The AFL has made more rule changes than ever before: What do the skippers think of them?
The AFL has made more rule changes going into the 2026 season than arguably any previous season, with the hopes of reducing the length of games and adding speed into play.
Last touch out of bounds, the scrapping of the centre bounce, the tightening of the stand rule, increasing the speed of ball-ups, ditching ruck nominations, forcing ruckmen to jump at centre bounces and the end of the substitute are all among the changes for this season.
Across the AFL's captain's day on Monday, the game's leaders were quizzed for their thoughts on these changes.
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Darcy Moore of the Magpies chats with Melbourne's Max Gawn. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Some are wary about how it will impact the game, others are more optimistic about the moves as a whole.
Brisbane captain Harris Andrews believes last touch out of bounds between the arcs in particular will make things more frenetic.
"I reckon the last touch out of bounds rule is one to watch. We played against Carlton last week and when the ball goes out of bounds, it just bounces back in really quickly," he told Wide World of Sports.
"Teams that quickly get over the ball, pick it up and move it quickly, it doesn't allow the opposition to defend quickly. I think that will be a good challenge for a lot of teams. It's something as a defender I'm still picking up.
"Even the way umpires are now throwing the ball up so quickly around the ground, it creates a bit more chaos."
AFL club captains and representatives. Getty
New St Kilda skipper Callum Wilkie, as a fellow defender, is also interested in the speed of ball ups now, saying it might catch teams off guard and out of position.
"Probably how quickly they're throwing the ball up means you need a bit more smarts and a bit more communication from everyone to make sure you've got your setup right," Wilkie said.
Hawks captain Jai Newcombe admits last touch out of bounds is one he is going to need time to adjust to.
"The last touch out of bounds I'm a bit wary about. It's quite easy as a mid to just roll it over and expect a boundary throw-in, but now it's going to be a live ball again straight away. You've got to be sharp with that one," he said.
The league will crack down on the stand rule this year, no longer allowing players to back off the mark by five metres and clear the area.
And Essendon captain Andrew McGrath says they are clearly following through with that tightening.
Andrew McGrath speaks to Nine at the AFL Captain's Day. Nine
"The stand rule is different. It's been great having the umpires down at training to adjudicate it and understand where they're looking at it from and how they view it," McGrath said.
"There's not much wiggle room. You've got to plonk your feet down when they call you to stand or it will be a 50."
Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee agrees, saying there's a lot of new information to take in.
"The stand rule and the last touch out of bounds rule have been a little bit tricky. We've been experimenting a bit at training," he said.
"I think the new shrugging in a tackle rule and how that effects prior opportunity is a bit of a grey area, so we'll try and figure that out."
Patrick Cripps of the Blues chats with Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats AFL Photos via Getty Images
Geelong skipper and former AFL players' association president Patrick Dangerfield urged everyone to give the new rules time as players and umpires work things out on the run.
"I think we need to give it a good month to six weeks of tangible evidence before judging it. Generally when there's a rule change, people get their backs up pretty quickly," he said.
"The centre bounce will be interesting, more predictable. Does that change how the ruck dynamic works? Who knows.
"I think it's a good thing for the game and it'll speed it up. We experienced it during Origin and it does move quickly between the arcs now. I think that's a good thing."
That's something Giants captain Toby Greene agrees with.
"I like the new rules. I think it's good for the game. The speed is up and they keep it open and flowing. I'm not worried about any of them," he said.
Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore is equally fine with the changes and praised the AFL for their communication with the clubs.
"I think we're pretty optimistic that the justification for a lot of the rule changes is really sound. Hopefully it makes the game easier to umpire, slightly shorter and a bit smoother for fans to watch," he said.
