Port Adelaide premiership player Kane Cornes says he was “shocked” by Patrick Dangerfield’s thoughts on the demands modern day AFL players face.
Dangerfield told SEN’s Whateley earlier this week the shortening of both the season and games needs to be discussed, a notion Cornes disagrees with.
LENGTH OF SEASON AND GAMES SHOULD BE REVIEWED: DANGERFIELD
KELLY SLAMS DANGERFIELD’S IDEA OF A SHORTER FIXTURE
“How’s this sound for a job?” Cornes told SEN Mornings.
“Thirteen weeks holiday per year, three mandatory four-day breaks during the season, at least one and a half days off per week and I’ll pay you 370 grand per year.
“Sound enticing? That’s the conditions an AFL player in 2018 is afforded.
“Yes, there are some negatives, but today’s players have never had it better.”
Dangerfield thinks the mounting injury toll is partially due to the expectations on today’s players.
“I think it’s something that needs to be reviewed,” the Geelong superstar told SEN’s Whateley about the length of the season and matches.
“Twenty-two games I see as too many anyway, but the length of the game is a conversation piece that needs to be had.
“It’s not about robbing fans of the 120 minutes of footy that they get at the moment.
“What’s robbing the fans at the moment is you’re not getting to see the best players because of injury and I think it is linked back into length of season, length of games and the demands players are put under.
“I suppose it (the injury toll) is really highlighted when you see the best players in the game go down and that is just a reality because that’s who the fans go to see.
“We want those players playing.
“I think it has been quite concerning because it is such a demanding game we have, it’s the longest preseason in world sport and then the season itself is seriously lengthy.
“We want our best players playing in finals and unfortunately we are not going to get that this year.”
Cornes believes the luxuries AFL players have outweighs the negatives, and a change to the fixture and lengths of matches isn’t necessary.
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