FREMANTLE coach Justin Longmuir has pushed for the Dockers to be included in Opening Round and says it makes sense for the AFL's two WA clubs to have their travel burden eased by an extra bye during the season.
Both the Dockers and West Coast are in the middle of unprecedented month-long stints at home after North Melbourne's decision to sell back-to-back matches to Western Australia in a lucrative deal that runs to 2027.
By pairing the extra games in WA with their mid-season byes, the Dockers are enjoying 33 days at home before they next travel to face Sydney in round 17. The Eagles have the same break between flights before they face Collingwood in round 16.
The extra time at home created by the Kangaroos 'home' games has been welcomed by both WA clubs as a step towards equalising travel, but bridging the gap further remains a focus for clubs outside Victoria.
Longmuir said it made sense for the AFL's two most travelled teams to be involved in Opening Round, given it would create the added flexibility of an early-season bye and another short break from otherwise fortnightly travel.
"I do think that us and West Coast should be involved in [Opening Round]," Longmuir told AFL.com.au during the Dockers' recent trip to face Gold Coast.
"If any team needs an extra bye, it's the Perth teams. I understand it may not suit the AFL in terms of crowd sizes, but that's what I would look at for competitive balance.
"I've made it known behind the scenes, but obviously we didn't get it over the line this year."
Collingwood and Hawthorn travelled for Opening Round this year and had their early-season byes in rounds three and four respectively, while Essendon was due to play but had its match against Gold Coast cancelled due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The travelling teams for the inaugural Opening Round in 2024 were Melbourne, Carlton, Richmond and Collingwood.
Dockers executive general manager of football Joe Brierty said this week's match against the Kangaroos had been strategically designed to minimise the "cumulative load" of challenging trips to Gold Coast and Sydney, either side of their stint at home.
With consecutive home games against North, St Kilda and Essendon, it also has the potential to set-up a finals charge for the revitalised 7-5 team.
"To have three home games in a row in the middle of winter is unheard of in my time in 13 years of footy," Brierty said.
"We see that not necessarily as an advantage but something that helps bring us back to the rest of the competition from a travel load.
"Ultimately its importance will be seen down the track and later in the year, but home versus away fixtures don't play into it in terms of your win loss. We need to be willing to perform week in week out and get better."
Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans this week detailed his own proposal to equalise travel, believing an AFL in-season tournament held outside Victoria could be the solution.
Evans told The West Australian that he believed tournaments in Perth, South-East Queensland and Darwin could work, forcing Victorian teams to travel for games that are played for a separate trophy as well as premiership points.
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said he was in favour of the idea having quickly learned how significant the travel burden was for WA clubs in his first season.
He said the Eagles had benefited from their extended period at home through more training opportunities and would be in favour of any fixture change that led to more games in WA.
"It's interesting, I've spent 20 years in the AFL system with one year on the Gold Coast, but it (the travel) is significant. If we can get more games in WA, we're all for it," McQualter said.
"We've seen the significant increase in training we've been able to do in the last three-week period. We think it's been really beneficial for us, so I would support that."
