2021 rule changes (afl site)

[Diocletian]

Wonder how the new rules in the state leagues will affect the AFL clubs trying to teach game plans to their list -especially a club like North with a new coach and presumably a new game plan and if it will confuse players who come in & go out of the senior side....probably another thing the GFL didn't quite think through...

[Andyy]

Very happy to hear 20min quarters are likely to return. Hopefully that helps push Cats over the cliff.

New rules won't change much. All the excess players will just be standing on the 50m line ready to flood etc.

[mightytiges]

Re-watching our finals, this new man on the mark restriction is going to be a nightmare to adjudicate. Players are instinctively use to moving laterally on the mark and reading which way the player with the ball will move off their line. We are very good at it. One of the ways we apply pressure and limit time and space.

[one-eyed]

‘No point’: Coach says matter of time before ‘unnatural’ AFL rule change regarding the man on the mark is broken

Glenn Valencich
7Sport
08/02/2021

AFL football boss Steve Hocking believes the league’s new ‘stand’ rule is having a significant impact on the play in trial matches.

But a VFL coach says it’s a matter of time before teams begin to outsmart the regulation change in search of victory.

Under a new rule introduced for 2021, men on the mark are effectively banned from moving side to side.

Minimal lateral movement is permitted but 50-metre penalties will be handed out if umpires believe the defensive player has shifted too far.

The ‘game adjustment’ also outlaws the tactic of one teammate taking over the mark from another - effectively limiting a team’s ability to get numbers back into defence.

Read more here: https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/no-point-footy-coach-says-matter-of-time-before-unnatural-afl-rule-change-is-broken-c-2117127

[one-eyed]

The new man on the mark rule in action:

Watch here: https://twitter.com/NotRodd/status/1362937110815068161


https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2021-new-manning-the-mark-rule-stand-rule-video-essendon-match-simulation-50-metre-penalty-steve-hocking-reaction/news-story/cb63c5e589d320d059ce7f0f3f4c2503

[one-eyed]

Richmond star Dylan Grimes gives his thoughts on the new man on the mark rule and whether it'll make any difference.

Listen here: https://twitter.com/1116sen/status/1364119049823690758

[one-eyed]

“I’m not sure it’s such a great idea,” Balme told host Dwayne Russell.

“I don’t like making rules for the sake of making rules.

“It’s hard for the umpires to come terms with it as well as the players.

“We should allow people to be able to defend the mark. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/kane-cornes-neil-balme-join-chorus-of-critics-of-afls-new-man-on-mark-rule-for-season-2021-ng-b881807762z

[mightytiges]

Looking forward to more examples like this in round 1 .

https://twitter.com/beet_gordon/status/1365815138154991616

In general play, it will get to the point where coaches will instruct their players to not bother standing on the mark as the player with the ball is able to just run past the enforced 'statue' on the mark. Better off hanging back 20m as an extra defender filling space and able to charge and tackle the ballplayer if he runs forward over the mark.

[Diocletian]

If that idiotic rule lasts beyond round 4 I'll be stuffing amazed.#SackSHocking

[one-eyed]

'Dialling it down': AFL considering change to 'ridiculous' new rule

Chris Young
au.sports.yahoo.com
Tue, 2 March 2021, 12:48 pm

The AFL will reportedly wait until the pre-season competition is finished before deciding whether or not to alter the interpretation of strict and controversial new man on the mark rules.

The newly implemented rule, which prevents a player manning the mark from moving more than a metre from side-to-side, generated significant controversy over the weekend when Fremantle defender Brenna Cox gave up a 50m penalty after turning around while his opponent lined up a shot on goal.

While the scrutiny of the rule, particularly after the Brennan decsion, has been fierce, the AFL is, for now, standing by the interpretation of the rule - though AFL head of football Steve Hocking left the door open for umpires to interpret the rule slightly differently after the upcoming pre-season games have been completed.

In defending the new rule, Hocking said just six 50m penalties had been given for more than 2000 paid marks, proof players had adjusted well to the new rule.

“We’re very, very happy with where it’s at when you consider the amount of times the ball was stopped during play at the weekend,’’ he told the Herald Sun.

“It was our first real opportunity to have a look at it and we will continue to look at it, as we did with 6-6-6, and if there needs to be a subtle adjustment to it, that’s what we will do over the coming weeks."

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl-consider-change-controversial-stand-rule-man-on-mark-steve-hocking-014808476.html

[one-eyed]

EXPLAINER: How the new 'standing the mark' rule works

https://www.afl.com.au/video/555300/explainer-how-the-new-standing-the-mark-rule-works?videoId=555300&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1614711600001

[Andyy]

Honestly I hate hocking more than anyone in the AFL.

This is clearly a ploy to stop defenders from moving laterally and help the geriatrics at Geelong to move the ball forward!

[mightytiges]

St Kilda already trialing having their players not stand on the mark and instead remain outside the protected area so their closest defender can move without giving away a 50. No surprise coaches would start trying this.

[one-eyed]

New rules impact: (Round 1 comparison)

           Tackles   R50-to-I50s   Cont. poss.   Scoring   Stoppages

2016     68.7          23.7              146.2        97.1        58.9
2017     65.4          24.8              144.6      103.6        55.1
2018     62.4          25.5              152.5        88.8        61.6
2019     62.0          23.3              149.7        78.7        60.2
2021     53.9          29.7              141.6        86.7        50.4

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/afl/revealed-the-numbers-that-show-footy-was-a-greater-spectacle-in-round-one-20210321-p57cng.html

[Diocletian]

Massive meedja circle jerk over how the new rules have opened the game right up...

...inb4 the return of the flood and then winter....