The last-minute rule change has frustrated players,who also maintain concern thatextending game time while cutting rotations could be a “barrier” to pandemic fixture flexibility.

Marsh said the combination of the new man-on-the-mark rule,a cut to rotations and extending quarters back to 20 minutes from 16 minutes this season would become a “real issue” if the league made requests to play games off short breaks,as happened in 2020’s pandemic-affected season.

He also said that the injury substitution would likely not have been necessary if quarters were kept at 16 minutes or extended to 18 minutes,and if rotations were not cut from 90 to 75 per game,as was the union’s wish.

Coaches have pushed for the introduction of substitutions in an attempt to ease player fatigue.

“To go straight back to normal length games with fewer rotations is going to be a real issue if it comes to requests to compress the fixture. I don’t believe it will be possible from a player’s perspective,” Marsh said.

“We spoke to the player leaders about it[concussion/injury substitution] over the weekend. It is something the players will live with,there is real frustration with the process here – why are we,a week out from the season,considering these changes when this was foreseeable and this should have been thought through last year.

“The broader injury sub,I think the players would prefer this to be limited to concussion.”

“The starting point for this[substitute] was concussion … and the combination of the man-on-the-mark rule,increasing scoring,making the quarters longer,[less] rotations meaning there’s more stress on the players and then that stress goes up even more if a player is concussed.

“The pressure that potentially puts on the individual player to try to position that they’re not concussed to the doctor to take pressure off the rest of the team.

“What happens if a player goes off who is injured,is replaced,and then a player goes down with concussion five minutes later? Are you addressing the core problem then?”

Marsh said the AFLPA made their opposition to the interchange cuts and increased quarter lengths clear last year.

The decision to make the substitute medical – meaning any game-ending injury,not just concussion,would trigger a substitution – would mean that both Richmond and Geelong would have been able to substitute Nick Vlastuin and Gary Ablett respectively inlast year’s grand final,had Ablett been deemed unfit to continue.