AFLW expert commentator Kate McCarthy has noticed a worrying trend occurring across the League.

The Wrap co-host has observed that players are choosing not to pick up the ball in fear of being caught holding the ball.

In the AFLW, the interpretation of the holding the ball rule appears to have been adjusted to reduce the number of stoppages, allowing for a more free-flowing game.

However, the result has meant that as soon as a player picks up the ball and is tackled, they're being caught holding the ball, even at times when they haven't had prior opportunity.

It has been a discussion point among coaches this season, in particular Hawthorn coach Daniel Webster who has been critical of the change.

The inconsistency in the adjudication of the rule has also frustrated McCarthy.

"I got pretty frustrated at times watching some of the football," McCarthy said on The Wrap on AFL.com.au.

"It was so unclear as to whether a player had prior opportunity, made a genuine attempt. It just felt like if you picked up the ball and got tackled it was going to get a free against."

After round one, AFLW analyst Gemma Bastiani noted that there was a 33 per cent drop in the number of stoppages compared to 2024.

Now eight rounds in, McCarthy has noticed that players have adjusted to the new interpretation by not wanting to pick up the ball.

"People might sit back and say on numbers and on paper we've got less stoppages, do we really want our game looking like that where a player doesn't want to pick up the ball, but there's less stoppages?," McCarthy said.

"My opinion? No. I don't care how many stoppages there are. If a player puts their head over the footy, wins it, and there's a stoppage as a result, well, that's footy - that's what AFL looks like. We can't have players not wanting to pick up the ball."

McCarthy feels that the new interpretation puts more pressure on the umpires in the AFLW competition.

"We have developing umpires in the AFLW and I think we've ultimately set them up to fail, because it's already a difficult enough rule to adjudicate when you're at the men's level and we've added a whole other layer that's made it even more confusing," McCarthy said.