Chairman of the Laws Committee Adrian Anderson said the Commission had approved the recommendation on these two topics at its meeting in Melbourne yesterday to assist clubs with planning for pre-season training and any decisions they may make around playing lists during the current exchange period and upcoming 2011 NAB AFL Draft.
Separately, Mr Anderson said the Commission is still to review a number of other Laws related topics including the length of games, potential use of technology to assist with scoring decisions and the penalty for an interchange infringement. These topics will be addressed at the Commission's meeting in November.
Following club feedback, there will be two minor modifications to the advantage rule. Slightly more time will be allowed before the umpire calls the advantage to assist players in determining whether or not to take the advantage, and advantage will not be permitted for any free kick paid by an out of zone umpire, as is the case already with centre bounces, to avoid confusion where players are not sure to which team the free kick has been awarded.
"The AFL today notified the 18 clubs that the interchange would remain as three interchange players with one substitute while the advantage rule would remain in the hands of players, and not the umpires, to decide if advantage should be taken after receiving a free kick,” Mr Anderson said.
“The decision is consistent with feedback from fans that it was time for a year of consolidation in the rules.
"Clubs had sought early clarification on these two rules, to prepare for the 2012 season and any decisions that may affect player lists or training and preparation," he said.
Mr Anderson said the AFL had been extremely pleased with the standard of football during 2011, culminating in a number of outstanding matches through the finals series and a memorable Grand Final between Geelong and Collingwood that was only settled well into the last quarter.
"The key statistics in the game tell us there has been an increase in long kicking, contested marks, scoring and clearance rates, especially late in games and in last quarters as the game opens up. In addition, there has been a decrease in the numbers of disposals, handballs, short kicks and backwards kicks.
"Marking trends have been assisted by a number of changes in recent years, such as the stricter interpretation of chopping the arms and hands in the back, and the numbers of contested marks per game are now at 25.4 per game in 2011, compared to 20.2 per game in 2008.
“Since 2008, long kicks have increased by more than 30 per game (78.7 to 108.9), contested possessions have increased by more than 52 per game (235.6 to 288.1) and clearance rates from stoppages have risen to 80.3 per cent from 78 per cent.
"We believe the substitute rule has been good for the game, especially in making the game fairer where a player is lost to injury, and the rule requires further consolidation to enable us to fully evaluate its effects. The injury data from 2011 will be available later this year and will continue to be monitored.
"The implementation of the advantage rule has been more difficult than expected and clubs expressed concern early in the season, but it did improve as the season progressed and it is the AFL's view that the decision to place advantage in the hands of the players should be given a chance to fully evolve," Mr Anderson said.
As part of the annual Laws review process, Game Analysis Manager Andrew McKay and Mr Anderson met widely across the football industry, covering club coaching staff, player leadership groups, the AFL Players Association, the AFL Coaches Association, the AFL Medical Officers Association, the AFL Physiotherapists Association, state and community football bodies and AFL umpires.
"The Football Operations Department has continued to commission research each year to monitor injury trends, physiological demands and the tactical evolution of the game, as well as surveying our fans through the AFL website on what they like most and least about the game," he said.
The Laws Committee comprises Adrian Anderson (chairman), Kevin Bartlett, Leigh Matthews, Andrew McKay, Matthew Pavlich, Luke Power, Rowan Sawers and Michael Sexton.
