{"id":843247,"date":"2026-08-04T13:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/843247\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T13:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T13:14:27","slug":"afl-news-2026-jimmy-bartel-responds-to-league-memo-on-resting-players-luke-beveridge-garry-lyon-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/843247\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL News 2026: Jimmy Bartel responds to league memo on resting players; Luke Beveridge, Garry Lyon comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jimmy Bartel<\/a> has shot back at the AFL<\/a>\u2019s memo to clubs that claimed they would be cracking down on any team that rests players in the final round.<\/p>\n

News surfaced on Monday that clubs would face fines if they are deemed to have breached the rule by not fielding strong teams in round 24, leading into the wildcard weekend that kicks off the finals.<\/p>\n

\"Jimmy<\/p>\n

Jimmy Bartel on Footy Classified.\u00a0Nine<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease be reminded of the obligation in the AFL rules on clubs to \u2018perform on one\u2019s merits\u2019, meaning that clubs must perform honestly and to the best of their ability,\u201d the memo sent to all 18 clubs over the weekend read.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile legitimate management of player fatigue and injuries is permitted, the AFL will scrutinise club team selection decisions in the lead-up to the AFL finals in the context of this rule.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking on 3AW Radio<\/a> on Tuesday night, three-time Geelong premiership player Bartel didn\u2019t mince his words when it came to the league\u2019s edict, shutting down concerns over gambling and fans being short-changed by weakened teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy – I feel like it was a PR stunt to say look, we\u2019re trying to make everyone play their best,\u201d Bartel said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBroadcasters, they\u2019re flat about it – but you got given the wildcard [weekend] to actually make you happy and have an extra week of footy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gambling dollar – if you can\u2019t see a team\u2019s resting 10 to 14 players, why are you punting on them? You\u2019d be probably educated or informed … so if you see a team has 14 out, are you gonna back them? Unlikely. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fans, you\u2019re ripping them off, but wouldn\u2019t the fans want their team to do the best in a run towards hopefully a premiership, an unlikely run from the wildcard? <\/p>\n

\u201cBut would you go – \u2018hey, Nick Daicos has got a bit of a sore back\u2019 – why are you playing him in round 24 when we\u2019ve got a wildcard next up?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s theorised this memo could be for tanking reasons to improve a draft pick, but more likely it will be teams already locked into a finals or wildcard spot, making round 24 a dead rubber for them.<\/p>\n

Collingwood<\/a> is a good example of this. If the Pies beat West Coast<\/a> in round 22, they will in all likelihood find themselves locked into ninth spot on the ladder and unlikely to move up or down.<\/p>\n

Given they have the oldest list in the competition, their Friday night round 24 clash with Brisbane might then be an opportunity to rest players like Scott Pendlebury<\/a>, Jeremy Howe, Jordan De Goey and others to prepare them for the AFL\u2019s newly introduced wildcard round.<\/p>\n

\"Steele<\/p>\n

Would Collingwood rest Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury for round 24?\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Fremantle<\/a> will likely be in a similar position, locked into first on the ladder and playing Carlton<\/a> in Victoria in that last round.<\/p>\n

North Melbourne<\/a> coach Alastair Clarkson<\/a> echoed Bartel\u2019s scepticism, suggesting the league is overstepping its boundaries by interfering with club decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand from the club\u2019s point of view how it really should be up to the player, the medical staff, and the club to determine whether a guy plays,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Western Bulldogs<\/a> coach Luke Beveridge<\/a> agreed, believing the AFL should not be questioning clubs and their medical departments\u2019 rulings on player availability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the whole competition would be disappointed if there was a mass exodus of players in the last round of the season, but for the league to step in and tell clubs who should be fine, and who shouldn\u2019t, I think that\u2019s a bit of a stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll clubs have been put on notice, and I think what the league\u2019s saying is we just don\u2019t want mass changes, and if there\u2019s a couple of guys managed, then it\u2019s no drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the main consideration for the teams who might be certainties to play a wildcard game is the fact that the six teams above seventh all have a week off,\u201d Beveridge told Fox Footy on Monday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure, within the ranks of the teams that are certainties, you\u2019re processing who needs a week off. We\u2019ve just had Aaron Naughton and Cody (Weightman) come out of the game, not because we wanted them to, but because it would have been too hard for them to play over in Perth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re doing it this far out, you\u2019re definitely going to do it the week before the wildcard. So I\u2019d question how the AFL could question a club, because you\u2019re questioning the medical department as well if that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge\u2019s side is likely to finish in the wildcard mix.\u00a0AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sitting opposite Beveridge on AFL 360, Melbourne<\/a> coach Steven King firmly agreed with his stance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the coach of Melbourne, so I\u2019ll make any decision that\u2019s best for our football club, and best for the management of our players,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut like Bevo touched on, I\u2019m not a doctor, and I don\u2019t question our medical team week to week on who needs management of training loads or during game day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m certainly not going to try and push Kade Chandler to play with a fractured hand against Gold Coast<\/a> \u2026 it\u2019s out of our hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dual North Melbourne<\/a> premiership player David King feels the AFL brought in the wildcard system to mimic the format\u2019s success in the NFL<\/a> and the NBA<\/a> (with play-in games) and can\u2019t then fine teams for bringing their own Americanisation to the sport with managing players for dead rubber games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat role does the AFL play in team selection? If Collingwood decides not to play Nick Daicos, Jordan De Goey, Darcy Cameron and rest three or four other players, surely that is their right after qualifying for a wildcard opportunity?\u201d King told SEN.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AFL brought in this wildcard and the situation in America is no one plays the week before the playoffs if your spot is locked in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melbourne champion Garry Lyon agreed, saying teams should be allowed to position themselves however they like if the goal is winning the premiership.<\/p>\n

\"MELBOURNE,<\/p>\n

Garry Lyon.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s a \u2018breach\u2019? Is 10 (players rested) a breach? Is six acceptable? Is four no problem?\u201d Lyon told Fox Footy on Monday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve planned your season out, and you\u2019ve rested players and got to a stage where you can now elect to play or not play up to four, five, six, seven, eight players, then that is, in my opinion, your right.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main obligation for you is not to win round 22, 23 or 24. Your obligation is to win the premiership. That\u2019s your charter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you\u2019ve mapped out a program that\u2019s going to give you the best opportunity to do that, I don\u2019t think the AFL can come over the top, certainly not at round 21.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AFL initially created the pre-finals bye to stop teams from resting players in the last week of the season. It came after then-Fremantle coach Ross Lyon managed 10 players in 2013 and 11 in 2015 in order to prepare for finals.<\/p>\n

However, with the wildcard round now filling that week off, it has re-opened the door for a team in Collingwood\u2019s position to consider managing key players.<\/p>\n

Others are unlikely to follow suit with dozens of rested players, given the Western Bulldogs, Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne will all likely be jostling to get into the top six and avoid the wildcard altogether, while GWS, St Kilda and Carlton are fighting it out for 10th in a battle that will go to the wire.<\/p>\n

The Blues and Saints play each other in round 22 in a match that will help decide who grabs the final wildcard opening. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jimmy Bartel has shot back at the AFL\u2019s memo to clubs that claimed they would be cracking down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":843248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-843247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}