Duff and Quarters: The crammed AFL fixture will see clubs rest healthy superstars

The AFL’s jam-packed reshuffle sees 20-straight days of footy and multiple four-day breaks for teams creating the greatest necessity to manage player workloads ever witnessed in the league's history.

We see star players regularly sit out games in other codes under the guise of ‘load management’ but on today’s episode of The Duff and Quarters podcast The West Australian’s chief football writer Mark Duffield and The Sunday Times Glen Quartermain speculate protocols could be introduced by AFL clubs after round nine.

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“Do you load up for a game you should win and make sure you win them and rest players for games you’re not sure you should win and do the best you can but assume you will lose?” Duffield posed to Quartermain.

“Bank the wins you can rather than head in full strength for the one you may be fighting for.

“Do you try and manage players during games? Five goals up, there’s seven minutes to go, do you get hold of your players and say hold the game up and kick it around?

“Sports science people watching their computers during games and if certain players get in the ‘red’, a message goes to the coach who says get the ball and kick it around for a bit to get your breath back.”

The pair went on to agree that getting to the finals with a healthy list would potentially be more important than finishing in the top for at the end of the home-and-away season.

“If I’m a team this year, I’m more focused on how I get to the end of round 17 rather than finishing top four. If I’m in the eight and we’re healthy, I’m happy. I think because the finals are likely to be in one spot, I’m not sure it’s that big.

“The shape you’re in once you’re (in finals) will be the big thing.”