THE AFL'S decision to slash clubs' match-day staff was met with varied reaction, from indifference to disappointment and bemusement.
Australian football's obsession with American sports – from rules to the draft experience – does not stretch to how many people are on the sidelines.
The NFL, for instance, is well known for having enormous numbers of players, coaches and other staff bordering the field of play.
There are so many that the NFL even developed a colour scheme to illustrate which role staff are performing.
AFL teams will have 26 people in various non-playing roles in 2019, down from last year's 30, and only 12 are permitted on the bench.
They can also have just six staff from the coach's box enter the field pre-match and in the breaks.
The League's head of football operations Steve Hocking has distanced these changes from the thinking behind last year's nine rule changes, which was geared towards a more "instinctive" game.
Instead, Hocking listed the sport's aesthetics for spectators as the driving force behind the change, which also had safety in mind.
Coaches and football administrators who spoke to AFL.com.au in the past week were united in saying the decrease wasn't a major issue, but several questioned whether any tinkering was necessary.
Clubs have had to make tough calls on who won't be on the interchange bench, with some staff members with decades-long involvement informed they won't be boundary-side this season.
"It feels like the industry is getting bigger and bigger everywhere except club football departments, which have been under siege a bit," an assistant coach told AFL.com.au.
"Even the AFLW clubs, there's a cap on their footy spending.
"Surely, we should be encouraging more spending in women's footy – not capping it so hard that clubs have only one or two full-time staff."
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The AFL's sole requirement for clubs' bench employees is for there to be two doctors and two physiotherapists among the 12.
Beyond that, it is up to teams' discretion on who they want at ground level, with one football manager saying there was "no upside" in telling someone they were less valued.
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Alternatively, others were unfussed with the impact it would have on their match-day experience.
Some clubs' tendency to run a tight operation, especially on interstate trips, meant there would need to be only a slight adjustment.
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One coach, responding to the limit in on-field personnel during the breaks, was adamant senior coaches had a select few they turned to most.
The suggestion was there were multiple "non-contributors" or "spares", between the coach's box and the bench, who could be culled easily enough.
