Format has Roos keen to run riot

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

The AFL’s short-format competition starts in Adelaide tonight, 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 said.

Six clubs will be the guinea pigs for AFLX at Hindmarsh Stadium – home ground of ALeague club Adelaide United.

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

Scott 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.”