THE FOUR-umpire experiment could not only help rid the game of unwanted and missed free kicks, it also could be the saviour of the time-honoured centre bounce.

The AFL trialed a fourth umpire for the first time during last Saturday's QClash between the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast, and the feedback has been positive.

Apart from the additional set of eyes allowing the field umpires to adjudicate contests from better angles, AFL head umpires coach Hayden Kennedy said the system also allowed the best bouncer, umpire Sam Hay, to do most of the centre bounces.

There have been calls to scrap the bounce because it's a hard skill to master and it adds undue pressure on umpires.

"We had a really good bouncer out there, and he bounced more than the other three, so we got really good results from a bouncing perspective," Kennedy told AFL.com.au's Whistleblowers.

"That's just another benefit to the system (and) that will really help us.

"We're really happy with the experiment so far. We've got a few more games to practice it and see how the results go, but (it's been) positive."

Former Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson was also an interested onlooker and agreed the system had merit.

"It was a good experiment. There wasn't any more or less decisions paid and there was probably one or two times where it really helped having an extra umpire out there," Sanderson said.

"I think we need some more data to be certain it's going to help."

The trial will continue for another two or three games in 2015 before the umpires department delivers its findings to AFL football operations manager Mark Evans.

"We'll develop a report that will go to (football operations) and no doubt a decision will be made one way or another, but we're pretty confident at this stage." Kennedy said.