THE MENTAL health benefits of players engaging in non-football activities outweighs the risk of injury that could force them to take time away from the game, AFL Players' Association chief executive Paul Marsh says.

The question of whether AFL players should be allowed to take part in high-risk activities has been a hot topic following a shoulder injury to Port Adelaide midfielder Ollie Wines while water skiing last weekend.

Wines is expected to be sidelined for up to 10 weeks after dislocating his shoulder and having arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday.

Former Power player Kane Cornes said Wines made a terrible mistake by putting his hobby above his football career.

However, Marsh told AFL.com.au it was essential players be allowed to relax during their downtime – otherwise there was a risk of them walking away from the game.

"Players need a release from playing football," Marsh said.

"What we've seen over the journey is that players just focused on playing football, or any sport 24/7, tend not to thrive.

You put your eggs into one basket, you attach your whole identity and your wellbeing to how you're going on the field; we've seen that being a major driver of the mental health issues that we're seeing. - Paul Marsh

"So, it's really important that players do have a release away from footy."

A clause in standard AFL contracts says players need to get the consent of their club before engaging in dangerous or high-risk activities.

The Power support their players spending their down-time as they please, giving them the responsibility to make the right choices.

"Port have taken a very mature approach for allowing him to do it and in terms of their response to it," Marsh said.

"They get the bigger picture of it.

"The benefits to a club of allowing their players to live a life away from football is that they will be happier, better-performing footballers.

"There will be some downside with these types of issues, but the upside is significantly greater."

Wines, in contention to be the Power's next captain, injured his shoulder when the ski rope got away from him.

It's the first time he has been injured water skiing since he started as a six-year-old.

"When you weigh all that up, there is a small risk, and unfortunately he's been injured doing it," Marsh said.

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"If you start taking these sorts of things away from footballers, you're going to get to a point where players won't want to play."

Marsh said he wasn't surprised by the comments from Cornes, who was known for his meticulous preparation during his 300-game AFL career with the Power.

"He constantly has an expectation that AFL footballers should be doing nothing other than AFL football, 24/7," Marsh said.

"That's how he was as a footballer, and it worked for Kane, but we don't see that for all players.

"If they're going to thrive in this industry, the vast majority of them have to have a release."