Players who elect to bump will be held accountable for the injury they cause to an opponent under a change to rule interpretations approved by the AFL on Monday.

And the AFL has confirmed that there will be a crackdown on niggling and other off-the-ball incidents, with more frees paid against players who infringe in the kind of off-field incidents that crept in to the game during 2018.

Ryan Burton was cleared over this bump on North's Shaun Higgins in April. Credit:AAP

Under the bumping change - which actually appears to be the restoration of a previous rule - a player in the position of Ryan Burton would be suspended for the then-Hawk's bump on North Melbourne's Shaun Higgins back in April of this year.

In that instance, Burton was clearedwhen the match review ruled that Higgins had been felled by a head clash. Higgins was knocked out and required surgery on his lip.