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AFL to introduce last touch rule from 2026
Sam Edmund • September 8th, 2025 7:25 pm
THE AFL will next year introduce a last disposal out of bounds rule among a raft of other potential changes to the game.
The rule will eradicate the subjectivity around insufficient intent and instead see a free kick paid against players who kick or handball over the boundary line between the arcs.
The AFL commission will this month be asked to approve the change, along with several other proposals, as Greg Swann’s vision for the game is laid bare.
Swann last month forecast the change with club football bosses and speaking exclusively to the AFL Record, said that had now been formalised.
“All these things have to be approved by the commission. But there will be recommendations put forward and that will be one that we adopt,” Swann said.
“We do it in AFLW, the SANFL does it, it’s between the arcs and it’s a kick or a handball.
“The stats show on the games played that there would only be two extra free kicks a game. It’s not a big change, but it’s a tough call for the umps sometimes and we’re almost there anyway.”
Swann, who has spent his first six weeks as AFL football boss thrashing out a series of adjustments to the game, will have his team’s recommendations heard by the commission in Grand Final week.
Asked if the Grand Final would mark the last time a coach has to tell a player he would be a substitute, Swann said: “Probably. Yep.”
He said teams would be able to name five players on the bench, with rotations to remain capped at 75.
But the 6-6-6 warning is set to stay.
“I think we’ll keep that in,” Swann said.
“There were 70-odd warnings and only about six were paid free kicks. But I think with the five on the bench there’s going to be a bit more mayhem so we’ll just leave the warning in for the minute and review that after next year.”
Swann confirmed the AFL was still looking at ways to tilt the centre bounce back in favour of the athletic ruckman.
“There’s a couple of options, but I’m working with the umpires and talking to clubs about how we do that,” he said.
“On round numbers, over the last three years it used to be four out of every five times they’d jump at each other. Now it’s four out of every five times they walk across the line and wrestle. It’s not good for the game. We want them to jump.
“Are they allowed to cross the line at all? Do we have a little wedge they’ve got to stand in so they have to effectively face each other and jump? We’ll work that through.”
Will there be a bounce? Swann remained coy on the prospect of abolishing the tradition – “we’ll have to wait and see” - but spoke of the benefits of doing so.
“I think it contributes to the contact with the umpires because they’re down, they’re up, they’re walking,” he said.
“If they can throw it up, quickly get out of the way, and we won’t have the recalls, which waste time.
“Plus, every junior competition in Australia I’m led to believe, throw the ball up. So none of the umpires coming through the system bounce the ball. Where is that going to leave us once this crop of umpires move on?”
