Reilly O’Brien and Darcy Cameron battle in the ruck during the Round 23 match between Adelaide and Collingwood at Adelaide Oval on August 16, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

THE AFL is cracking down on dead time within games by introducing seven new rule changes ahead of the 2026 Toyota AFL Premiership season that it believes will slash around three minutes of match length from increasingly bloated fixtures.

A last disposal rule, new centre ball-up contest laws and a stronger enforcement of players standing in the protected area will all be part of the new rule changes, which were communicated to clubs on Wednesday.

The League has spent months canvassing all 18 clubs and key stakeholders around the rule changes, which are focused on reducing match length and making existing rules easier to adjudicate for umpires.

The rule changes, explained in detail below, relate to:

Goalsquare starting positions
Last disposal rules
Centre ball-up contests
Aligned kick-in times
Ruck nominations
Shrugging in the tackle
The stand rule

Clubs were made aware of the rule changes on Wednesday after they were approved by the AFL Commission, with further detailed explanations around the nuances of each still to be communicated to the 18 teams in the coming weeks.

But the AFL has hoped to provide clubs with clarity on the rule changes as early as possible, with umpires expected to make club visits and train the new laws throughout the summer and into pre-season.

The AFL undertook a comprehensive industry consultation on the rule changes, meeting with players, coaches, heads of footy, umpires, and even a select group of the game’s best rucks to gauge opinions on how to tackle a series of issues.

Jason Horne-Francis shrugs off Liam Baker during the round 18 match between Port Adelaide and West Coast at Adelaide Oval on July 13, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Reducing dead time within matches was a key focus of the meetings, with the AFL hoping to slash around three minutes of total game length as a result of the impending rule changes.

The AFL’s research found that the ball was ‘in play’ for only 62.9 per cent of games last season, down from 65.4 per cent in 2019. It also found that match length had increased almost five minutes across the last six seasons.

As a result, the following seven rule changes – which will be in addition to the substitute and centre bounce rule changes already introduced – will be brought into the game starting in 2026.

GOALSQUARE STARTING POSITION

While the 6-6-6 rule will remain from centre ball-ups, there will no longer be a requirement for at least one player per team to start in the goalsquare. This will be a measure to help reduce dead time after goals.

Last season, the AFL’s findings discovered that the goalsquare was the last remaining facet of 6-6-6 to be organised at 10 per cent of all post-goal restarts. On average, that delayed the game by 8-10 seconds per instance. The League subsequently expects the total time saved through this rule change will be around 20-30 seconds per match.

LAST DISPOSAL

A free kick will now be awarded when the ball crosses the line from a disposal between the arcs, bringing the men’s game in line with the AFLW’s ‘lasso’ rule.

It will operate similar to SANFL in the sense that if a player blocks an opponent or doesn’t play the ball before it crosses the line, a normal boundary throw-in will occur instead of a last disposal free kick.

In the 2025 season, the AFL’s findings discovered that there were 20 boundary throw-ins paid between the arcs and 0.5 insufficient intent free kicks paid between the arcs per game. The League then adapted those numbers for a scenario where the last disposal rule had been introduced. Its adapted numbers showed boundary throw-ins would be reduced by three per game, while 0.3 current insufficient intent free kicks would be negated by a last disposal free kick.

Greta Miller takes a boundary throw in on Thursday night at the MCG. Picture: AFL Photos / Michael Willson

The adapted numbers also showed that there would have been an average of 3.25 last disposal free kicks per game paid across the 2025 season.

The query from club land has been whether a last disposal rule would kill the ruck. However, there still would have been 67 stoppages per game on average in 2025 based on the adapted numbers. That would have brought it back in line with the AFL’s 2023 and 2024 averages.

CENTRE BALL-UP CONTESTS

At all centre ball-ups, competing rucks will now be unable to cross the centre line before engaging with their opposition ruck. This is born from a desire to see the jumping rucks return to the game.

The AFL has said this rule would not have been possible without the end of the ‘centre bounce’, as opposed to the ‘centre ball-up’, due to the variables of which direction the ball can go from a bounce. The ball-up also gives the umpire extra time and ability to assess where the ruck is stationed when he engages his opponent.

The AFL’s findings discovered that only 21 per cent of centre bounce ruck contests had at least one ruck jumping in the 2025 season. In 2023, just two years ago, that number was at 63 per cent.

There will still be an opportunity for the more physical wrestling rucks to impact the game at around-the-ground stoppages and boundary throw-ins.

ALIGN KICK-IN TIME

Umpires currently allow ‘reasonable time’ for a kick-in, which is deemed at around 12 seconds. However, ‘reasonable time’ for a mark or free kick paid around the ground is deemed at eight seconds. From 2026 onwards, both of these will align to be eight seconds.

The AFL sampled more than 1200 kick-ins across the 2025 season, with a quarter of those lasting longer than 10 seconds and 13 per cent lasting longer than 12 seconds.

There was an average of 21 kick-ins taken per game across the 2025 season. If a quarter of those are reduced by four or five seconds, the League is conservatively hoping that around 21 seconds of match length is knocked off through kick-ins alone.

RUCK NOMINATIONS

Umpires can now restart play without a nominated ruck being present, bringing the men’s game in line with AFLW rules. If there is no nomination, or the nominated ruck is too far away, the play will be restarted immediately.

The ‘third-man up’ is still outlawed, so if no rucks nominate – or if the two nominated rucks are too far away when play is restarted – the ball will be thrown up and will have to hit the ground before ‘play on’ is called.

The AFL discovered that there were on average four ball-ups and six boundary throw-ins per game last season with a delay due to the umpire waiting for nominated rucks to arrive at a contest before restarting the play. It contributed to an average of three and a half seconds worth of delay on ball-ups and around one second worth of delay on boundary throw-ins.

One particular example from St Kilda’s victory over Melbourne late in the year saw two rucks nominate for a boundary throw-in on the opposite wing, despite only just returning to the field of play from the bench. The umpire waited more than 25 seconds for the two rucks to arrive at the contest, before restarting the play.

SHRUGGING IN THE TACKLE

A shrug in a tackle will now be deemed prior opportunity. It will be similar to how a fend, or an attempt to evade a tackle is deemed prior opportunity.

It’s hoped this will stop players from contributing to a high tackle, while making the rule easier to adjudicate for umpires.

STAND

There will be a stronger enforcement of players being told to ‘stand’ if they are inside the protected area.

Now, if you are within 5m of a mark or a free kick when it is paid, deemed the protected area, you will be required to ‘stand’ and can no longer reverse to being ‘outside five’.

The AFL found that more and more players have left the protected area to stand ‘outside five’ across the last season. In 2025 alone, the AFL’s findings discovered that only 58 per cent of opposition players would ‘stand’ when told while 18 per cent of players went to the area deemed ‘outside five’ by the umpire.

It’s hoped this will see more players take the game on, encourage overlapping possessions and more free-flowing ball movement.