AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking says any significant rule changes that may occur will not be implemented for at least two to three years.
The commentary around the state of the game has ramped up with AFLPA president Patrick Dangerfield endorsing starting positions and zones, while Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said the potential new rule would be a โblight on the gameโ.
Hocking said the process to introduce such a significant rule would be lengthy and that fans wonโt be seeing teams playing in zones in the near future.
โOne of the big parts is where can we actually put this out into the public,โ he told SEN.
โWeโre not talking potentially this happening in 2019.
โIt has to go through the competition committee, itโs got to go through the AFL executives, itโs got to get to the commission.
โHaving spent 10 months with the commission, theyโre super impressive people,โ Hocking added.
โThereโs no way known on Richard Goyder's watch that heโs just going to pull a lever and go right let all this roll through.
โThereโs going to have to be so much work and evidence and also understanding, and everyoneโs got to be ready for it.
โIt may not be next year, it could be the year after, it could be the year after that.โ
