Rules Centre Bounce ditched; no more Subs: AFL announce rule changes for 2026

[GoPies1]

Hand the cup to Brizzy already.
Nobody will match their midfield depth, not even close.
2x starting midfields on rotation, most teams can only scratch together 3/4 of one.

 

[Dazzler9]

Some 15 years ago, players got injured in games and coaches complained of the disadvantage of having one less rotation available.

Sub rule first came in, reducing the intechange to 3, with one sub.

Everybody hated it. The AFL removed it and went back to 4 interchange players.

Players got injured in games and coaches complained of the disadvantage of having one less rotation available.

Sub rule came back, this time with 4 and 1. Apparently everybody had forgotten how much they hated the sub rule.

Everybody remembers how much they hate the sub rule. The AFL removes it and now has 5 interchange players.

How long until coaches start complaining that in-game injuries put them at a disadvantage and something needs to be done?

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Dissagree with getting rid of the bounce.
If the rucks and mids know exactly where the ball will land and will cause more congestion.
No bounce could also lead to more ruck PCL injuries.

I would rather let the ball bounce as it may (play on if leaves the circle) spread the players and allow for more fast breaks from the middle.

They already know where it will land because it gets cancelled if it goes sideways.

The bounce was dead from the moment they started recalling it if it wasn’t straight up. There’s zero point to it.

 

[largebus]

No centre bounce: good change.

No sub: pointless change. Coaches will just whinge when they get an injury and it becomes 23 vs 22.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Some 15 years ago, players got injured in games and coaches complained of the disadvantage of having one less rotation available.

Sub rule first came in, reducing the intechange to 3, with one sub.

Everybody hated it. The AFL removed it and went back to 4 interchange players.

Players got injured in games and coaches complained of the disadvantage of having one less rotation available.

Sub rule came back, this time with 4 and 1. Apparently everybody had forgotten how much they hated the sub rule.

Everybody remembers how much they hate the sub rule. The AFL removes it and now has 5 interchange players.

How long until coaches start complaining that in-game injuries put them at a disadvantage and something needs to be done?

You’d probably give it 12 months before there’s a call for a sub on top of the 5 interchange, to even things up. Totally predictable.

 

[kickazz]

Well channel seven did their bit to ease us in to the eradication of the bounce by not actually showing about half of them last Saturday.

 

[hr_23]

leaf er game eeellloooorrrnnnnnnn

 

[Leather Poisoning]

Should have changed it to 2 subs just to annoy everyone.

If I was in charge I would constantly do the opposite of whatever the most vocal coaches asked for. Would be very entertaining

 

[Leather Poisoning]

One concussion will be fine. The AFL can ignore that. Its a concussion after someone is forced out due to a different injury which will trigger the calls for another fix.

American football they have about 40 guys on the bench. Maybe that is where we want to end up.

I really hate that.

Don't have players selected that are going to have to just sit aroudn all day and only be invovled for a small fraction of the game. Ridiculous.

Bench should be capped at 4.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

What will happen if someone breaks their arm during a game now? Will they be forced to play out the entire game?

 

[40porpoise]

Am I the only one that loves the bounce?

 

[Dark Eagle 9]

And guess what, the game was played like that for years, forwards could dominate, you had to be an elite backman to stop them.

Now it's just 18 players running back to plug holes everywhere, so the forwards have no-where to run and have 2-3 or 4 players to contend with.

The fantastic present done so well and gifted to us by the dynasty that was Dusty & the Tigers, bravo.

 

[RCAB]

Centre bouncing the ball just wasted unnecessary time when they had to recall it.

No one should miss the sub. You'll have five players on the bench with still the same amount of interchanges.

 

[Seattle Mariners]

While we're at it can we introduce a wild card weekend during the pre finals bye?
The pre finals bye sucks.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Am I the only one that loves the bounce?

The only thing is added (for better or worse) was randomness.

Then they removed the randomness by bringing it back to be thrown up whenever it went random. Making it completely pointless.

 

[joe444]

I will just point out that the bounce was introduced over 100 years ago for the simple reason that it wasn't meant to go straight up. It could go left, right, high, low. Whatever.

That was the point: to spread the players out and encourage one-on-one contests. Indeed, that's why there was such a position as a "ruck-rover" (think a Blicavs type)

As soon we got fixated on "perfect bounces" then I guess the rule was dead.

Pity - we tend to forget why rules were introduced when we dump them... or the opposite when it comes to the sub rule. That was just baffling - we tried it, hated it, and within years it was back again and still hated.

 

[Xtreme]

Whilst I do like the bounce, there's next to no reason for it to remain if it is in fact a barrier for up and coming umpires.

If people can't bounce the football in that manner then they must be the most uncoordinated sad sacks in history. It is one of the easiest skills to execute.

 

[Randall Stevens]

How long until coaches start complaining that in-game injuries put them at a disadvantage and something needs to be done?

I'd suggest at some stage of Round 1 at the latest, but 'opening round' more likely.

Given that we now start in early March, a coach saying along the lines of "being a rotation down in that heat for the majority of the match was a huge disadvantage" is a certainty.

From there the momentum for change will start to build...

 

[Dazzler9]

The only thing is added (for better or worse) was randomness.

Then they removed the randomness by bringing it back to be thrown up whenever it went random. Making it completely pointless.

I dunno. There's still randomness, that adds to the game. Like the bounce to start the 4th quarter of the GF which skewed towards Blicavs. He took possession and then got crunched by Rayner, leading directly to a goal.

We'll never see something like that ever again.

 

[CatToTheFuture]

And by the end of 2026 there will be a call to have 5 on the bench plus a sub.

Rotations then capped to 40 before increasing the bench again

 

[joe444]

I dunno. There's still randomness, that adds to the game. Like the bounce to start the 4th quarter of the GF which skewed towards Blicavs. He took possession and then got crunched by Rayner, leading directly to a goal.

We'll never see something like that ever again.

Which means more congestion. Every ball up exactly the same.

As a tangent, one of my concerns with Laura Kane is that it seemed to me that she didn't really know or appreciate football history. In general, I don't think the AFL put much thought into why some of the traditions of the game exist.

You'll never see this again, either (1980).


View attachment bandicam 2025-10-01 12-36-30-146.mp4

 

[HairyO]

Which means more congestion. Every ball up exactly the same.

As a tangent, one of my concerns with Laura Kane is that it seemed to me that she didn't really know or appreciate football history. In general, I don't think the AFL put much thought into why some of the traditions of the game exist.

You'll never see this again, either (1980).


View attachment 2442918

AFL hates congestion yet every rule they introduce increases congestion.

 

[Orfullrules]

Ball should be round. Evening up the unfortunate bounces in play.

 

[Tackle Bag]

No need for 5 on the bench.
4 is plenty and they should have dropped the rotation cap.

The bench was never intended to be used as it is today.


And why not just not recall random center bounces. The whole point of the Center bounce was to start the game with an unpredictable ball position.
Now strong midfields will be able to set up more effectively and put lesser teams to the sword

 

[Tall poppy Syndrome]

Am I the only one that loves the bounce?

I love it too. It’s a unique tradition. Part of why I love it is that it doesn’t quite make sense, there’s a certain randomness to it, and sport is always better for that.

As kids kicking the footy we always used to try and bounce it like an umpire, usually with comic results. We’ve seen this coming for a long time and my rational self doesn’t object, if it’s genuinely a barrier to umpires coming through then sure ditching it makes sense.

But it’s a sad day. Even that its being packaged up with the sub rule, which is really just a technical thing, in a thread. Yes I know why it’s a rule change. But the bounce is character of the game stuff, foreigners or first time viewers of the game have always been intrigued by it.