I think we’ve got ourselves into a real dangerous spot.

I don’t know about you, but I think right now our game has never been more open to interpretation.

Never before has the umpiring and decision making been at such a critical point just two rounds into a season.

Truth be told, I think umpiring, decision making and interpretation is the biggest issue in the game right now.

The AFL made nine rule changes over the summer including the new 6-6-6 starting formations, potential 100m penalty and the extended kick-in space.

Some are doing well, some are completely off the mark. Here’s my take on the big ones:

Extended kick-in area

The one rule that’s been the dud is the extended kick-in space because everyone expected the potential to walk out of the square for coast to coast scoring.

Scoring has been well down, averaging just 79.1 points per game compared to 90.1 in 2018 and 101.2 in 2017 for the first two rounds.

The sample size is still too small at the moment to over-analyse, teams are still working out the competition for the year.

But for the extended kick-in area, all teams do is set the zone down field and balls are turned over at 80m instead of 30 or 40.

The turnovers aren’t coming in dangerous spots anymore, so we’re not seeing those quick scores.

Extended kick-in grade: FAIL

100m penalty

As for the 100m penalty, it has merit, offending players have been milking it for years trying to waste time.

The AFL is saying if you try and slow the game down during the penalty, we’re going to ping you again, which is a good thing.

But 50m is already massive, especially for some sanctions like breaching the protected 10m zone.

Players are smart enough that they will adapt and tell someone down the field to stand the mark.

That could however open up room for a small forward to be free, but that adds to the excitement.

100m penalty grade: JURY IS OUT

6-6-6 starting formation

Moving to the 6-6-6 starting formation, clearly the forwards are going to like it.

If you’re a decent one-on-one player, you’re going to thrive from those chances more often.

As a defender though, they feel a bit lonely and like they need to work a lot harder.

Adelaide always played an extra defender, so the backs are probably feeling it now more than others, they’ll just need some time to adapt.

6-6-6 starting formation grade: PASS

No runners during live play

From a coach’s point of view you would probably call it a fail.

But for spectators, it makes the last five minutes really, really intriguing.

In the Hawthorn-Western Bulldogs game, Clarko (Alastair Clarkson) couldn’t do anything about it despite what was going on.

No runners during live play grade: PASS

Player contact crackdown

It seemed like cracking down on punches was the rule of the week, since nothing happened in Round One.

We don’t want punching in our game, but I think the AFL umpires overreacted and overcorrected on the weekend.

You look at the Mason Cox incident, which no-one should be missing a game for, or the Zak Jones tap that was ruled a punch, resulting in a Crows shot on goal.

But the big one was James Sicily for Hawthorn, who gave away a free to Josh Schache in the dying minutes of the game.

He got pinged for a push with an elbow that’s been judged as a punch.

Hopefully the rule finds a middle-ground soon.

Player contact grade: FAIL

Dale Lewis is the co-host of Triple M’s The Rush Hour with Jars & Louie, weekdays from 3-4pm and 6-7pm.

Lewis played 182 games for the Sydney Swans between 1990 and 2001.