How The Game Is Played

Game Play The aim of OST is to score more points than the opposition by ‘grounding’ the football in the ‘scoring zone’. The ‘ball carrier’ is the most dangerous, yet most vulnerable player, as when a defender removes their ‘tag’, the play ends. Players not in possession of the ball cannot be ‘tagged’ or obstructed. The winning team from ‘Tag off’ receives an advantage and commences the game with the ball. The set commences with attacker/s on/behind the invisible ‘red line’ o Throwing the ball above and catching below head height All attackers start behind the behind the red, orange or blue line to commence play with 5 ‘downs’ available. A ‘changeover’ occurs if o Attackers do not score during their set or o An attacking infringement occurs During play, attackers can o Run in any direction o Be positioned in front or behind the ball o Pass in a 360-degree direction o Have unlimited passes until ball carrier is tagged Attackers restart play once the ball carrier is tagged or loses control of the ball. Play restarts on the o Red line - located 27m from the try line if the ball carrier has not been tagged past the orange line o Orange line – located 19m away from the try line if the ball carrier has been tagged past the orange line but not past the blue line o blue Line – Located 10m away from the try line if the ball carrier has been tagged past the blue line and a try has not been scored Restarting Key Points o Lost tags are to be reapplied before play restarts o If attackers pass the orange or blue line during a down, and during the next play are tagged behind the orange or blue line, play recommences at the last starting line o Attackers need to have control of the ball when tagged in order to advance into other zones, otherwise the play is restarted at the last restart line o Play can start anywhere along the attacking line o If a defender impedes an attackers pass by knocking down the ball, it is considered an attacking error, resulting in a down o If the ball is intercepted, unless it is the last down, the attacking team will receive the ball back regardless if the defender team scores or not o Defenders can pass the ball in any direction from point of interception o The attacking team does not lose possession due to an error, unless it is the 5th down o Teams have 10 seconds to get set for the next play and if o attackers are not set, they may lose a down o defenders are not set, they may give the attackers an extra down Defenders always start on the invisible o Orange line if attackers start from the red line o Blue try line if attackers start from the orange line o Try line if attackers start from the blue line Tags are used to replace tackling and create a safer game. Contact will occur, but should be avoided where possible. Points & Winners To score points, attackers ground the ball in the o ‘Try zone’ – 1 point o ‘Square’ – 2 points Defenders turned attackers via an intercept ground the ball on/in the o Red Left/Centre/Right Circle – 2 points Important notes o In a mixed game, female ‘tries’ are worth 2 points each, regardless of location scored o In drop off, teams only receive one play each to score before handover. The team who started the game with the ball, starts in drop off o A penalty try worth 1 or 2 points can be awarded should an infringement or foul play prevent a try Under 10’s Game Variations o Attackers starting play on the red line, require both tags to be removed to stop a ball carrier from running with the football o If the baller carrier is tagged anywhere in the orange or blue zone when starting from the red zone, only one tag is required to be removed for the remainder of their downs Note: Pending skill levels and agreeance from both team representatives, the game can be modified in its infancy for younger players to understand game play. This could include, however, is not limited to: o Adding additional lines for attacking/defending teams to commence from o Leniency on rules to create an improved game i.e. restart play from where the down occurred o Adding mandatory passes o Rotating attacking players who start with the ball or have majority possession of the ball to give other players a turn o Not rule of minor infringements At 13 years and above o Once a team scores 8 points or above, that team is reduced to 3 downs p/set Sudden death will take place in finals game where a winner is required. The team who won tag off starts with the ball. The first team to score wins. Teams receive 3 plays each. Should neither team score in their first 3 sudden death attacking sets, both sides are reduced to 6 players. Teams are reduced to 4 players should neither team score in their second sudden death attacking set. The game will continue with 4 players until a try is scored.