Fair catch catch is called a "mark"; see mark (rugby) and mark (Australian football) for more information (however in Australian Rules Football the player is not protected from the opposition team while attempting a mark). Fair catches featured in some extinct forms of football, and they have been abolished in other modern codes. In Rugby league the defensive player attempting to catch the ball cannot be tackled whilst in the air, though the attacking players can contest the ball by attempting to catch it themselves. A player who successfully catches the ball is able to be tackled only once they have landed
History of rugby union in Australia June 1987. History of rugby union in Australia Rugby Union has a long history in Australia, with the first club being formed in 1863 at Sydney University. Today it holds tier one status with World Rugby and has over 82,000 players nationwide. There is some evidence of indigenous Australian forms of football being played in Australia, before the European arrival. Some of these involved kick and catch games. Early Europeans may well have played their own forms of traditional football as well, which involved kicking and handling. With the arrival of Europeans, a form of football was played very early