“Additionally, it will also create consistency across national competitions.”
There was support among club officials to scrap the bounce throughout games but keep one per match, for ceremonial purposes, at the opening of the contest. However, the AFL has opted for a complete removal.
Given the removal of the substitute rule, clubs will name 23 players as of next season, with five of those named on the interchange.
“[If you] go to the 18 clubs, probably the strongest bit of feedback on all the things we spoke about was removing the sub,” Swann said.
“We’re not changing the number of interchanges or anything like that, so there’ll be five on the bench. We want to try and lock that away for a long time … as certainly as long as I’m in the chair.
“There’s no adverse things from costs and things like that, because they were already paying the subs the same they would anyway, so it’s not going to cost the game any more.”
The centre bounce will be gone from the game in 2026.Credit: Paul Rovere
Players making contact with umpires at centre bounces and stoppages across the field had spiked this year, prompting a significant number of fines to be handed out.
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Coaches had the option of waiting to use the substitute rule for injury and medical purposes, particularly if a player was concussed. It could also be used for tactical purposes, giving a team the chance to inject fresh legs – and speed – later in the game.
However, players long felt starting as a substitute carried a stigma, particularly when a captain was asked to fill the role.
Upgrading to a five-man bench is expected to make it easier for clubs to accommodate two ruckmen, for clubs did not want to use a ruckman as a substitute.
Clubs will continue to have up to 75 rotations per game.
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“It’ll give coaches a little more flexibility, whether they play two ruckmen, for example, because they’ve got that extra person on the bench. We don’t do everything in here on the basis of [whether] the clubs want it, but in this instance, there was a strong push for it,” Swann said.
“Having come out from clubland, it was always difficult for the person who was the sub. In our case, in Brisbane, you’d be down as the sub, then you’d have to fly back to Brisbane and play in the VFL and all that sort of stuff. In this instance, we just thought it was a no-brainer.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott was one of several coaches who had called for change. Scott even took aim at the substitute ruling after his team’s loss in Saturday’s grand final.
The Cats were a man down in that game while Jeremy Cameron was assessed for an arm injury. After a lengthy wait, they opted to introduce their sub, Jack Martin, later in the game in place of ruckman Rhys Stanley.
“I’ll say one thing – and I hope this doesn’t sound like sour grapes: I think we all – and I’m at the head of the queue – will be rapt to see the back of the sub rule,” Scott said.
“Besides the seriousness of the injury, the challenges there make planning difficult, and it feels like a bit of deja vu in a respect. We were sort of waiting and waiting, and it didn’t feel like we could make that sub until we had some clarity there.”
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