Sports

Everything you need to know about the AFL’s 2026 rule changes

Today Statement March 5, 2026 1 minute read

Video: Everything you need to know about the AFL’s 2026 rule changes

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

The AFL has seven rule changes coming into effect for the 2026 season. Sports writer for The Age, Andrew Wu, breaks down what you need to know.

March 5, 2026 — 1.05pm

Today Statement

Administrator

Visit Website View All Posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

{"prefetch":[{"source":"document","where":{"and":[{"href_matches":"/*"},{"not":{"href_matches":["/wp-*.php","/wp-admin/*","/wp-content/uploads/*","/wp-content/*","/wp-content/plugins/*","/wp-content/themes/general-news/*","/wp-content/themes/morenews/*","/*\\?(.+)"]}},{"not":{"selector_matches":"a[rel~=\"nofollow\"]"}},{"not":{"selector_matches":".no-prefetch, .no-prefetch a"}}]},"eagerness":"conservative"}]} var AFlocalizedTime = {"format":"en-US"}; //# sourceURL=morenews-script-js-extravar afLiveSearch = {"ajax_url":"https://todaystatement.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php","searching_text":"Searching...","enabled":"1","results_count":"3","nonce":"f200102078"}; //# sourceURL=morenews-live-search-js-extra {"baseUrl":"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72x72/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/svg/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https://todaystatement.com/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=7.0.4"}} /*! This file is auto-generated */ var e="script#wp-emoji-settings",t=document.querySelector(e);if(!(t instanceof HTMLScriptElement))throw new Error("Element missing: "+e);const r=JSON.parse(t.text),s=(window._wpemojiSettings=r,"wpEmojiSettingsSupports"),o=["flag","emoji"];function i(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(s,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function c(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0);const r=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);return t.every((e,t)=>e===r[t])}function p(e,t){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var n=e.getImageData(16,16,1,1);for(let e=0;e<n.data.length;e++)if(0!==n.data[e])return!1;return!0}function u(e,t,n,r){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf6","\ud83c\udde8\u200b\ud83c\uddf6")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!r(e,"\ud83e\u1fac8")}return!1}function f(e,t,n,r){let a;const s=(a="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):document.createElement("canvas")).getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(s.textBaseline="top",s.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(e=>{o[e]=t(s,e,n,r)}),o}function a(e){var t=document.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,document.head.appendChild(t)}r.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},new Promise(t=>{let n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(s));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(o),u.toString(),c.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"});const a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=e=>{i(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}i(n=f(o,u,c,p))}t(n)}).then(e=>{for(const n in e)r.supports[n]=e[n],r.supports.everything=r.supports.everything&&r.supports[n],"flag"!==n&&(r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&r.supports[n]);var t;r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!r.supports.flag,r.supports.everything||((t=r.source||{}).concatemoji?a(t.concatemoji):t.wpemoji&&t.twemoji&&(a(t.twemoji),a(t.wpemoji)))}); //# sourceURL=https://todaystatement.com/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-loader.min.jsvar __defProp=Object.defineProperty;var __name=(target,value)=>__defProp(target,"name",{value,configurable:!0});var bvPartialDelayJsUrlPatterns=JSON.parse(atob("W10=")),bvPartialDelayJsInlinePatterns=JSON.parse(atob("W10=")),BV_DEBUG_MODE=!1;function bvDebugLog(...args){BV_DEBUG_MODE&&console.log(...args)}__name(bvDebugLog,"bvDebugLog");var bv_partial_delay_js_url_patterns=typeof bvPartialDelayJsUrlPatterns<"u"&&Array.isArray(bvPartialDelayJsUrlPatterns)?bvPartialDelayJsUrlPatterns:[],bv_partial_delay_js_inline_patterns=typeof bvPartialDelayJsInlinePatterns<"u"&&Array.isArray(bvPartialDelayJsInlinePatterns)?bvPartialDelayJsInlinePatterns:[];function bv_is_script_excluded(scriptElement){if(!scriptElement)return!1;if(scriptElement.hasAttribute("bv-exclude"))return!0;var source=scriptElement.getAttribute("src")||scriptElement.src||"";if(source)return bv_partial_delay_js_url_patterns.some(function(pattern){return pattern&&source.indexOf(pattern)!==-1});var content=scriptElement.textContent||"";return bv_partial_delay_js_inline_patterns.some(function(pattern){return pattern&&content.indexOf(pattern)!==-1})}__name(bv_is_script_excluded,"bv_is_script_excluded");function bv_override_browser_listener(target){var bv_og_add_event_listener=target.addEventListener,bv_og_remove_event_listener=target.removeEventListener;function bv_handle_event_listeners(type,listener,options){var handledEvents=["readystatechange","DOMContentLoaded","load","pageshow"],eventName=type;bv_is_script_excluded(document.currentScript)||(eventName=handledEvents.indexOf(type)!==-1?"Airlift"+type:type),arguments[0]=eventName,bv_og_add_event_listener.apply(target,arguments)}__name(bv_handle_event_listeners,"bv_handle_event_listeners");function bv_handle_remove_event_listener(type,listener,options){var handledEvents=["readystatechange","DOMContentLoaded","load","pageshow"],eventName=type;bv_is_script_excluded(document.currentScript)||(eventName=handledEvents.indexOf(type)!==-1?"Airlift"+type:type),arguments[0]=eventName,bv_og_remove_event_listener.apply(target,arguments)}__name(bv_handle_remove_event_listener,"bv_handle_remove_event_listener"),target.addEventListener=function(type,listener,options){bv_handle_event_listeners(type,listener,options)},target.removeEventListener=function(type,listener,options){bv_handle_remove_event_listener(type,listener,options)}}__name(bv_override_browser_listener,"bv_override_browser_listener"),bv_override_browser_listener(window),bv_override_browser_listener(document);function bv_override_property_listeners(target,eventType){if(!target||typeof target!="object"){console.error("bv_override_property_listeners: Invalid target",target);return}var airliftPropertyName="on"+eventType,existingDescriptor=Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(target,airliftPropertyName);if(existingDescriptor&&!existingDescriptor.configurable){console.warn("Cannot override "+airliftPropertyName+": property is not configurable");return}var bv_internalHandler=null,airliftEventName="Airlift"+eventType,bvWrapperFunction=__name(function(e){if(bv_internalHandler)try{bv_internalHandler(e)}catch(error){console.error("Error in "+airliftPropertyName+" handler:",error)}},"bvWrapperFunction");try{Object.defineProperty(target,airliftPropertyName,{get:__name(function(){return bv_internalHandler},"get"),set:__name(function(handler){if(handler!=null&&typeof handler!="function"){console.warn("Invalid handler for "+airliftPropertyName+", ignoring");return}handler?(bv_internalHandler||target.addEventListener(airliftEventName,bvWrapperFunction),bv_internalHandler=handler):(bv_internalHandler=null,target.removeEventListener(airliftEventName,bvWrapperFunction))},"set"),enumerable:!0,configurable:!0})}catch(error){console.error("Failed to override "+airliftPropertyName+":",error)}}__name(bv_override_property_listeners,"bv_override_property_listeners"),bv_override_property_listeners(window,"load"),bv_override_property_listeners(window,"pageshow"),bv_override_property_listeners(document,"DOMContentLoaded"),bv_override_property_listeners(document,"readystatechange");function bv_override_document_write(){var bv_original_write=document.write,bv_original_writeln=document.writeln;function bv_handle_document_write(scriptElement,content){try{if(content==null)return;if(content=String(content),bv_is_script_excluded(scriptElement))return bv_original_write.call(document,content);var container=null;if(scriptElement&&scriptElement.documentWriteContainer?container=scriptElement.documentWriteContainer:(container=document.createElement("span"),scriptElement&&(scriptElement.documentWriteContainer=container,scriptElement.documentWriteBuffer="")),!scriptElement||scriptElement.documentWriteBuffer===void 0)if(scriptElement)scriptElement.documentWriteBuffer="";else return;scriptElement.documentWriteBuffer+=content,scriptElement.flushScheduled||(scriptElement.flushScheduled=!0,Promise.resolve().then(function(){container.insertAdjacentHTML("beforeend",scriptElement.documentWriteBuffer);var tempDiv=document.createElement("span");tempDiv.innerHTML=scriptElement.documentWriteBuffer;var scriptsInContent=tempDiv.querySelectorAll("script");scriptsInContent.length>0&&scriptsInContent.forEach(function(oldScript){try{var newScript=document.createElement("script"),attributes=oldScript.getAttributeNames();attributes.forEach(function(attr){try{newScript.setAttribute(attr,oldScript.getAttribute(attr))}catch{bvDebugLog("Not able to set Attribute:")}}),newScript.async=!1,!oldScript.src&&oldScript.textContent&&(newScript.textContent=oldScript.textContent),newScript.setAttribute("bv-document-write","");var insertPoint2=scriptElement||document.currentScript;setTimeout(function(){try{insertPoint2&&insertPoint2.parentNode?insertPoint2.parentNode.insertBefore(newScript,insertPoint2.nextSibling):document.head&&document.head.appendChild(newScript)}catch(error){console.error("Error inserting document.write script:",error)}},0)}catch(error){console.error("Error processing document.write script:",error)}}),scriptElement.documentWriteBuffer="",scriptElement.flushScheduled=!1}));var insertPoint=scriptElement||document.currentScript;if(!container.parentNode)if(insertPoint&&insertPoint.parentNode)insertPoint.parentNode.insertBefore(container,insertPoint.nextSibling);else if(document.body)document.body.appendChild(container);else{console.warn("document.body not ready for document.write, deferring"),typeof window<"u"&&window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){document.body&&!container.parentNode&&document.body.appendChild(container)});return}}catch(error){console.error("Error in document.write handler:",error);try{bv_original_write.call(document,content)}catch(e){console.error("Fallback document.write also failed:",e)}}}__name(bv_handle_document_write,"bv_handle_document_write"),document.write=function(content){bv_handle_document_write(document.currentScript,content)},document.writeln=function(content){bv_handle_document_write(document.currentScript,content+` `)}}__name(bv_override_document_write,"bv_override_document_write"),bv_override_document_write(); var bv_font_url="https://todaystatement.com/wp-content/uploads/al_opt_content/CSS//6583a09058f61480622fa3d7e8b68c37.css";window.addEventListener("load",function(){var link=document.createElement("link");link.rel="stylesheet",link.href=bv_font_url,document.head.appendChild(link)}); var __defProp=Object.defineProperty;var __name=(target,value)=>__defProp(target,"name",{value,configurable:!0});const IMAGE_URL_ATTRIBUTES=["data-src","data-lazy-original","data-lazy-src","data-lazysrc","data-lazysrcset","data-lazy-srcset","data-envira-src","data-srcset","bv-data-src","bv-data-srcset","data-large_image","data-depicter-src","data-depicter-srcset","data-orig-src"],IMAGE_EXTENSIONS=["jpg","jpeg","png","gif","svg","jpe","webp","avif"],BV_CDN_URL="",BV_SITE_OPT_PATH="al_opt_content";var BV_IS_RESIZE_ENABLED=!0,BV_IMAGES_NOT_TO_RESIZE=[],BV_IMAGE_OPTIMIZATION_FORMAT="webp";function isValidUrl(url){return!!/^https?:\/\//i.test(url)}__name(isValidUrl,"isValidUrl");function isImage(url){let img_ext=getExtension(url);return!!IMAGE_EXTENSIONS.includes(img_ext)}__name(isImage,"isImage");function getImageDeviceName(resized_infos_str,dimensions){let device_width=window.outerWidth;if(resized_infos_str){const device_size_infos=resized_infos_str.split(";");for(const device_info of device_size_infos){const[device_name,resized_dim]=device_info.split(":"),[width_str,height_str]=resized_dim.split("*"),width=parseInt(width_str,10),height=parseInt(height_str,10);if(dimensions.width<=width&&dimensions.height<=height&&device_width<=width)return device_name}return""}return device_width<=480?"bv_resized_mobile":device_width<=820?"bv_resized_ipad":device_width<=1536?"bv_resized_desktop":""}__name(getImageDeviceName,"getImageDeviceName");function isWebpSupported(){var elem=document.createElement("canvas");return elem.getContext&&elem.getContext("2d")?elem.toDataURL("image/webp").indexOf("data:image/webp")==0:!1}__name(isWebpSupported,"isWebpSupported");function getImageOptimizationFormat(){var format=(BV_IMAGE_OPTIMIZATION_FORMAT||"webp").toLowerCase();return format==="avif"?"avif":"webp"}__name(getImageOptimizationFormat,"getImageOptimizationFormat");function getImageOptimizationSuffix(){return".bv."+getImageOptimizationFormat()}__name(getImageOptimizationSuffix,"getImageOptimizationSuffix");function isAvifSupported(callback){var avif=new Image;avif.onload=function(){callback(avif.width>0&&avif.height>0)},avif.onerror=function(){callback(!1)},avif.src="data:image/avif;base64,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"}__name(isAvifSupported,"isAvifSupported");function getImageOptimizationFormatSupport(callback){getImageOptimizationFormat()==="avif"?isAvifSupported(callback):callback(isWebpSupported())}__name(getImageOptimizationFormatSupport,"getImageOptimizationFormatSupport");function getExtension(url){return url.split("?")[0].split(".").pop().toLowerCase()}__name(getExtension,"getExtension");function getNewImageUrlQuery(url,image_format_status,dimensions){let url_and_query_string=url.split("?"),new_url=url_and_query_string[0],query_string=url_and_query_string[1];if(!image_format_status)return query_string?url_and_query_string[0]+`?${query_string}`:url_and_query_string[0];let params=new URLSearchParams(query_string),resized_infos=params.get("bv-resized-infos");params.delete("bv-resized-infos"),query_string=params.toString();var shouldResize=BV_IS_RESIZE_ENABLED&&!BV_IMAGES_NOT_TO_RESIZE.some(pattern=>new_url.includes(pattern));if(shouldResize){let device_name=getImageDeviceName(resized_infos,dimensions),img_ext=getExtension(new_url);device_name!=""&&(new_url+="."+device_name+"."+img_ext)}return new_url+=getImageOptimizationSuffix(),query_string&&(new_url+=`?${query_string}`),new_url}__name(getNewImageUrlQuery,"getNewImageUrlQuery");function isOurCdnImage(url){const hasCdnUrl=typeof BV_CDN_URL=="string"&&BV_CDN_URL.length>0,hasSiteOptPath=typeof BV_SITE_OPT_PATH=="string"&&BV_SITE_OPT_PATH.length>0;return!!(hasCdnUrl&&url.includes(BV_CDN_URL)||hasSiteOptPath&&url.includes(BV_SITE_OPT_PATH))}__name(isOurCdnImage,"isOurCdnImage");function canChangeUrl(url){return getExtension(url)==="svg"||url.includes("data:image")?!1:!!isOurCdnImage(url)}__name(canChangeUrl,"canChangeUrl");function handleNodeElements(node_elements,img_url_attrs,webp_status){node_elements.forEach(node_element=>{img_url_attrs.forEach(attr=>{flag=!1,node_element.hasAttribute(attr)&&(attr_val=node_element.getAttribute(attr),new_val="",attr_val.split(",").forEach(src=>{let src_parts=src.trim().split(" "),clean_url=src_parts.shift();if(flag?new_val+=",":flag=!0,isValidUrl(clean_url)&&isImage(clean_url))if(canChangeUrl(clean_url)){let new_url=getNewImageUrlQuery(clean_url,webp_status,node_element.getBoundingClientRect());new_val+=[new_url].concat(src_parts).join(" ")}else new_val+=src;else new_val+=src}),node_element.setAttribute(attr,new_val))})})}__name(handleNodeElements,"handleNodeElements");function handleTagWithStyle(tag_elements_with_style,webp_status){tag_elements_with_style.forEach(tag_element=>{let img_url=tag_element.getAttribute("bv-style-url");if(img_url&&isValidUrl(img_url)&&isImage(img_url)&&canChangeUrl(img_url)){let new_img_url=getNewImageUrlQuery(img_url,webp_status,tag_element.getBoundingClientRect()),style_attr_val=tag_element.getAttribute("bv-data-style");style_attr_val&&(new_style_val=style_attr_val.replace(img_url,new_img_url),tag_element.setAttribute("bv-data-style",new_style_val))}})}__name(handleTagWithStyle,"handleTagWithStyle"),getImageOptimizationFormatSupport(function(image_format_status){let img_tags=document.querySelectorAll(".bv-tag-attr-replace");handleNodeElements(img_tags,IMAGE_URL_ATTRIBUTES,image_format_status);let tag_elements_with_style=document.querySelectorAll(".bv-style-attr-replace");handleTagWithStyle(tag_elements_with_style,image_format_status)});