The AFL is preparing to brief clubs on its new contact training limit guidelines following two years of extensive data collection.
The new rules will significantly alter the way players train across the summer months like never before.
The regulations follow the death of former Richmond player Shane Tuck in 2020, who took his own life at the age of 38 and was later diagnosed with Stage 3 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
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Tuck’s death prompted a coronial inquest into head trauma, with the AFL instructed to formalise rules around contact training.
Earlier this year the AFL pledged to mandate contact limits for all clubs across the men’s and women’s programs from the 2026-27 pre-season onwards.
The overall objective is to reduce head impact, with pre-season training divided into four phases.
7NEWS can now reveal details around the new limits.
The first phase and second phases are the same, covering pre-Christmas and the fortnight after Christmas.
In this period, clubs will be permitted to have 120 minutes of contact training per week, which includes 60 minutes of high-density work.
Each drill is graded on a scale from 1-5.
For example, full contact training with no limits is classified as level 5. Warm-up drills such as five-star handball or lane kicking are level 1.
The 60 minutes per week of high-density work in phases one and two are for drills which are graded as level 3, 4 and 5.
An example of a level 3 drill would be a ball movement scenario with passive defenders and modified contact or ‘mock’ pressure.
In phase 3, clubs can execute 160 minutes of contact training per week, of which 90 minutes can be level 3-5 drills.
The last phase, which covers the weeks leading into Round 1 when scratch matches against other teams are generally organised, allows for 160 minutes of contact training, of which a sub-limit of 120 minutes can be high density.
One high-performance boss, who spoke off the record, said the new limits will be more of an issue for younger, developing teams, who require more physically arduous work to compete against the likes of Geelong and Brisbane.
Aware that it will take some time for clubs to become accustomed to the soon-to-be introduced regulations, it’s understood the AFL will work with high-performance teams this summer to assist the transition.
There will be an option for clubs to ‘smooth’ their training loads over the duration of the pre-season.
This could mean teams exceed the allowable limit of contact hours for one week but are asked to scale it back for the following week.
Some clubs start playing scratch matches in early January, while others wait until later in the month. This flexibility acknowledges that each team will have a slightly different philosophy.
The last thing the league wants is to restrict scratch matches in the lead-up to Round 1, so managing total hours across weeks and months will become an important component of this model.
This approach will also assist in providing more data — and therefore clarity — ahead of the 2027-28 pre-season.
It’s understood clubs will not be permitted to organise high-density drills on consecutive days, while any injured footballer will need to return via low-density drills before they are permitted to participate in full contact.
This will apply for any injury, not just concussion or head trauma.
And when players return to pre-season training, the AFL recommends that there should be no drill higher than level 2 in the first week back.
The AFL has spent two years sifting through hundreds of drills which are implemented across the competition to determine the level of density for each one.
They sought feedback from a variety of leading figures across the industry, including Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks, newly appointed Richmond fitness boss Selwyn Griffith, GWS footy boss Jason McCartney, St Kilda doctor Danielle Hope, Crows ruck Reilly O’Brien, Carlton assistant coach Ash Hanson and Hawthorn physio Andrew Lambert.
All training will be filmed and the GPS data made available to the league. Spot audits will also be a possibility as the AFL endeavours to keep clubs accountable, while also working with them.
It’s understood the AFL will release a de-identified summary of in-season training records at the end of this year, which will help inform the fifth phase — March to September — for 2027.
The NRL allows more contact training across the pre-season than what the AFL will under this model.
The extensive project has been overseen by the AFL’s AFLW, health and football operations boss Laura Kane, alongside league chief medical officer Dr Michael Makdissi.
Caroline O’Brien, who runs the past players program and looks after the concussion portfolio, has been heavily involved, as has Kate Gillespie-Jones, who has a PhD in concussion and works in the AFL Review Centre on a weekly basis.
It’s understood the AFL Commission has approved these changes, which will be communicated to clubs as early as Monday.
New AFL contact training phases
PHASE 1: Pre-Christmas
– 120 minutes of contract training per week
– 60 minutes of high density drills per week (level 3-5)
PHASE 2: Weeks 1 and 2 post-Christmas
– Same as Phase 1
PHASE 3: Weeks 3 and 4 post-Christmas
– 160 minutes of contact training per week
– 90 minutes of high density drills
PHASE 4: Weeks 5+ post-Christmas, until the season commences
– 160 minutes of contact training per week
– 120 minutes of high density work
– 160 minutes of contract training per week
– 90 minutes of high density drills
