Richmond coach slams 'laughable' new trial rules

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has unloaded on the new rules being trialled at the VFL level, saying they have created "laughable" free kicks.

In further attempts to clear up congestion in the game, the AFL has trialled a number of rules in the East Coast state league.

One such example is teams being required to have three players inside each 50m arc at boundary throw-ins and kick-ins.

When asked about players who are currently out of Richmond's best 23 taking a step up, Hardwick said the radical rules trialled made it hard for players to prepare for the AFL.

"It's so non-AFL like what we're seeing at the moment," he said.

"The challenge for us is just fitting them in and giving them opportunities to play because the game unfortunately at that lower level, with the rules, is very, very challenging."

The triple premiership-winning coach said the Tigers had even lobbied to the AFL with regards to the new rules.

"We've expressed our concerns (to the AFL) so it's over to them, really," he said.

"We're trying to prepare players for the very best competition in the world, I think. We probably need to have a lower league with probably the same rules, I would think.

"I think sanity would prevail at some stage, would it not?"

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