Former North Melbourne premiership player David King is expecting a discussion to arise about the amount of backwards kicking in the game at the moment.

King has suggested that a backwards kick could be deemed play-on in the next 12 months, saying he would be surprised if the AFL didn’t look into it.

“I think we’ll end up discussing that if you do kick the ball backwards it’s a play-on,” he told SEN Mornings.

“I think that’ll be a discussion at the end of the year because the possession retention and slowly moving down the ground is just taking minutes off the clock.

“I’ll be surprised if we’re not discussing the backwards kick in the defensive half at the end of the season.”

King believes the reduction of backwards kicking will improve the standard of the game.

“If you want to switch the ball backwards and across, you’ve got to do it at speed which is what we want, we want the game in motion, or you take territory,” he said.

“We want high marking, we want contests, so it forces you to go forward.

“I think that’ll come but whether we’re ready for it right away, it’ll certainly be a discussion for at the end of the year.”