1. SPIRIT OF THE GAME
TRL is a social brand of touch football. The aim of TRL is to provide a fun and enjoyable environment in which to play the closest non-contact version of rugby and rugby league. Players must conduct themselves in an appropriate fashion at all times and ill-discipline will be dealt with seriously. [Please see Section 26].

2. FIELD DIMENSIONS
Fields will vary depending on the location but as a general guide, each field will have a width of at least 40 metres and a length of at least 65 metres.

3. UNIFORMS
3.1. Teams are to be in the same colour shirts/singlets.
3.2. Teams are to have numbers on these shirts/singlets.
3.3. Bonus points will be on offer for teams that have satisfied 3.1 and 3.2
3.4. A player who is not in at least the same coloured jersey may be refused entry onto the field if the referee feels that he/she will not be able to distinguish that player from the opposition.

4. TEAM COMPOSITION
4.1.Mens: 6 people on the field; plus up to 7 reserves (13 players total)
4.2.Mixed: 7 people on the field; plus up to 6 reserves (13 players total)
*For Mixed, a maximum of 4 on-field players can be male.

5. REGISTRATION
5.1. At the beginning of each season, individuals must register in order to play TRL. Forms will be provided at venues and on the website.
5.2. A player is registered when they have signed the registration form.
5.3. It is the responsibility of the player to ensure they are registered. Team registration forms will always be available to be filled out at venues.
5.4 .Teams are able to register a maximum of 13 players but must do so before the end of week 8. Anyone not registered at that point cannot play finals football in weeks 10 and 11.

6. INSURANCE
6.1. Insurance – All registered players are covered by TRL’s insurance policy. In the event of injury, please ensure you report this to both the match referee and the competition manager on the night of the injury (this is critical).
6.2. Even minor injuries/potential injuries must be reported. A failure to report the injury to either the referee or competition manager on the night of the incident may void that player’s right to make a claim.
6.3. To make a claim, please contact TRL. You must be a registered player to make a claim.

7. DURATION
7.1. Games are to run for 45 minutes in total (2 x 20 minute halves with 5 minutes for half-time).
7.2. Should the game start late for whatever reason, the half-time break can be reduced at the discretion of the referee.

8. FORFEITS
8.1. A Mens team must have a minimum of 4 players to field a team.
8.2. A Mixed team must have a minimum of 5 players to field a team (minimum of 1 female).
8.3. A team has 5 minutes from kick-off to take the field. If the team is late, it will lose 1 try for every minute it is late after that 5 minute period has elapsed. If after 10 minutes, the other team has still not taken to the field (with the minimum numbers required), the game will be forfeited unless the opposition captain agrees to play in what time is left. [This grace period was previously 10 minutes but has been changed to 5 minutes as of Winter Season 2010].
8.4. Forfeited games do not effect ‘for-and-against’. However, the non-forfeiting team will obtain a ‘win’ as well as one bonus point (5 points total).

9. BONUS POINTS
9.1. A bonus point can be obtained from scoring 5 tries or losing a game by 1 point.
9.2. A maximum of 3 bonus points can be obtained by a team in one game.

10. SAFETY
10.1. No jewellery or watches may be worn. The referee will ask that all players remove such items before the start of play. It is the players’ responsibility to ensure they are not wearing such items.
10.2. Fingernails must be trimmed.
10.3. Only prescription glasses are allowed – sunglasses are not allowed. A player wearing prescription glasses does so at their own risk and will accept responsibility for any injuries that are inflicted upon any other player.
10.4. The referee is to ensure that any injury is attended to as soon as possible.
10.5. Any player that experiences a loss of blood will be ordered from the field and will need to clear or remove the blood in order to return to the game.

11. MISCONDUCT
The referee has the power to penalize a player for misconduct. What constitutes misconduct is a matter for the referee to decide. It includes but is not limited to striking another player, being over-zealous with the touch, verbal abuse directed at another player or the referee, time-wasting/deliberately slowing down the game, and, any action which is deemed not to be in the spirit of the game.

12. SUBSTITUTION
Unlimited substitutions can be made but these must be made from the middle of the field and on one side of the field between the two substitution markers on half-way. Players coming onto the field must not enter onto the field until the other player has crossed the sideline. A failure to abide by these rules may result in a penalty to the non-infringing team on halfway (or where they have the ball – whichever provides the most advantage).

13. THE TOUCH
13.1. A touch will be affected once the defensive player has called ‘touch’ BUT in instances where the ‘touch’ is obvious to all parties involved, this will not be necessary.
13.2. A touch can only be made with the hand or upper part of the body. You can not make a touch with your foot.
13.3. A collision of two players will be deemed ‘touch on contact’. However, if a player initiates the touch with his/her hand, this will be deemed a ‘voluntary touch’.
13.4. “Phantom Touches” whereby a player calls a ‘touch’ and then subsequently calls a ‘no-touch’ will be penalized. It is not beyond the discretion of the referee to call a penalty try in such instances.
13.5. If a player is touched and then passes or kicks the ball, this will be deemed a “touch pass/kick” and a penalty to the opposition will be granted.

14. ROLL-BALL
14.1. The play-the-ball must be made with the foot. A failure to touch the ball with the foot will result in a penalty to the opposition.
14.2. The play-the-ball must also be made on the mark (point of being touched) or within one step of the mark. Players will be penalized for running off the mark (i.e. more than one step off the mark). [This rule has been made more circumspect and is to be applied strictly from the Winter Season 2010].
14.3. The defending team cannot move until the dummy-half has picked up the ball or 3 seconds have passed since the ball has been played.
14.4. The player playing the ball must do so within 3 seconds of being touched.

15. ‘SPILT MILK’
15.1. Just as with normal touch, TRL incorporates the rule of spilt milk (i.e. if the ball is dropped forwards or backwards, possession is turned over to the opposition).
15.2. The restart of a new set of six after a dropped ball is to be started upon the reff’s whistle or call.
15.3. Kicks may touch the ground.
15.4. 'Advantage' will be enforced for the attacking team provided the ball has not hit the ground. [i.e. a forward pass, a fumble etc can be capitalised on by the opposition provided the ball does not hit the ground and the referee’s whistle has not been blown].

16. KICK-OFFS
16.1. The kickoff consists of a "must take" kick (a bomb kick) taken from before half way and occurs at the start of each half and after a try is scored. A “must take” kick is one that must be caught on the full, by the receiving team.
16.2. For the “must take” kick to be deemed a bomb, it must travel at least 15m vertically (as of Autumn Season 2011) and 10m forward.
16.3. The opening kick-off will be decided by a coin toss or other appropriate means.
16.4. Subsequent kick-offs are performed by the non-scoring team (i.e. the non-scoring team kicks to the scoring team).
16.5. One attempt is permitted, and if the ball goes out of play or fails to go more than 10 m forward and 15 m vertically, then the receiving team gets a tap kick at halfway.
16.6. The team that kicks the ball must provide a 10m gap for the player who is attempting to catch the ball (i.e. the team kicking off cannot re-gather the ball or put any pressure on the catcher).
16.7. If the ball is not caught then the receiving team then performs another "must take" kick.
16.8. A maximum of 2 kick-offs applies. If after 2 kick-offs, no-one has managed to take the ball cleanly, it will be a tap on half-way to the team that was to receive the original and first kick-off. [THIS IS A NEW RULE and is in effect from the Winter Season 2010].

17. KICKING IN GENERAL PLAY
17.1. Kicking is permitted in TRL BUT only after two touches have been completed.
17.2. The exception is when the referee calls “last play of the half/game”. When this call is made a team can kick the ball even if it is on the first or second touch. NOTE: this exception applies when the referee makes this specific call, not when the hooter goes. [THIS IS A NEW RULE and is in effect from the Winter Season 2010].
17.3. Kicks can go any height and any distance.
17.4. If a kick goes out on the full, the non-kicking team will be able to tap the ball from where it was kicked.
17.5. Note that if the kicker re-gathers his own kick, he cannot score. He must pass the ball to another player or kick for another player in order for a try to be scored.
17.6. A player who is defending a kick may trap the ball with his/her foot. This will not be deemed to be “kicking on the first”.
17.7. A player who kicks the ball defensively dead from their own in-goal will not be penalized for kicking the ball on the first. It will simply be a drop-out.

18. AFL RULE
18.1. If the attacking team puts a kick into the in-goal area and a member of that team catches that ball on the full landing in the in-goal area, this will be deemed a try. The catcher must be on-side when the kicker kicks the ball.
18.2. What is important is that the person catching the ball lands in the in-goal. (i.e. they can leap from the field of play).
18.3. The ‘mark’ must be a clean catch. If the ball touches another player’s hands etc when it comes down, the AFL Rule does not apply.

19. OBSTRUCTION
A player cannot use a teammate to shield (shepherd) themselves from being touched. A referee may allow a team to play on if convinced that the ‘shepherd’ has not influenced the play in anyway.

20. DEFENSIVE LINE & OFFSIDE
20.1. The defensive team must retreat 8 metres back from the mark of the play-the-ball. The team must make it back to the referee. Retreating/defensive player must come back in a straight line (i.e. must not deviate or change direction when tracking back the 8m from the play-the-ball).
20.2. Failure to make it back 8 metres and to the referee will result in a penalty to the attacking team.
20.3. The referee can play advantage in this instance by stating ‘play-through’ or ‘advantage’. This means the ball carrier can keep running as he/she has been touched by a person in an off-side position. When the ball-runner is finally touched by a person in an on-side position, the attacking team will be granted a penalty and a new ‘set-of-six’ will commence. [Note the application of ‘advantage’ in this instance is different to normal touch football].
20.4. Repeated off-side infringement is a sin-binnable offence.

21. CHARGE-DOWNS
Charge-downs are permitted and are the chief exception to the spilt milk rule. However, there must be a deliberate attempt to charge the ball down. The referee must be convinced that the player making the charge-down intended to do this and was not simply putting his/her hands up in the air in an attempt to catch the ball or protect themselves from injury.

22. DUMMY HALF
Dummy half CAN get touched and CAN score (this is different from normal touch).

23. IN-GOAL AREA & DROP-OUTS
23.1. If the ball is kicked ‘dead’ (over the dead-ball line), the non-kicking team then has a tap from the middle of the field, 5m out from the try-line.
23.2. If defensive team is touched in their in-goal, they must perform a dropout (which cannot be re-gathered).
23.3. If the dropout goes over the sideline, it is a simple roll-ball from where it went out to the receiving team.
23.4. If the dropout goes over the sideline on the full, it is a tap to the receiving team on the 5m line in the middle of the field.
23.5. If the drop-out goes out over the dead-ball line at the other end of the field, the other team must perform a dropout.
23.6. If the attacking team is touched in-goal before the last touch, they are entitled to bring the ball back to the 5m line for a roll-ball as if they got touched on the 5m line. If it is the last, then it is simply a turnover.
23.7. If the defensive team catches the ball on the full in the in-goal area then they must bring the ball to the 5m line for a tap. There is no election on the part of the catcher, he/she cannot run with the ball out of the in-goal.

24. VOLUNTARY TOUCH
24.1. If the ball runner puts his hand out and touches the defending player, this will be deemed a voluntary touch if the defending player is in an onside position. The result will be a turnover of possession. The ball runner does not need to have played the ball for a ‘voluntary touch’ to have occurred.
24.2. If a player is in possession of the ball but not moving (or on the ground) and puts his/her hand out to more or less protect themselves from an oncoming collision, this will not be a ‘voluntary touch’. This is a matter for the referee’s discretion.
24.3. If the ball runner puts his hand out and touches the defending player who is in an off-side position, by touching that player, the ball runner has put that defending player onside and a touch will have been affected (i.e. no penalty for off-side and no penalty for ‘voluntary touch’).
24.4. However, if the off-side defender changes direction so as to impede the ball runner, this will be deemed an offence and the defending team will be penalized for being off-side.

25. PLAYING AT A BALL THAT HAS BEEN PASSED OR KICKED
25.1. If a pass is thrown and a defensive player makes a play at the ball knocking it to the ground, the passing team will receive a new set of 6.
25.2. If a pass is thrown and a defensive player merely is going for the touch and the ball ricochets off that defensive player onto the ground, the defending team will receive the ball. It is the passer’s responsibility to find his/her target.
25.3. However, if the defending player ‘hedges a bet each way’ and goes for both the touch and sticks the other hand out to deflect any pass, this will also be deemed to be playing at the ball and the referee will order a new set of 6 to the passing team. This is a matter for the referee’s discretion.
25.4. A pass cannot hit the ground and must be caught cleanly. So if a ball is thrown into a player’s torso, head or even foot, and it ricochets off onto the ground, the game stops and possession is handed to the defending team for a new set of 6 unless it is the defending player the ball has ricocheted off and that player has also played at the ball.
25.5. A kick can hit the ground. In addition, if a kick goes into someone’s torso, head, upper arm (above elbow) or even foot, it will be play on even if that player has played at the ball.
25.6. However, if a kick goes into someone’s hand (below elbow), it becomes critical as to whether the player has played at the ball or not. If the ball has been played at, unless it is a charge-down, the game stops and possession is handed to the team that has not touched the ball. If the ball has not been played at, it is play on.

26. DISCIPLINE
26.1. Dissent/Abuse – The referee’s decision is final. Dissent will not be tolerated and will always be penalized. Continued or unacceptable dissent by a player can be punishable by sin-bin (5 minutes), or send-off (whole game). In either case, the infringing team will lose a player from the field.
26.2. Serious Offences – Serious offences such as striking another player and continued dissent to the referee will be reported by the referee to TRL. Depending on the nature of the offence, a suspension may be invoked. TRL will be in contact with the offending team’s captain after the round to discuss the matter and will take necessary steps to ensure no further infringements will occur. TRL also reserves the right to ban a player from the competition and future competitions if the player poses a danger to other players.
26.3. Off-field Matters – The referee’s jurisdiction extends to the sidelines of the field he/she controls. Breaches of discipline are treated the same as if they have occurred on the field.
26.4. Post-game Matters – The referee’s jurisdiction also extends to incidents that may occur after the game has concluded. If an offence occurs after the final whistle, this will be reported and dealt with appropriately, by TRL.

27. FINALS & MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS
27.1. Grand Finals – Extra time and drop-offs: In the event that a Grand Final is drawn at the end of full-time, the game will enter 2 x 5 minutes of golden point extra time. If after this period, the scores are still level, the teams will enter another 5 minute period (but with one less player). If the scores are still level at this point, the teams will enter another 5 minute period but again, lose another player. This process will continue until we are left with 2 players. At this point, the game is continued until we have a winner. [In the mixed divisions, the decision as to whether to drop a male or female is entirely up to the team]. For Semi-Finals, only one golden point period of 5 minutes is added if the game is drawn at the end of regular time. If the game is still drawn after this 5 minute period, the team that finished higher after the regular season progresses to the Grand Final.
27.2. INTOXICATION – Nobody is allowed to consume alcohol at the grounds (spectator or otherwise). Any players found to be drinking will be asked to leave the premises and will be subject to rules under “Section 26: Discipline”. Furthermore, no player under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be allowed onto the field.