PORT Adelaide veteran Kane Cornes wants the AFL to extend the premiership season and at least trim the NAB Cup – a competition he says few care about.

 

The length of this year's NAB Cup drew criticism after it ran from February 15 until March 15 in temperatures that often soared into the high 30s.

 

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou recently admitted the League was considering extending the regular season, particularly if players were granted a longer pre-season break.

Cornes said there was too much pointless football being played before the premiership season got underway in March.

 

"The NAB Cup's too long, four or five weeks, usually you play a couple of internal game as well, it does tend to drag on a lot," Cornes said.

 

"I think two pre-season games would be more than enough and then to extend the season would be great for everyone - TV, supporters and the players would love it too.

 

"It's certainly better than playing in a pre-season comp that not a lot of people care about."

 

Cornes said more players would have to be rested should the AFL extend the premiership season, as they are in other sports such as the English Premier League.

 

Few soccer players would play the entire 38-game fixture in England and sides often rest stars to ensure their fitness in more important games.

 

But the 30-year-old said such practice was already in place in the AFL and that an extra few games a year wouldn't make much of a difference.

 

"It's already a part [of the game] now, I think certainly the clubs that are playing finals and those sorts of things towards the end of the year tend to do that," he said.

 

"All clubs are managing players are on a daily basis, whether it's game time or training time.

 

"It's only another extra couple of games so it's no big deal."

 

Cornes sympathised with supporters who could be denied watching their favourite players should they be rested, but said it would be in the club's best interests.

 

"You can understand that supporters come to the games wanting to see their best players play every week," he said.

 

"(But) the average supporter would look back and think they're doing it for the betterment of the club in terms of playing finals footy and winning games when it really counts."