for this were deferred during the pandemic. The seven new clubs expanded the competition to a total of 22 clubs, the most to contest a VFA/VFL season since 1987, and the most ever to contest a VFA/VFL premiership in a single division. The governing bodies took deliberate moves to strengthen the VFL's utility as a pathway league, through which undrafted players from the underage systems could continue to develop and then be drafted into the AFL system. In doing this, age restrictions were set requiring each team to field at least six under-22 players in each game. Under-age players will be allocated to clubs on a zoning basis, with each NAB League club and academy system allocated to a specific VFL club or clubs, thus allowing for greater interchange and continuity. Annual grants from the AFL to the stand-alone VFL clubs, which had been introduced in 2000 when the AFL reserves first amalgamated with the VFL, were abandoned due to the financial pressures of the pandemic. The salary cap for the competition was also significantly reduced, from $380k to $200k, or $100k for AFL reserves teams or those with reserves affiliations. Interstate travel costs for the competition will be financed by the AFL, and the fixture for AFL-aligned teams was 80% aligned with the AFL fixture to allow for entire club playing squads to travel together. The season saw a trial of positional restriction rules, under which each team was required to have two players inside each 50-metre arc at each boundary throw-in stoppages. The rule was intended to reduce around-the-ground congestion, and following its trial in the 2021 VFL season trial will be assessed for potential inclusion in the national Laws of the Game for 2022. When the trial was originally announced, the rules went further, requiring three players inside each 50-metre arc – including one in each goal square – at every kick-in and boundary throw-in; but this was relaxed after several pre-season practice matches and before the home and away season, after several AFL coaches remarked that the rules made it too difficult for players seeking to transition to AFL from the second-tier competition. Broadcast coverage of the VFL was expanded, with three matches per round available on sports streaming service Kayo Sports, in addition to the ongoing one match per round broadcast on Seven Network and one Thursday night match broadcast on Fox Footy, where no