An interchange cap and a new out of bounds rule will be introduced into the SANFL competition next season.

Rotations will be capped at 50 interchanges per game and a free kick will be awarded against a player for a possession which crosses the boundary line without being touched from Season 2016.

The laws aim to reduce stoppage numbers and congestion, and encourage attacking play through the corridor.

Data reveals that interchange rotations have soared from an average of 34 per game to 90 over the past seven seasons, while scoring rates have dried up in the last decade and stoppages have reached a record high of 108 per match.

‘’The primary concern and motivation of the Laws of the Game Committee was to address the call to make the game more attractive as a spectacle, which includes the spreading of players on the field to reduce congestion,’’ SANFL General Manager of Football Adam Kelly said on the League website.

There was no rotation limit previously at SANFL level. Changes made at quarter breaks will not be included in the interchange cap.

In September, the AFL announced the substitute would be abolished next year and the League’s own interchange cap would be reduced from 120 to 90 per game.

The second rule change will see a free kick will be paid against the team which kicks or handballs the ball out of bounds without it being touched, even if it bounces over the boundary line.

Players who spoil, fumble or tap the ball over the line will not be penalised provided the action is not determined to be deliberate out of bounds.

‘’Through the sample of games that we tracked the occurrence of possession going out of bounds and resulting in a free kick there was on average four occurrences per game, this rule will result in less stoppages, multiplied by the evidence of repeat stoppages,’’ Kelly said.

The 2015 SANFL Laws of the Game Committee was chaired by SA Football Commissioner Dion McCaffrie and comprises of Woodville-West Torrens coach Michael Godden, retiring North Adelaide captain Greg Gallman, SANFL General Manager Football Adam Kelly, outgoing SANFL Football Services Manager Matt Duldig, SANFL Umpiring Manager Shane Harris and Central District chief executive Kris Grant.