One of the most significant rule changes this season has been the revamp of the AFL’s interchange system.
In 2016, the number of rotations allowed by each team has been reduced from 120 to 90, coinciding with the abolishment of the substitute.
The change has forced club coaching and fitness staff across the league to rethink the most effective way to manage players’ game time.
Crows Physical Performance Analyst Jarryd Wallace describes game-day rotations as “organised chaos” and something that requires a unified, team effort.
“We have myself down (on the bench), I’m wired up to the box getting instructions from coaches, we’ve also got one of our other staff up there who is moving the board, telling me where players are,” Wallace said on The Crows Show.
“Players have a general idea of where they’re going and what time they need to be coming (off the ground) but a game of footy is pretty chaotic.”
Clubs also must consider the ideal way to operate the interchange strategically to maximise the players’ output at certain periods of the game.
“The aim is to try and keep the speed in the game, getting our midfielders rotating as much as possible,” Wallace said.
“We can’t neglect (half-forwards and half-backs) and leave them out there for too long because if they have a player come onto them that’s really fresh its really hard for them if they’ve been playing a lot of game time.”
Wallace said the most notable difference this year has been the extended periods players can often spend on the pine with each rotation.
“Rather than it being 90 seconds or two minutes, it’s three to four, maybe even five minutes and that’s really hard for the players,” Wallace said.
“They want to get back out there and play.”
Wallace said the reduced rotation cap has put increased emphasis on player versatility for more on-ground swaps between positions.
“Players have multiple positions they can play, someone like a David Mackay can almost play four or five different positions and so throughout a game he might play all five of those positions,” Wallace said.
Fans and commentators often question why so many players seem to run off the ground right after kicking a goal, but Wallace insists it’s purely coincidence.
“There’s never a rule to say you must come off after kicking a goal (at the Crows),” he said.
“I think it’s a bit of a thing that a player often gets told one or two minutes before they kick the goal they have to get off as soon as they can.
“I reckon that might be a bit of motivation to just run that little bit harder, so when they come off after kicking a goal that is 100 per cent a fluke.”
