Geelong's Patrick Dangerfield has discussed his potential solution to the AFL's fixture dilemma, suggesting a 34-game draw as an idea to revamp the current system.
The lack of equality in the fixture has been fiercely discussed, particularly over the last 12 months and Dangerfield's idea is the first of it's kind.
The Geelong superstar said he liked the idea of a simple 17-round fixture but admitted players would likely be unwilling to take a pay cut as broadcast deals wouldn't command their current dollar value.
Under his idea, games would be shortened in length to allow players to cope with the demands of extra games.
"I think 17 games makes sense purely because of the fact that it's fair, you play everyone once," Dangerfield told SEN on Monday.
"The other alternative, what if you played 34 games? But instead of playing 120 minutes of footy, you cut it to 18-minute fixed quarters, so you're playing less than 80 minutes of footy.
"I’ve worked it out, it's a bit over five games extra (in game time) that you’d play a season.
"In terms of the revenue that that would create, it would jump significantly because there'd be more games played."
Dangerfield added that a shorter preseason would be required to add in the extra games.
"Rather than [coming] back in November, you would only give clubs a six-week window of preparation," Dangerfield said.
"You talk to most [fitness] staff and they say, 'We need 10 weeks to get our players ready, or we need 12 weeks to get our players ready'.
"But if you put it as mandatory [that] you’ve got six weeks, good luck, that's what it is. Then you'd just have to adjust to it."
AFLPA player development manager Brett Johnson said the next collective bargaining agreement between the AFL and AFLPA would determine the outlook of the fixture.
"At this point in time we've agreed on the CBA that's in place for the next five years, and there's a fixture in place and there's some commercial realities that we need to work through," he said.
"We're in constant conversations with the AFL about how the game is going to evolve and how we can help grow the game and make it the best product available."
