to wrap their arms up in the tackle too so they cant dispose of the ball.

• When shepherding, you shouldnt grab his gurnsey, or tackle him. Shepherding is basically the act of putting both arms out and blocking an opposition player from getting to a team mate of yours with the ball, thus stopping them from being tackled.
• The main strength behind a shepherd shouldn't come from your arms, you should be using your legs and core to block him out of the way

• When the ball is on the ground, you can only try and push him in a way to position him out (or move him away from the ball), and thus giving you an advantage of getting to the ball first.
• You cannot hold. Instant free kick. You should avoid using your arms in most aspects of contested football. umpires often give free kicks away when any player makes a pushing motion. like shepherding, you should be using your core and leg muscles to out position him. shouldering is fine as long as its not a bump

grabbing in any aspect of football besides tackling is a free kick. i suggest you watch as much AFL on tv as you possibly can, watch your team play every weekend and if another match is on and you've got nothing better to do watch it. after a while it will all seem natural and you'll be able to pick up the bad player contacts before you even hear the umpires whistle

Also, note that most leagues won't pay this as a free kick due to lack of umpiring so most players in these leagues, right up to seniors, employ a grabbing or holding technique on the field. Don't get tricked into thinking this is correct.