Round 8 of the 2008 season has seen a radical new rule been implemented to the game which has flown in the face of trying new rules in the NAB pre season games. The new rule is imo a knee-jerk reaction from the fiasco which saw Sydney play with 19 men and in the end pinch a draw back in round 6 of 2008.
The Interchange solution implimented by the AFL is silly
The Rule Explained
AFL clubs must lodge a small piece of paper with an AFL official (The Interchange Official) detailing which player comes off the ground and his replacement, and players must stay inside a box on the interchange while their teammate comes off.
If the player moves out of the box or the official is given a wrong player number his team has infringed and the result can be a free kick, fine of $5, 000 and a 50m penalty.
What is the Problem?
The problem is not the rule so to speak as it will mean that no mistakes will happen like when the Sydney player jumped and played as an extra player. However the problem is that AFL teams in todays game average well over 80 interchanges a game and it can well become very confusing. Not only due to the fact that you have only given one week to change the way that players are interchanged.
In round 8 the clubs were given a week to get used to the new rule and some reports have stated that there were up to 16 infringements which would have resulted in EIGHT 50m penalties and $40,000 in fines.
Most teams managed the problem ok but the problem is most highlighted when a player takes himself off and that gives the official to hand the piece of paper to the interchange official no chance. One example is when a Freo player went off and it meant that for 10-15 seconds they played with 17 players and Bulldogs kicked a goal and won by three points.
Ideas to fix the Interchange Problem
If the AFL really seems that the interchange needs to be changed instead of keeping it as it was (after all it only happened once) I would recommend a more high tech less complicated solution that will see no team play with 17 players while he re sharpens his pencil to scribble down a number.
What are your opinions on this rule? Did you laugh when the Collingwood official tackled Leon Davis to stay inside his square like a naughty school boy? Can and will it work or will it just create more problems?
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May 21st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
The big controversy around this would go away if we just stopped listening to coaches. It’s not that big a deal. The truth of the matter is - there is now zero chance of there being 19 men on the field, and interchanges have been slowed down ever so slightly. My prediction is that the guys with the Post-its will have one note with each guy on the bench, and then all they need to know is who’s coming off. Too easy. The teams will get very used to it happening, and before the season is over it’ll be as accepted as the kicking in straight away rule - only less visible.
Stan Alves put it perfectly the other day on the radio: the AFL community in general forget that the only interests coaches are looking after is there own - their input on rule changes borders on irrelevant.
The Wounded Tigers last blog post..Round 8 vs Geelong - A Healthy Dose of Reality
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 am
@Wounded Tiger
heard that comment as well and it was spot on! Mick Malthouse is always doing this and you can hear by is arguments that he is only looking after his side.
Is this day and age post it notes surely is not the best waay, I mean the NFL change 20 odd players at a time and get it right
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:00 am
Yeah ‘post it notes’ just seems to last century!
I heard a good argument that suggested microchips in the jumper that could be tracked by a laptop.
Its like I dont have a problem with the officials knowing who has gone off etc but the problem I see is the clumsiness of ‘post it notes’. In junior leagues they use a similar interchange official procedure..
and coaches looking after their own? Choco Williams out burst last night is the perfect example of that
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 am
When I coached at junior level they introduced a system where 2 interchange stewards took down the numbers of the players coming on and the players coming off.
I just had to make sure the players showed their numbers as they came off and on.
There was a designated interchange area. The stewards were given a list of
players names before the game. This system worked well.
I didn’t have to write down on a post it note every time a player came off or on.
And we did do multiple changes and used a rotation system.
People don’t like change and at first we didn’t like the system because it meant we had to find more volunteers to be stewards and I used my assistant coach to keep an eye on player rotations.
With all the so called assistant coaches in an AFL team these days it shouldn’t be hard. It just means these assistants will have to earn their money for once.
If a junior league that is mostly run by volunteers can come up with a viable system surely the ‘professional’ league can get their act together….you would think so wouldn’t you?
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:07 am
Yeah it would make more sense johnnytruent but I think this is actually the system they originally worked but Sydney still managed to find a way to ‘bend’ the rules.
For me the problem is that the interchange stewart did NOT have the power to say something until after the game, all that is needed is to give them a whistle to blow when someone makes a mistake like Sydney did. Oh hang on scrap that idea, that is too simple….