AFL introduces league-wide limits on pre-season contact training to reduce head trauma

The AFL has introduced its first league-wide limits on contact training for elite men’s and women’s players, beginning in the “coming men’s pre-season,” as part of a broader effort to reduce head trauma and concussions.

Announced Monday in a statement on AFL.com.au, the policy sets weekly caps on how much full-contact work clubs can schedule during pre-season. Clubs will be limited to either 120 minutes or 160 minutes of total contact training per week, with the maximum rising as pre-season progresses. Within that overall total, there will also be a cap on “high-intensity” contact training of 60, 90 or 120 minutes, depending on the stage of pre-season.

The AFL said clubs will no longer be allowed to run high-intensity contact training on consecutive days. It also said players returning from a break will face limits on the type and intensity of contact training, with lower-intensity work required initially.

The framework applies across both AFL and AFLW programs, although the league said further restrictions for the season, and for AFLW pre-season and in-season periods, will be confirmed later. The AFL also said it will add a dedicated resource to “monitor, evaluate and continue to evolve” the way the limits are managed, with settings to be refined as more data is collected.

The league said the changes were developed after two years of data collection and consultation involving clubs, coaches, medical staff, the AFL Players Association and the AFL Coaches Association. In its review, the AFL said it found “variable levels of contact training across AFL programs” but also identified clear risk points.

“The AFL found variable levels of contact training across AFL programs albeit with some consistent themes including, importantly, that concussions occurred most commonly in match simulation and small-sided high intensity drills,” the league said. It added: “There was also found to be no correlation between volume of contact training and ladder position.”

That finding is central to the AFL’s case for intervention: the league is arguing that reducing and better structuring contact work can address a documented injury risk without obvious evidence that higher volumes improve team performance.

The AFL also linked the policy directly to recommendations made by the Victorian coroner after the 2023 inquest into the death of former AFL player Shane Tuck. In findings released in December 2023, the coroner recommended the league consider rules and guidelines limiting contact training in the off-season, pre-season and during the season. The AFL has previously acknowledged the link between head trauma and neurodegenerative disease, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a brain disease associated with repeated head impacts.

Laura Kane, the AFL executive general manager of AFLW, health and football operations, said the new framework was designed as a safety measure but would continue to be adjusted as evidence builds.

“The framework is based on world-class medical advice and is constantly evolving as we deepen our learning and understanding,” Kane said. “The prevention and management of head trauma, and the introduction of AFL pre-season contact training limits is a further step towards achieving our goal of being a global leader in brain health and concussion and head trauma.”

She said the AFL had undertaken “an extensive data collection and consultation process” to introduce limits that “balance player welfare with elite performance,” and said the league would continue to monitor and refine them using data and club feedback.

The AFL has not publicly specified an exact calendar start date beyond saying the rollout will begin in the “coming men’s pre-season.”