Naysayers urged to give comp a chance

NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott has a blunt message for doubters of the AFLX experiment: don’t bag it until you try it.

The AFL’s short-format competition kicks off in Adelaide today, with seven-a-side teams playing abbreviated games at a soccer stadium.

“We can’t tell exactly how it’s going to look on TV and for the fans but to any naysayers, all I would say is ‘try it’,” Scott told reporters yesterday.

Six clubs will be the guinea pigs for AFLX tonight at Adelaide’s Coopers Stadium.

Six games of 20 minutes each will be played on a field 110m long before a “grand final” between the two most successful teams.

Scott, a renowned deep thinker on AFL issues, said clubs were embracing the experiment.

“There’s a fair element of the unknown,” he said.

“We think it’s a really exciting concept.

“That’s not to say that we think it’s going to be a raging success or otherwise but certainly, from North Melbourne’s perspective, we think it’s a really good idea to trial it.

“We’re more than willing to put some of our good players out there and see how they go.

“Hopefully it’s a great product and if it’s not we haven’t lost anything.”

After the Adelaide debut, AFLX round-robin tournaments will be played in Melbourne tomorrow night and Sydney on Saturday night.

Most clubs have picked teams with a blend of top-end talent and untried youth, including Port Adelaide.

“It’s a chance to have a look at some younger guys but we wanted to keep enough experience in the team so that they weren’t thrown out in the deep end,” Power assistant coach Matthew Nicks said.