The AFL says its pre-season rule penalising deliberately rushed behinds has strong club support and a serious chance of continuing into the premiership season.

A free kick will be awarded on the spot where a behind is rushed, one of three new rules introduced for the NAB Cup which could carry over into the regular season.

AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said clubs had pushed for the league to counter the growing trend, highlighted by Hawthorn's 11 rushed behinds in last year's grand final win over Geelong.

"Nearly all the clubs were unanimous that deliberate rushed behinds would continue to increase if nothing was done about it," Anderson said.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig suggested the free kick option and Anderson said after some initial raised eyebrows, that idea won widespread backing.

"The more you think about it the more logical and rational it is, it's simple, it's entirely consistent with what we do for deliberate out of bounds," he said.

"The more we thought about it and the more we discussed it with coaches and clubs the more that emerged as the favoured option."

The rule was welcomed by St Kilda player Sam Fisher and Geelong's Joel Selwood at Tuesday's NAB Cup launch, Selwood wryly noting he wished it had been in place last September.

Fisher said it would make backmen "jittery", but would help the game.

"We were probably going to see more rushed behinds, as we did see in the grand final with Hawthorn doing it a bit more," Fisher said.

"That would have continued on, so I think something had to be done."

The second new rule is an automatic free kick and 50m penalty if a player tackles, holds or makes high contact to an opponent after they dispose of the ball.

The third rule penalises a player who enters the "no go zone" behind an umpire at a ball-up.

"We're looking seriously at all three for the premiership season," Anderson said of the trial rules.

Aditionally, a special interchange rule will be introduced just for the pre-season competition.

Clubs will be allowed eight players on the bench, but two of those will be designated substitutes, with the players they replace unable to return to the field.

The pre-season competition begins at Subiaco on Saturday night, when West Coast play Collingwood, with the remainder of the opening round spread out over the following two weekends.

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