1. The Basics

Fours is played with 4 players on the field per team.

A team can play with a minimum of 3 players.

The aim is simple:

Score more points than the other team.

Players can move the ball by:

• Running
  
• Passing backwards or sideways
  
• Kicking
  
• Grounding the ball in the opposition In-Goal
  

Each team gets up to 6 Touches with the ball.

2. The Field

The standard Fours field is:

• 48 metres long
  
• 32 metres wide
  
• 40 metres from Try Line to Try Line
  
• 4-metre In-Goals
  

There is also a 6-metre line at each end of the field.

Each In-Goal contains a central Bonus Zone measuring 4 metres wide by 4 metres deep.

3. Scoring

A normal Try is worth: 1 point

A Try scored in the Bonus Zone is worth: 2 points

The first place the ball touches the ground during the grounding determines whether the Try is worth one or two points.

The ball must be legally grounded before the player or ball goes out.

4. The Touch Count

The attacking team receives up to 6 Touches.

The referee counts:

Touch 1 → Touch 2 → Touch 3 → Touch 4 → Fifth and Last → Touch 6

At Touch 6, possession changes.

A new Set starts when the other team gains possession.

5. Making a Touch

Defenders stop the ball carrier by making a legal Touch.

A Touch should be made safely with the hand or hands.

A Touch may also be recognised where there is safe incidental contact with the arm or ball.

Players cannot:

• Shoulder charge
  
• Body check
  
• Trip
  
• Push
  
• Hold
  
• Make an unnecessarily hard Touch
  
• Use their legs or feet to make a Touch
  

Once Touched, the ball carrier must stop and perform a Rollball.

6. The Rollball

After a Touch:

1. Return to the Mark
   
2. Place and release the ball on the ground
   
3. Step over or beyond the ball
   
4. Allow another teammate to pick it up
   

You do not need to use your foot to roll the ball.

The ball should not move more than 1 metre.

The player performing the Rollball cannot immediately pick the ball back up.

7. Dummy Half

The first teammate to pick the ball up after a Rollball is the Dummy Half.

The Dummy Half can:

• Run
  
• Pass
  
• Kick
  

The Dummy Half cannot score.

Being Touched as Dummy Half is not automatically a turnover. It simply counts as the next Touch.

If nobody picks the ball up within 3 seconds, the defence may move forward and contest the ball.

8. Passing

Passes must leave the hands:

• Backwards
  
• Sideways
  

A Pass that leaves the hands Forward is a Forward Pass.

It does not matter if the ball travels Forward because the player was running Forward when they passed.

The referee judges the direction the ball leaves the hands.

9. Dropping the Ball

If the attacking team loses control of the ball and it hits the ground, this is a Ball Down.

Possession changes to the other team.

If a defender deliberately plays at the ball and the attacking team gets it back, the Touch Count may restart.

10. Kicking

Kicking is allowed during normal play.

Players may use:

• Grubbers
  
• Chips
  
• Punts
  
• Toe-pokes
  
  

A player must kick the ball before being Touched.

The kicker may regather their own Kick but cannot score directly from their own Kick.

An Onside teammate may regather the Kick and score.

Players in front of the kicker are Offside and must not interfere until they become Onside.

Dangerous Kicking is not allowed.

11. Offside and the 6 Metres

After a Touch, defenders normally need to retreat 6 metres.

If the Touch happens within 6 metres of the Try Line, defenders retreat to the Try Line.

An Offside defender cannot:

• Make a Touch
  
• Play at the ball
  
• Block an attacker
  
• Interfere with a Pass or Kick
  
• Influence the attacking play

12. Active Defence

When defending close to your own Try Line, defenders must actively move forward.

You cannot simply stand still or keep retreating to protect the Try Line.

Once the defensive line is Onside within the Six Metre Zone, defenders must move forward at a genuine walking pace until:

• A Touch is about to happen; or
  
• They reach or pass the ball carrier
  

Repeated defensive infringements near the Try Line can result in a player being temporarily removed for the remainder of the Set.

13. Obstruction

Attackers cannot unfairly block defenders.

You may run behind a teammate, but if that teammate actually prevents a defender from getting to you, obstruction may be called.

Players without the ball should not:

• Block defenders
  
• Change line to create a screen
  
• Hold defenders
  
• Deliberately stand in a defender’s path
  

14. Penalties

Common reasons for a Penalty include:

• Forward Pass
  
• Touch Pass
  
• Touch Kick
  
• Offside
  
• Obstruction
  
• Illegal Touch
  
• Stripping the ball
  
• Incorrect Rollball
  
• Repeated defensive infringements
  

For most Penalties, the attacking team restarts with a Tap.

Defenders retreat 6 metres.

15. Taking a Tap

To take a Tap:

1. Place the ball on the ground
   
2. Release both hands
   
3. Touch the ball with your foot
   
4. Pick it back up
   

The ball must not travel more than 1 metre.

Once the referee has marked and authorised the Penalty, the attacking team may take a Quick Tap.

They do not have to wait for the defence to get Onside.

Offside defenders must continue retreating and cannot interfere.

16. In-Goal

If an attacker is Touched inside the opposition In-Goal before scoring, play comes back to the attacking Six Metre Line.

If the attacking team drops the ball in the opposition In-Goal, possession changes.

If the defending team grounds the ball in its own In-Goal after the attack put the ball there, the defending team restarts with a Drop-Out.

17. Drop-Outs

A Drop-Out is taken from the centre of the Try Line.

It must be a Drop Kick.

The ball must travel at least 6 metres.

There is no minimum height.

Unlike a Kick-Off, the ball is allowed to bounce.

If a legal Drop-Out bounces in the field and then travels all the way across the opposite Dead Ball Line untouched, the kicking team receives a Tap on the attacking Six Metre Line.

18. Kick-Offs

Kick-Offs are used at:

• The start of the game
  
• The start of the second half
  
• The start of Extra Time
  

A Kick-Off is taken from the centre of Halfway.

For players aged 12 and over, the ball must reach at least 10 metres high.

For players aged under 12, it must reach at least 6 metres high.

The ball must also travel beyond the receiving team’s Interchange Boundary Line.

The receiving team must catch a legal Kick-Off cleanly.

After a Try

There is no Kick-Off.

The team that conceded the Try restarts with a Tap at Halfway.

19. Interchanges

Interchanges are unlimited.

Players must enter and leave through their designated Interchange Area.

The player coming off should leave before the replacement enters.

You cannot Interchange while carrying the ball.

If you have just been Touched, you must complete the Rollball before leaving the field.

20. Mixed Teams

For Mixed divisions aged 14 and over:

• With 4 players: 2 male + 2 female
  
• With 3 players: at least 1 male and 1 female
  

For Mixed divisions aged 12 and under:

• At least 1 female player must be on the field
  

21. Game Time

A standard tournament game consists of:

2 × 13-minute halves

with a: 2-minute half-time

The clock keeps running.

When time expires, the game continues until the next Touch.

If the attacking team scores before that Touch, the Try counts.

22. Player Behaviour

Players must play safely and respectfully.

The referee can use:

• Warnings
  
• Forced Interchange
  
• Exclusion
  
• Sin Bin
  
• Ejection
  

The Sin Bin is 4 minutes.

Serious behaviour such as:

• Fighting
  
• Punching
  
• Kicking another player
  
• Dangerous conduct
  
• Serious abuse
  
• Threats
  
• Discriminatory abuse
  

can result in immediate Ejection.

An Ejected player cannot be replaced.

23. Finals and Extra Time

Round and pool matches may finish in a draw.

If a finals match is tied, teams play:

3 minutes of Extra Time

The full 3 minutes is played.

It is not golden point.

The team in front at the end wins.

If the score is still tied, the match goes to a Penalty Shootout.

24. Penalty Shootout

Each team selects 3 players.

Players compete in one-on-one matchups inside the 4-metre-wide Bonus Zone channel.

One player attacks and the other defends.

A successful Try gives the attacking team:

1 Shootout point

A successful defensive Touch gives the defending team:

1 Shootout point

The first two matchups are played.

If the score is 1–1, the third matchup decides the winner.

Kicking is not allowed during a Shootout.

Mixed Divisions

• At least one matchup must be female vs female
  
• Males play males
  
• Females play females