You're right. The only real holistic solution that I can think of without it affecting the fundamentals of the game (kick, handball, mark, etc) and keeping it fair is zones. Not just for centre bounces but for the whole game. It's not something I want but that's all I can think of that'll return us to one-on-one, non-congested football.I disagree.
I guess it comes down to how individuals want the game to look like.
That's why the AFL has no hope of 'fixing' the game. If you ask 5 people what the game should look like, you'll get 6 different answers.
I'm an offence guy. In all sports.
Now that doesn't mean that high scores are the priority and more goals means a better game.
I've posted about this before..
IMO, the good sports are ones where good offence beats good defence
Where no matter how good the defense is, the offence can win out if it's good enough.
I'm talking about play by play scenarios during games.
NBA, NFL, baseball, athletics, swimming, F1, cricket, MMA, soccer - all sports where the offence has the advantage.
In the AFL, the issue is that good offence no longer beats good defence. Defence wins. It used to be the opposite, but now it's not.
Therein lies the problem.
It means the superstars aren't worth paying to see. The superstars used to rip games apart with individual brilliance and kick 10 - now they get 18 short kicks across the half back line. Even the superstars are boring.
So back to the stand rule, although the AFL screwed it up as usual, I think they were on the right track. And it's why I disagree with you.
It's needs to be harder to defend in the AFL. Currently, it's too easy. The advantage is with the defending team. The main reason is that you very, very rarely have to defend on your own. It's too easy to double team and 'team defend'.