• Click here for the full fixture
• Top teams light up Friday nights
• What the fans are saying

THE AFL's decision to create a weekend off ahead of the finals has taken the AFL Players' Association by surprise.

The AFLPA had been under the impression there was no room for two byes in next year's fixture before hearing about the last minute decision on Thursday. 

AFLPA CEO Paul Marsh said while having a week off at the end of the season might solve the League's integrity concerns, it was not a substitute for the second bye the players have demanded to address welfare concerns.

The 2016 fixture explained

The players have long argued for two byes to be included in the fixture to give players a physical and mental break during the season and the AFL had previously indicated its willingness to consider introducing two byes if ground availability made it possible. 

However, as the fixture was prepared this season, the AFLPA was prepared to accept just one bye in 2016 as the AFL worked through ground availability issues and were taken aback when the season suddenly extended a week.

The 25 'must-see' matches of 2016

"We would prefer to see the bye at an earlier stage of the season," Marsh told AFL.com.au.

"Up until today, the AFL could not deliver on that."

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said at a media conference that confirmation the MCG would be available on October 1, therefore allowing the weekend off between home and away and finals to occur, only happened late last night.

Marsh noted that it was a start that the AFL had found it could extend the season so it now ran over 28 weeks, but the first and second byes should run through the season.

Although the AFL referred to the weekend off between round 23 and the finals as a bye when announcing the decision, the AFLPA does not consider it a bye in the sense players have argued for.  

In 2016 each club will receive a bye over three weeks between rounds 13-15.

Marsh said the AFLPA's position was that the first bye should occur one third of the way through the season and a second bye at the two-thirds mark.

He said it was disappointing that a second break would only be available to players from eight clubs rather than 18.