TIGHTENING the deliberate rushed behinds rule is on the agenda following the positive impact of the deliberate out of bounds rule, AFL football operations boss Mark Evans says.

Evans told 6PR radio on Saturday he would consult with coaches and clubs to determine whether the deliberate rushed behinds rule should become as tough as the tightened deliberate out of bounds rule in 2017.

"What you see from the players around the boundary line now is so exciting that why wouldn't we bring that towards the deliberate rushed?" Evans said.

"It's something I'll talk to coaches and clubs about during the year. I think we'll get pretty good support. [It's] tough on defenders but if it's exciting for the game I think we have to look at the balance of all that."

On Sunday, West Coast defender Eric Mackenzie soccered the ball through for a rushed behind when 15 metres out from goal as three St Kilda forwards chased him down rather than picking the ball up and attempting to evade their tackles.

Evans said tightening the deliberate out of bounds rule had made the gap between it and the rushed behinds rule even wider this season and it was an area he intended to examine.

He said he was very pleased with the impact of the deliberate out of bounds rule with boundary throw-ins down about 20 per cent per game, while on average one free kick per game has been paid for deliberate out of bounds.

Although he conceded there had been some wrong decisions that were very tough on players, overall the AFL was more concerned with deliberate out of bounds being missed.

One of the most controversial deliberate out of bounds decisions was made against St Kilda's Josh Bruce on Sunday against the Eagles, while North Melbourne's Luke McDonald was unlucky to be pinged for deliberate against the Western Bulldogs in round six.

Josh Bruce is called for deliberate out of bounds late in the third term #AFLEaglesSaints https://t.co/6sqjTeogJm — AFL (@AFL) May 15, 2016

The deliberate rushed behind rule was introduced in 2009 after Hawthorn rushed 11 behinds in the 2008 Grand Final against Geelong.

It states that a free kick shall be awarded against a player from the defending team who intentionally kicks, handballs or forces the football over the attacking team's goal or behind line or into the goal post, but the defender will be given the benefit of any doubt.

In 2009, the season after the rule was introduced rushed behinds dropped from an average of 6.0 per game in 2008 to 3.8 in 2009 before gradually drifting back up to 4.8 last season.

So far, in 2016, however the average rushed behinds per game has gone back to 4.4 per game, the same level as 2011.