The AFL has made a key change to its laws amid controversy surrounding the protected area 50-metre penalty, which led to Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes launching a petition to have the rule scrapped.
An umpire will no longer pay a 50-metre penalty against a player infringing the protected area of a mark or free kick if they ‘split’ from their opponent, with the rule change to come into effect from round 16.
The rule had allowed a defending player to follow their opponent into the protected area provided they were within two metres of each other.
READ MORE: Brutal Blues axing tipped for Origin decider
READ MORE: Australia’s spin ‘project’ hangs on selection call
READ MORE: Diving superstar ‘furious’ with transgender ban
But an exploitation of the rule has led the AFL to banishing the need for the defender to stay within two metres of their opponent, as long as they vacate the space immediately.
“AFL head of umpiring Dan Richardson said the adjustment will come into play this week as there had been an unintended exploitation of the rule in recent weeks,” an AFL statement released on Tuesday afternoon said.
“The protected area rule is designed for the kicker to have options to move the ball.
“It is having the desired effect, however there have been more and more instances of players deliberately running their opponent into the zone with the intention of getting split and/or drawing a 50-metre penalty.
Radical North pursuit of Pendlebury drafted
“If this ‘split’ of players happens, providing the defender moves to vacate the area, the umpires have been instructed to no longer apply a 50-metre penalty.
“Feedback is important, and we continually listen to a whole range of stakeholders, and this clarification will provide opportunity for the rule to be applied as intended.”
Essendon’s Matt Guelfi was controversially hit with a 50-metre penalty in the Bombers’ clash with the Saints in round 14, after trying to stick with Jack Sinclair near a marking contest.
As Sinclair had a rapid change of direction and shot past teammate Jack Billings, Guelfi was wrong-footed and ran on the other side of Billings, resulting in the penalty.
Cornes has blasted the rule on Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show and created a petition to have it binned.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
The biggest AFL trade blunders that backfired on teams involved
