A nominated player will have the power to kick a 20-point supergoal and potentially win his side the game in the dying stages of a match in this year's AFLX tournament.
The 'Gatorade game changer' will have his score worth double during the last five minutes of a match, with each team having the opportunity to select a particular player in that role.
A behind will be worth two points, a six-point major recorded as 12 points and a 10-point supergoal will become 20 points from the game changer in the competition to be played at Marvel Stadium on February 22.
A 10-point supergoal can be scored in two ways: either when a player from the attacking team kicks the ball from anywhere within or behind the launch zone (pictured in graphic below) OR when the ball is kicked within or behind the launch zone and is marked inside the 15-metre forward zone by a teammate who then scores a goal.
After teams nominate their game changers with five minutes to play, the match will stop for 30 seconds for game changers to get in position, with the team in possession to retain the ball after the break. If the ball is in dispute, the umpire will throw it up where the game was stopped.
Another rule adaptation for AFLX will see players have just 10 seconds to take their set-shot kicks for six-point or 10-point goals when the mark is taken outside the 40m arc, in a bid to speed up the game.
None of the AFLX sides – Team Deadly, Team Rampage, Team Flyers and Team Bolts – will have coaches but there will be high performance staff from AFL clubs to help manage player loads, initiate rotations and lead warm-ups, among other duties.
Other rule changes and adaptations include:
- Each team will have 14 players: eight on the field, six on the interchange bench (no interchange limit), up from the 10 players per side in 2018.
- The field umpire will throw the ball up to begin play at the start of each half and after a supergoal is scored.
- A player has the opportunity to play on from out of bounds after the 'last touch' rule.
- Players can run 20m without taking a bounce or touching the ball on the ground.
AFL football operations manager Steve Hocking told AFL.com.au the changes were specifically designed for the modified version of the game.
"A lot of these changes are just targeted at AFLX," Hocking said.
"For us, it's more about informal play. There's less structure in the game. If people are thinking that whatever we're doing here is just a precursor to AFL men's, that's not the case. They're two different games."
Hocking said the 'game changer' role would add further excitement to the high-octane version of the game.
"If you look at the sports right throughout the world, there's certain players that people follow. They don't follow teams as such, but actual players," Hocking said.
"If people are going to show up to see who the game changer is that's all part of the fun, particularly kids because that's who the game is targeted at."
The 2019 AFLX Draft will be broadcast on 7mate and Fox Footy, as well as being streamed on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App, thanks to Telstra, from 7pm AEDT on February 6.
The AFLX tournament will be broadcast on Channel Seven and Fox Footy and streamed live on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App, thanks to Telstra, from 7pm AEDT on February 22.
Information and ticket sales via X.afl.
