Handball (Australian Rules Football) - History

History

The rule defines it similarly to the open hand tap in Gaelic football, but differentiates the hand skills from codes of football derived from rugby football. 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.

Melbourne coach Len Smith 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, Wally Clark and Kevin Wright 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 coach Jack Oatey 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 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's 1970 Grand Final victory under Ron Barassi. 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 became handball specialists, renowned their playmaking ability by preferring to handball in the midfield.

In the 1980s, Richmond Football Club 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. This non-handpassing technique was highly influential in the game and later employed successfully by pacy wingmen like West Coast Eagles' 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.

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 Australian (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 encounters as well as a potent weapon for the Adelaide Crows. Andrew Jarman 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, 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 on chasing midfielders to set up goals, something which Dermott Brereton 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, Simon Black and Daniel Kerr 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.