Rules protest ignored as league to stick with all its nine changes for 2019 AFL season

AFL football boss Steve Hocking is not prepared to move with his nine new rules to stay in total, including the contentious five-metre protection zone around the 50-metre penalties.

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AFL football boss Steve Hocking is not budging an inch with his nine new rules to stay in total, including the contentious five-metre protection zone around the 50-metre penalties.

Despite wide outrage at the weekend – in particular from former players such as Port Adelaide premiership hero Kane Cornes and Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge – on the rash of double-50s leading to 100-metre penalties, Hocking is not adjusting nor scrapping any rule.

And as Hocking prepares to meet the 18 AFL coaches for breakfast in Melbourne on Thursday, he is not even conceding on the limited use of runners this season. Runners can take to the field with messages only in the break between goals.

Hocking admits he has left the coaches feeling “a bit nude” – and he has locked them in their coaches’ boxes “with strategic tension to work through” as they become disconnected from their players with limited use of the runners.

Andrew Gaff, centre, of the Bolts speaks with AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking at AFLX training session last month. Picture: AAP Image/James Ross

“All of the rules work together; they are a package,” Hocking said at AFL headquarters in Melbourne on Tuesday. “We are not moving away from that.”

Hocking insists the new rules – already dubbed “retro rules” – were developed across 12 months of deep study with 12 club representatives in his think tanks. He does not intend to scrap any of them after two weeks of trial games in the AFL pre-season because of heated debate on the 50-metre penalties.

“I’m letting the players play,” Hocking said. “I’m not surprised by the coaches’ reactions … I have left them feeling a bit nude.

“But we want the players to be more instinctive. We want the coaches to have strategic tension to work through. And we want the players to see an enhanced game to the one we had in 2018.

“Letting the players play is good for the game. I am happy to be accused of that.”

The JLT pre-season games has confirmed Hocking’s 6-6-6 starting positions are leading to an open game with more goals. Hocking’s personal favourite footnote from the trial matches is seeing West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey run to attack while taking a bounce in an uncongested centre square.

“That is a significant moment,” Hocking said. “We have not seen that for a long time.”

But the outrage from the weekend with the repetitive 50-metre penalties has not moved Hocking to reconsider his rule changes.

Hocking explained the new protection zone for the player earning a 50-metre penalty was designed to counter “delaying tactics” and teams flooding back to create congestion and limit the options for the player with the ball.

Pretty hard to handover when you’ll end up leaving your team with one less player ahead of the ball. https://t.co/51guQAi2kA

— Warren Tredrea (@warrentredrea) March 11, 2019

“We are going to remain strong on that,” Hocking said. “We want to give space to the player who has won the right to that space with a 50-metre penalty. Why should he be penalized?”

Hocking revealed AFL umpires are giving players two warnings to get out of the protected space before he is hit with another 50-metre penalty.

“We have to change (player) behaviour – it has been ingrained into them for a long time to hold up the play (after giving up a 50-metre penalty),” Hocking said.

“But we (the AFL) also have to continue to work with the players and the clubs, to support and educate them.”

Hocking on Thursday morning – when the AFL Commission will meet to consider the timing of the grand final – expects to find the coaches “toey” with his rule changes. He will consult the coaches on how many pre-season games are needed after stripping back the trial games from three to two.

But Hocking insists the JLT pre-season games must remain in the country districts where the appearance of AFL teams and players is “significant on the regions”.

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