“I like the idea”: AFL premiership coach agrees with major pre-season rejig

Former West Coast coach Adam Simpson likes the idea of a major adjustment to the pre-season program, seeing players and clubs have a clear run from the start of the year to the beginning of the season.

Plenty of conjecture has arisen around the current outlook of the summer training regime, with players having up to 90 days away from clubs between seasons.

Players return for a brief three to four week period before Christmas and then have another leave of absence over the new year.

Injuries have caused for speculation over a different schedule given the stop-start nature, and Simpson believes clubs should have access to players from January 1, providing a straight shot to the new campaign with no breaks.

"I've always debated there's not enough time with the players, but that's teams that are developing," Simpson told Zero Hanger.

"Teams at the top, like Brisbane, don't need that much time. So it depends on where you are in the cycle.

"Someone floated the idea of starting January 1, and let them go. You don't have three weeks over Christmas. I actually like the idea of a clear 10 weeks. They start in December, they have three weeks off, then they come back in January."

The extended season has also seen multiple coaches go on leave from their club, with Geelong's Chris Scott and Collingwood's Craig McRae stepping away at times over the summer.

Simpson, who was in the hot seat for 11 years at the Eagles, understood why the better performing teams could experiment with allowing their coaches to take leave, given how consistent they are.

"You get paid well, I don't think we should complain," he said.

"You don't have to do it. So, some of the things they're trialing now, how to manage the coaches for their mental health and longevity, I can see what they're trying to do.

"But it's not forced upon you. The jobs got big, it's definitely big but you got to keep your eye on yourself a bit. Your family's important and there's always risk of burnout.

"What Geelong are doing with Chris is interesting. They've got the liberty to do it because they're such a consistent team."

The Eagles' premiership coach has no intention to return to the coaching landscape in the meantime, instead enjoying his time in football media.