The AFL wishes to advise it has appointed two new members to the Match Review Panel for the upcoming 2016 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

AFL General Manager Football Operations Mark Evans said the AFL had appointed Chris Knights and Jason Johnson to replace the departing Luke Ball and Brad Sewell. Michael Christian and Nathan Burke remain with the panel.

Sewell has stepped down due to his work with Ladder and travel commitments through the season, while Ball has stepped down due to his expanding commitments in the AFL’s Football Operations Department.

Knights, 29, retired at the end of last season after 102 games for the Adelaide Crows and Richmond.

Johnson, 38, played 184 games for Essendon between 1997-2008, including the 2000 premiership, and was best and fairest in 2001 and 2005.

Mr Evans said the AFL was delighted with the two new applicants who were now part of the altered MRP process, which had been changed last year to simplify the understanding of the game’s judiciary process for all members of the football community.

"Chris is able to bring current playing experience to the Panel’s deliberations, after being with Richmond last year, while Jason was an outstanding player for Essendon in their team which produced the best single season in VFL/AFL history with a 24-1 record in 2000,” Mr Evans said.

As a reminder to all media, the AFL Commission approved the following key changes to the MRP system last year;

· All offences to now be categorised as fines or weeks of suspension, no longer using any reference to base demerit points;

· The elimination of carry over points on any offence;

· Conduct now to be graded in two categories only ­intentional or careless;

· The MRP to issue fines, two-game and three-game suspensions, with more serious offences referred to the Tribunal;

· Simplification of the Bad Record provisions, with a maximum addition of a one extra week¹s suspension on a penalty;

· Retention of discounts for early pleas (lowering of fines or one-match suspension reduction), but removal of automatic good record provision;

· Brownlow Medal eligibility to be based around whether a player was suspended / not suspended for a match in any particular home and away season;

· Introduction of fines for low level offences, but with suspensions available to repeat third-offenders within a season;

· MRP retains the capacity to upgrade impact where there is the potential to cause injury.