Premiership coach Alastair Clarkson believes it is too soon to consider radical measures to ease congestion, because players and coaches are still working out and adapting to early season trends in how the game is played.
Clarkson falls into the non-interventionist camp when it comes to making the game flow, and said it would be premature to conclude that rule changes were required, even though the number of stoppages per game has leapt to a 15-year-high.
The Hawthorn coach cautioned against pining for a more open and attractive game of yesteryear, pointing out that trends have a habit of correcting themselves as seasons develop.
''It's a great debate,'' Clarkson said. ''It's very, very early in the season. I reckon if we go back to round three, four, five of every season we have these types of debates about the game and how it's evolving. It's difficult, because there's plenty out there who want the game to return to past years and what we had, but there's plenty of excitement about our current game.
''Coaches, players, administrators at AFL level will look into what is best for our game and that will happen over the course of time but it's a little bit dramatic at the moment because it's so early in the season.
''Certainly, from a coaching point of view and our own players at Hawthorn, we're still feeling our way into the season, what's going on, what trends are happening, how different teams are playing, all that goes into the mix. So it's probably a bit premature to jump to conclusions on some of those [trends]. Just let the game evolve for a little while.''
Clarkson's hands-off approach comes after the likes of Leigh Matthews, Garry Lyon and Kevin Sheedy expressed concern about the standard of football and Essendon coach Mark Thompson admitted ''some games look ugly and some games look great''. Hawthorn's Easter Monday clash with Geelong fell into the latter category, demonstrating how those two sides elevate themselves above the rest of the competition for one of the league's great rivalries.
But the AFL is seeking feedback from clubs on how to foster a more free-flowing brand of football, with ideas such as forcing players into zones at either end of the ground at stoppages and mandating four players behind the centre square at kick-ins.
''I think you need to respect the role of the laws of the game committee. That is the greatest debating table around,'' AFL football operations manager Mark Evans said on Wednesday.
''Fans tell us they like the game to be tough and contested, and they like exciting passages of play, exciting runs and goals and marks. As long as our game produces those things it will be in a good state. The laws of the game committee is a collection of experts from around the industry to debate the health of the game.''
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the rise in stoppages – to 65.7 per game in the first five rounds of 2014 compared with 62.6 last season – was just a phase the game was going through. ''Everyone just needs to take a Bex. We had 83,000 on Monday. We're going to have 95,000 on Friday. That is the NRL's weekly average covered in two games,'' McGuire said. ''I think you will see the game loosen up.''
