The AFL has confirmed that sliding feet first into a contest and making forceful contact with an opponent below the knee will both be reportable offences next season.
Both offences have been incorporated into the rough conduct rule.
The new interpretations are:
- Sliding feet or knees first will be considered rough conduct if contact below the knees occurs and the action is deemed to be unreasonable in the circumstances.
- Making contact below an opponent's knees will be considered rough conduct if it is deemed to be unreasonable in the circumstances.
The AFL's general manager of football operations, Adrian Anderson, said the changes were approved on the principle that "a player contesting the ball still owes a duty of care to his opponent".
He added: "Particular cases through a season can draw very strong views and there is always room for the AFL to look at our systems and continue to work to ensure we make improvements where required.
"The AFL never backs away from its commitment to uphold player safety and the MRP has an important duty to uphold this commitment around the laws of the game."
Changes to the player loading rules for good and bad behaviour are also being introduced for next season.
The new rules are:
- To reflect the fact it was felt to be too easy to qualify for a "good record", a player will now qualify for a good record, and a 25 per cent discount on any offence, after six years rather than five years.
- To reflect the fact it was felt three years is too long for a player to hold onto a "bad record" for committing a single offence, a player will now only qualify for a bad-record loading if they are suspended for two or more matches within the last two years.
In other rule changes, the points for stomping will be increased to be in line with the points incurred for "kicking" an opponent.
And the final change relates to allegations made against another player at a Tribunal hearing as part of a defence case.
The new rule states that a player caught in such a situation "must be notified and have the opportunity to appear and be heard on the case as a matter of fairness".
The League has also released the Tribunal-related statistics for 2012 (it must be noted that it was first year of nine games per round rather than eight):
- 89 per cent of players accepted Match Review Panel charges, which was the second-highest percentage since the system was introduced for the 2005 season and was behind only the 92 per cent figure for 2011.
- 25 Tribunal hearings were held, compared with 15 in 2011 and 123 in the last year of the previous system (2004).
- Eight cases were not sustained at the tribunal, as against three in 2011.
- 41 players were suspended as against 47 in 2011.
- 112 matches were lost through suspension, compared to 72 matches in 2011.
- The AFL reaped $159,850 in fines compared to $92,600 in 2011
It was also announced that players who are suspended during the NAB Cup will no longer be able to serve their suspensions in the pre-season competition after a rule change stemming from the AFL's Tribunal review.
In a document released on Wednesday, the League announced that from next season all bans handed out during the NAB Cup would have to be "served in the premiership season, to ensure consistency and to provide a sufficient deterrent for players not to offend".
The AFL has attempted to clean up the unfairness by ruling that no bans will be served during the pre-season.
The intriguing aspect of the new rule is that players who are suspended during the NAB Cup will be able to keep playing in the competition.
"The AFL thoroughly examines its tribunal system every year and will continue to be open to ways in which we can improve it," the League's football operations general manager, Adrian Anderson, said.
"Discussion around the match review panel and the tribunal on some incidents during the season is always extremely vigorous for the football community and fans.
"But it is our overall view that the system serves the game well."