New Rules to be implemented for Season 2006

The days of full-forwards taking seemingly forever to kick for goal are over with all players to be given a maximum of 30 seconds to shoot from next season.

In a change certain to become known amongst footy fans as "The Matthew Lloyd Rule" players shooting for goal will now be given a warning by the field umpire if they are taking too long to kick for goal and if they still refuse to take their shot the umpire will call play-on and the player will run the risk of being tackled and losing possession.

The change - one of seven changes to the interpretations of the game to be introduced for next season - means forwards will now have the same time to kick for goal as full-backs have to bring the ball back into play and players have around the ground generally after taking a mark or being paid a free-kick.

In the past players shooting for goal have been given more leeway but this has led to Essendon spearhead Lloyd and Carlton full-forward Brendan Fevola in particular sometimes taking more than a minute to shoot for goal.

While the AFL insists the interpretation change is not specifically aimed at Lloyd, it is the three-time Coleman Medallist goal-kicking routine which has come under the most scrutiny in recent years.

Each time he has an opportunity to shoot for goal Lloyd - who is arguably the best kick for goal in the competition - first tucks himself in and then throws grass in the air before kicking for goal usually while being roundly booed by opposition supporters.

AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said the change was part of an overall league strategy to keep the game moving and try to eradicate the stop/start nature of the current game - which has gradually increased in recent seasons.

"We have looked at a number of players kicking for goal and some are still taking a substantial amount of time to kick for goal," he said.

Anderson said the time allowed for a player to shoot for goal before being given a warning would be at the discretion of the umpires, who will be instructed to allow only a maximum of 30 seconds.

However Anderson denied the interpretation change was aimed specifically at Lloyd.

"Looking at some of the examples, he is far from the longest in terms of guys kicking for goal," he said of the new Essendon skipper.

Lloyd told the Essendon website he first heard about the rule change on Thursday night and said he was waiting for the annual visit from the umpires to the club before the season for further clarification.

"At this stage it is difficult to know exactly what it will mean."

"But I am generally about the 30-second mark anyway – there have been exceptions - but usually that is about the mark so I don’t envisage I will need to make any change to the way I normally prepare. It will probably just be something to be conscious of," he said.

The other changes to the way existing rules are interpreted next year will be:

*stricter interpretation on the deliberate out of bounds rule with players to be penalised even if they kick the ball forward and gain ground before it goes out of play, if such a kick is ruled deliberate by the umpires.

*reduced tolerance for holding players up after a mark or a free kick, which results in a 50 metre penalty against the offending team with field umpires also to be told to take less time in deciding to award and then measure out the 50 metre penalty.

*boundary umpires to throw the ball in quicker.

*stricter policing of holding and blocking in marking contests.

*and a greater focus on detecting infringements by taggers.

All the changes are designed to keep the game moving and prevent stoppages in play, which league research has revealed have increased dramatically to the detriment of the game as a spectacle.

For example a detailed study of four grand finals - 1961, 1971, 1981 and 1997 - revealed the time take for players to kick for goal had increased from an average of 17.6 seconds to 27.1 seconds from 1961 to 1997.

And the number of bounces around the ground had risen from an average of 11 per match to 30 per match in the same period.

The league is also concerned that the increased number of breaks in play have led to players staying fresher for longer periods, which has meant when the ball actually is in play it not only moves quicker (by a staggering 86 percent since 1961) but there are also more players around the ball resulting in more players colliding at greater speeds and as a result suffering more injuries.

"If play becomes more continuous and player density (around the ball) decreases then the number and force of collisions will decline," the AFL Laws of the Game Committee concluded in recommending the changes for the 2006 season.