Rules 7 new rules - AFL Rule Changes for 2026

[DangerSloane]

• Remove the requirement for a Player to start in the Goal Square at each centre ball-up - GOOD
• Introduce a Free Kick for the last disposal Out of Bounds in between the 50m arcs - QUESTION MARK
• At all centre ball-ups, a competing Ruck cannot cross the Centre Circle line and engage with the opposition Ruck, prior to contesting the football - GOOD
• Around the ground, the Umpire may restart play without a nominated Ruck being present - GOOD
• A shrug (in a tackle) will be deemed Prior Opportunity (i.e., as an attempt to evade or fend an opponent) - GOOD
• A Player must stand if they are within the Protected Area (i.e., within five metres) when a Mark or Free Kick occurs - BAD
• Align the interpretation of ‘reasonable time’ for a Player to bring the football back into play from a Behind being scored and the time allowed for a set Kick around the ground. Currently, reasonable time for kick-ins is 12 seconds, whereas around the ground is eight (8) seconds. Players will now be allowed eight (8) seconds in both instances - GOOD

Overall I think they're mostly improvements. I'll hold judgement on the last possession rule. Works well in SANFL but feel like its just a different interpretation problem than the one we already had with insufficient intent (ie if it touches someone's leg on the way out it sometimes counts and sometimes doesnt).

Ill add - Getting rid of the centre bounce - GOOD - Taking away barriers to entry to umpiring is important if we want the best decision makers and that is what the umpires are there for.

Just my opinion.

 

[terrybull]

Is the meaning of mark to catch a football an Australian word?

Noone else uses the word mark for a catch only us.

Wonder when we first used the word and why?

You can even go to other very Australian words for meanings of "catches".

Speccy,hanger.

Another others?

I think I read somewhere that the word “mark” for catching the ball came from the early days of soccer, maybe under Sheffield rules.

But the rule was any player could catch the ball but would mark where he put the ball on the ground to take a place kick. Thus it was called a mark.

The rules eventually changed to that only the goalkeepers are allowed to “mark” the ball. But as they aren’t required to mark or set the ball on the ground anymore it was just called a catch.

I reckon if you travel back to the 1860’s there probably wasn’t that much difference between the three football codes of soccer, rugby and Australian Football.

That we still call our code Rules is also unique as one time it was relevant when clubs met to decide what rules should they play under.

 

[Osho]

The 2nd last one (stand) will cause multi player and fan apoplecticisms throughout the year. May even cause hospitalizations, hyper tension, and bouts of rage and violence across the community.

 

[ferball]

What's the difference between shrugging a tackle and trying to get your arms free to dispose of the ball?

What happens if you shrug a tackle and break the tackle?

 

[The Educator]

What's the difference between shrugging a tackle and trying to get your arms free to dispose of the ball?

The shrug is trying to engineer a high tackle, trying to get your arms free is trying to get your arms free to dispose of the ball

.....even on this, I have noticed players will often get punished for making a genuine attempt to get their arms free compared to players who take the ball into the tackle aiming for a ball up

What happens if you shrug a tackle and break the tackle?

It will be called play on, obviously

 

[The Educator]

Call play on if it's an even amount of players from opposing teams going up. The odds that 4 players all go up for the same ball would maybe happen once a season, let's be honest.

Scrapping the nom and paying a free against a 3rd man (or 5th, 7th etc.) is such an easy fix in line with what the AFL has stated their intention is. It reduces stoppage time, and also protects rucks or others going for the ball (which is the main reason the ruck nom rule was brought in originally to protect rucks from other players coming in from weird angles).

I'm doing Swann's job for free.

Who is the third man though? What happens when a ruck engages with another player they assume is the ruck but they are just a decoy who didnt intend to compete and another player comes over the top?

It astonishes me that people who think things are so simple don't at least reflect that someone who has spent 35 years in the game might actually have thunk things through a bit more than they have

 

[The Educator]

Is the meaning of mark to catch a football an Australian word?

Noone else uses the word mark for a catch only us.

Wonder when we first used the word and why?

You can even go to other very Australian words for meanings of "catches".

Speccy,hanger.

Another others?

mark actually comes from rugby football originally....it is still used in rugby union where a player can catch the ball in their defensive 22 yards and call "mark" and receive a free kick

 

[ferball]

The shrug is trying to engineer a high tackle, trying to get your arms free is trying to get your arms free to dispose of the ball

.....even on this, I have noticed players will often get punished for making a genuine attempt to get their arms free compared to players who take the ball into the tackle aiming for a ball up

yeah same. That's what prompted my comment/question.

It will be called play on, obviously

It isn't always. Sometimes the player with the ball is penalised even tho the tackler has never really controlled them in the tackle.

 

[Do the Dew]

Who is the third man though? What happens when a ruck engages with another player they assume is the ruck but they are just a decoy who didnt intend to compete and another player comes over the top?

It astonishes me that people who think things are so simple don't at least reflect that someone who has spent 35 years in the game might actually have thunk things through a bit more than they have

The same guy who has spent 35 years in the game and doubles down on the stand rule, even though it is the single worst rule ever brought in? Yeah, I'm not going to give him much credibility.

There's nuances with the third man up free kick against. It would depend who initiates contact first, i.e. the ruckman or a random player trying to stop their run. However, as the ball would be thrown up much quicker than it is now, ruckman would primarily be focused on the ball and wouldn't have time to try and engineer a free kick for themselves. It comes back to the players too. Guys on 3/4 of a mil a year should be able to communicate amongst themselves about who is competing, with other players clearing out.

 

[Jim Prideaux]

I think I read somewhere that the word “mark” for catching the ball came from the early days of soccer, maybe under Sheffield rules.

But the rule was any player could catch the ball but would mark where he put the ball on the ground to take a place kick. Thus it was called a mark.

The rules eventually changed to that only the goalkeepers are allowed to “mark” the ball. But as they aren’t required to mark or set the ball on the ground anymore it was just called a catch.

I reckon if you travel back to the 1860’s there probably wasn’t that much difference between the three football codes of soccer, rugby and Australian Football.

That we still call our code Rules is also unique as one time it was relevant when clubs met to decide what rules should they play under.

Mark is used in rugby too, and means exactly the same thing, albeit with wore requirements around it

 

[Cheese Tastes Good]

all changes made to make it the most choreographed theatre production imaginable. the players are like ballerinas running their lines and hitting their marks

 

[Billy ray]

sigh - still not changing the rule of when time starts (ie currently when umpire lets go of ball, either at a throw up or throw in, rather than when a player touches it.
effectively means at a throw in or ball up, if its less than 10 seconds its basically 2 seconds

 

[aCunningPlan]

sigh - still not changing the rule of when time starts (ie currently when umpire lets go of ball, either at a throw up or throw in, rather than when a player touches it.
effectively means at a throw in or ball up, if its less than 10 seconds its basically 2 seconds

Eh. The game is way too long as it is now, 35 minute quarters are crazy.

 

[p4p1]

I'm a but surprised at the pushback on the ruck rule change.
Isn't it simply reverting to what the ruck looked like until only quite recently?

I actually felt that a massive part of the excitement of a game was lost when a crowd was anticipating the opening bounce, only to have one ruck walk across the line and engage with the opposition.
The two ruckmen coming in to actually jump and contest the footy in the air is a classic part of Australian Rules football.

I couldn't agree more.

One of the guys I work with is a ruck coach for an AFLW team and I asked him what he preferred. The big run up and jump from the olden days or how it is now. He said as a former ruck and now a ruck coach he definitely misses the old runups, the feeling it gives as a spectator but also the feeling as a player when you're lining up 30m away from your opponent and are about to knock the shit out of each other.

I get why they changed the rules with the circle in the middle. My team had one of the bigger 'offenders' in Jamie Charman who would back up almost to the edge of the square and stare daggers before charging in full speed. But it was a spectacle IMO.

 

[GuruJosh]

• Remove the requirement for a Player to start in the Goal Square at each centre ball-up - GOOD
• Introduce a Free Kick for the last disposal Out of Bounds in between the 50m arcs - QUESTION MARK
• At all centre ball-ups, a competing Ruck cannot cross the Centre Circle line and engage with the opposition Ruck, prior to contesting the football - GOOD
• Around the ground, the Umpire may restart play without a nominated Ruck being present - GOOD
• A shrug (in a tackle) will be deemed Prior Opportunity (i.e., as an attempt to evade or fend an opponent) - GOOD
• A Player must stand if they are within the Protected Area (i.e., within five metres) when a Mark or Free Kick occurs - BAD
• Align the interpretation of ‘reasonable time’ for a Player to bring the football back into play from a Behind being scored and the time allowed for a set Kick around the ground. Currently, reasonable time for kick-ins is 12 seconds, whereas around the ground is eight (8) seconds. Players will now be allowed eight (8) seconds in both instances - GOOD

Overall I think they're mostly improvements. I'll hold judgement on the last possession rule. Works well in SANFL but feel like its just a different interpretation problem than the one we already had with insufficient intent (ie if it touches someone's leg on the way out it sometimes counts and sometimes doesnt).

Ill add - Getting rid of the centre bounce - GOOD - Taking away barriers to entry to umpiring is important if we want the best decision makers and that is what the umpires are there for.

Just my opinion.

The main problem I see is the flooding back of players into the back 50 clogging up the area. I am not a fan of going to the footy to watch intercept defenders. I Like the stand rule!

I would go one further;
Do Not allow Any opponent in the protected zone for a free or a mark so no more chasing ur opponent thru the protected area. Free the sherrin!

Also id get rid of that deflection/rebound off opponent lower leg for out on the full what a garbage rule that is.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

It takes out umpires guessing in half the ground. The deliberate is a joke it's paid half and half at most and never against the top sides. This removes the ambiguity it's there or it's not.

Or just go back to the leniency of out of bounds like it use to be.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

fan of the ruck nominations changing, felt like it happened far too often that the nominated ruck was waited for too often throughout the season.

Ruck nominations shouldn't be a rule, it's just overregulation. That 2004 goal of the year would be illegal if nominations were a thing back then.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Or just go back to the leniency of out of bounds like it use to be.

Or we can do what it’s been changed to. Easy and it will be removing umpires having a half guess. I’d rather them err on the side of paying deliberate than not

 

[GoldbergsGold]

Or we can do what it’s been changed to. Easy and it will be removing umpires having a half guess. I’d rather them err on the side of paying deliberate than not

They hardly ever paid deliberate before the late 2000s, that rule was better back then. Now, players will purposely just let the ball go out of bounds if its from an opposition kick instead of trying to keep it alive.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

They hardly ever paid deliberate before the late 2000s, that rule was better back then. Now, players will purposely just let the ball go out of bounds if its from an opposition kick instead of trying to keep it alive.

Then don’t kick it near the line and kick it to your own teammate

Hacking it to the line isn’t entertaining anyway

 

[DangerSloane]

The main problem I see is the flooding back of players into the back 50 clogging up the area. I am not a fan of going to the footy to watch intercept defenders. I Like the stand rule!

I would go one further;
Do Not allow Any opponent in the protected zone for a free or a mark so no more chasing ur opponent thru the protected area. Free the sherrin!

Also id get rid of that deflection/rebound off opponent lower leg for out on the full what a garbage rule that is.

I dont mind the stand rule in general.
Just making it anyone within protected area seems silly and worse than what is currently in place.

I think being able to man an opponent is a foundation of the game and that part should not be removed.

You're essentially allowing the same forward to take any set shot. He can just walk into the protected zone next to the kicker, nobody can go near him and he can have a virtually free shot at goal.

 

[Vindicater]

I don't mind the stand rule as long as they also call play on the moment a player walks off his line.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

Then don’t kick it near the line and kick it to your own teammate

Then just make every crossing over the boundary line like Soccer, no point even keeping throw ins.

Hacking it to the line isn’t entertaining anyway

The ruck contests are entertaining, though.

 

[GoldbergsGold]

I don't mind the stand rule as long as they also call play on the moment a player walks off his line.

Worst rule ever, keeping the pressure off the ball carrier and removing the mobility of the sport.

 

[Vindicater]

Worst rule ever, keeping the pressure off the ball carrier and removing the mobility of the sport.

I think it is fine as I said. But only if they call the player play on if they walk off the line.

What happened before was that the player would stand then the ball carrier would shuffle sideways a meter giving them a free run past a helpless defender.

The moment a player with the ball starts sidestepping or shuffling just call play on.