GEELONG captain Joel Selwood says he’ll be surprised if many players feature in all 22 home-and-away games in 2021 following the quick turnaround of AFL season.
For the first time in the competition’s history, every club played deep into September, with the Cats and Richmond rounding out 2020 on October 24 – the latest finish ever.
“Our guys are going to put some plans together, and we’ll out that closer to the day,” he said.
“We’ve put a list demographic together right now that we don’t think that any player should have to play all 22. We’ll just see how that plays out.
“We’ve got a lot of guys we want to get games into.”
CATS: MATCHES REDUCED FOR REBUILD
Out-of-contract at the end of 2021, Selwood says talks on whether he extends his career into a 16th season next year will take place during the year.
“I feel like I’m running around OK now,” he said. “We’ll have conversations throughout the year, and I’m comfortable with that.
“I think we have a lot of guys in the same boat around my age, too.
“The footy club’s always been pretty good at that, so we’ll make sure it continues that way.”
As Selwood was facing the media, the AFL was announcing its new concussions protocols, including introducing a minimum 12-day break between games.
The 32-year-old, who has missed three matches in his career due to a concussion, welcomed the changes.
“Without knowing too much about it, I think it’s really promising,” Selwood said.
“We put our trust in what the AFL are doing around all the research and everything about it.
“As players, we’ve just got to listen … I don’t think anyone should be really complaining.
“This is for our general health overall, and they’re taking a duty of care to look after that.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
