Bumping, along with contested possessions and marks, ruck contests, tackling and shepherding, is emphasised in a new charter that aims to keep AFL football physically tough.
The charter, which is designed to provide a reference point for the Laws of the Game Committee when it considers changes to the rules, is to be released on Friday.
Click here to read a PDF of the Laws of the Game charter
One of its nine guiding principles will be that "Australian Football at AFL level should be maintained as a physically tough and contested game…"
The charter says the AFL will make laws that encourage "continuous and free flowing football … ahead of repetitive short passages of play", ensuring that relieving congestion remains a priority for the committee.
However it will hose down talk of zones being introduced to relieve on-field congestion by stating there will be "few restrictions on where players can be located across the ground".
When Laws of the Game committee member John Worsfold revealed in June that the prospect of zones had been floated, coaches Nathan Buckley and Paul Roos slammed the idea, with Roos saying a new game "zoneball" should be invented.
The average number of contested possession and contested marks per team has been dropping steadily since 2011, with clubs averaging 138.7 contested possessions and 9.3 contested marks a game so far this season.
The issue of whether the game was becoming less physical was highlighted when the AFL Tribunal suspended Melbourne's Jack Viney for two weeks after he clashed heads when bumping Adelaide's Tom Lynch in round seven.
The suspension was revoked on appeal after Viney's evidence that he braced rather than bumped Lynch was accepted.
The charter also says players who make "winning the ball their primary objective" will be rewarded and protected.
Supergoals, a quirky feature of the pre-season that saw nine points awarded for goals kicked from outside 50, will not be part of premiership season with the scoring to be maintained as six points for a goal and one point for a behind.
The eight-page charter will also give the AFL Commission guidance when it considers recommendations from the Laws of the Game Committee.
Football operations manager Mark Evans told Fox Footy's On the Couch earlier this season, "The charter will be a document where the commission says to the laws of the game committee, this is how we direct you to consider your analysis of the game and make recommendations to us so it ordinarily won't change but it could change from time to time."
Among the fundamental elements included are that the game should be played on an oval-shaped ball and ground for four quarters and involve 18 players on each team.
The charter permits handpassing, but does not allow the ball to be thrown and says laws should encourage spectacular marking and goals.
The document says that rule and interpretation changes should be considered if there is "an opportunity to further enhance or address trends that threaten the principles of the Laws of the Game".
