The AFL has implemented a controversial change a day out from the season which will allow a medical substitution to be activated for any game-ending injury.
AFL players substituted off through injuries unrelated to concussions will not face a mandatory 12-day break under the league’s new medical substitute rule.
On Wednesday, the AFL approved a medical substitution just a day out from the 2021 season opener.
Clubs will have a 23rd man in their squad but that player will only be activated into the match if there is a game-ending injury, with a club medical officer to determine if a player is unfit to continue.
“A player who was substituted out of the game with concussion will be sidelined for a minimum of 12 days,” AFL football boss Steve Hocking said at the MCG on Wednesday.
“When a doctor substitutes a player out of the game with an injury, other than concussion, the doctor at the time would be deeming the injury to be one of a nature that would see a player sidelined for a minimum of 12 days.”
The idea for a substitute originated around concussion, after the league in January tightened rules over medical head knocks, but coaches were unanimous in wanting a substitution for any serious injury.
If an AFL player is deemed to have a medically diagnosed concussion they will now automatically be sidelined for 12 days – but Hocking confirmed the same mandatory break didn’t apply to other injuries.
Therefore, if a player was substituted out of a match with a game-ending injury other than concussion, they could conceivably play the next week.
“In the case of a player potentially recovering sooner than expected during the week, then the club doctor can actually provide a medical certificate and further proof, if required,” Hocking told reporters.
“That is correct (there is not a mandated 12-day break for players with non-concussion injuries).”
Hocking confirmed there were sanctions in place in a bid to deter manipulation of the rule.
“The safeguards are within the AFL rules – it’s conduct unbecoming,” he said.
“We can actually apply that at any point we need to.”
The AFLPA had been critical of the move, declaring any change to playing numbers in a game-day squad should have happened much earlier, but Blues coach David Teague backed the change.
“I think they have added the sub to be make it fairer if you lose a player, so why limit it to concussion?,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The substitute will be confirmed 60 minutes prior to a game starting and can only be chosen from the listed emergency players.
They can be activated at any time of the game, including if teams have completed their 75 interchanges.
The substitute will receive a full match payment – outside the cap – and would receive a premiership medal if they were a member of a winning grand final team, even if they didn’t take the field.
Games as substitutes will count towards players’ career games tallies, even if they are not activated, while substitutes would also be eligible to play at state league level that week.
Between 2011 and 2015, the AFL cut the interchange from four players to three but a substitute was allowed into the game for any reason.
Johnno
Roar Rookie
The AFL site also says a part from concussion, a player can play the following week as long as he is passed by the AFL doctor. So a player has hamstring tightness (supposedly), is subbed out, & plays the next week as tightness is gone. Coaches have said they don’t exploit the rules. This rule is the AFL trying to make it easier so clubs don’t send injured players back on the ground. Clubs exploiting players keenness, win at all costs. They will exploit this rule eventually even though they say they won’t.
Dean
Guest
3rd paragraph on the article on the afl website states " To be eligible for a medical substitution, the club doctor must decide that an injured player will be unable to play a game in the next 12 days" Thats what l read which contradicts what Steve Hocking has stated in the above article. Concussion is a mandatory 12 days.
James
Guest
Sadly, you've read it wrong mate. Whiskers confirmed that it's only concussion subs that will miss 12 days. Non head injuries are free to play the weekend after. This will be abused.
James
Guest
Hear hear. It would be like giving the 12th man in cricket a cap for running the drinks.
Charlie McCormack
Roar Rookie
The fact you still get recorded as having officially played the game as the injury sub, even though you might not have even come on is absolutely ridiculous. There is no common sense in that. I wouldn't be surprised if it is used to help a few players sneak milestones in.
Gary David
Roar Rookie
Do we not remember the sub rule we used to have and how much we didn't like it? That was brought in primarily for injuries. I think the concussion sub is fair enough, that's an issue that goes beyond footy but just a medical sub is going to get messy.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
Ahh that makes sense, you'll need 2 players basically now instead of one. Cheers man.
Pope Paul VII
Roar Rookie
No interchange. 4 medical subs. Let the games begin.
Lukey Miller
Guest
Why not 12 on the bench? Seriously though, can you imagine how coaches are going to rort this? Serves the AFL right for making rule changes on the run.
Lukey Miller
Guest
The rushed nature of this sub change says a lot about the current lack of strategic thinking and planning at the AFL. No other major competion in the world would be making knee-jerk, last minute decisions (on the run) like this. Come on Clarko, give them a nudge about the delayed deployment on on-coming interchange players - now that is dangerous and not suitable for any football game.
Dean
Guest
I just re read the article and the examining doctor must decide that a player will be unable to play a game within 12 days before using the medical sub. This will help the exploitation of the rule to a degree. Is a team willing to use a sub for an A grade player or an important cog of the team if slightly injured to miss the next game, it would be a big gamble.
Dean
Guest
The way l read it is that the injury has to be significant to miss at least 2 weeks before the use of the 23rd man. If a player goes off for a hammy than that player has to miss at least 2 weeks and if they play the following week than they will be hit with a penalty. Not sure how they will police doctor examinations of a player though.
James
Guest
This will definitely be abused on grand final day. Get a player having a bad game to fake an injury midway through the second/third quarter...bring on the sub. Pay the fine afterwards.
James
Guest
Yup. This will be abused to kingdom come....it seems the simplest solution would have been to mandatorily apply a 12 day rule to all injury subs.
Damo
Guest
What happened to in juries are just a bad luck part of the game?
Mick Ralston
Guest
A lot of the trepidation about this rule seems to be its venerability to being abused. Rotations are now being capped at 75 with a further reduction on the cards in coming seasons. Why not a 5 or 6 man bench with normal interchange rules applied. If a team loses a player to any sort of injury early then surely a team can manage with a 4 or 5 man bench for 75 rotations for the rest of the game, even (knock on wood) a second game ending injury would still leave a 3 or 4 man bench, which has been coping with a 90 rotation interchange for a number of years now. Again this would have its challenges in the way of salary cap considerations etc. but it would solve the issue of what is and isn't a substitutional injury.
Macca
Roar Rookie
" it shouldn’t make too much difference as don’t teams usually have at least one player on standby just incase theres a mishap during the warm up.?" They will still have the player to cover the pre-game mishap AND the injury sub. Teams aren't going to use their injury sub pre game.
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Not the worst idea but I think it fails to address the harms of repeated subconcussive impacts to the head. Part of me thinks these rules are ripe for abuse. I actually agree with one of the things proposed by Garry Lyon where if you sub the injury sub in for any injury then that player taken off is put for the full 12 days
Reg Grundy
Guest
I don't like this new rule change. This will get expoilted with the definition of a game-ending injury, how is the AFL going to police it? There is already concussion protocls that force a player out, what about minor muscle tweaks, cracked finger etc? Its bad luck if you have fewer players available on the interchange bench during a game. I wouldn't call it either a disadvantage or unfair advntage to the other side with a full interchange bench.
AdamDilligafThompson
Roar Rookie
Hopefully it's not exploited and it shouldn't make too much difference as don't teams usually have at least one player on standby just incase theres a mishap during the warm up.? You will be able to risk a player thats a little underdone though or has a niggle knowing that if it does strike, they can be replaced but i doubt most teams would risk something like that until finals. My biggest worry about the concussion rule is the finals and somebody missing a prelim or gf due to it for something that's prob not major enough to have to do the mandatory break but in saying that its probs best for players health in the long run. Who's going to be the first poor person to miss. Please dont be a port player.lol.