Field goal
- This article is about the obsolete scoring method. For the goal currently referred to as a field goal, see drop goal.
A field goal was a type of goal that could be scored when kicking a loose ball.[1] The goal was abolished from the Laws of the Game in 1950,[2] though the New South Wales Rugby League had abolished it in 1922.[1][3]
[edit] History
| Period | Try | Conversion | Penalty goal | Drop goal | Field goal | Goal from mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1895—1897 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 1897—1922 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1922—1950 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 1950—1971 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| 1971—1983 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| 1983— | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
The field goal was scored by kicking "a loose ball over the bar and between the posts".[2]
In 1897, two years after the schism, the field goal was reduced in value from four points to two points.[5][6]
Historian Tony Collins believes field goals to have been uncommon, with him only being able to find one example of "one being scored in a major match".[2] It was scored by Billy Phipps for Hull KR in a 1905 Challenge Cup semi-final win over Broughton Rangers.[2][7]
The New South Wales Rugby League abolished it from the laws of their competition in 1922.[1][3] In the 1922-23 Rugby Football League Official Guide, it is noted that the previous season someone had enquired if a goal could be scored by a player kicking a loose ball over the cross bar and between the posts.[2] The Official Guide confirmed that a field goal would be scored in those circumstances.[2]
At this time, the RFL had responsibility for the International Laws.[8] The field goal was removed from the laws at the Rugby Football League's annual general meeting in summer 1950.[2]
[edit] Use of term
In Australia and New Zealand, the term 'field goal' later became a popular way to refer to a drop goal.[2] Four years after the RFL had abolished the original field goal and 32 years after the NSWRL had removed them from their local rule book, Hector Rawson and Tom Hesketh, managers of the 1954 Lions team noticed a press report that included a field goal in the scores of a match played in Sydney.[2] The Australian Board of Control discussed it on 11 June 1954 and "decided that it was the considered opinion of the Board that a field-goal represents a dropped goal from the field of play and we are of the opinion that no great harm would come from people referring to a drop kick by a player going over the cross bar and between the posts, as a field-goal".[2]
The matter may not have been clarified with the British, as later in the year, they were still concerned. The minutes of a Rugby Football League Council meeting on 12 November 1954, say that RFL secretary Bill Fallowfield "reported that it had come to his notice that the field-goal i.e. the kicking of a loose ball over the cross bar, was still allowed in Australia and New Zealand. It was agreed unanimously that the attention of Australia and New Zealand be drawn to the fact that the field-goal was deleted from the laws of the game when they were rewritten in 1950".[2]
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Fagan, Sean (2007). Dixon, Kim. ed. The rugby rebellion centenary edition: Pioneers of rugby league. Australia: RL1908. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-9757563-0-0.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Collins, Tony (2010-09-04). "Field goals redux: the pedants are revolting...". Rugby Reloaded. Tony Collins. Archived from the original on 2011-03-29. http://www.webcitation.org/5xYVj02yG. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fagan, Sean (2009-12-16). "The laws of rugby league: Overview of amendments: 1909-present". rl1908.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. http://www.webcitation.org/5mcF2ocCw. Retrieved 22 December 2009.
- ↑ Fagan, Sean (2007). Dixon, Kim. ed. The rugby rebellion centenary edition: Pioneers of rugby league. Australia: RL1908. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-9757563-0-0.
- ↑ Warrington Wolves. "The Northern Union". Warrington Wolves. Archived from the original on 2009-09-25. http://www.webcitation.org/5k41lhoHC. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ↑ de la Riviere, Richard, ed. (2009), "Top ten: Rugby league rules", Rugby League World (Brighouse, UK: League Publications) (340): 61 (published 2009-08), ISSN 1466-0105
- ↑ Ulyatt, Michael E. (1983). Hull Kingston Rovers - A Centenary History 1883-1983 (1st ed.). North Ferriby: Lockington Publishing Co. Ltd.. pp. 22, 145. ISBN 0-905490-24-X.
- ↑ Goodman, Tom. "Board urges trial of new R.L. rule". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2010-05-29. http://www.webcitation.org/5q5o2E9pu. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
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