THE AFL Commission could hear submissions on the length of games before the end of the season as part of the ongoing discussion on the state of the game.

Football operations manager Mark Evans presented to the Commission on Tuesday in a broad discussion on the interchange cap, sling tackles and congestion.

The sling tackle and congestion issues are set for further discussion in November and December, but the length of games and interchange cap could be resolved before this year's Grand Final.

"What we thought was 10 minutes has now crept up to 12 minutes of stoppage time," Evans told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Tuesday night.

"Fifty per cent of that is traditionally goals, and then the rest is made up of things like blood rule, someone being sent off, stoppages, score reviews, or behinds and out on the full.

"If you reduce stoppages you do reduce the quarter. You'd probably have to take out 10 stoppages to maybe get [the quarter length] down by a minute-and-a-half to two minutes."

Evans said the game length and interchange issues were intertwined and would addressed at the same time with the Commission before the end of the season.

He did not offer any recommendations to the Commission on Tuesday.

Evans said the substitute rule was still up for debate, but he would need assurances that clubs would maintain "good management practices" on concussion if the red and green vests were abandoned next year.

"There would be a logical argument that said if you have a lower (interchange) cap then there's less need for a sub," he told SEN.  

Evans said zones would be an "absolute last resort" for the AFL as part of a push to spread the game out.