AFL Introduces Contact-Training Limits in Bid to Reduce Concussions

The AFL will restrict how much contact training players can undertake from the 2027 season in an effort to reduce concussion and head trauma. The rules will apply to all 18 clubs, which must audit contact sessions and provide video footage to the league when requested.

The initial weekly limit is 120 minutes, including 60 minutes of high-intensity contact training. From the fifth week of pre-season, the limit rises to 160 total minutes, including 120 minutes of high-intensity work. Clubs cannot schedule high-intensity contact training on consecutive days, and the league recommends using such drills sparingly across all levels of contact.

The measures will initially govern the men’s pre-season. The AFL plans to introduce rules for in-season training later, while a separate consultation process beginning in September will develop an adjusted framework for the AFLW competition. The restrictions will not apply to community football, where the league is preparing a new release of concussion guidelines.

The framework follows 2023 recommendations from the Victorian coroner’s investigation into the death of former Richmond player Shane Tuck. Tuck died by suicide in July 2020 and was later diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain condition. The AFL developed the limits through consultations involving coaches, club doctors and data analysts.

Concussion remains one of the league’s most pressing issues. The AFL fined Geelong A$140,000 last month over a concussion waiver involving Jake Kolodjashnij. In 2024, Geelong reached a secret agreement with Kolodjashnij under which he accepted legal responsibility for future brain trauma, an arrangement intended to protect the club and its medical staff from future court action.

Several players, including former Melbourne star Angus Brayshaw, West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern and premiership Magpie Nathan Murphy, were forced to retire because of repeated concussions. A multi-million-dollar class action against the AFL, led by former Geelong defender Max Rooke, is pending in the Supreme Court of Victoria and is scheduled for trial next year.