Field Marshal: AFL operations manager Mark Evans says clubs have taken a cautious approach to interchange cap
FIELD MARSHAL: THE new interchange cap was always going to be a test for clubs and while some have got the maths right, others struggle.
THE new interchange cap was always going to be a test for clubs.
After five rounds under the 120 limit, we can say Fremantle is the school nerd who sits at the front of the class as the teacher’s pet.
Melbourne, on the other hand, looks like it has spent its school holidays at the beach and crammed the night before the exam.
The Dockers are passing with flying colours, averaging an AFL-high 118.8 rotations a game and giving their players the most amount of rest they can.
But the Demons are flunking, averaging just 93.2 interchange moves a match. In a game more demanding than ever, Melbourne is effectively short-changing itself nearly 30 rotations every game.
The Dees average a paltry 19 rotations in the all-important last quarter — eight less than the Dockers and nearly seven less than the competition average.
Adelaide swing an average 116.2 rotations a game, while GWS (113) and Western Bulldogs (112.2) also push close to the limit.
But it’s Fremantle who have adapted quickest. In fact, Ross Lyon’s mob are the only side to actually hit the 120 threshold — doing so in each of the past two weeks.
They are way above the competition average, which sits at only 106.6 per game.
AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said yesterday he believed clubs had adopted a cautious approach to the rule.
“I probably expected that clubs would pull up somewhere between 115 and 120. I think what they’ve done is been a little conservative at the start of the game and start of quarters and then got to somewhere like 112, 113,” Evans told 3AW.
“I’d think over the second half of the year you’ll see clubs around that 115 range and I think that’s probably about right.”
Evans said the 120 limit wasn’t “locked in stone”, saying it would be reviewed half way through next season. It doesn’t include changes made at quarter breaks (up to nine extra interchanges) or substitutions.
When those rotations are included in the analysis, the effect of the cap is significant. Under the old system clubs swung an average 133.7 interchanges a game. This year it is 115.4.
The cap is also having the desired result — tiring players late in games — as evidenced by the scoring rate. Clubs are averaging 20.2 points in the first term, 20.5 in the second, 22.3 in the third and up to 23.9 in the fourth as accountability lapses due to exhaustion.
But with congestion reaching ugly levels, there are some who argue 120 is still too many.
“Some people have pushed very hard for that (restricting rotations further),” Evans said.
“They think that’s the panacea for all this (congestion) and other people are strongly against it ... because we’ll have players who don’t play the game at the speed we’re accustomed to.”
CAP FITS
Interchange rotations in 2014
Fremantle 118.8
Adelaide Crows 116.2
GWS Giants 113
Western Bulldogs 112.2
Sydney Swans 111
Hawthorn 110.5
Collingwood 109.8
Essendon 107.6
Carlton 105.6
Brisbane Lions 104.4
Richmond 104.4
Port Adelaide 103
St Kilda 102.8
Geelong Cats 102.3
Gold Coast Suns 101.6
West Coast Eagles 101.4
North Melbourne 101
Melbourne 93.2
-Official AFL averages, excludes changes made in quarter breaks, injury changes and sub activations.
— Excludes yesterday’s Geelong-Hawthorn game.
Source: CHAMPION DATA
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