According to AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan, an extra home & away round could be played entirely in one state next season.
The 'footy carnival' was pitched to multiple CEOs and club presidents on Monday, and would feature all 18 teams in double or triple-header games.
"It came as an idea, we work with the clubs about how they want the season set up," McLachlan told SEN.
"This year, if you would recall, they played some internal practice matches and low-key stuff and then they played one proper hitout in venues with all the systems going. They just played it like a home and away game, they belted into each other and people got suspended and people got injured.
"So we had the presidents and CEOs on the back of that just before the opening week and I said, 'if youโre going to do it like that, why donโt you play it as a home and away game? And we'll just have a very limited pre-season.'
"Now we've got multiple states interested in doing (the carnival) and it's got to the point where three states say, 'Yeah, we'll do it, we'd love to have all nine games in this market.'"
Pitched as an additional AFL round, club members in the host state would still have access to the other 11 home games in the season.
McLachlan hinted that more news about the "big" change on is soon to come, once more conversations have been held.
"We'll see where we get to probably over the next two or three weeks, but it would be a big thing," he said.
Asked about when the 'carnival' round would take place, McLachlan targeted the school holidays at the front-end of the season.
"Maybe around Round 5ish, somewhere in the back half of April," he suggested.
"School holidays nationally, people could set it up, go away with their families and work around that sort of weekend if that was their inclination."
The extended home & away season would see a shorter pre-season fixture to compensate.
