Super Netball, the premier professional league in Australia, unexpectedly announced the dramatic rule change earlier this week, claiming it would make the sport "even more dynamic and unpredictable".

A designated 1.9 metre zone inside the shooting circle will now offer goal attacks and goal shooters the chance to score a goal worth two points, but only in the final five minutes of each quarter.

The move has prompted criticism from the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA), which was not consulted about the rule change. 

"The players have endured an eight month pre-season, pay cuts, and uncertainty about the season with patience, a collaborative mindset and unwavering goodwill," said ANPA President Natalie Medhurst.

"We have put the game first, as we always do. 

"For a decision of this significance to be made and announced without any engagement with the players, just six weeks out from the start of the season, is extremely disappointing and disrespectful.

"The players believe this initiative has been handled poorly, not for the first time, and it cannot happen again."

Individual players have also been vocal in their criticism for Super Netball, with ANPA vice-president Jo Weston claiming the rule change could alienate existing netball fans.

"Netball is in a pretty competitive sporting market, and the administrators keep adding new accessories in order to try to build the fan base," she said, as reported The Guardian Australia.

"But in doing that they are isolating people who were already fans of the game.

"There are only so many bells and whistles on a bike before it becomes a clown car."

Australian national team captain Caitlin Bassett shared a photo from the Legends Football League, an offshoot of the National Football League in which female athletes wear lingerie-style uniforms.

"The next change to make netball more 'entertaining'??," she said in the caption on Instagram. 

The rule change is the third innovation to this year's competition, which was due to get underway in May but has been delayed by three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It will now begin on August 1, with matches set to have an extra five minutes of time and unlimited rolling substitutions taking place throughout the game.