By Peter Ryan, Marc McGowan and Scott Spits
The AFL believes its changes to tribunal guidelines on smothering will lead to a change of behaviour but won’t reduce the intensity at which the game is played.
On Monday, the AFL Commission approved a change that was drafted in response to Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard being cleared of rough conduct after he was sent to the tribunal for the incident in the opening minutes of last year’s qualifying final when he concussed Melbourne opponent Angus Brayshaw while landing from an attempted smother.
Flashback: Brayden Maynard and Jack Viney clash as Angus Brayshaw leaves the field on a stretcher.Credit: Getty Images
Football operations boss Laura Kane said her position on the Maynard bump was clear last year, and she was confident that the same incident would lead to a penalty under the revised guidelines. She thought the change would only have a positive impact on the way the game was played.
“It should change the way players think about leaving the ground to smother if it is foreseeable they will make contact with their opponent,” Kane said.
“But I don’t think it will change smothering the ball or those intense acts the coaches love and the fans love, everyone loves about football.”
Amendments to regulations and tribunal guidelines
SMOTHER RULE
The AFL says in circumstances where a player elects to leave the ground to smoother the footy, any reasonably foreseeable high contact with an opponent will be deemed careless at a minimum. That’s unless the player has taken all reasonable steps to avoid that high contact and/or minimise the force of that high contact (for example by adopting a body position that minimises the force of the high contact).
RUN DOWN TACKLES
The AFL has amended the guidelines to state that there may be types of run-down tackles that are dangerous and which constitute a reportable offence, such as run down tackles where the tackled player is driven into the ground with excessive force).
STRIKING
The AFL says the guidelines for the grading of striking have been strengthened to increase the onus on players to not commit a strike even when seeking to fend and push their opponent.“In instances where a player intends to forcefully push or fend an opposition player off the ball (including to gain separation for the purpose of contesting the ball) and the effect is that the player “strikes” their opponent, the strike will usually be graded as intentional rather than careless,” the league said.
RUCK CONTESTS
The AFL says there will also be a change in interpretation of the laws of the game allowing straight arm blocks in a ruck contest, provided the player still contests the ball.
Procedural amendments
‘Severe’ gradings
Previously any classifiable offence where the impact was graded as severe was sent straight to the AFL tribunal, with the league’s match review officer not specifying a penalty. Now, at the AFL’s discretion, the MRO can specify that the charged player may take an early plea and accept that penalty without a tribunal hearing occurring. But if a player seeks to challenge the charge, they may do so at the tribunal as normal.
Rankings for finals teams
The in-finals ranking system to determine the “home” club for the AFL and AFL grand finals will be modified.Under the changes, the clubs which win the qualifying finals will be the first and second ranked clubs for the purpose of determining the home club for grand finals. Furthermore, the two losing clubs from the qualifying finals will be ranked in third and fourth position (third position will be determined by the higher of the two clubs on the premiership ladder). Finally, the two winning clubs from the elimination finals will be ranked in fifth and sixth position.
Whistling from the bench
The AFL says a “minor amendment” to the regulations has been made to ban whistling from the interchange by club officials. The excessive whistling was interfering with the broadcast and confusing players and umpires, the league said. “It is not something we want as a distraction over and above everything else players are trying to contend with,” Kane said.
The AFL interchange. It’s a frenzy of activity down on the bench.Credit: Sebastian Costanzo
Amid the myriad changes designed to protect players, Richmond star Tom Lynch backed the AFL’s stance. “I think the [league] does a great job of changing the rules to protect the players,” Lynch said.
“I still feel like you, as a player, you’ve got to have a duty of care to yourself, as being out there. It’s a contact sport and you’ve got to be careful with your technique and things like that. So, obviously, the duty of care to opposition has been highly spoken about, but I feel like you still need to have a duty of care to yourself.”
SNAPSHOT: RULE CHANGES FOR 2024
- Clubs will name an extended interchange of five players and three emergencies. Subs will be confirmed 60 minutes before games
- The AFL has made substantive changes to tribunal guidelines in relation to smothers, run-down tackles and striking, aimed at making the game safer.
- Straight arm blocks in ruck contests will be permitted, provided the player still contests the ball.
- Previously incidents graded as severe went straight to the tribunal, with the MRO not specifying any sanction. There is now AFL discretion for the match review officer to specify that players may take an early plea and accept that penalty without a tribunal hearing.
- Whistling from the interchange bench has been banned due to excessive whistling by club officials.
Kane also confirmed it was “too soon” to introduce a mid-season trade period this year because clubs had – apart from the SSP (supplemental selection period) process – exhausted all avenues to finalise their lists heading into 2024.
“The clubs need more time to strategically manage their list,” Kane said. “Ahead of the next player movement period there would be ample time to provide them an instruction on what is going to happen the following season.”
The AFL’s tougher stance on penalising players who drive their opponent into the ground when laying a run-down tackle will mean tackles such as the one St Kilda’s Dan Butler laid on the Swans’ Nick Blakey last season will be deemed dangerous.
A mid-season trade period won’t happen in 2024.Credit: Getty Images
The league has made the changes in response to the impact of head high tackles and concussion, but Kane stopped short of expecting clubs to change the way they train in response to a recommendation from state coroner John Cain that arose out of the inquest into former Richmond footballer Shane Tuck’s death.
“We know that [clubs] train meticulously to make sure the training is safe. They want the players on the park more than ... anyone, probably as much as their fans do,” Kane said. “We feel confident that our club staff are managing training appropriately but we will always continue to evaluate.”
The rule modification that allows rucks to use straight-arm blocks when contesting a ruck contest, providing the player still contests the ball, is a previously unforeseen move.
The substitute rule will remain the same with four players on the bench plus the sub, however clubs will now name 18 players plus five players on the bench with three emergencies.
The shift came after clubs complained that they were being forced to name a player as omitted even though they were slated to play as the sub, which led to confusion and unwanted headlines when big-name players were seen to have been dropped despite being selected. Clubs will now confirm the sub 60 minutes before the first bounce.
The ban on whistling from the bench, reported by this masthead last December, came about after concerns were raised about the actions of some club officials.
“The umpires have a whistle,” Kane said.
“There are a lot of people that sit on the interchange bench. There is an officials bench in the middle and there are a lot of cameras and microphones, and it is not something we want as a distraction over and above everything else players are trying to contend with.”
The score review system will remain in place, although ball-tracking technology is being trialled in pre-season games this year with the ball already being used at AFL training. The tracking technology assists data collection and the AFL hopes it could also help improve adjudication.
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