GWS Giants CEO Dave Matthews calls for pre-season games to be scrapped

Two more rounds of football added to the AFL's jam-packed schedule? That's what Greater Western Sydney CEO Dave Matthews thinks should happen.

Speaking on SEN's Crunch Time before the Western Bulldogs-GWS fixture at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, Matthews said he thinks pre-season games should be scrapped and played for premiership points instead.

"I actually think those two games, as long as all 18 clubs have the same starting line, I'd play them for four points," he said.

"I just don't think we play friendlies in this competition, and I looked at that game where we played Collingwood in Bundoora, you think to yourself, 'That would be the perfect game for us to be able to promote a game in say Canberra'. We don't have Collingwood in Sydney this year.

"Those games, to me, should be for four points, and the consequence of the extra games is you probably reduce the game time so you are not trying to put more load on the players. Rather than just play a friendly, just play a four-pointer in my view."

Matthews said Giants executive general manager Jason McCartney and coach Adam Kingsley share a similar belief, while he thinks AFL head-honcho Andrew Dillon is also open to the concept.

"I think (Dillon) is very open to ideas around the fixturing, and I think he has Tassie to consider and probably a 20th team down the track, so he is open to it," he said.

"I just think we have to play more games that matter, and certainly from our point of view, that would help in our growth and revenue as well.

"The players have a shorter pre-season in some ways now, based on leave and other considerations, but I think another couple of games, simply converting those two pre-season games to four points is something I would do."