The AFL has introduced many new rules over the past few years to help make the game faster and more entertaining for the fans.
While some changes have improved the game, others have made it confusing and matches at times, difficult to watch.
Last weekend, in Round 16, there were numerous instances of confusing free kicks given and it was overall a very bland round of footy.
Because of this, I have decided to list some of the AFL's rules, especially the ones brought in this year, and rank them in three categories: Red light (needs to go!), green light (yes, can stay) and amber (caution/needs a tweak).
Lasso
The Lasso rule is one of the seven new rules brought into the league in 2026. It was brought in to help speed up the game and eliminate stoppages while getting rid of the need for umpires to pay deliberate - and it is doing just that.
Teams have had to find a way to speed up their ball movement if they want to compete with the best teams and it's showing as the teams in the top six are all very fast movers of the ball. The only down side that annoys AFL fans is the fact that the ARC seems to intervene what seems like every time the ball goes out of bounds.
Verdict: Green
