The AFL has updated Tribunal guidelines ahead of the 2023 in an effort to crack down on legal loopholes, like the one Carlton's Patrick Cripps used last year to avoid suspension.
The league announced 13 amendments to the Tribunal guidelines on Tuesday, notably adjusting the definition of "front-on contact" in a bid to better protect players from head knocks, while also cracking down on umpire contact.
Perhaps the most interesting change to the guidelines though comes in the legal section, where the league has made changes to avoid players managing to escape suspension due to procedural errors.
Last season, Carlton skipper Cripps had his two-game rough conduct ban overturned on appeal after originally being found guilty at the Tribunal, with the Appeals Board eventually finding that there had been an error in the law during the initial proceedings.
The league has tightened that guideline, now saying there will only be grounds to appeal if the error of law had a "material impact" on the decision.
"Previously, an error of law that had no substantive impact on a Tribunal's reasoning or decision could be a ground for appeal," the updated guideline reads.
"The AFL Regulations and Tribunal Guidelines have been amended to provide that the relevant ground of appeal is that there was an error of law that had a material impact on the Tribunal's decision."
Intriguingly, Cripps then went on to win the 2022 Brownlow Medal, the award bestowed upon the league's best and fairest player.
The league has also updated the guidelines around umpire conduct, stating that players may now also be found guilty of intentional conduct with an umpire if they push or hold an opponent into an umpire or their path.
Meanwhile, the definition of a strike has now been updated to include an open hand, not exclusively a closed fist.
