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Opinion
AFL clubs have been told the pre-finals bye will be scrapped this season but the week off will instead be used during the finals series.
The decision comes as the league attempts to keep the season moving amid the looming threat of further COVID-19 interruptions, with border restrictions making interstate travel and scheduling difficult.
The week off will be employed before the preliminary finals or the grand final – which will remain fixtured for September 25 – as the league nears a decision on where the final weeks of the season will be played.
Melbourne’s lockdown – which was extended on Monday until at least September 2 – is likely to result in the season decider being shifted away from the MCG for the second straight season.
It could mean the final two weeks of the season are played in Perth, where visiting clubs must undergo quarantine.
The pre-finals bye was initially implemented in 2016 with an eye towards preventing teams from resting players en masse in the build-up to the finals.
The decision to move the bye could affect team selection for round 23 this week as finals-bound clubs manage the workloads of their players.
Sydney are locked in to qualify for the finals in fifth or sixth position regardless of their result against Gold Coast this week, but coach John Longmire said he will not be resting a large group of players.
The Swans rested superstar Lance Franklin last week and left Jake Lloyd (knee) and Callum Mills (achilles) on the sidelines, with the trio set to return against the Suns.
“We got what we wanted out of last week with those players that needed to freshen up a bit,” Longmire said on Monday.
“That (resting a large group of players) is not in our planning at the moment.
“It’s a fine line between making sure that you rest and approach the finals fresh versus battle-hardened and in form.
“You really only assess that in the benefit of hindsight and as we know when we’re making these decisions, you don’t have that benefit.
“We just go with what it feels like and we’ve gone down the path of hoping that our players are nice and hardened and ready for whatever comes up in the next couple of weeks.”
Top-four sides the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide are tipped to open round 23 on Friday night, with the AFL to confirm the week’s fixture in the coming days.
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