TonyK
CibbuanoInterchange overhaul details to be revealed
May 13th 2008 01:57
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson will today unveil an overhaul of the AFL's interchange system, some of which may be introduced as soon as Friday night when Collingwood and St Kilda clash at Telstra Dome.
Anderson is expected to outline the changes to the competition's 16 football managers during a teleconference this afternoon.
In response to the round six confusion that saw Sydney briefly field 19 players against North Melbourne in the last quarter of their drawn match, Anderson's department assigned a second interchange steward to each match of round seven and began to more strictly police the three-minute time limit on each notification of a player swap.
More changes are planned, though, with the league considering the introduction of designated interchange gates -- one per club -- and specified holding areas where players can be observed before they take the field.
Another idea is sitting each of the two interchange stewards on a club bench so that they can be more quickly informed of intended interchanges, changes of plan and, being responsible for the traffic of one club, keep a better record of the comings and goings.
The AFL has to be informed of every interchange by a designated club steward who has to first take an instruction from the coach, write it down and then pass on the relevant slip of paper.
Under the current system, all players move on and off the ground through the one interchange gate, and with players, team officials and AFL stewards at times milling in the wing-side area at once, the scene can be quite confusing.
The AFL wrote to the clubs a month into the season expressing concern over the congestion which, it claimed, had on occasions blocked the path of the boundary umpires and created potentially hazardous situations.
Seven players moved through the interchange gate in a four-second period in the confusion that led to Sydney having an extra player on the field against North.
Currently the captain of a team is the only person empowered to approach the umpires and ask for a head count. This rule is also under review, however any change may not be introduced until the end of the season.
In the round six match, the North Melbourne coaches suspected, but were not certain of, a 19th Swans player being on the ground until ruckman Darren Jolly came from the field without being replaced. Had a head count been called by North captain Adam Simpson, it would have found only 18 Sydney players on the ground.
Anderson confirmed changes were coming but said the AFL wanted to discuss the issue with the clubs before going public.
"We are certainly looking at changes. Whether they are immediate I can't say," he said.
"We really have to make a decision on these things. We've spoken to the clubs before and intend to stay in close contact with them, but we want to outline how we are going to improve the way it works."
Anderson is expected to outline the changes to the competition's 16 football managers during a teleconference this afternoon.
In response to the round six confusion that saw Sydney briefly field 19 players against North Melbourne in the last quarter of their drawn match, Anderson's department assigned a second interchange steward to each match of round seven and began to more strictly police the three-minute time limit on each notification of a player swap.
More changes are planned, though, with the league considering the introduction of designated interchange gates -- one per club -- and specified holding areas where players can be observed before they take the field.
Another idea is sitting each of the two interchange stewards on a club bench so that they can be more quickly informed of intended interchanges, changes of plan and, being responsible for the traffic of one club, keep a better record of the comings and goings.
The AFL has to be informed of every interchange by a designated club steward who has to first take an instruction from the coach, write it down and then pass on the relevant slip of paper.
Under the current system, all players move on and off the ground through the one interchange gate, and with players, team officials and AFL stewards at times milling in the wing-side area at once, the scene can be quite confusing.
The AFL wrote to the clubs a month into the season expressing concern over the congestion which, it claimed, had on occasions blocked the path of the boundary umpires and created potentially hazardous situations.
Seven players moved through the interchange gate in a four-second period in the confusion that led to Sydney having an extra player on the field against North.
Currently the captain of a team is the only person empowered to approach the umpires and ask for a head count. This rule is also under review, however any change may not be introduced until the end of the season.
In the round six match, the North Melbourne coaches suspected, but were not certain of, a 19th Swans player being on the ground until ruckman Darren Jolly came from the field without being replaced. Had a head count been called by North captain Adam Simpson, it would have found only 18 Sydney players on the ground.
Anderson confirmed changes were coming but said the AFL wanted to discuss the issue with the clubs before going public.
"We are certainly looking at changes. Whether they are immediate I can't say," he said.
"We really have to make a decision on these things. We've spoken to the clubs before and intend to stay in close contact with them, but we want to outline how we are going to improve the way it works."
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