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Sport Nation
“The game would be better if…”: Kane Cornes’ 10 suggestions to make the AFL better
SEN • March 6th, 2025 10:14 am
How could the AFL make the game better?
Kane Cornes has provided his list of 10 things he would do if he were league CEO to improve the game overall.
Cornes’ thoughts were inspired by former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou’s appearance on SEN’s Sportsday.
Kane’s Countdown - “The game would be better if…”
(In no particular order)
1 - Full-time players work full-time hours
“I’d just love to see an increase in professionalism and hours worked on your craft, be that meetings, preparation, recovery, etc.
“The product would be better for it.”
2 - Scrap father/son and Academy selections
“I do love the romance of the father/son, but I think the game would be better if we scrapped the father/sons and Academies.
“When heading into the draft, if you’ve got Pick 1, you’re getting the best player. It would be more even. The game would be fairer.”
3 - Scrap the stand rule, starting zones and ruck nominations
“Bang, bang, bang. Others would disagree on that.”
4 - Apply a higher threshold for 50m infringements
“It’s starting to really frustrate me, the severe penalty of 50m for a minor incident.”
5 - Have four on the bench, no sub and interchange cap of 50
“I think the benefits would be significant.”
6 - Clubs have the ability to trade contracted players
“It would wrestle back the power from players and player agents. That is something that has to be on the radar.”
7 - Maximum contract length is five years
“For the reasons that I’ve expressed for the last eight years.”
8 - Make player wages public
“It would give the fans far more transparency in terms of the way their club has been run. It would make clubs accountable when they go and shelve out big money.”
9 - The most senior umpire holds a press conference after that particular game
“The umpire must attend the media after the coaches and they can be asked questions about the performance of the umpiring and any contentious issues.”
10 - Twilight Grand Final
“It would be a bigger spectacle. I’ve come around to the fact that it would be much bigger for the game.”
