With all the talk about the length of the season and whether it needs to be reduced, Garry Lyon has gone the other way and wants the preseason cut in half.
Currently, clubs start working back into training at some stage across late October and early November and Lyon wants that dramatically changed.
“What about this then, senior blokes that’ve played more than four years will come in once between the end of the season and Christmas for testing and everything else,” Lyon told the AFL Nation pregame show.
“Then you will report for your first preseason training session on January 5th.
“It should be legislated across the board. You cannot have any form of organized training with your senior players until January 5th.”
Lyon suggests if clubs can’t prepare their players in six weeks, they’re doing something wrong.
“Go into a six-week full-time camp from the fifth of January and if you can’t get yourself up to speed in that six weeks, people don’t know what they’re doing,” he said.
“If it means you’re a bit underdone in terms of what would happen on November 5th, then so be it, everyone else is in the same boat.
“I think that’s where it’s heading.”
A shorter training period increases the likelihood of injured players missing the window of preseason, but Lyon said that’s just the nature of the game.
“There’s always going to be injuries. There’s always going to be a player that misses with injury. I just think across the board it’s fair,” he said.
Former president of the AFL Coaches Association Danny Frawley agrees and looks at an example of it working in the past.
“It’s the longest preseason in any sport in the world because we just do the same thing, oh we’ve got to get them in October or November,” Frawley said.
“I understand the young fellas, but I’m with you. I think Mark Thompson, six or seven years ago, his older players started in January and everyone’s saying ‘oh my goodness, they’ve slackened off’.”
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