Shepherding is the art of using your body to block the ability of an opponent to tackle a team mate of yours who may be in possession of the ball (or in the act of trying to gain possession of the ball if it is in open play).

 

Shepherding is essentially a team orientated action. You're effectively trying to 'protect' your team mate, or 'buy them the time' they need to gather the ball and then dispose of it effectively without having to deal with the immediate attacking pressure of a player from the opposing team.

 

But there are rules that must be followed, so have look at the video below to get an idea of how shepherding works in the game of Australian Rules football.