A story in the Herald Sun on Wednesday said the new rule may be having a significant impact on accuracy in front of goals amid concerns players are fatigued.
AFL game analysis manager Andrew McKay said it was far too early to say whether the new sub rule had affected accuracy from set shots.
"Conversion rates from set shots for the first two rounds have varied from year to year over the past decade," McKay said.
"For example, for the first two rounds in 2003, it was 54.4 per cent when there were four interchange players."
So far the conversion from set shots across all 17 AFL teams in the first two rounds of 2011 is 54.8 per cent.
"To say that the new rule has led to more fatigue and greater inaccuracy from set shots is a very long bow to draw, I would've thought," McKay said.
"Last year Collingwood had the second worst conversion rate when it came to set shots, 56.4 per cent, and was ranked fourth highest on the number of interchange rotations with an average of 122 per game."
McKay, also a member of the AFL Laws of the Game Committee, said that based on informal conversations he's had, many fans are seeing a positive change in the way the game looks so far this season.
"Anecdotally, the majority that I've spoken to so far are saying it's made the game better in the fact that it's allowing teams to get in the clear more often, and there's not as much congestion around the ball."
And he believes early statistics support this view.
"It's certainly early days but we feel that the new interchange system is having a positive effect in a lot of ways," McKay said.
"One of our objectives of the laws of the game committee is to keep the game continuous. The more stoppages, the less time it's in play.
"So far the stoppages have come down a bit this year, so from that point of view the rule is working.
"The other one is enhancing the traditional aspects of the game like the long kicking, the contested marking and the one-on-one contested possessions.
"So far this year they're all up on last year's overall season averages."
McKay said the AFL would continue to monitor the rule and it would be reviewed along with other rules at the end of the season.
