The traditional Thursday night team announcements could be a thing of the past.
SEN's Ashley Browne reports that the AFL is set to stick with the 2020 campaign's rolling team line-ups announced the day prior to games.
Amid a season of chaos that required flexibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic - which saw games played every day of the week during the 'footy frenzy' - the AFL opted for rolling team announcements as opposed to the customary Thursday night release.
It proved a nightmare for AFL Fantasy and SuperCoach fans, who had to gradually lock in parts of their team as the round progressed without knowing who was playing.
Speaking on SEN radio, Browne said that the Thursday night selection could now be vanquished moving forward.
“It looks like the Thursday night team selection, that has been such a big part of the footy season for as long as we can remember, might be gone,” Browne told SEN’s Bob & Andy.
“The AFL look like they’re going to bring in, as they did last year during COVID times, announcing the teams the night before.
“So, no more Thursday night ritual.”
Browne reports that clubs liked having the extra time to set their line-ups in 2020, and the league noticed less late changes.
As the competition continues to rally back from the COVID-interrupted 2020 season, maintaining flexibility with team line-ups looks to be the way of the future.
“The clubs quite like the flexibility last year of only having to name it the night before,” he added.
“The AFL found there were far fewer changes and late changes that teams make.
“The AFL is still in a bit of a COVID footing for 2021 and I think that’s one thing the aren’t going to bring back anytime soon.”
The AFL will return to its regular 23-round fixture in 2021 and 20-minute quarters, but introduced a range of new rules to games.
They include infringements for players moving laterally on the mark and a reduction of interchanges.
