Former Docker and Bulldogs player Brad Wira says the unevenness in the fixturing this year is ‘bizarre’ and needs resolving.
Fremantle are heading into Round 14 fresh off the bye, while the Western Bulldogs have to wait until Round 15 for their bye.
In addition, this is the second time the two sides have met within the first half of the season – with both teams still yet to face every opponent at least once.
Speaking to Sports Breakfast ahead of his two former sides coming head-to-head, he highlighted the ‘bizarre’ issues that plagued the fixture this season.
“It’s bizarre when you think about teams playing each other for the second time when you think about clubs that have had two byes and some that haven’t had any.”
“Where all the teams have been, is it national? but is it a national competition and the unevenness sometimes is a bit bizarre.”
The eight sides who featured in the opening round already had one bye within the first six weeks and are due another bye mid-season.
Brisbane – who smashed the Bulldogs by 43 points last Friday night, missed rounds 2 and 12 with a bye which gave them fresher legs and a competitive advantage.
The Western Bulldogs enter this round as one side that has yet to have a bye. They are set to will have the week off in round 14.
Wirra believes the AFL has got the opening round wrong and the discrepancies in the bye distributions have affected on-field performance
“Everyone’s got a bit of unevenness about it, but I think this year, behind closed doors, the AFL has put their hand up and gone we’ve got this round zero wrong,” he said.
“We saw that with the Bulldogs previously last Friday night, where they were just out on their feet and absolutely cooked.
“It’s the greatest game on the planet, but it’s also the most difficult. A lot of work to be done there.”
IMAGE: AFL Photos