THE 2010 NAB Cup will commence this weekend, with Australia’s number one sporting competition resuming on-field hostilities on Friday February 12, some 139 days since the Geelong Cats claimed the 2009 premiership with victory over St Kilda.
The Cats will also defend the NAB Cup in 2010, having beaten Collingwood in last year’s final in front of nearly 40,000 fans at Etihad Stadium.
AFL Football Operations Manager Adrian Anderson today launched the 2010 competition, which will see matches in all states and territories as part of the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge, and an emphasis on three trial rules for examination.
The AFL Commission, following a recommendation by the Laws Committee, determined there would be no significant changes to the Laws of the Game for the 2010 year, but the NAB Cup would continue to be used as an opportunity for the AFL to examine potential rule options. Following an extensive period of consultation through 2009, Mr Anderson said the details on each rule to be trialled were as follows:
- Boundary Umpires permitted to award free kicks for holding and high contact infringements at stoppages
Mr Anderson said boundary umpires can be in a good position for viewing these situations and this change will allow them to award free kicks when holding or high contact infringements are detected. Boundary umpires will be trained up on this skill over the pre-season.
- Advantage Rule - Player, not Umpire, decides if there is an advantage
“The current advantage rule can often be confusing because it requires a subjective assessment by the umpire of whether a player has an advantage.
“Under the trial, if a player elects to take the advantage the play will be allowed to continue. This puts the onus on the coaches and players to decide whether or not they will take the advantage in any given situation.”
- Holding the ball paid against a player who drags the ball underneath his opponent.
“Clubs have confirmed the prevalence of a player dragging the ball underneath their opponent in an attempt to gain a free kick. On some occasions the player on the bottom has been incorrectly penalised and this tactic is against the spirit and intent of the holding the ball rule,” Mr Anderson said.
The AFL has fixtured the opening round of the NAB Cup over a two-week period so as to enable a greater number of prime television slots for the broadcast of matches, as well as being able to avoid day-time heat wherever possible in the late summer months.
Blacktown Olympic Park, the future home of Team GWS that will join the competition in 2012 as the AFL’s 18th side, will host its first senior AFL match as part of the 2010 NAB Cup.
Blacktown Olympic Park, which hosted matches in last year’s NAB AFL Under 16s Championships, will host a showcase round one game on Saturday February 20 between the Sydney Swans and Carlton, to be broadcast nationally on Network Ten.
The NAB Cup fixture also features matches across the country with games to be played in Canberra and Launceston outside the traditional capital cities, while NAB Regional Challenge matches will be taken to venues that don’t normally host AFL football. As part of the NAB Challenge, a match will be played in Yea in country Victoria to support those areas devastated by last year’s bushfires.
“Fixturing the Sydney Swans and Carlton at our new facility at Blacktown Olympic Park is a major step towards bringing elite AFL football to the greater West of Sydney,” Mr Anderson said.
National Australia Bank’s General Manager of Corporate Responsibility and Brands, Tim O’Leary, said NAB was delighted that the NAB Cup and NAB Challenge would again extend to reach many Australian communities.
“We are particularly pleased to see a match scheduled for Yea. This will no doubt be important to all levels of the local football community after the devastating bushfires that struck country Victoria in early 2009,” Mr O’Leary said.
“The ability to take the AFL to thousands of people around the country who don’t often get a chance to experience the footy is one of the three features of the competition most significant to NAB.
“The second is innovation; testing new rules, new arrangements and new approaches to the game. And thirdly, realising potential; young players testing themselves at the elite level. We believe these unique attributes make the NAB Cup an important part of the competition,” he said.
All matches in the 2010 NAB Cup will be broadcast by one of the AFL’s television partners - the Seven Network, Network Ten and Fox Sports, while the AFL has been able to schedule around the summer tour by AC/DC and cricket commitments for a number of venues.
The venue for the 2010 NAB Cup Grand Final will be at the discretion of the AFL, to maximise the match attendance and the viewing audience, as per what occurred for the 2009 Final.
