The League today wrote to all 18 clubs advising of the changes which will see two extra substitute players introduced for rounds two and three of the pre-season competition, in addition to the pre-existing three interchange players, one substitute and trial on rotations.
The move provides clubs greater scope to manage player welfare and safety when competing in extreme conditions.
Port Adelaide played consecutive games against St Kilda and Adelaide in temperatures in excess of 38 degrees in the opening weekend of the NAB Cup last Sunday.
Similar conditions have been anticipated for Port’s forthcoming games in regional areas Renmark and Alice Springs.
In the event league officials judge conditions in either game to be extreme, the three substitutes will become permanent match players, increasing benches to six.
Port Adelaide director of coaching and strategy Alan Richardson welcomes the AFL’s move.
“Given the trying conditions we experienced last weekend in our first NAB Cup games, we were certainly concerned about the potential impact of playing another two games in areas where we know it can be very hot,” Richardson told portadelaiefc.com.au.
“This is a really sensible outcome in that it gives us cover in the event of extreme conditions, while also providing flexibility in the amount of minutes we can put into our players and particularly our new players ahead of the main season.
“And importantly, if conditions aren’t too bad we will also meet everyone’s need to have a look at how the capped rotations system might apply on a trial basis.”
