Clubs, AFL ready to fix 'ugly football' Jake Niall
The Age
August 5, 2015 Options for repairing the look of the game, including umpiring and rule changes, will be among the hot topics of a meeting between the 18 clubs and the AFL on Wednesday.
The "look of the game" and the possibilities that might improve the spectacle of AFL football – lately subject to much criticism for the congestion around the ball and high stoppage numbers – are on the official agenda for the meeting of AFL chief executives and the AFL.
The meeting will discuss the interchange rules and the substitution rule – considered likely to be removed for 2016 – is slated for discussion, along with the umpiring interpretations and how umpiring can improve the continuous flow of the game. It is understood that while the radical "nuclear option" of what is called "starting points" – rules that would confine certain numbers of players to be, say, inside forward 50 metres at stoppages – could be talked about, these "zones" have already been ruled out for introduction in 2016.
Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade is among those who have called for "starting points" to be brought in to reduce congestion.
The meeting, where the CEOs will be briefed by football operations boss Mark Evans on the laws of the game, the spectacle and umpiring interpretations, will also address the contentious "three strikes" illicit drugs policy, which is most likely to be changed for next year and the number of permitted positive tests expected to be reduced to two, with some trade offs for players. The clubs have been behind the push to change the illicit drugs policy.
Equalisation and taxes on football department spending and revenue also are up for discussion. The taxes have been introduced for this year and 2016, with the upshot that the football department tax has been widely accepted by the vast majority of clubs, but tax on revenues remains a more divisive issue, with clubs splitting along "class" lines.
But it has been the "middle class" clubs, such as Geelong, Richmond, Carlton and Essendon – which are all paying the tax this year – that have railed most about the revenue tax. The gripe of those clubs is that they are paying relatively large amounts compared to the richer Collingwood, West Coast and Hawthorn.The football department tax has had a significant impact on club spending, to the point that even Collingwood, Hawthorn and the Eagles are aiming to be just on, or marginally over, the cap this year and plan to be on or under it in 2016. Collingwood had been more than $1 million over the $9.4m allowed for "non-player spend" – not including player payments – but has taken significant cost cutting measures.
Teams that pay over the cap pay 33 cents in the dollar tax this year and are taxed 75 cents per dollar spend over the cap next year.
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