The AFL has cracked down on gamers profitable 50m penalties underneath the controversial ‘stand rule’ forward of the 2023 season.
Under a brand new interpretation of the regulation, gamers will not be penalised for going off their mark ought to a participant with the ball pretend a handball, after quite a lot of incidents in 2022.
It grew to become an oft-seen tactic for gamers to fake to cross the ball whereas behind the mark; the offending participant wanted solely to take one step off his mark to be penalised 50 metres.
Other rule modifications embrace forcing gamers to instantly determine whether or not to go away the 5m protected space after a mark, or stand the mark. Current guidelines often allow gamers to maneuver on top of things after which retreat with out conceding a 50m penalty.
The different main alteration is the delay of the warning given by umpires to gamers taking set pictures. Players are required to start their set shot method inside 30 seconds of taking the mark. Previously, they had been warned by the umpire when 15 seconds of that point has elapsed; that point has now been pushed again to 25 seconds.
The AFL has lengthy come underneath criticism for making main rule modifications from season to season; this 12 months’s crop of alterations, nevertheless, is comfortably smaller than in earlier years.
In addition to the stand rule, different polarising latest additions to the sport embrace the ‘6-6-6’ rule, launched earlier than the 2019 season the place solely six gamers from every workforce are permitted inside defensive and attacking 50; and the medical sub rule, which allowed groups to switch a participant mid-game with a pre-designated substitute ought to that participant have sustained an harm prone to sideline them for at the least per week.
The latter rule has additionally been modified for 2023 to allow that participant to get replaced at any time and for any purpose, eradicating the medial requirement.
