The Crows will be able to select a squad of up to 34 players for their opening round of NAB Cup matches against St Kilda and Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.
The first round of the NAB Cup, which is split across two weeks, will be played in a triangular format. Round one matches will be comprised of two 20-minute halves. Clubs will be permitted six interchange players for each match in round one. There will be no substitutes.
The squad to play the Saints and Power will be named on Thursday afternoon.
Coach Brenton Sanderson said there would be a number of new faces on show in the NAB Cup.
“We’ll certainly give our young players plenty of opportunity to show us what they’ve got during the NAB Cup,” Sanderson said.
“At different times, some of our experienced players won’t be playing and we’ll get a chance to see who out of those young guys stands up.
“We’ll try to give almost every player on our list a bit of exposure.”
Squad sizes will be reduced to a maximum of 25 players in rounds two and three, and also in the NAB Cup Grand Final.
The AFL will trial an interchange cap in the NAB Cup from round two onwards.
Each match during rounds two and three and the NAB Cup Grand Final will be played with three interchange players and one substitute. In these games, Clubs will be allowed a maximum of 20 interchanges per quarter. Interchanges made at quarter-time, half-time and three-quarter-time breaks aren’t included in the cap. Nor is the activation of a substitute player.
The AFL will also experiment with some other rules at different stages of the pre-season competition.
In round one only, a free kick will be awarded against the last team, who disposes of the ball before it goes out of bounds, provided no one else touches the ball before it goes out.
For the duration of the NAB Cup, boundary and goal umpires can award free kicks when holding or high contact infringements are detected.
The ‘nine-point goal’ for successful shots from outside 50m will again be a feature.
Approved law changes for 2013 Premiership Season will also be implemented in NAB Cup:
- A free kick will now be awarded against any player who makes forceful contact below the knee of an opponent (this doesn’t apply to smothers with hands or arms).
- The bounce will continue to be used at the start of each quarter and after goals, but umpires will now throw the ball up for all field stoppages during a game.
- Separation of ruckmen at stoppages, with no contact permitted until the ball has left the umpire’s hand.
- Stricter enforcement of protected area around the player with the ball.
- Protect ball player by awarding free kick for ‘in the back’ or ‘high contact’ against a player who sits or lies on top of a tackled player.
- Stricter interpretation of holding the ball where player is tackled but doesn’t make a genuine attempt to kick or handball (including dropping, throwing and placing the ball down).
- Free kick against a player for dragging and pushing the ball back under their opponent.
- Reduce times allowed for kick-ins to 5-6 seconds (from when flags are waved) to be consistent with kicks around the ground.
Adelaide’s 2013 NAB Cup fixture
All times are ACDT
Round One (Week One)
Adelaide v St Kilda, 4:10pm at AAMI Stadium, Sunday February 17
Adelaide v Port Adelaide 6:20pm at AAMI Stadium, Sunday February 17
Round Two
Adelaide v Geelong, 2:10pm at Simonds Stadium, Saturday March 2
Round Three
Adelaide v Carlton, 7:40pm at AAMI Stadium, Friday March 8
Grand Final
TBC, 7:10pm, Friday March 15 or Saturday March 16
The AFL may schedule practice games for teams not competing in the Grand Final (TBC)
The Crows will also play a trial game to coincide with Members Day at AAMI Stadium on Saturday, February 23. The game, which starts at 11:30am, is a practice game and is NOT part of the NAB Cup competition.
