The AFL is said to have spoken to clubs regarding the potential for a Harbour City split round to open the 2024 season a full week ahead of the rest of the competition.
As reported by Riley Beveridge of AFL Media,ย clubs have sighted this proposal, with those at league headquarters pressing a proposal that would see the Giants and Swans commence their seasons at home.
Though clubs are yet to sign off on this split-round spitball, should it be greenlit, GWS would face premiers Collingwood at home to commence their campaign, while John Longmire's Swans would play host to Melbourne, allowing Brodie Grundy to face his old side early in the piece.
The remainder of the competition would then start their seasons the following week, with Richmond and Carlton poised to face-off at the MCG as per usual.
Each of Collingwood, GWS, Melbourne and Sydney would also feature in this second round of action.
Beveridge wrote that the ploy has come directly from incoming AFL CEO Andrew Dillon, and is based upon a desire to grow crowds in the northern states.
Both of these proposed contests are set to take place in rugby league's heartland, and during the opening week of the NRL's 2024 season, providing further fuel to the code wars.
No reports of any club support for the proposal have come to light.
The split-round notion comes less than 12 months after the AFL hosted its first annual Gather Round in Adelaide, mimicing a concept created by the northern hemisphere's Super League and officially adopted by the NRL in 2019.
