McGuire told The Footy Show that there was support for a change in the manner players conducted themselves.

"There is a universal belief in footy that bullying has to go, that going up behind blokes and whacking them, and doing all that sort of stuff, and after they have missed a goal, running up and pushing them, all that stupidity, the humpo, bumpo before [play, has to go]. There was a bit of a feel amongst the room, and that was not just from the AFL, but from the clubs themselves, the players and the coaches, that those days, it's just bad look," he said.

Coaches could also find themselves bound by a code of conduct if it's felt serious action was needed.

McGuire told Fairfax Media there were "enough ways for intimidating when the ball is in play".

"I think, and a lot of people think, it's a nonsense and it has gone too far. You have got blokes who aren't renowned for their courage in play but want to carry on like this. They know they can't get sorted out like they used to in the old days ... if you carried on like that, they [the player hit] would fix you up," he said.