Rules & Ethos of WA Master's Football:
10:04AM 22 March 2010
Umpires Corner
Umpiring within the AFL Masters, whilst based on the laws of the game, is underpinned by the philosophy of having fun. To this end the AFL MASTERS is very much played in the right spirit by the vast majority of players and the umpires are appreciative of clubs that actively promote this concept. By clubs making this explicit to their players, umpires are then better able to concentrate on game decision making rather than policing the game being played in the right spirit.
Laws
Laws in the AFL Masters Western Australian Football are applied as per the AFL Laws but with some modifications based on, but not exactly the same, as those used in national carnivals. The modified rules we use are as follows:
* Only one player from each team to contest ruck contests.
* No raising leg or knee at ruck contest
* Balls going over the boundary line honour system
* Out by foot kick in, Out by hand - throw up
* No slinging of a player in tackles
* No raising legs in marking contest
* Charges (shirt front) are banned irrespective of ball proximity
* 50 metre rule does apply
* Centre square applies on honour system
* Yellow and red card penalties applied as necessary
Further modifications may be made as the need arises. Clubs can offer suggestions at delegate meetings for consideration.
Spirit Of The Game
The spirit of the laws that underpins our umpiring is to:
* Protect the player whose sole objective is to gain possession of the ball by awarding him a free kick if infringed.
* Protect the player in possession by awarding him a free kick if he is tackled illegally.
* Reward the tackler if the player in possession does not dispose of the ball when legally tackled and given a reasonable time to do so.
A basic philosophy in MAF in regard to umpiring is:-
Disputing the umpires decisions or abuse of umpires is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It is up to clubs and coaches in particular to re-enforce this.
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