Fewer players, more umpires, reduced interchanges, no runners - no idea is too left-field as the AFL considers ways to combat congestion and improve the spectacle of the game.
The league's extensive survey on the health of the game, led by football chief Steve Hocking, kicked up a gear on Thursday when its 'Gang of Five' industry heavyweights met for the first time.
Leigh Matthews, Gerard Healy, Malcolm Blight, Mike Sheahan and Gerard Whateley were chosen to meet Hocking's team in Melbourne.
That process will continue when AFL coaches dine with league boss Gillon McLachlan on Monday night in their annual catch-up at his house.
Hocking told reporters at a briefing earlier in the week he would consult with a wide range of people. The league will look at ways to strike a better balance between defence and attack and ensure instinctive players still have a future, as well as free up play clogged with numbers around the ball.
Ideas have ranged from small tweaks like reducing the cap on interchanges and limiting runners to radical shifts like introducing zones and cutting the number of players on the field.
After a period of consultation, a range of measures will be put to the newly formed Competition Committee, which will consider their pros and cons.
Any changes that meet criteria, which include respecting the history of the game as well as progressing it, will be put to the AFL Commission for implementation in October.
That is if there are any changes to be made - Hocking hasn't ruled out letting the game sort itself out.
North Melbourne coach Brad Scott is on the Competition Committee, along with Brisbane counterpart Chris Fagan, Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield and Collingwood president Eddie McGuire to name a few.
Scott is keen for ideas, however radical, to be presented to the committee for discussion.
But he won't be coming up with any of his own.
"We'll throw everything on the table and try to refine it and come back to something that is going to improve the look of the game," Scott said.
"But my primary function is to try and win games.
"So I can give a response to any suggestions that are thrown up as to what I think coaches will do to counter them.
"So throw them all up and I'm sure that we'll land in a good spot.
"But my prevailing view is that the game is pretty good."
The AFL will tweak a key aspect of the game when it revisits its experiment with four field umpires during rounds 13 and 14.
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