A REVOLUTION is coming for the 2024 season with the introduction of THE rolling substitution rule in North Central Netball Association games.
Expect to see faster and fresher players, more tactical pressure on coaches, and an end to players feigning injury to allow a substitution.
NCNA president Kylie Walsh said the league’s introduction of rolling subs, which had been part of the national Super Netball competition since 2020, made sense.
She said players pretending to be injured and leaving the court to enable a substitution had long been an issue for netball, especially close to the finals, with players needing to play a certain number of games to be able to qualify to appear in the playoffs.
The rule change means more players can get the game time needed for finals netball, with new qualifying requirements of three games in a specific grade and six appearances overall for a club.
The rolling subs innovation allows teams to substitute players without needing a break in play, although substitutions can still be made at stoppages and intervals. The player being subbed off tags a teammate by touching hands in a designated substitution zone. 
“The C graders are loving it; they can have a rest when they’re puffed,” Walsh said.
The new rule was tested last weekend in Bendigo, where Walsh coached at the state titles. She found it worked well from a strategic point of view, making it easier to match up with opposition players.
Walsh expected the change to be “a bit of a novelty” early in the North Central season as coaches adjusted but she said it would prove to be a great innovation for juniors in particular, allowing for greater rotation of players.
She also said the league would have to use umpires from Bendigo, Swan Hill and Horsham during finals, who would be practised in the use of the new rule, making the change more logical.
Concern has been expressed that the rule might prove costly for some clubs through the need for a second set of bibs, and that keeping track of the substitutions might prove too difficult for volunteer scorers on top of their normal tasks.
However, Walsh said most clubs already had two sets of bibs because of the requirements of the blood rule, while a by-law change would mean scorers would now only have to note games played, rather than quarters, easing their burden.
The North Central league has also adjusted its grades, adding a new C Reserve to the existing A, B and C competitions. 
Last season, St Arnaud and Birchip Watchem could not fill their Under 17B teams, so were forced to play a series of scratch matches instead of competition games.
Walsh said the new C Reserve grade would allow clubs to top up the new senior team with juniors, who would gain valuable experience and be mentored by senior players. The change would also allow netballers to play two games per round, rather than the previous maximum of six quarters – either two senior games or one senior and one junior match.