For better or worse, the AFL's tendencies for rule changes have remained ever-present, with almost each season seeing the league needing to introduce, remove or tweak its own laws of the game.

Australian rules football - a sport dating back to 1858 - has seen monumental changes implemented to carve out the game we know and love today. However, even with over 160 years of development and critiquing the rules, regulations and dimensions, fans remain perplexed by some of the guidelines players and officials are required to follow.

It seems with each passing year the AFL's faithful have only seen their frustrations directed at umpires and the league reach new peaks, as the competition continues to shapeshift to accommodate new styles and tactics that heavily influence the brand of football.

While many are sure to be content with how today's game is played compared to its origins, there remains to be several rules that may still need altering in the eyes of the footy fans.

We take a look at five rules the AFL have implemented across its history that have shaped our game.

Duration of the game

It's stunning to think when Australian Rules first began, that no time limit existed for matches, with the first team to score two goals concluding the game and named the winner.

Club captains, who would also take on the role as match officials, would also be required to determine the dimensions of the field and the width between the goal posts.

After moving to two 50-minute halves, the game was soon altered in 1886 to be played in quarters as we see today, with each term limited to 25 minutes of play. One year later, bells were introduced to mark the start and end of each quarter, while umpires were no longer required to keep track of time, with timekeepers also implemented.

Today's game is played in 20-minute quarters, however the exact duration of the game can exceed 120 minutes when you factor in stoppage time when play is brought to a halt.

The gruelling and contested nature of the game now allows both sides six-minute breaks at the end of the first and third quarters, while a 20-minute break is held at half-time.

Boundary throw-ins

In 1859 under the game's first set of laws, the ball would be thrown back into play at 'right angles' by the players themselves, a rule similar to today with the exception of an umpire's absence.

It took the game almost 50 years to introduce boundary umpires however, and when they were brought into the mix the boundary officials would punch the ball off their palm and back into play as opposed to a throwing action.

From 1910, boundary umpires would throw the ball into play after it had gone out of bounds, however 15 years later they would be required to bounce the ball five metres in from the sideline if the ball went out of bounds. Players would be penalised with a free kick against if they were to kick or force the ball out of bounds.

These rules were again reversed by 1939, with boundary throw-ins reintroduced and players not penalised for kicking the ball out of bounds.

Boundary umpires would also see their white handkerchiefs replaced by whistles when needing to alarm a decision to the players and fellow umpires.

In 1969, 'out of bounds on the full' was introduced, with players penalised for kicking the ball over the boundary line on the full.

In the early 2000s, the league would implement a deliberate out-of-bounds rule for ruck contests, with the AFL eventually widening the penalty to in-play actions as well.

Further tweaks and interpretations for deliberate out-of-bounds rulings have continued to be adjusted into our game, with the rule still leaving fans frustrated.

Holding the ball

While the rule itself is a critical one within the laws of the game it is arguably the most contentious, with the 'holding the ball' rule being one that always manages to split fans and at times is placed as the origin of frustrations with the umpire interpretations.

Doing match officials and fans no favours, the AFL has continued to tweak the guidelines that construct the holding the ball rule, with several avenues and actions leading to the rule being called by an umpire.

Origins of the rule began in the 19th century, with straightforward rulings requiring players to simply drop the ball once they were tackled by an opponent they were attempting to evade. Failure to do so resulted in a free kick against.

By 1930 the rule was amended to not allow players to drop the ball when tackled, with players needing to correctly disposed of the ball to avoid being penalised.

Named as the 'perfect tackle rule' in 1986, a player who was seen to have the opportunity to dispose of the ball before being tackled by an opponent would be penalised. Further interpretations around 'prior opportunity' were implemented a decade later.

Under the laws of the game, prior opportunity can be defined by a player having any of the following while in possession:

  • (a) is balanced and steady; or
  • (b) attempts to evade or fend an opponent; or
  • (c) has taken a mark or been awarded a free kick; or
  • (d) has driven their head into a stationary or near stationary opponent

As well as prior opportunity, players can also be penalised for incorrect disposal, not making a genuine attempt, or deciding to dive on the ball and not disposing of it.

Deliberate out-of-bounds

A more contemporary rule, the AFL introduced 'deliberate out of bounds' penalties in 2016 to prevent the number of boundary throw ins.

Players are penalised for kicking, handballing or tapping a ball out of bounds with insufficient intent to keep the ball in play, with the umpire adjudicating a player's intentions and awarding a free kick to the opposition should they deem their actions in moving the ball out of bounds intentional.

While the rule has limited the amount of throw ins in matches, fans have been left frustrated by deliberate out of bounds decisions, whether they be penalised or seen as missed calls.

With a player's intentions not always obvious, umpires are placed in a difficult position to adjudicate whether a player intended to see the ball over the boundary and bring play to a halt.

Players under pressure are given more leeway should they dispose of the ball and it trickles out of bounds, however again umpires are left to make decisions on actions that aren't always clear cut.

50-metre penalties

Initially set at 15 metres, players in possession of the ball were awarded by advancing the ball toward their goal when an opponent made an infraction when a mark or free kick has been paid.

The rule was introduced in the 1930s, however was extended to 50 metres in 1988 as the initial distance of 15 metres was not seen to be harsh enough for time-wasting and other infractions.

50-metre penalties can arise from arguing with an umpire, timewasting, impeding a player who has taken a mark or won a free kick, or entering a protected zone when a player has possession from a mark or free kick.

This year the AFL introduced 50-metre penalties for umpire dissent, with several matches across the season seeing record numbers of 50-metre penalty calls, prompting further frustrations from fans before the league revised its interpretations.

Many have called for the 50-metre penalty to be reduced to a shorter distance under the belief the penalty is too much of an advantage.