THE AFL has reiterated that both the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge matches will be used to trial new rules, quashing any suggestion of confusion on the eve of the season proper.
In previous years, trial rules were removed once teams were knocked out of the NAB Cup, but League spokesman Patrick Keane said it had been widely communicated that they would continue right throughout this pre-season period.
"When the AFL announced the laws of the game decisions for 2009, on December 15 last year, the main areas it was broken down into were five areas and there were four minor rule changes for the 2009 season," Keane told afl.com.au.
"There were two new interpretations for the 2009 season and one change to the regulations for the 2009 season. There were also three trial rules that would apply for both the NAB Cup and the NAB Challenge that are being looked at for the 2009 season.
"And then we revised the NAB Cup to discard some rules to bring it more in line with the premiership season. Obviously in that case, we've seen the end of things like bringing the ball in 10 metres when it's thrown in from a boundary line throw-in."
Keane added that three rules had the potential to enter the home-and-away rounds, but their possible inclusion would be based on their success in the pre-season competition.
"We want to look at three rules pretty closely as to whether they come in this year, which are the rushed behind, the no-go zone behind umpires and pulling a player down after he's got rid of the ball – which can now be a free-kick and a 50-metre penalty," he said.
"We told all clubs in December last year that the trial rules would apply for both the NAB Cup and the NAB Challenge, so we had 32 games to look at to base our evidence on.
"In the past, it's always been that once you were knocked out of the NAB Cup, any trial rules didn't continue into the NAB Challenge.
"But we changed that for this year, so that we had the last possible body of evidence to look at before we make a decision."
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