Four-time premiership Hawk Luke Hodge is against the idea of increasing the interchange rotations during the next block of the fixture, even if teams are required to play every four days.
The idea was first floated by Richmond coach Damien Hardwick earlier in the week, though reports on Friday night suggested the AFL is set to leave things as is.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley adapted to the impending shorter breaks during his side’s win over Hawthorn, sitting Jamie Elliott on the bench for the entire fourth quarter.
Hodge believes teams will be tested physically and mentally over this next period and would rather see how they handle the battle of attrition rather than simply giving them the additional interchange spots.
“Bucks did the right thing. They sat (Elliot) on the bench, they had a massive lead and they were able to get away with the points,” Hodge told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“Looking at that, they’ve got a massive list. They’ve got 44 players. It’s about how much do you push.
“We spoke last week about Ben Cunnington and whether he was right to play. Clubs and doctors are going to be put on the spot to make a clear-cut call and I reckon from now on they’re going to make the cautious call especially if there’s five-day breaks.
“Clubs are going to have to use a lot more of their list than what they have in the past.”
Hodge believes it will be similar to how top teams judged the end of seasons before the post Round 23 bye was introduced, with winning teams and deeper lists being rewarded for their success.
“Without a doubt (it’ll play a huge role in who is successful). I think it goes back to the end of season bye,” Hodge said.
“I wasn’t happy when they did that because I thought it brings in the physical strength, the mental strength and the professionalism of the players to make sure they’re peaking at the end of the year.
“That means you’re going to give a star player a rest in Round 18 or 19 so he’s fresh and ready to go for the finals. That’s what teams used to do.
“They used to get rewarded for getting off to a good start, be able to freshen up a few players and then hit the finals hard.
“When the bye came in it took all that away because everyone got a fresh start.
“I’m taking it back to how it was back then and this shows how mentally strong the players are. Yes there’s going to be a few injuries, but how much depth does the list have and what can they do?
“I reckon we keep it the same. It’s about making sure if you’ve got the 31st player ready to step up, it shows these other guys that are on the list that if you train hard you’ll get rewarded when it does come.”
