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AFL makes last-minute rule change for grand final after request from Swans and Lions coaches

The AFL has decided to relax a rule to accommodate a request from Sydney and Brisbane officials.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·3-min read

The AFL has approved a request from the Swans and Lions to allow injured stars Callum Mills and Oscar McInerney to sit on the bench during Saturday's grand final at the MCG. Mills and McInerney have both been integral parts of the Sydney and Brisbane campaigns this year, but will miss the grand final due to injury.

Swans captain Mills injured his hamstring at training three weeks ago, and the Swans decided it was too risky to play him on Saturday. And McInerney dislocated his shoulder in Brisbane's win over Geelong in the preliminary final last weekend.

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan and Sydney counterpart John Longmire before the AFL grand final.
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan and Sydney counterpart John Longmire both rallied the AFL to relax the rules. Image: Getty

But the AFL has made a last-minute rule change that means Mills and McInerney will still be part of the action on Saturday. Leading reporter Tom Morris revealed on Friday night that football boss Laura Kane used her discretionary powers to extend the benches of both teams for the grand final to allow Mills and McInerney to be there.

The AFL has strict rules around how many people can be on the bench and near the boundary line during games. But those rules have been relaxed for Mills and McInerney. Kane reportedly felt Mills deserved to be on the bench because he's normally the Swans captain, and she couldn't relax the rules for the Swans and not the Lions.

Oscar McInerney.
Oscar McInerney looks on during the AFL grand final press conference. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan revealed he'd approached the AFL about the issue. “We asked for ‘O’ to be able to sit on the bench tomorrow and be a bit of a voice for the players, which he will be,” Fagan said. “We’ll go out there trying to play for him.”

Dane Rampe will captain the Swans in Mills' absence, and revealed how shattered he was for his good mate. "One of my great mates and leaders of our club. We've been a lot through a lot together," Rampe said on Friday. "Me and him had a cry after the news on Wednesday afternoon, but as soon as that was done and the way Millsy would have wanted, it was business as usual."

Sydney midfielder James Rowbottom said during the grand final parade: "His leadership and everything he does off the field hasn't wavered. He's had a pretty rough year but his demeanour and the way he carries himself amongst the group and how he's still able to lead us is second to none."

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Mills trained at 100 per cent on Wednesday in a big to prove his fitness, but Swans coach John Longmire was wary of making the same mistake he made in 2022. Longmire gambled by picking an underdone Sam Reid in the grand final that year, but it backfired in their big loss to Geelong.

"It's one of those things you've got to make decisions, you sit down as a group, a medical conditioning staff and you go through everything," Longmire said on Friday. "It's tough because Callum's a great person and a great leader of our footy club, but he also understands that decisions need to be made. When we sort of weighed it all up and the risks going into a game like this, it just seemed to outweigh and go against Callum in that moment."