 The rule was recorded as follows,

Offside only came into being 15 yards from the goal and even then only two defenders were required to be goal side for a player to be onside.The openness of the rule allowed players to be deployed across the field and encouraged the forward pass.In some respects the rule has similarity to the Sheffield Rules in that it enabled the long forward pass but, unlike the Sheffield code, it also prevented players from poaching or sneaking in front of goal.