New sub rule creates tactical byplay, but also complications for AFL coaches

Key points

• Every AFL club activated their substitute at some stage during their round one match.
• Only six of the substitutions were made due to a game-ending injury.
• The rule meant coaches could pick players they knew could not play a full match.

The first real taste of the AFL’s tactical substitute’s return did not pave the way for more big men to play but introduced a new game of risk and reward.

An off-season rule change, meant AFL clubs no longer had to wait for an injury – or fabricate one – to activate their substitute, often changing the decision on substitutions from a medical call to a tactical ploy.

Tristan Xerri went down with an injury in the opening quarter in round one.Credit:Getty Images

All 18 teams used the sub in round one, only six of them due to an injury: Tom Stewart (Geelong), Jeremy Howe (Collingwood), Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne), Liam Jones (Western Bulldogs), Harry Perryman (GWS Giants) and Nick Murray (Adelaide).

Xerri’s ankle injury in the first quarter could have proven disastrous for the Kangaroos, in what always loomed as a winnable match, given coach Alastair Clarkson’s shock decision to leave fellow ruckman Todd Goldstein out.

But North Melbourne turned to third-gamer Charlie Comben and, to a lesser degree, 190-centimetre midfielder Hugh Greenwood – and managed to still win the clearances and contested possessions, as well as claim the four points.

“We took a punt and went in with one recognised ruckman, in big ‘X’, and left ‘Goldy’ out, and it didn’t look too flash at the 20-minute mark of the first quarter,” Clarkson said.

“Outside the clubs like Melbourne and Fremantle [and], perhaps, Collingwood, who have got obvious strength in both a ruckman and a guy who can play forward for them, [it is hard to play two ruckmen].

“We debated that long and hard, too, but … we tried to play two a couple of weeks ago against the Dogs, and we just found we had no zip in the legs.”

Ross Lyon learned about the risks involved with the tactical substitute.Credit:Getty Images

That theory applied to many clubs in the opening round, with the Eagles, Suns, Swans, Hawks, Bombers and Dockers replacing a ruckman or key forward with a smaller, speedier option in the third quarter or beyond.

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon went a different route, but admitted he will weigh up when to press the button on his sub in round two after an interesting turn of events on Sunday evening.

Lyon pulled small forward Dan Butler from the match in the third quarter to insert Ben Paton into the game, only for defender Jimmy Webster to suffer a corked thigh and bleeding from his eardrum in a collision shortly afterwards.

That left the Saints a man down in a tense final term, with Fremantle bringing on Bailey Banfield to take over from Matt Taberner, but the Lyon’s men defied that disadvantage to score an unlikely victory.

“We activated [our sub] just before three-quarter-time, then you could see Banfield come on, fresh legs, and your backs are really ‘tonguing it’, so it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s dangerous’,” Lyon said. “You’re trying to manipulate your freshness, so that’s why Paton rolled back to the back six for most of the last quarter; he gave us some fresh legs to handle what they were throwing at us there.

“We’ll probably consider [waiting] a little bit longer [next time, but you are] damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

Richmond rolled the dice at selection for Thursday night’s clash with Carlton, selecting premiership player Marlion Pickett despite an adductor issue hampering him in the pre-season.

The new rule made it possible, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said.

“The plan was always [for Pickett] to play 2 ½ quarters, then Jack Ross would come in, and it probably played out that way as well, so I think it worked OK,” Hardwick said.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti celebrates his goal against Hawthorn.Credit:Getty Images

“Marlion is going to get better as the season goes on … but you take a bit of a risk, obviously, hoping no one gets injured, and we got through, so we were able to pull the lever on the sub.”

One of the round’s best moments also may never have happened if not for the off-season rule tweak.

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti retired from the AFL in May last year but returned by November. Essendon’s cult hero is still working his way back to full fitness, but the Bombers picked him as the sub before unleashing him in the last quarter at Harry Jones’ expense.

Essendon fans roared in appreciation when McDonald-Tipungwuti ran onto the field and did so again when he kicked his first goal in 588 days, much to coach Brad Scott’s delight.

“The sub does give a little bit of flexibility to either play them in that role or sub them off,” Scott said.

“But we’ve gone the opposite way in the pre-season – we played him for five periods in different games, just to get match-load into him.

“He deserved his spot, but he knows better than anyone that to play 125 minutes of high-level, high-pressure AFL footy, which is the way he plays, he’s got a lot of work to do still.”

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