Milking a 50m penalty on the mark

The “stand” rule, requiring players to hold their position on the mark until play on is called, was already a source of frustration for many fans over its strict application. Those frustrations were often compounded by players who exploited it.

Previously, once a player took a mark or earned a free kick, a feigned handball that made their direct opponent move off their designated position on the mark would result in a 50-metre penalty in their favour.

Well, that won’t happen this year. The AFL has moved to tighten up the rule and from now on, if that occurs, the player on the mark will not be penalised and the officiating umpire will just reset the mark.

And, as always, if the player in possession moves off their line while faking a handball, the umpire will call play on.

Set shot on goal

Players lining up for goal have 30 seconds from the time they take a mark or are awarded a free kick to begin their run-up. In previous years, they had been given both a 15-second and 25-second warning from the umpire as part of that process.

However, in order to minimise the many jobs umpires are tasked with on the field, players will now only be given a warning at 25 seconds.

The league figures that by now players understand that they have 30 seconds to begin their approach on goal, so two separate warnings probably is a case of overkill.