The AFL has announced three rule changes for the upcoming season.
But before you roll your eyes in despair and yell, “leave the game alone”, the latest changes are very minor.
In fact, they’re more like tweaks than full-blown changes. Here is the detail of each of the three alterations.
Standing the mark
Players can no longer momentarily stand the mark after losing a marking contest or giving away a free kick, and then leave the mark and/or the protected area.
Previously, a player standing the mark could back away and leave the protected area.
But from now on, such players must make a snap decision about whether they stand the mark or leave the area – they cannot change their mind and do both.
Similarly, if a player enters the protected area after a mark is taken or a free kick given, then they must also stay there and stand the mark.
A departure from the mark after standing it, or the protected zone after entering it, will result in a 50-metre penalty being paid by the umpire to the player with the ball. This is seen as a way of tackling time-wasting.
Milking a 50m penalty on the mark
The “stand” rule, requiring players to hold their position on the mark until play on is called, was already a source of frustration for many fans over its strict application. Those frustrations were often compounded by players who exploited it.
Previously, once a player took a mark or earned a free kick, a feigned handball that made their direct opponent move off their designated position on the mark would result in a 50-metre penalty in their favour.
Well, that won’t happen this year. The AFL has moved to tighten up the rule and from now on, if that occurs, the player on the mark will not be penalised and the officiating umpire will just reset the mark.
And, as always, if the player in possession moves off their line while faking a handball, the umpire will call play on.
Set shot on goal
Players lining up for goal have 30 seconds from the time they take a mark or are awarded a free kick to begin their run-up. In previous years, they had been given both a 15-second and 25-second warning from the umpire as part of that process.
However, in order to minimise the many jobs umpires are tasked with on the field, players will now only be given a warning at 25 seconds.
The league figures that by now players understand that they have 30 seconds to begin their approach on goal, so two separate warnings probably is a case of overkill.
