The AFL will not increase the goalsquare to 18 metres but there will be other changes in 2019
FROM the 18m goalsquare to six-six-six, there were plenty of proposed rule changes in 2018. Which ones have been given the all-clear? JON RALPH has the latest on how the game will look next year.
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THE AFL will make a change to its kick-out rules next year but will not increase its goalsquare to 18 metres.
The Herald Sun understands that instead of radical changes that were proposed mid-year the league will instead make a number of tweaks to arrest the low-scoring football of the past five seasons.
At one stage this year the league seemed likely to bring in an 18 metre goalsquare and a rigid zones format across all stoppages.
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But after a surge in scoring in the second half of the season and more attractive football the league has pulled back from that scenario.
It is understood instead of the 18 metre goalsquare there will be another alteration that will allow teams to play on more quickly and kick the ball deeper into attack.
The league trialled the 18m goalsquare in a series of VFL game but it has not drawn popular support.
Potentially players may be able to play on more easily or the man on the mark might be forced further back to ensure a team defending goals can pump the ball into the mid-part of the ground.
The league’s research found this year that a team was twice as likely to score from defending a kick-in than taking the ball end-to-end.
The league is set to announce its rule changes regarding eight key areas of football this afternoon.
The 6-6-6 centre square formation will mean teams must have six players inside each arc at a centre bounce, potentially with one player from each team in each goalsquare.
It will make the wingmen some of the most critical players in the league because they will have acres to move in as the ball bounces their way at a centre bounce.
The areas of concern for the AFL include marking contests, deliberate out of bounds, ruck contests, holding the ball and runners.
Alex Woodward’s runner controversy, where he got in the way of a Collingwood players as Elliot Yeo kicked a key goal in the Grand Final, would be impossible next year.
The league is likely to crack down on runners being on the ground during play, handed only 45 seconds after goals to quickly deliver a message then get off the ground.
The AFL Commission has ticked off on a series of tweaks and interpretation changes rather than a massive overhaul.
The AFL believes the rules as written in their rule book can help save the game rather than altering them.
For instance the AFL’s umpires are likely to be stricter around the holding the ball rule when a player has had prior opportunity.
Rather than introducing a team prior opportunity rule or abolishing it as Nathan Buckley has suggested, they will police it more firmly.
If a player has had prior opportunity he must dispose of the ball legally rather than many of the half-hearted attempts that currently take place.
Originally published as The AFL will not increase the goalsquare to 18 metres but there will be other changes in 2019