Melbourne coach Steven King has joined the fight.
King has only been in the top job for six AFL games but he’s quickly united with his contemporaries against the VFL fixture.
The Demons’ reserves – Casey – have played just two games so far this season, taking in one of its scheduled byes and a league-wide bye for the VFL State of Origin.
The stop-start nature of the fixture forced Melbourne to organise a scratch match against Essendon on Sunday.
“Well, we had to organise a scratch match against Essendon on Sunday at the Hangar because there was a State of Origin game in which we had one VFL-listed player playing,” King said.
“For me, I’ve got 12-15 players who want to play every week to press their claims to improve to play AFL footy and they’re not able to in the current competition.
“It’s something maybe the AFL can maybe look at where the stand-alone clubs have the bye if they lose players but our AFL-listed players can’t play in that State of Origin game.”
King went on to say the fixture prompted some difficult conversations with players on the edge of selection.
“We just want to play footy so our players put their hand up to play AFL footy,” King continued.
“I think most clubs would’ve reached out, it’s not my role to ring up directly, I will go through the right channels.
“It’s when players come up to you and ask, ‘Does this mean I am not in contention for the first six weeks because there’s no games?’ That’s tough.”
Melbourne takes on the Brisbane Lions this Sunday at the MCG in the annual Jim Stynes Foundation match.
The clash is important for the energised Demons after their shock loss to the Bombers in Gather Round.
King said he wouldn’t look too closely at smothering the Lions’ deep midfield, fearing it could distract the Demons from their strengths.
“We can’t just be a club that reacts every week and changes our game the way we play the opposition,” he said.
“We’ve got to understand what fuels our game and our belief, you’ve got to tweak some things to extinguish the opposition’s strengths, that’s what we try and will do.
“But as a young coach I want us to play our game and get after our way.”
Originally published as AFL 2026: Melbourne coach Steven King has united with his fellow coaches on a fixture flaw