AFL chief in retreat on trialling new rules

GILLON McLachlan has backed down quickly from trialling new rules in deadrubber AFL matches after a heated backlash.

Two days after the AFL chief executive floated the idea, he conceded it was unlikely to happen.

“The way it’s running is that two-thirds of people think it’s a bad idea and a one-third think it’s good, that’s my assessment,” McLachlan told 3AW yesterday.

“I reckon any time people’s view about ‘why not’ is that it actually is a risk to the integrity of the game, means you can’t do it.

“I personally don’t quite see it like that, but if that’s what senior people and, more importantly the public feel, then you can’t do it.”

The AFL has used four club training sessions to see how proposed rules might work, with St Kilda on Thursday the latest guinea pig.

Football operations boss Steve Hocking has floated the idea of scratch matches, using VFL players whose AFL affiliates are in finals contention.

But McLachlan went a big step further on Wednesday, saying in an SEN interview that AFL games might be used in the last five rounds.

He said the league might trial rules in games involving teams out of the finals race.

But that immediately raised integrity issues, particularly around areas such as the draft and Brownlow Medal voting.

AFL legend Leigh Matthews, one of the game’s most respected figures, led the charge against the idea.

“Clearly some questioned whether it was an integrity issue and that’s what I think the majority think, so I don’t think you can do it,” McLachlan said.