A FORECAST of 37C for Saturday's match between West Coast and Richmond will see half-time extended from 16 to 20 minutes.

The game is scheduled to begin at 4:10pm AWST, with last week's clash between the Eagles and Collingwood played in 34C heat at 12pm local time.

"Not ideal to be playing in the middle of the day in the heat," West Coast coach Michael Prior said after the loss to the Magpies.

"I think we got extra two minutes break at half-time, so probably something we need to look at as an organisation, and look after our athletes a little bit better than probably what we did today."

An AFL spokesperson said the extended break was "over and above" standard for matches this year, which have had permanent heat policy measures in place.

"Both the AFL and AFLW competitions have additional measures for matches relating to hot weather to ensure the health and safety of everyone remains paramount," an AFL spokesperson said.

"Specifically for the 2022 AFLW competition, at all matches there are additional water carriers, extended breaks, an increase to the number of team trainers and unlimited bench rotations."

AFLPA general manager of player and stakeholder relations Brett Murphy told womens.afl the union was happy with the heat policy as it stands, and moving games to later in the day isn't as simple as it sounds.

"We think the heat policy is acceptable. Probably the question right now, given everything else that's happening in regards to COVID and compressed breaks between games, the overlay of the heat policy and heat on players just makes it tougher," Murphy said.

"Games later in the day tend to be better from a heat perspective, but there are issues with playing games later in the day. If you move games to the evening, then sometimes it makes it more difficult to get teams home that night, and especially when games are being played mid-week or on a Sunday, there's a flow-on effect to players.

"So yes, games in twilight or evenings are better from a heat perspective, but there are other issues to take into account as well."

Murphy said the quick breaks between some games, coupled with the summer heat, has been the biggest issue.

"The short turnarounds make things difficult, the heat and the fact some players are coming off a period of illness, makes that preparation for games and games themselves that little bit tougher," he said.

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"We have [had feedback from players], but the players are incredibly resilient. I haven't heard one player say they don't want to play, they want to play games, they want to do the best for their teams.

"The compressed fixture does make it that bit more challenging, and ideally, there'd be greater breaks between games."

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