PREMIERSHIP coach Damien Hardwick says he would be "open to" clubs abiding by trial rules in the later rounds if directed to and has applauded the AFL for "trying to innovate" by tweaking the current game.
And, reluctant rule changer Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley would also welcome potential tinkering, more in order to rule out the requirement for things to ultimately change.
While the Tigers and Magpies won't be involved in any potential trials this year in dead rubber matches, both coaches were asked how they would feel about being put in such a position if their teams' fortunes were reversed.
Hardwick was stronger on his stance of being open to experimentation, and also said he didn't believe the integrity of the game would be affected by the concept.
COMMENT The one thing rules trials must not affect
"It's tough to answer because I know once again coaches prepare thoroughly and they want to give themselves the best chance to play the game," Hardwick said on Thursday.
"I'm not in that situation at the moment but I could have quite easily have been a few years ago.
"I probably would have thought I would have been open to it, just for the challenge of our players to see what this game presents. It might be a good thing.
"I don't think we'll look back on this decision in three years and say it affected certain situations.
"We've got a draw that's skewed – we can talk about the integrity of the game but we're probably talking about a lot of things that don't really matter that much for mine."
Buckley, who has been vocal this season on his belief the game should be left alone, said he would also be OK with the idea of trialling rules, specifically to rule out their necessity.
"You don't have to but if you were in the position to choose to [coach a game under new rules], would you?" Buckley said.
"I would see the opportunity for the competition to find out a little bit more.
"I'm an evolutionist, I'd rather see things evolve.
"I think if you actually test things, you find out quicker that they don't work than you would otherwise.
"For the greater good, it might be something to look at and consider."
St Kilda, a team that could be asked to trial rules in a match for premiership points later this season, ran through alternates including the 6-6-6 formation at centre bounces, a longer goalsquare, no prior opportunity and the ball being thrown up quicker, in a scratch match on Thursday.
Hardwick said it was a brave suggestion by the AFL to try things before the end of the season but one that would provide worthwhile insight into what the game could become in 2019.
"I actually sort of applaud the AFL for trying to innovate and trying to give us a look at what the game will look like going forward," he said.
"We have a lot of people from outside the game giving criticism to the AFL for innovating but for me, I want to know what it's going to look like if we do go down this way.
"I'm within the game, so from a recruiting viewpoint, from a list management viewpoint, what changes does it make because the harsh reality is, we can sit there and on a 20-minute timeframe we've trialled these rules, we're not going to get a great understanding of what it is.
"I actually applaud the AFL for actually having the [courage] to make the decision."
