Players Association president Patrick Dangerfield has urged the AFL to consider increasing the number of players on interchange benches if fixtures are crammed into a shorter time frame.
The league is scrambling to map out a plan forward amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne, which has forced Victorian clubs onto interstate road trips.
Key club figures have accepted regularly playing matches off four or five-day breaks is an inevitably to keep alive the hope of completing a 153-game schedule this year.
But the planned tighter turnaround between matches has led to fears over a spike in player injury rates.
Several coaches have indicated they will need to rest players more often, placing greater importance on squad depth.
Geelong star Dangerfield suggested increasing interchange bench limits beyond four players would help alleviate the burden.
“If we’re playing a lot of games in a short, condensed period of time then maybe there would be the potential to extend it,” Dangerfield told reporters on Friday.
“That being said, I think that is probably something that could be decided upon quite late, so let’s keep that status quo as is at the moment.
“But if there was the potential that games were to be condensed and there is that increased risk to players and injury rates to increase if you play off a four-day break, then I think potentially a good move could be to increase it.
“There’s still plenty to go on behind the scenes if that were to happen.”
The AFL initially indicated Victorian clubs would spend a maximum of 32 days outside the state.
That period could now be extended, with Victoria’s coronavirus situation still worsening, but Dangerfield said the AFLPA had not yet been given an indication either way.
Meanwhile, rival states are staking claims to host the grand final if Victoria is still unable to have crowds at matches when the finals roll around.
“It’s a fair way away, so a lot can change, but certainly as a player you want to play it where you can play in front of a decent crowd,” Dangerfield said.
