Discussion The flick-pass and throw-pass

Apr 1, 2008
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From Wikipedia:
One notable variant of the handpass was known as the flick pass, in which a player could use his open hand instead of his fist to propel the ball. The legality of the flick pass has varied throughout the history of the game; it became legal in the 1930s, and in the late 1950s and 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 Victorian Football League (VFL) club Fitzroy. Of the 88 handballs executed during the 1961 VFL Grand Final, 18 were flick passes. By 1966, the flick pass was considered a type of throw by Australian National Football Council (ANFC) rules, and was penalised with a free kick, with players required to use a clenched fist for disposal.

The flick pass had the significant drawback that its action was close to that of a throw, and different umpires had different interpretations of what was legal. In 1938, motivated by a desire to eliminate this inconsistency, and to speed up the game, the Victorian Football Association (VFA) legalised throwing the ball, provided both hands were below shoulder-height. The throw pass was legal in the VFA and in some other competitions affiliated with it from 1938 until 1949, but it was never legal under ANFC rules.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handball_(Australian_rules_football)

As I understand it, the flick pass was pioneered in the VFA, with Footscray employing it to good effect in the controversial 1924 charity match against Essendon:

The feature of the game appears to have been Footscray’s use of handball or flick pass. It was this along with a dominant ruck division that delivered the victory. Footscray’s style of handball was described as ‘attractive as it was illegal.’ Gerald Brosnan of the Sun wrote: ‘Footscray owes its victory largely to its perfected system of handball, which the uninitiated would have no hesitation in labelling throwing’. Both Fitzmaurice and Hardy, too, mentioned Footscray’s handball as troublesome and thus gave tacit support to it being a contributing factor toward Essendon’s loss.

http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/ASSH Bulletins/No 30/ASSHBulletin30d.pdf

Does anyone know of footage of either exists? I found film of the aforementioned 1961 Grand Final, but it's low quality, edited highlights and mostly just Hawthorn goals, so it's hard to tell.

 

Rainier Wolfcastle

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Strangely enough, I have a feeling you'll spot one if you watch a video of the 1987 Grand Final! I reckon it's late in the first quarter when Michael Tuck (wearing short-sleeves for about the only time in his career) is under pressure near the sticks and fires out a flick pass to a teammate storming past that leads to a goal. Tuck looks up sheepishly but doesn't get pinged for it and the goal stands.

I was a little fella at the time but clearly remember one of the commentators saying something like: "Was that a flick pass?!? Is that even legal anymore?" and them all having a laugh about it.
 

Rainier Wolfcastle

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Image of the flick pass found at: http://theholybootsfootballemporium.com/category/boots-library/ (originally in Alan Scott's book: A Manual of Australian Football)...

flick-pass.jpg
 

sherbrook

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From Wikipedia:


As I understand it, the flick pass was pioneered in the VFA, with Footscray employing it to good effect in the controversial 1924 charity match against Essendon:



Does anyone know of footage of either exists? I found film of the aforementioned 1961 Grand Final, but it's low quality, edited highlights and mostly just Hawthorn goals, so it's hard to tell.



I think that the 1961 GF is available in full on DVD

Ted Whitten believed that the flick pass was banned by the league because the then-dominant Melbourne FC had a large influence over decision-making on rules and the FP was often given as a factor in Footscray surprisingly making the GF in 1961
 

killer

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yes that's my understanding of it Footscray and Fitzroy used
the flick pass to some effect in the 1950s then some influential person at MFC got it outlawed
VFA used it more freely but it was part of their admittance to the ANFC that they gave this up



looks like nobody could decide one way or the other in the 50's

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/84369503

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/43233863

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/22829682

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/44930999

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/130274718
 
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killer

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Only difference would be you push the football with an open hand (knock the middle of it) you could never throw it two handed


Huon and Derwent Times 19/04/34

Players are reminded that the flick pass has been restored to the Australian national game of football.
The attention' of players is drawn to the following rules, which explain the manner in which the pass may be made : —
Law 1, Section 6. — 'Handball is when the ball is clearly held in one hand and knocked with the other hand.'
Law 18. — 'A player in possession of the ball while it is in play may handball it by holding it clearly in one hand and knocking it with the other hand.
These laws are amplifications of the old law, which read': — 'The ball while in play shall under no circumstances be thrown or handed to a player.


so was legal to use flick pass to 1924

when the difficultly in distinguishing a flick from a throw got the law changed

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/129798610


by late 1920s there were some states (and the VFA) wanting to revert back to old laws

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/58617311


1934 the law was changed back
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/49504012

1939 flick pass has been umpired out of the game (?)

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/52303466
 
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sherbrook

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yes that's my understanding of it Footscray and Fitzroy used
the flick pass to some effect in the 1950s then some influential person at MFC got it outlawed
VFA used it more freely but it was part of their admittance to the ANFC that they gave this up



looks like nobody could decide one way or the other in the 50's

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/84369503

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/43233863

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/22829682

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/44930999

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/130274718

Whitten named Melbourne coach Norm Smith and captain Ron Barassi as those who led opposition to the flick pass
 

killer

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sounds from this article that what the VFA were using
from 1938 (when they broke their agreements with the VFL)
to when they rejoined the ANFC in 1949
was actually a throw pass as opposed to a flick pass

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/178155462


Fiddan in his VFA history book has the VFA throw pass as
"allowing players to throw the ball in a forward motion
above the knee and beneath the shoulder level"
 
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Rainier Wolfcastle

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sounds from this article that what the VFA were using from 1938 to when they rejoined the ANFC in 1949 was actually a throw pass as opposed to a flick pass

Spot on, Killer - they were entirely different. The flick pass still involved the striking of the ball, albeit with an open hand, whereas the throw pass was exactly what the name implies.

The VFA's introduction of the throw pass in 1938 was outside of the standard playing rules of the time, causing them to be excluded from any football against the VFL or any other state leagues/country leagues across Australia associated with the ANFC (which was almost all comps of a decent standard at that time).

If they'd chosen the flick pass instead of a throw pass the repercussions would have been minor.

You've got to look at the VFA's position then. They had entered into transfer agreements that favoured the VFL during the 1930s and were dying a slow death with dwindling crowds and a much lower standard of play than the VFL.

The throw pass made their comp unique, as well as much faster and higher scoring, and their exclusion from ANFC/VFL ties allowed them to poach a number of big names from the VFL.

See here for more about the throw pass (sections 1931-37: The Rivals Reunited, and 1938-49: Thrown out over the throw pass):

http://www.hardballget.net/victoria-vfa.html
 
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killer

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VFL On Film_ 1909-1945
I have a mark of 1h 24m 51s for demonstrations of Flick Pass and Throw pass, just after a bit on watching Haydn Bunton

Vic Richardson believed the game lost something important when it was outlawed in the 20s

I'd be interested to what if any differences there were in the Whitten flick pass (1959 - 1965) to the old one,
as the umpires had taken a hard line on the subject in the 30s and 40s.
 
Whitten named Melbourne coach Norm Smith and captain Ron Barassi as those who led opposition to the flick pass

The belief among the football community (not just the Dogs) was that Norm Smith and Barassi were keen to have the flick outlawed because they couldn't beat it.

Ironically, it was Norm's brother, Len, who reintroduced it in the '50s when he coached Fitzroy.

My father always said it was pretty much Smith's decision. Given that Melbourne was the power club of the game (by miles), and Smith the public face of that power within the club, it was gone quickly.

I got to see most of the games in 1961, as a little kid, and the one real memory I have of that season is of Whitten wrestling on the ground with 2 Collingwood players who thought he still had the ball. As they wrestled, Graham Ion, the Dogs forward flanker, ran into an open goal...at Victoria Park. Whitten's hands were lightning. He was years ahead of his time in many respects.

Didn't go down too well with the locals, though.
 

Rainier Wolfcastle

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The belief among the football community (not just the Dogs) was that Norm Smith and Barassi were keen to have the flick outlawed because they couldn't beat it.

Ironically, it was Norm's brother, Len, who reintroduced it in the '50s when he coached Fitzroy.

My father always said it was pretty much Smith's decision. Given that Melbourne was the power club of the game (by miles), and Smith the public face of that power within the club, it was gone quickly.

I got to see most of the games in 1961, as a little kid, and the one real memory I have of that season is of Whitten wrestling on the ground with 2 Collingwood players who thought he still had the ball. As they wrestled, Graham Ion, the Dogs forward flanker, ran into an open goal...at Victoria Park. Whitten's hands were lightning. He was years ahead of his time in many respects.

Didn't go down too well with the locals, though.

Great post. Imagine the damage that could be done today if it was reintroduced!
 

Marcus DuQuesne

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I remember that Whitten was known for the "flick pass" in the 60's. By the 70's it was done and dusted. I used it once in a local Geelong Football League game much to the delight of the blokes 10 or so years older than me. About 1973 I would say. I got away with it and my memory of it was how quick and accurate it was as a means of moving the ball on. Throwing the ball has never been so obvious at is is today and rarely gets pulled up. Over the back out of a pack throw throw throw ....was supposed to held in one(Stationery)hand and fisted with the other but of course this is not always possible especially in the modern game.
 

killer

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Spin or not?
Warren in "Australian football Funamentals" (1982) on the standard handball
"I fact so impressive is the handballing action that it has been adopted as legal by the Gaelic football association
as a result of their adminstrators seeing how positive and effective it can be-..."

Did the Australian Handpass ever become widespread in Gaelic football?


"Sheedy" handball
Sheedy handball.jpg
 
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