Body:
Three rule changes:
[quote]1. Allowing a player who has taken a mark or been awarded a free kick in the goal-square to have his shot for goal from directly in front, rather than on whatever angle the controlling umpire deems appropriate.
2. The automatic calling of time-on from the moment the umpire signals he is calling for a bounce during play - rather than it just being left to the discretion of the umpire.
3. The decision to allow players to bring the ball straight back into play after a behind - there will be another ball made available for immediate use if one is kicked into the crowd to speed up the process - is part of a league push to end what it believes is the stop-start nature of the current game.[/quote]
Will all of these be in place for the VFL?
The immediate play on from scoring a behind is a bit of a worry. Unless the AFL are trying to bring in a bigger penalty for a rushed behind, we will be seeing them all the time from defenders, as they effectively get a free kick where they can kick immediately, without the opposition having time to set up a zone (or huddle or whatever).